JP2002307973A - Traffic lane change controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To safely and smoothly change a traffic lane without giving a sense of incongruity during automatic running. SOLUTION: A necessity of the change of traffic lane is detected by GPS, map information, front monitoring, communication between road vehicles, communication between vehicles, etc., a preceding vehicle and a following vehicle after the change of traffic lane are detected from a running condition of an own vehicle and a running condition of vehicles in the surroundings if the change of traffic lane is required, the intention of the change of traffic lane is transmitted to the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle after joining, a distance adjustment command for adjusting a distance between vehicles is transmitted to the following vehicle when detecting the reception of the intention from the following vehicle after joining, a running condition of the own vehicle is controlled to adjust a distance of the own vehicle for the preceding vehicle after joining, and joining, namely, the change of traffic lane is started after ensuring a join space.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lane change control device for safely and smoothly changing lanes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As such a lane change control device,
For example, there is one described in JP-A-10-320691. This lane change control device performs inter-vehicle communication with other autonomous vehicles traveling on the main line and road-to-vehicle communication with the road environment when changing lanes such as merging from a branch line of the autonomous vehicle to the main line. By continuously controlling the running speeds of the vehicle to be merged with the vehicle at the merged destination until the vehicle can merge, the vehicle traveling on the branch line can easily merge with the main line.

[0003]

When controlling the traveling speed of an automatic traveling vehicle, if the acceleration / deceleration occurring in the vehicle is large, the occupant will feel uncomfortable. However, in the conventional lane change control device, merely controlling the traveling speed until the vehicle can be merged, without giving an occupant a sense of discomfort due to the magnitude of acceleration / deceleration generated in the vehicle at that time,
No specific means for safely and smoothly changing lanes is disclosed.

[0004] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention detects the necessity of changing lanes in advance, secures a necessary merging space at the time of changing lanes, and can change lanes safely and smoothly. It is an object to provide a control device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a lane change control device according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
Traveling control means for controlling the traveling state of the own vehicle so as to follow the preceding vehicle on the same lane preceding the own vehicle, information communication means for communicating information at least with other vehicles, and changing lanes Lane change detecting means for detecting the lane change, another vehicle detecting means for detecting a merged preceding vehicle that becomes the preceding vehicle of the own vehicle after the lane change and a merged succeeding vehicle that becomes the following vehicle of the own vehicle after the lane change, and the lane change When the detecting means detects that the lane change is to be performed, the preceding vehicle after the merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means is regarded as the preceding vehicle after the lane change, and the traveling state of the own vehicle is controlled to control the preceding vehicle after the merging. Distance adjusting means for adjusting the distance of the own vehicle to the vehicle, and when the lane change detecting means detects that the lane change is to be performed, the own vehicle is connected to the following vehicle after the merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means. A distance adjustment command transmitting means for transmitting a command to adjust the distance to the vehicle, a distance between the own vehicle with respect to the preceding vehicle after merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means, and a distance between the following vehicle after merging with the own vehicle become a predetermined state. And a lane change control means for controlling the running state of the host vehicle to change lanes.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lane change control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, which receives a command for adjusting a distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle when another lane is changed. The distance adjustment command receiving means, when the distance adjustment command reception means receives a distance adjustment command from another vehicle, regards the other vehicle as a preceding vehicle after a lane change, and And controlling the running state of the vehicle to adjust the distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the lane change control device according to the second or third aspect, when the lane change detection means detects that the lane change is to be performed, the other vehicle is controlled. A lane change transmitting unit that transmits a message indicating that a lane change is to be performed to the succeeding vehicle after merging detected by the detecting unit, and a message that a lane change is to be performed is received from the following vehicle that has been merged by the other vehicle detecting unit. Lane change reception detecting means for detecting that the lane change reception detecting means has detected that the subsequent vehicle has changed lanes after the merging by the lane change reception detection means. It is characterized by transmitting a distance adjustment command to the vehicle.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the lane change control device according to the second or third aspect, wherein the lane change receiving means for receiving an instruction to perform a lane change from another vehicle; When another vehicle receives a message indicating that the other vehicle will change lanes, the receiving device transmits the received signal to the other vehicle.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lane change control device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, further comprising another vehicle traveling state detecting means for detecting a traveling state of another vehicle. The detecting means estimates the positional relationship of the other vehicle at the time of merging based on the running state of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle running state detecting means, and merges the preceding vehicle in the change lane at that time with the preceding vehicle. And detecting the rear vehicle as a succeeding vehicle after merging.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lane change control device according to any one of the first to fourth inventions, wherein the lane change control means includes: When the inter-vehicle time between the vehicle and the own vehicle and the inter-vehicle time between the own vehicle and the following vehicle after the merger become equal to or more than a predetermined value, the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after the merge and the distance of the following vehicle after the merge to the own vehicle are changed. It is characterized in that a predetermined state is considered.

[0011]

According to the lane change control device of the first aspect of the present invention, the lane change is detected while at least communicating information with another vehicle, and the lane change is automatically performed after the lane change. When the preceding vehicle that becomes the preceding vehicle of the vehicle and the succeeding vehicle that becomes the following vehicle of the own vehicle after the lane change is detected, and when the lane change is performed, the detected preceding vehicle that has been merged with the preceding vehicle after the lane change. Considering, controlling the running state of the own vehicle to adjust the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after the merge, and sending a command to adjust the distance to the own vehicle to the detected subsequent subsequent vehicle, and When the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after merging and the distance of the following vehicle after merging to the own vehicle have reached a predetermined state,
Since the lane change is performed by controlling the traveling state of the own vehicle, if the necessity of performing the lane change can be detected in advance, a necessary joining space can be secured by the time of the lane change. In addition to appropriately adjusting the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle, it is possible to dispel uncomfortable feelings to the occupants and to enable a safe and smooth lane change.

According to the lane change control device of the present invention, when a command to adjust the distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle is received from another vehicle when changing lanes, the other vehicle is controlled by the other vehicle. Is regarded as the preceding vehicle after the lane change, and the driving state of the own vehicle is controlled to adjust the distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle. Therefore, when both are the automatic driving control vehicles, it is safe and smooth. The lane can be changed.

According to the lane change control device of the third aspect of the present invention, when it is detected that a lane change is to be performed, a message to the effect that the lane change is to be performed is transmitted to a subsequent vehicle after the merge. Since it is configured to transmit a distance adjustment command to the own vehicle when it is detected that the vehicle following the lane change is received from the following vehicle, the distance adjustment is performed after the subsequent vehicle receives that the lane change has been made after merging. , It is possible to reliably secure a necessary joining space.

Further, according to the lane change control device of the present invention, when the lane change is received from another vehicle, the fact that the lane change is received is transmitted to the other vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to reliably secure a necessary confluence space when both are the automatic travel control vehicles. According to the lane change control device according to claim 5 of the present invention, the traveling state of the other vehicle is detected, the positional relationship of the other vehicle at the time of merging is estimated, Since the preceding vehicle is configured as a preceding vehicle after merging and the following vehicle is detected as a succeeding vehicle after merging, the preceding vehicle after merging and the following vehicle after merging can be reliably detected, and thus a safe and smooth lane change can be performed. Make it possible.

Further, according to the lane change control device of the present invention, the inter-vehicle time between the detected preceding vehicle and the own vehicle and the inter-vehicle time between the own vehicle and the following vehicle after the merge are determined. When the value is equal to or greater than the value, it is considered that the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after the merge and the distance of the subsequent vehicle after the merge to the own vehicle are in a predetermined state,
Safe and smooth lane change can be performed.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a vehicle with a preceding vehicle following travel control device to which a lane change control device of the present invention is applied. This vehicle has rear wheels 1
RL and 1RR are rear-wheel drive vehicles in which drive wheels and front wheels 1FL and 1FR are driven wheels, and drive torque of an engine 2 is transmitted to the rear wheels 1RL and 1RR via an automatic transmission 3.

The rotation state, torque, output and the like of the engine 2 can be controlled by an engine control device 11. Specifically, by adjusting the throttle valve opening, the idle valve opening, the ignition timing, the fuel injection amount, the fuel injection timing, and the like, the rotation state, torque, output, and the like of the engine can be controlled. The automatic transmission 3 can be controlled by a transmission control device 12. Specifically, by adjusting the working fluid pressure supplied to the clutch and the brake in the automatic transmission 3, the selected gear ratio can be changed to obtain a desired reduction ratio.

Each of the wheels 1FL to 1RR is connected to a wheel cylinder 4FL to a wheel cylinder 4FL to a so-called disc brake.
4RR is provided. This wheel cylinder 4FL-4
RR depends on the supplied brake fluid pressure and each wheel 1FL-1.
This is for applying a braking force to the RR. And each wheel 1
The braking force applied to FL to 1RR is controlled by the braking fluid pressure control device 1
3 can be controlled. Specifically, for example, the braking fluid pressure is increased as in a driving force control device (TCS),
By reducing the brake fluid pressure as in an anti-skid control device (ABS), each wheel cylinder 4F
Adjust the brake fluid pressure to L ~ 4RR, each wheel 1FL ~ 1
The braking force on the RR can be controlled.

Also, the steering direction, steering angle, and steering speed of the steering wheel 5 steered by the driver, more specifically, the steering shaft 6 connected to the steering wheel 5, can be controlled by the steering control device 14. Specifically, the steering direction, the steering angle, and the steering speed can be controlled by adjusting the rotation direction, the rotation angle, and the rotation speed of the motor connected to the steering shaft 6.

These control devices control the running state of any vehicle, and as a result, the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle,
The traveling state can be controlled by adjusting the longitudinal speed, traveling direction, lateral speed, turning amount, and the like. Of course, these control devices can be operated alone, but the overall functions are governed by an automatic travel control device 10 including a lane change control device and a preceding vehicle following travel control. The automatic traveling control device 10 controls the traveling state of the vehicle by performing various types of arithmetic processing, and thereby performs a preceding vehicle following traveling control, a lane change control, and the like.

The vehicle is provided with, for example, a CCD camera or the like, for example, a state in front of the own vehicle, for example, a front state detecting device 16 for detecting a state of a traveling lane or the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle, a state around the own vehicle, For example, a peripheral state detecting device 17 that detects the state of an adjacent traveling lane and the position, relative speed, acceleration / deceleration, and the like of another vehicle existing there is provided. Further, the vehicle is provided with a vehicle position detecting device 18 such as a so-called GPS (Global Positioning System) and a map information device 19 such as nationwide map information. It is configured to be able to detect the state of a lane or a lane.

The vehicle is provided with a road-vehicle communication device 7 for communicating information with a road environment, so-called infrastructure, and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 8 for communicating information with other vehicles. . Further, the vehicle is provided with a manual switch 9 for adjusting the running state of the vehicle by manual input of the driver, and for inputting a change of lane in any direction. In addition, the vehicle is provided with an own vehicle running state detection device (not shown) such as an acceleration / deceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and a lateral acceleration sensor.

Next, the arithmetic processing of the lane change control performed in the automatic traveling control device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This arithmetic processing is logic corresponding to when the vehicle needs to change lanes,
First, in step S1, the arithmetic processing of FIG.
The lane change factor is detected. Next, the process proceeds to step S2, where it is determined from the detection result in step S1 whether or not to change lanes.
Then, the process returns to the main program.

In step S3, the relative positional relationship between the surrounding vehicle and the host vehicle is detected, and then the process proceeds to step S4. Specifically, for example, the position information of the surrounding vehicle detected by the front state detecting device 16 or the surrounding state detecting device 17 or acquired by the road-to-vehicle communication device 7 or the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 8 and the travel of the own vehicle From the position of the host vehicle detected by the state detection device, the relative positional relationship between the two is calculated.

In step S4, the traveling state of the surrounding vehicles is detected, and then the process proceeds to step S5. Specifically, for example, the speed, acceleration / deceleration, and the like of the peripheral vehicle detected by the front state detection device 16 and the peripheral state detection device 17 or acquired by the road-to-vehicle communication device 7 and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 8, The relative speed, acceleration / deceleration, etc. of the surrounding vehicles are calculated from the speed, acceleration / deceleration, etc. of the own vehicle detected by the own vehicle running state detection device.

In step S5, the relative positional relationship between the surrounding vehicle and the own vehicle detected in step S3 and the running state of the surrounding vehicle and the running state of the own vehicle detected in step S4 are detected in accordance with the calculation process of FIG. From the traveling state of the own vehicle detected by the device, the detection of the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle after merging due to the lane change is performed, and then step S6.
Move to This minor program is briefly summarized as follows: the relative position, relative speed, acceleration / deceleration, etc., of the own vehicle and the surrounding vehicles are used to detect the front vehicle and the rear vehicle in the destination lane at the time of the merge, It is detected as a rear preceding vehicle and a following vehicle after merging.

In step S6, step S5
After the transmission to the effect that the lane change is to be performed to the succeeding vehicle after the merging detected in step S5, the process proceeds to step S7. In the step S7, it is determined whether or not a reception signal from the succeeding vehicle after the merging is detected. If the reception signal is detected, the process proceeds to step S8, and if not, the process proceeds to step S9. Specifically, as will be described later, when a subsequent vehicle after merging also receives a message indicating that a lane change is to be performed, if a calculation process is performed to return the fact that the lane change has been received, the returned message is received. If a signal to the effect, that is, the reception signal is detected, it is regarded that the following vehicle after the merging recognizes that the lane change is performed.

In step S8, step S5
After the transmission to the effect that the lane change is to be performed to the preceding vehicle that has been merged, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, a distance adjustment command is transmitted to the following vehicle after the merging detected in step S5, and then the process proceeds to step S1.
Move to 1. Specifically, based on the current vehicle speed and the relative speed of the following vehicle after merging, while preventing the acceleration / deceleration of the following vehicle after merging from becoming a predetermined value or more,
After the merging, the inter-vehicle distance is calculated so that the host vehicle can safely and smoothly merge in front of the succeeding vehicle, and a distance adjustment command to achieve the inter-vehicle distance is set and transmitted.

In step S11, the traveling state of the host vehicle is controlled to secure a confluence space, and then the process proceeds to step S12. Specifically, based on the current speed and relative speed of the current vehicle and the preceding vehicle after merging, if the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the content of the vehicle is safe and smooth behind the preceding vehicle after merging. Calculate the inter-vehicle distance to be able to join the vehicle, and control the traveling state of the own vehicle so that the inter-vehicle distance is achieved.

In the step S12, after confirming the securing of the joining space, the process proceeds to the step S13. Specifically, the inter-vehicle time between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after merging and the inter-vehicle time between the own vehicle and the succeeding vehicle after merging at the time of merging are calculated. Assuming that the distance of the own vehicle with respect to the rear preceding vehicle and the distance of the following vehicle after merging with the own vehicle are in a predetermined state, that is, that a space that allows safe and smooth merging is ensured, confirmation of securing of the merging space is performed.

In step S13, the traveling state of the host vehicle is controlled to join the vehicle, that is, the lane change is started, and then the process proceeds to step S14. At the step S14,
That is, after the lane change is completed, the process returns to the main program. On the other hand, in step S9, the process returns to the main program after leaving the driver with the vehicle and interrupting the lane change control.

Next, step S1 of the calculation processing of FIG.
3 will be described.
The lane change factors detected in this calculation process are, for example, any one of a preset margin time or a margin distance from a point where lane change is required or lane change is better. When satisfied, they shall be detected. Further, what is illustrated in this arithmetic processing is merely a representative example, and any other applicable one may be included or added.

In this calculation process, first, at step S101
Detects the permanent lane change factor. Permanent lane change factors include, for example, road-to-vehicle communication by the road-to-vehicle communication device 7, or terrain obtained from the map information device 19, lane conditions are detected, for example, a lane merges from now on,
This shows a state in which the lane must be changed due to a semi-permanent lane restriction factor, such as the current running lane disappearing.

Next, the process proceeds to step S102, where a temporary lane change factor is detected. This temporary lane change factor is, for example, construction information by road-to-vehicle communication by the road-to-vehicle communication device 7, lane information is detected from falling object information, and there is a construction section or a falling object in front of the traveling lane. Shows a state in which the lane must be changed due to a temporary lane control factor.

Next, the process proceeds to step S103 to detect an arbitrary lane change factor. The optional lane change factors include, for example, the detection of a lane with a good road surface condition, the detection of a lane with a small traffic amount, and the detection of a lane with a road-to-vehicle communication in the road-to-vehicle communication device 7. Alternatively, a state in which it is desirable to change lanes, such as selecting a lane according to a driver's instruction from the manual switch 9, is shown.

Next, the flow shifts to step S104, where a sudden lane change factor is detected, and then the flow shifts to step S2 of the arithmetic processing in FIG. The sudden lane change factor may mean that the lane must be changed because the front state detecting device 16 detects the outside of the vehicle in the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling. This indicates a state in which it is necessary or necessary to change lanes due to unpredictable sudden factors, such as selecting a lane from obstacle information obtained by road-vehicle communication.

Next, step S5 of the calculation processing of FIG.
4 will be described.
In this calculation process, first, in step S501, the process shown in FIG.
Of the lane change factors of the minor program shown in FIG. 3 performed in step S1 of the calculation processing of the above, the merging end limit position is set from the lane change factor that occurs first.

Next, the flow shifts to step S502, where the position, traveling direction, traveling speed,
The running state of the host vehicle such as acceleration / deceleration is detected. Next, the process proceeds to step S503, and the merging end time is calculated from the merging end limit position set in step S501 and the traveling state of the own vehicle detected in step S502.

Next, the flow shifts to step S504 to set a merge start time from the merge end time calculated in step S503 by using the traveling state of the own vehicle. Next, the process proceeds to step S505, for example, the speed and acceleration / deceleration of another vehicle detected by the front state detection device 16 or the peripheral state detection device 17 or acquired by the road-to-vehicle communication device 7 or the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 8. And the like, and the traveling state such as the relative speed and acceleration / deceleration of the other vehicle is detected or obtained from the own vehicle speed, acceleration / deceleration, etc. detected by the own vehicle traveling state detection device.

Next, the process proceeds to step S506, where the traveling time of the own vehicle detected in step S502, the merging start time set in step S504, and the traveling state of the other vehicle detected or acquired in step S505 are determined. After calculating the position of the own vehicle and the position of the other vehicle, the process proceeds to step S6 of the arithmetic processing in FIG. Next, another calculation process of the lane change control performed in the automatic traveling control device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This calculation processing is logic corresponding to the case where another vehicle needs to change lanes.
It is determined in step S6 of the calculation processing in FIG. 2 whether or not a message indicating that a lane change such as that transmitted by the own vehicle has been received from another vehicle. Otherwise return to the main program.

In step S22, a notification that the lane change has been received is transmitted to the other vehicle that has transmitted the lane change, that is, the preceding vehicle after merging. Next, the process proceeds to step S23, where it is determined whether or not a distance adjustment command has been received from the preceding vehicle after the merge. If the distance adjustment command has been received, the process proceeds to step S24. Return to the program.

In step S24, the traveling state of the own vehicle is controlled so that the distance of the own vehicle with respect to the preceding vehicle after the merger becomes a predetermined state to secure a merge space. Next, the process shifts to step S25, where it is confirmed that the joining space is secured, and then the process returns to the main program. Specifically, the inter-vehicle time between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after merging at the time of merging is calculated, and when the inter-vehicle time becomes a predetermined value or more, the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after merging is in a predetermined state, That is, assuming that a space that can safely and smoothly merge is secured, confirmation of securing of the merge space is performed.

Next, the operation of the arithmetic processing shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 will be described. FIG. 6 shows, from above, the behavior of the vehicle when the driver operates the manual switch 9 to change the lane from the center lane to the left lane.
It is assumed that the preceding vehicle A and the succeeding vehicle B after merging in the left lane to be changed lanes are traveling at the same speed, and the own vehicle C is traveling at a slightly higher speed. First, in FIG. 6A, the own vehicle C detects a traveling state such as a relative positional relationship, a relative speed, and an acceleration / deceleration of another vehicle on the lane to be changed. In this case, via the beacon D on the road, the so-called two-way road-to-vehicle communication is performed after the merged preceding vehicle A and the merged succeeding vehicle B (at this time, the own vehicle C is a vehicle that has merged ahead and which vehicle It is not detected that the vehicle is a following vehicle after the merging). That is, the own vehicle C asks the beacon D, and the beacon D asks the preceding vehicle A after merging and the succeeding vehicle B after merging. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6B, the post-merging preceding vehicle A and the post-merging subsequent vehicle B respond to the beacon D with their respective positions and running states, and the beacon D responds to the host vehicle C with those answers.

When the relative positional relationship and running state of the preceding vehicle A and the succeeding vehicle B after merging are detected in this manner,
According to the calculation processing in FIG. 2, the preceding vehicle A after merging and the succeeding vehicle B after merging are detected, and as shown in FIG. After joining, the subsequent vehicle B that has received the change of the lane returns the reception to the own vehicle C as shown in FIG.
The self-vehicle receiving the reply is the preceding vehicle A
To the lane change. When the lane change is transmitted to the preceding vehicle A after merging in this way, a distance adjustment command is transmitted to the following vehicle B after merging as shown in FIG. 6E, and the own vehicle C with respect to the preceding vehicle A after merging is transmitted as described above. When the distance of the vehicle C and the distance of the following vehicle B to the own vehicle C are in a predetermined state, the traveling state of the own vehicle C is controlled to start changing lanes, and the preceding vehicle A after the merge and the subsequent vehicle B after the merge Joins own vehicle C during the period.

FIG. 7 shows, from above, the behavior of the vehicle at the time of the lane change due to the sudden lane change factor when the obstacle E is detected in front of the host vehicle C. The relative speeds of the respective vehicles, that is, the preceding vehicle A after the merger, the subsequent vehicle B after the merger, and the own vehicle C are the same as those in FIG. 6 described above. There is almost no front-back difference with the vehicle C. Moreover, the distance to the obstacle E is short, and the vehicle C may come into contact with the obstacle E unless the lane is changed immediately. Therefore, at this time, when the message that the lane change is to be transmitted, the own vehicle C is immediately accelerated, thereby performing the lane change while creating an appropriate inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle C and the following vehicle B after merging. The self-vehicle C merges with the preceding vehicle A after merging and the succeeding vehicle B after merging.

As described above, in the lane change control device according to the present embodiment, when it is detected that the lane change is required, the preceding vehicle becomes the preceding vehicle of the own vehicle after the lane change and the following vehicle of the own vehicle after the lane change. After the merged vehicle is detected, the traveling state of the own vehicle is controlled to adjust the distance of the vehicle to the preceding vehicle after merging, and a command to adjust the distance to the detected vehicle after the merged subsequent vehicle is issued. Send,
When the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after merging and the distance of the following vehicle after merging to the own vehicle are in a predetermined state,
Because the lane change is performed by controlling the running state of the own vehicle, by detecting in advance that the lane change is necessary,
A necessary joining space can be secured by the time of lane change, and the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle is appropriately adjusted to eliminate uncomfortable feelings for the occupant, and a safe and smooth lane change is enabled.

When a command to adjust the distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle is received from another vehicle when changing lanes, the other vehicle is regarded as a preceding vehicle after changing lanes, and the running state of the own vehicle is controlled. Then, since the distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle is adjusted, the lane change can be performed safely and smoothly when both vehicles are the automatic travel control vehicles.

When the necessity of changing lanes is detected, it is detected that the lane change is transmitted to the succeeding vehicle after merging, and that the lane change is received from the succeeding vehicle after merging. The distance adjustment command for the own vehicle is transmitted when the vehicle is merged, so that it is possible to instruct the subsequent vehicle to adjust the distance after receiving the notice that the lane has changed after merging, and secure the necessary merging space. Can be secured.

Further, when the lane change is received from another vehicle, the fact that the change is received is transmitted to the other vehicle. Can be ensured reliably. Also, the positional relationship of the other vehicle at the time of merging is estimated from the running state of the other vehicle, and the preceding vehicle in the destination lane at that time is detected as the preceding vehicle after merging, and the following vehicle is detected as the succeeding vehicle after merging. As a result, the preceding vehicle after the merger and the succeeding vehicle after the merger can be reliably detected, thereby enabling a safe and smooth lane change.

When the inter-vehicle time between the preceding vehicle after merging and the own vehicle and the inter-vehicle time between the own vehicle and the following vehicle after merging become equal to or more than predetermined values, the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after merging and the Since it is considered that the distance of the succeeding vehicle after the merging with the vehicle has reached a predetermined state, the lane can be changed safely and smoothly. In the above embodiment, an automatic traveling vehicle equipped with various information collecting means such as a forward state detecting device, a peripheral state detecting device, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, a road-to-vehicle communication device, a vehicle position detecting device, and a map information device is described. Although only the detailed description has been made, in short, it is possible to detect the relative positional relationship between the own vehicle and another vehicle and the traveling state,
In addition, the present invention can be applied to any form as long as information communication can be performed at least between vehicles.

The object of road-vehicle communication is not limited to beacons, and various objects can be applied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vehicle configuration diagram showing an example of a vehicle with a preceding vehicle following travel control provided with a lane change control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a calculation process for lane change control performed by the automatic traveling control device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a minor program executed in the calculation processing of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a minor program executed in the calculation processing of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing different arithmetic processing for lane change control performed by the automatic traveling control device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a lane change by the calculation processing of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a lane change by the calculation processing of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1FL-1RR is a wheel 2 is an engine 3 is an automatic transmission 4FL-4RR is a wheel cylinder 5 is a steering wheel 6 is a steering shaft 7 is a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 8 is a road-to-vehicle communication device 9 is a manual switch 10 is an automatic traveling control device 11 Is an engine control device 12 is a transmission control device 13 is a braking fluid pressure control device 14 is a steering angle control device 16 is a front condition detection device 17 is a peripheral condition detection device 18 is a vehicle position detection device 19 is a map information device

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Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A traveling control unit for controlling a traveling state of a host vehicle so as to follow a preceding vehicle on the same lane preceding the host vehicle, an information communication unit for communicating information at least with another vehicle, Lane change detecting means for detecting that a lane change is to be performed, and other vehicle detecting means for detecting a preceding vehicle after merging to become a preceding vehicle of the own vehicle after the lane change and a succeeding vehicle after merging to become a following vehicle of the own vehicle after changing the lane. When the lane change detection unit detects that the lane change is performed, the preceding vehicle after merging detected by the other vehicle detection unit is regarded as a preceding vehicle after the lane change, and the traveling state of the own vehicle is controlled. Distance adjusting means for adjusting the distance of the host vehicle to the preceding vehicle after the merging, and when the lane change detecting means detects that the lane change is to be performed, the lane change detecting means detects the lane change. On the other hand, a distance adjustment command transmitting means for transmitting a command for adjusting a distance to the own vehicle, and a distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means and a distance of a following vehicle after merging to the own vehicle are predetermined. A lane change control device comprising: a lane change control unit that controls the traveling state of the host vehicle to change the lane when the vehicle is in the state described above. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: a distance adjustment command receiving means for receiving a command to adjust a distance of the own vehicle from the other vehicle when changing lanes from another vehicle. When receiving a distance adjustment command from the vehicle, the other vehicle is regarded as a preceding vehicle after the lane change, and the traveling state of the own vehicle is controlled to adjust the distance of the own vehicle to the other vehicle. The lane change control device according to claim 1. 3. A lane change transmitting means for transmitting, when detecting the lane change by the lane change detecting means, a lane change to a following vehicle after the merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means. And a lane change reception detecting means for detecting that a lane change has been received from the following vehicle after the merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means, and the distance adjustment command transmitting means includes: The lane change control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the detection unit detects that the subsequent vehicle has performed a lane change after the merging, the distance adjustment command for the own vehicle is transmitted. . 4. A lane change receiving means for receiving a message indicating that a lane change is to be performed from another vehicle, and when the lane change receiving means has received a signal indicating that another vehicle is to perform a lane change, the other lane change receiving means is notified that the lane change has been received. The lane change control device according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a lane change reception transmission unit that transmits the vehicle to the vehicle. 5. Another vehicle running state detecting means for detecting a running state of another vehicle, wherein the other vehicle detecting means detects a running state of the other vehicle at a time of merging from the running state of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle running state detecting means. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising: estimating a positional relationship between the other vehicles and detecting a preceding vehicle in the change lane at that time as a preceding vehicle after merging, and detecting a following vehicle as a succeeding vehicle after merging. 4. The lane change control device according to item 1. 6. The lane change control means, wherein the inter-vehicle time between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after merging and the inter-vehicle time between the own vehicle and the succeeding vehicle after merging detected by the other vehicle detecting means are equal to or longer than predetermined values. The lane change according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, when the vehicle has joined, the distance of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle after the merger and the distance of the succeeding vehicle after the merger to the own vehicle have been regarded as a predetermined state. Control device.