JP2004025924A - Automatic steering gear - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic steering gear to enable a driver for a large truck and a trailer to observe a law regarding an automatic steering gear by which a vehicle is run in a state in which it is held within a lane. <P>SOLUTION: A computing part 5 starts automatic steering control only in the case a traffic zone which is decided by a traffic zone deciding part 3 and under running of an automobile and decides a position in a target lane based on lane information detected by a lane detecting part 2, and holds the start of automatic steering control when the traffic zone is not the given traffic zone. A steering actuator 6 effects steering control based on a position in a target lane decided by the computing part, and a display part 8 displays that the start of the automobile steering control is under holding. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic steering device, and more particularly, to an automatic steering device that allows a vehicle to perform traveling in a lane.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Recently, an automatic steering device that performs traveling in a lane has been developed. Such an automatic steering device includes a lane detecting unit that detects a lane in which the own vehicle travels, a calculating unit that calculates information necessary for automatic steering, and a calculation unit. It is constituted by a steering actuator that steers a steered wheel based on information input from the section.
[0003]
After a lane or a marker is detected, the automatic steering device starts automatic steering control by a driver operation (a start switch or the like), and the lane or the marker is not detected, or the driver operates a dedicated switch or brakes. In general, when an operation is performed, the control is terminated.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Due to the revision of the Road Traffic Law enforced on October 30, 1997, large freight vehicles are part of expressways and motorways with three or more lanes on one side. (Train zone).
[0005]
The law also requires that trailers travel on the first lane of the main lane, such as the national highway, counting from the left of the lane.
As described above, the conventional automatic steering device is configured to start the automatic steering control by the driver's operation of the start switch or the like. Therefore, even in the case of a large truck or a trailer, the lane in which the vehicle is traveling (the traffic lane). Automatic steering control is started regardless of the type of band.
[0006]
Therefore, there is a problem that the automatic steering control can be started even when the driver fails to comply with the above road traffic law.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to realize an automatic steering device that can encourage a driver of a large truck or a trailer to comply with the law in an automatic steering device for a vehicle to perform traveling in a lane.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an automatic steering device according to the present invention includes an automatic steering switch for activating automatic steering control, a lane detecting unit, and a traffic lane determination for determining a traffic lane in which the vehicle is traveling. And when the automatic steering switch is turned on, the automatic steering control is started only when the lane determined by the lane determination unit is a predetermined lane, and the lane information detected by the lane detection unit A processing unit that determines the position in the target lane based on the above, and when the traffic lane is not the predetermined traffic lane, based on the calculation unit that suspends the start of the automatic steering control and the position in the target lane determined by the calculation unit It is characterized by including a steering actuator for performing steering control, and a display unit for displaying that the start of the automatic steering control is suspended.
[0008]
That is, when the automatic steering switch for activating the automatic steering control is turned on, the arithmetic unit determines that the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling determined by the lane determination unit is a predetermined lane (first lane). Only when there is, the automatic steering control is started, the position in the target lane is determined based on the lane information detected by the lane detecting unit, and when the lane is not the predetermined lane, the automatic steering control is started. Hold. Further, the steering actuator performs steering control based on the position in the target lane determined by the calculation unit, and the display unit displays that the start of the automatic steering control is on hold.
[0009]
Therefore, even if the driver turns on the automatic steering switch, the automatic steering control is not started if the driver is traveling in a lane other than the predetermined lane, and the start of the automatic steering control is suspended. Since the display unit displays the information, it is possible to encourage the driver of the large truck and the trailer to comply with the law.
[0010]
Further, the automatic steering device according to the present invention further includes a work operation switch for operating the work device, and when the work device is in operation by being turned on, the work operation switch is turned on. When the automatic steering switch is turned on, even if the lane is not the first lane, the arithmetic unit starts the automatic steering control and determines the position in the target lane based on the lane information. Good.
[0011]
That is, for example, the operation unit is turned on by a work operation switch for operating work equipment such as road surface cleaning, snow melting agent spraying, watering, etc., and when the work equipment is operating, the traffic zone If the automatic steering switch is turned on even when the vehicle is not in the predetermined traffic zone, the arithmetic unit starts the automatic steering control and determines the position in the target lane based on the lane information.
[0012]
Therefore, in the case of a road maintenance work vehicle such as a road surface sweeper, a snow sprayer, a water sprinkler, and the like, it is possible to travel by automatic steering control outside of a predetermined traffic zone in order to perform the work.
The above-mentioned predetermined lane is, for example, a first lane having a left lane dividing line when traveling on the left side as a solid line.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a case where the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a general large truck and a trailer will be referred to as an embodiment (1), and will be applied to a road maintenance vehicle such as a road cleaning truck, a snow melting agent spraying vehicle, and a water sprinkling vehicle. Will be described as Example (2).
[0014]
First, FIG. 1 shows a configuration of embodiments (1) and (2) of an automatic steering device according to the present invention. The automatic steering device according to the embodiment (1) includes an automatic steering switch 1, a lane detecting unit 2, a traffic zone determining unit 3, a calculating unit 5, a steering actuator 6, a steered wheel 7, and a display unit 8. Further, the automatic steering device according to the embodiment (2) is provided with a work operation switch 4 described later in addition to the configuration of the embodiment (1).
[0015]
Example (1)
The automatic steering switch 1 is a dedicated switch for the driver to instruct the start and release of the automatic steering control by ON / OFF of the switch.
The lane detecting unit 2 outputs information on the relative position of the lane detected based on the own vehicle, and is configured by a combination of a camera and an image processing device, a combination of a lane marker sensor and a signal processing device, and the like. What is known may be used.
[0016]
The traffic zone determination unit 3 determines whether or not the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is the first traffic lane (first traffic zone) counted from the left. A well-known structure may be used.
Usually, the lane markings outside the left and right lanes are solid lines, and the lane markings between the lanes are dashed lines, so the left lane marking of the first lane is a solid line, and the right lane. The dividing line is a solid line (in the case of one lane on one side) or a broken line (in the case of multiple lanes on one side). Therefore, except for special cases, if the left lane dividing line is a solid line, it can be determined that the lane is the first lane.
[0017]
In the present embodiment, for the sake of explanation, the lane judging unit 3 is shown as a component different from the lane detecting unit 2, but both are used. For example, the left lane dividing line detected by the lane detecting unit 2 is When it is a solid line, it can be determined that the vehicle is traveling in the first lane.
[0018]
The arithmetic unit 5 reads the automatic steering switch signal from the automatic steering switch 1, the information on the relative position of the lane detected based on the own vehicle from the lane detecting unit 2, and the lane determination signal from the lane determination unit 3. An input unit 51, a CPU 52 that performs calculation and determination regarding automatic steering control using an output signal of the input unit 51, a RAM 53 used by the CPU 52 for calculation and the like, a ROM 54 that stores a control program and control parameters, An output unit 55 that drives the steering actuator 6 in accordance with the output data obtained by the CPU 52 and outputs a signal to turn on the display of the display unit 8 when the start of the automatic steering control is suspended, and a vehicle power supply to these units. And a power supply unit 56 for supplying necessary power.
[0019]
As the steering actuator 6, a known device that automatically operates the steered wheels 7 of the vehicle based on the output from the output unit 55 may be used.
Further, the display unit 8 displays that the start of the automatic steering control is suspended based on a signal from the output unit 55.
[0020]
FIG. 2 shows a flow of a control program stored in the ROM 54 in the arithmetic unit 5 shown in FIG. 1 in the case of the embodiment (1). The operation of the example (1) will be described. Note that the flowchart of FIG. 2 is started at predetermined time intervals, and describes only a part related to control of the control device, but omits initial processing when hardware such as a CPU is activated.
[0021]
First, the CPU 52 inputs an automatic steering switch signal from the automatic steering switch 1 via the input unit 51, information on the relative position of the lane detected based on the own vehicle from the lane detecting unit 2, and traffic from the lane judging unit 3. The band determination signal is read (step S1).
Next, the CPU 52 checks ON / OFF of the automatic steering switch 1 based on the automatic steering switch signal read in step S1 (S2). When the automatic steering switch 1 is OFF, the automatic steering control is not performed, so that the display of the display unit 8 is turned OFF (S3), and the steering actuator 6 is turned off (S4), and the process is terminated.
[0022]
When the automatic steering switch 1 is ON in step S2, the CPU 52 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling in the first lane based on the lane determination signal read from the lane determination unit 3 in step S1 ( In S5), when the vehicle is not traveling in the first lane, the display on the display unit 8 is turned ON (S6). Thereby, the display unit 8 indicates to the driver that the start of the automatic steering control is suspended.
[0023]
If the vehicle is traveling in the first lane in step S5, the display on the display unit 8 is turned off (step S7), and it is determined whether a predetermined release condition (for example, a brake operation by the driver) is satisfied. Confirm (step S8).
If the release condition is not satisfied, the lane width center position is calculated based on the information from the lane detection unit 2 read in step S1 (S9). If the release condition is satisfied, the steering actuator is turned off. No. 6 is regarded as no steering control (S4), and the process is terminated.
[0024]
It should be noted that the lane information from the lane detector 2 used in step S9 is information on the relative position of the lane detected with reference to the center line of the vehicle in the left-right direction. And, in the case of marker line detection, the position information of the marker line).
[0025]
Therefore, when the lane detecting section 2 detects the lane marking, the center of the left lane and the right lane is set as the lane width center position, and when the marker row is detected, the marker row position is left as it is. It is usually the position.
After calculating the lane width center position in step S9, the CPU 52 calculates a target lane position from the calculated lane width center position (step S10). In this case, the lane width center position obtained in step S9 may be set so as to be slightly offset in the left-right direction without being set as the target lane position.
[0026]
Since the position in the target lane obtained in step S10 is based on the center line of the host vehicle in the left-right direction, the position is as follows.
(A) Target lane position = 0: The target lane position is on the center line of the vehicle in the left-right direction.
(B) Target lane position <0: The target lane position is on the left side of the center line of the vehicle in the left-right direction.
[0027]
(C) Target lane position> 0: The target lane position is on the right side of the center line of the vehicle in the left-right direction.
It is determined whether the position in the target lane thus determined corresponds to any of the above cases (step S11).
[0028]
That is, when the target lane position = 0 (a), since the target lane position exists on the center line of the vehicle in the left-right direction, control is performed in step S12 so that the steering actuator 6 is kept neutral.
If the target lane position <0 (b), the target lane position is on the left side of the center line of the host vehicle in the left-right direction. Therefore, in step S13, the steering actuator 6 is left-turned.
[0029]
Further, when the target lane position is greater than 0 (c), the target lane position is on the right side of the center line of the host vehicle in the left-right direction.
As described above, the flowchart of FIG. 6 is started at predetermined time intervals, and while the vehicle power is supplied to the arithmetic unit 5 via the power supply unit 56 shown in FIG. The process is started even when 1 is in the OFF state. That is, while the automatic steering switch 1 is OFF, the processing of steps S1 to S4 is repeated.
[0030]
In this way, even if the driver turns on the automatic steering switch 1 and attempts to start the automatic steering control, if the driver is not traveling in the first lane, the automatic steering control is not started and the display unit 8 displays It indicates that the start of the automatic steering control is on hold.
Example (2)
FIG. 3 shows a flow of a control program stored in the ROM 54 in the arithmetic unit 5 shown in FIG. 1 in the case of the embodiment (2). The operation (2) will be described.
[0031]
In this embodiment (2), a work operation switch 4 is provided as shown in FIG. 1 in addition to the configuration of the above embodiment (1). The work operation switch 4 is an operation switch for operating work equipment such as road surface cleaning, snow melting agent spraying, and water sprinkling, and a known switch may be used.
[0032]
In the flow shown in FIG. 3, the work operation switch signal from the work operation switch 4 is added to the information read by the CPU 52 in step S1, and ON / OFF of the work operation switch is switched between steps S2 and S5. It is the same as FIG. 2 except that a step S15 for checking is added.
[0033]
That is, in step S15, based on the work operation switch signal read in step S1, the process proceeds to step S7 when the work operation switch is ON and to step S5 when the work operation switch is OFF.
Therefore, in the flow of the embodiment (2) shown in FIG. 3, unlike the flow of the embodiment (1) shown in FIG. 2, even if the automatic steering switch is ON in step S2, the operation operation is performed in step S15. If the switch is ON, the automatic steering control is started unless the release condition is satisfied in step 8.
[0034]
The other processes are the same as those in the flow charts of FIGS.
As described above, in the embodiment (2), when the operation switch is ON in step S15, the automatic steering control can be started even when the vehicle is not traveling in the first lane.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the automatic steering device of the present invention, when the automatic steering switch for activating the automatic steering control is turned on, the calculation unit determines that the own vehicle determined by the traffic zone determination unit is running. The automatic steering control is started only when the lane is a predetermined lane, and the position in the target lane is determined based on the lane information detected by the lane detector, and when the lane is not the predetermined lane, Suspends the start of the automatic steering control, the steering actuator performs the steering control based on the position in the target lane determined by the calculation unit, and the display unit indicates that the start of the automatic steering control is suspended. Since the display is configured to be displayed, it becomes possible to encourage the driver of the large truck and the trailer to comply with the law.
[0036]
Further, when a work operation switch for operating the work equipment is turned on and the work equipment is in operation, when the automatic steering switch is turned on, the traffic lane is in the predetermined traffic lane. If the arithmetic unit is configured to start the automatic steering control and determine the position in the target lane based on the lane information, a road maintenance vehicle such as a road cleaning vehicle, a snow-melting agent spraying vehicle, a watering vehicle, etc. In this case, it is possible to travel by automatic steering control in areas other than the predetermined traffic zone in order to perform the work.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing embodiments (1) and (2) of an automatic steering device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control program used in an embodiment (1) of the automatic steering device according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control program used in an embodiment (2) of the automatic steering device according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic steering switch 2 Lane detection part 3 Passage zone determination part 4 Operation switch 5 Operation part 6 Steering actuator 7 Steering wheel 8 Display part In a figure, the same code | symbol shows the same or equivalent part.

Claims (3)

An automatic steering switch for activating automatic steering control;
A lane detector,
A traffic zone determination unit that determines a traffic zone in which the vehicle is traveling;
When the automatic steering switch is turned on, the automatic steering control is started only when the lane determined by the lane determination unit is a predetermined lane, and a target is set based on lane information detected by the lane detector. A computing unit that determines a position in the lane, and suspends the start of the automatic steering control when the lane is not the predetermined lane;
A steering actuator that performs steering control based on the position in the target lane determined by the calculation unit;
A display unit that indicates that the start of the automatic steering control is pending,
An automatic steering device comprising: In claim 1,
It further comprises a work operation switch for operating the work equipment,
When the work equipment is in operation by turning on the work operation switch, even if the traffic lane is not the predetermined traffic lane when the automatic steering switch is turned on, the arithmetic unit is operated. An automatic steering apparatus which starts the automatic steering control and determines the position in the target lane based on the lane information. In claim 1 or 2,
The automatic steering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined traffic zone is a first traffic zone having a left lane dividing line when traveling left.

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