JP2005171904A - Automobile operation assisting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize safe, smooth and good merging and lane change in an automobile operation assist device assisting driver operation in merging to a main lane of a road and lane change. <P>SOLUTION: This device includes cameras 11-14 observing a first lane on which own vehicle travels and a second lane on which own vehicle does not travel, a transfer possibility determination device 1 determining possibility of own vehicle's transferring to the second lane based on output of the cameras 11-14, a vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 changing output shaft torque in relation to accelerator opening of own vehicle 100 based on determination of the transfer possibility determination device 1, and an accelerator opening sensor 3. Rotation speed of an engine 5 or gear ratio of a transmission 6 is controlled by the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 based on transfer possibility determination by the transfer possibility determination device 1 to increase output shaft torque in relation to accelerator opening. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle by a driver when a road is joined to a main line or a lane is changed.

Conventionally, an automobile driving support device has been proposed that supports safe and smooth vehicle behavior when a driver accelerates his / her own vehicle, for example, joins the main road of an expressway or changes lanes while driving on an expressway. Has been. Such an automobile driving support device is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.
In the prior art including the device described in Patent Document 1 below, there is a system that presents the timing of merging by a warning sound by a warning device or a display by a display device when the host vehicle is about to join the main line. Mainstream.

JP 2001-134900 A

However, some drivers who are not accustomed to driving operation such as beginner drivers cannot grasp the acceleration acceleration, that is, the relationship between the accelerator opening and the vehicle behavior. For this reason, for example, in a scene where the driver wants to join the main road of an expressway, even if such a presentation of the joining timing is received, such a driver may hesitate to step on the accelerator and may not be able to step in sufficiently. . As a result, it is often impossible to smoothly join the main line due to insufficient acceleration. The same is true for lane changes.
The present invention pays attention to such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide smooth and good vehicle behavior at the time of merging and lane change.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the vehicle driving support device according to the present invention includes a lane observation unit that observes a first lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and a second lane in which the host vehicle is not traveling, On the basis of this, it is configured to include a transition possibility determination unit that determines a transition possibility to the second lane and a vehicle operation characteristic control unit that changes the speed of the host vehicle based on the determination.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize safe, smooth, and favorable merging and lane change operations.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof is omitted.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of an automobile driving support apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, an automobile driving support device to which the present invention is applied includes a transition possibility determination device 1, a vehicle operation characteristic control device 2, an accelerator opening sensor 3, an engine / transmission control device 4, an engine 5, and a gear change. The machine 6, the alarm device 7, and the display device 8 are the main components.
Among them, the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 for driving support is a main device to which the present invention is applied, and the transition possibility determination device 1, the accelerator opening sensor 3, the engine / transmission control device 4, the engine 5, the transmission 6, the alarm device 7, and the display device 8 are configured by a device to which a conventionally known technique is applied.
Furthermore, the transition possibility determination apparatus 1 is premised on the existence of an apparatus that can observe the appropriate transition timing in the process of performing merging or lane change. This device may be a determination device that depends on infrastructure (infrastructure) such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or a device that determines transition timing based on an on-vehicle electronic camera. There is no essential difference in the present invention. In the following description, an embodiment using an apparatus that determines transition timing based on a captured image of a vehicle-mounted camera will be described. Further, “transition” in the transition possibility determination device 1 means merging from a branch line of a road to a main line or a lane change on the road. In the following, the explanation will be made mainly for the junction to the main road of the expressway.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the automobile driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The vehicle on which the vehicle driving support device of the first embodiment is mounted has four electronic cameras, that is, the front camera 11, the right rear side camera 12, the left rear side camera 13, and the rear side camera. A camera 14 is installed.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a photographing range of the cameras 11 to 14 in FIG.
Reference numeral 100 denotes the host vehicle, 101 denotes another vehicle to be detected, 102 denotes a first lane in which the host vehicle 100 travels, 103 denotes a second lane in which the host vehicle 100 does not travel, 110 denotes a shooting range of the front camera 11, Reference numeral 120 denotes a shooting range of the right rear side camera 12, 130 denotes a shooting range of the left rear side camera 13, and 140 denotes a shooting range of the rear camera 14.
The images of the cameras 11 to 14 are input to the migration possibility determination device 1. The transfer possibility determination device 1 has a function of determining the transfer possibility from the image processing of the output images of the cameras 11 to 14 and the positions of the host vehicle 100 and other vehicles 101 around the host vehicle 100 obtained by the image processing. It is constituted by. In the image processing, the front, right rear side, left rear side, and rear are observed from each camera 11 to 14, and the presence of the other vehicle 101 is detected based on the vehicle shadow existing in the image. Then, the position and speed of the other vehicle 101, the relative speed with respect to the host vehicle 100, the approximate distance to the host vehicle 100, and the like are calculated. This method is a general image processing and will not be described in detail. Further, from the vehicle position obtained by the image processing, it is possible to shift whether or not the host vehicle 100 can be accelerated and shifted to the second lane 103 based on the relationship between the other vehicle 101 that is the rear side vehicle and the host vehicle 100. Judging sex.
4 and 5 are flowcharts for explaining processing in the vehicle driving support apparatus of the first embodiment.
As a determination result of the transfer possibility determination device 1, a transfer enable signal is output. The flag indicating that transfer is possible is input to the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2. Here, as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5, the vehicle operation characteristics are controlled. This part is the center of the present invention, and the operation will be described below in accordance with the flow of FIGS.
First, as described above, the migration possibility is determined based on the image information from the four cameras 11 to 14 in FIG. 2 (401 in FIG. 4). That is, it is determined whether or not migration is possible (402). Note that the present invention is not used when there is no possibility of migration. On the other hand, when it is determined that the shift is possible, the speed and acceleration of the host vehicle 100 at that time are measured by a speed / acceleration detecting unit (not shown) (403). Next, the accelerator opening degree of the host vehicle 100 is detected by the accelerator opening degree sensor 3 (404). By detecting the accelerator opening, it is determined whether or not the accelerator is depressed (405). If the accelerator is not depressed, the routine returns between (404) and (405) (406).
When the accelerator is depressed, the target output shaft torque, the engine generated torque, and the generated torque due to the shift are calculated from the speed and acceleration of the own vehicle 100 measured in (403) and the accelerator opening detected in (404). Calculated by the operation characteristic control device 2. That is, a target output shaft torque setting value for the accelerator opening is calculated, and based on the target output shaft torque setting value, a target engine rotation and a transmission target gear ratio are set (407). After that, these set values, that is, the target output shaft torque command which is a signal of the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 is output to the engine / transmission control device 4 to increase the accelerator opening gain, that is, the output shaft for the accelerator opening. Torque is increased (408). Thereafter, the process returns to the start (409).

It is assumed that the output shaft torque K is necessary for the vehicle to obtain a certain acceleration. This torque can be equivalently accelerated by increasing the engine speed without changing the transmission gear ratio. Further, if the control is performed so that the gear ratio is low (small), the engine speed slightly increases, but an acceleration feeling can be obtained. In the first embodiment, when the acceleration is obtained by increasing the engine speed, the driver is surprised by the engine sound because the accelerator gain (equivalent output shaft torque with respect to the accelerator opening) is increased. It happens that the accelerator is returned. On the other hand, when accelerating without a big engine sound change, the driver tells that the gain is changing, and the driver does not be surprised and steps on the accelerator with the gain increased equivalently. it can.
Note that “lowering the gear ratio” means “decreasing the gear ratio”, and in the case of a stepped transmission, a low gear (eg, gear ratio 1.7) is changed to a top gear (eg, gear ratio 0.7). ) Indicates replacement. On the other hand, “increasing the gear ratio” means “increasing the gear ratio”. In the case of a stepped transmission, the top gear (for example, gear ratio 0.7) is changed to the low gear (for example, gear ratio 1.7). ) Indicates replacement.

As described above, the vehicle driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment does not present only the timing of merging or changing lanes, but controls vehicle operation characteristics at the time of merging or changing lanes. That is, based on the outputs of the cameras 11 to 14 that observe the first lane 102 in which the host vehicle 100 travels and the second lane 103 in which the host vehicle 100 does not travel, and the outputs of the cameras 11 to 14, And a vehicle operation characteristic control apparatus 2 that controls the vehicle operation characteristics of the host vehicle 100 based on the determination of the transfer possibility determination means 1. The cameras 11 to 14 correspond to lane observation means in the claims, the transfer possibility determination device 1 corresponds to transfer possibility determination means, and the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 corresponds to vehicle operation characteristic control means. With such a configuration, the driver's own driving operation is mainly used, and the insufficient portion of the driver's acceleration operation is compensated by equivalently improving the driving operation gain, resulting in safe, smooth, good merging and lanes. A change operation can be realized. In particular, merging or changing lanes due to incomplete acceleration can disrupt traffic flow on the main line, for example, preventing the entire highway traffic flow from becoming unsafe.
Further, the accelerator opening sensor 3 for detecting the accelerator opening is provided, and when the shift possibility determination device 1 determines that the host vehicle 100 can accelerate and shift to the second lane 103, the determination is made. Based on the above, the vehicle operating characteristic control device 2 increases the output shaft torque with respect to the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening sensor 3. The accelerator opening sensor 3 corresponds to the accelerator opening detecting means in the claims. With such a configuration, it is possible to realize safe and smooth and good merging and lane changing operations as described above.
Further, when the shift possibility determination device 1 determines that the host vehicle 100 can shift to the second lane 103, the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 calculates the target output shaft torque setting value for the accelerator opening. Then, based on the target output shaft torque setting value, the target engine speed or the target gear ratio of the transmission is set. Either one or both of the target engine speed and the target gear ratio of the transmission may be set. With such a configuration, it is possible to realize safe and smooth and good merging and lane changing operations as described above.
Further, in this case, the vehicle operating characteristic control device 2 mainly controls the transmission ratio of the transmission 6 via the engine / transmission control device 4. That is, the vehicle driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment is based on the determination of the transition possibility by the transition possibility determination apparatus 1 and outputs, for example, equivalently to the accelerator opening in synchronization with the merging timing signal. The relationship (generation gain) of the shaft torque is changed so that better acceleration can be obtained with respect to a predetermined accelerator depression amount. However, if the output shaft torque generation gain with respect to the accelerator opening is simply improved, as described above, the driver will increase equivalently to avoid surprises due to unexpected vehicle behavior and sudden changes in engine sound. By adopting a driving force control method that realizes the output shaft torque generation gain relative to the accelerator opening to be achieved not by increasing the output shaft torque by increasing the engine speed but mainly by increasing the output shaft torque by lowering the gear ratio The above problem can be solved.
Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the display device 8 and the sound of the alarm device 7 inform that the driving operation gain has been changed, that is, the output shaft torque with respect to the accelerator opening has been increased. Also good. In this case, you may alert | report by any one of the display apparatus 8 and the warning device 7. FIG. The display device 8 and the alarm device 7 correspond to display means and alarm means in the claims. With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid the driver from being surprised by a sudden change in the engine sound by the operation by the automobile driving support device of the present invention as described above.
As described above, if it is determined that the vehicle can be shifted at the time of merging or lane change, the driving operation gain is increased equivalently. At this time, the transmission 6 is increased. This avoids the driver from being embarrassed by sudden changes in engine noise, and by slowly increasing the output shaft torque by the transmission 6, the driver does not naturally notice that the accelerator gain has changed as much as possible. It is possible to provide driving assistance when joining or changing lanes by level.

Embodiment 2
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the vehicle driving support apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
The basic configuration of the second embodiment is not significantly different from that of the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that a timer 9 is connected between the engine / transmission control device 4 and the engine 5. That is, when the transition possibility determination device 1 determines that the host vehicle 100 can transition to the second lane 103, a signal is used to increase the engine speed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the accelerator operation by the driver. A timer 9 which is a delay means is provided. The driver's accelerator operation is detected by an accelerator opening sensor 3.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating temporal changes in the accelerator depression amount, the engine speed, and the transmission gear ratio.
In the second embodiment, when the accelerator opening sensor 3 detects that the accelerator is depressed, the timer 9 starts operating from that point. Accordingly, it is possible to perform target control for increasing the engine speed with a predetermined time delay from the time when the accelerator as shown in FIG. 7 is depressed. In the characteristic of generating acceleration by lowering the gear ratio of the transmission 6, the acceleration amount is limited unless the engine speed is changed greatly. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, immediately after the accelerator is depressed, the gear ratio is reduced and the vehicle is accelerated as in the first embodiment. However, as in the second embodiment, after a predetermined time has elapsed since the accelerator was depressed, that is, when the driver is not surprised by the difference in gain, the engine speed is increased to provide a greater acceleration force. can do.

8 and 9 are flowcharts for explaining processing in the vehicle driving support apparatus of the second embodiment.
Steps (801) to (808) of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are exactly the same as steps (401) to (408) of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. Description is omitted.
After the target output shaft torque command is output to the engine / transmission control device 4 (808), the timer 9 operates from the time when the accelerator is depressed as described above, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. (809). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns between (808) and (809) (811).
When the predetermined time has elapsed, the target output shaft torque command is output to the engine / transmission control device 4 to increase the output shaft torque relative to the accelerator opening (810). Thereafter, the process returns to the start (811).

Embodiment 3
FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the automobile driving support apparatus according to the third embodiment, and FIGS.
The basic configuration of the third embodiment is not significantly different from that of the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that an accelerator dispersion calculating device 10 is connected between the accelerator opening sensor 3 and the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2.
As described above, in the second embodiment, for example, the position of the other vehicle 101 on the second lane 103 (see FIG. 3), which is a merge lane, and the own vehicle 100 on the first lane 102 to be merged from now on. From the relationship with the position, it is determined by the transition possibility determination device 1 that it can be accelerated and merged, and the accelerator opening gain is equivalently increased. Even if the amount of depression of the accelerator is not sufficient, the driver can correct the operation with the increased gain and obtain an appropriate acceleration. In this process, there may be a scene where the driver of the other vehicle 101, which is a merged vehicle, intentionally accelerates (does not merge with the vehicle that is about to merge from the left), making it difficult to merge.
In that case, the determination at the time when it is determined that the merging is possible is obstructed by the intentional acceleration of the driver of the other vehicle 101 that is the merging vehicle, and the merging becomes difficult. In this case, the driver of the host vehicle 100, which is a merger vehicle, requests a deceleration function such as loosening the accelerator, or fully closing the accelerator (releasing the foot from the accelerator) and braking (applying a brake). . At this time, in order to make the vehicle behavior easier to operate, in the third embodiment, the gear ratio of the transmission 6 is further moved in the higher direction in synchronization with the driver operation with the accelerator returned, and the engine braking force is increased. Achieve a strengthened state. As a result, the driver can safely control the behavior of the vehicle even when the initial transition possibility determination such as the intentional acceleration of the driver of the other vehicle 101 that is the merged vehicle as described above is different. .
As described above, in the third embodiment, the transition possibility determination device 1 determines that the host vehicle 100 can shift to the second lane 103, and the accelerator opening degree sensor 3 returns the accelerator opening amount rapidly. When it is detected that the transmission has been performed, the vehicle operating characteristic control device 2 increases the set gear ratio of the transmission 6. Instead of increasing the transmission ratio of the transmission 6, it may be maintained for a predetermined time.

Further, in the third embodiment, the accelerator dispersion calculating device 10 which is a means for calculating the standard deviation of the accelerator operation within a predetermined time is provided, and the output shaft torque with respect to the accelerator opening is increased by the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2. Thereafter, if the calculated value of the standard deviation is smaller than a predetermined value, the output shaft torque is decreased. This is equivalent to returning after changing the accelerator opening gain. The standard deviation of the accelerator operation within a predetermined time is calculated, and if it is smaller than a predetermined value determined in advance, the normal accelerator gain is restored. Here, looking at the standard deviation is to estimate that the vehicle entered the main line such as an expressway with the standard deviation within a predetermined time of the accelerator opening. If it enters the main line, the use range of acceleration / deceleration by the accelerator is different from that at the time of merging. Therefore, this feature is judged by a feature amount called standard deviation, and gradually returns from a high gain state to a normal gain.
In the third embodiment, one or both of the alarm device 7 and the display device 8 notify that the output shaft torque with respect to the accelerator opening is increased. Telling the driver that the gain is rising equivalently is to avoid mode confusion, and for that purpose, when changing the gain, it indicates that it is in that mode. Alternatively, a warning is given.

Hereinafter, the processing flow in the automobile driving assistance apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
Steps (1101) to (1108) of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are exactly the same as steps (401) to (408) of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. Description is omitted.
After the target output shaft torque command is output to the engine / transmission control device 4 (1108), the alarm device 7 and the display device 8 inform the driver that the gain is equivalently increased (1109).
Next, it is determined whether or not the accelerator opening is suddenly returned by the accelerator opening sensor 3 (1110). When it is detected that the accelerator opening is suddenly returned, the vehicle operation characteristic control device 2 changes the set target gear ratio of the transmission 6 to a higher one to strengthen the engine brake (1111). If the accelerator opening is not rapidly returned, the process proceeds to (1112) in FIG.
Next, the accelerator variance calculation device 10 calculates the standard deviation of the accelerator operation within a predetermined time, that is, the variance of the accelerator opening (1112). Then, it is determined whether or not the standard deviation, that is, the variance of the accelerator opening is smaller than a predetermined value (1113). If it is larger, it returns between (1112) and (1113) (1116). If it is smaller, it is presumed that the vehicle has entered the main line such as an expressway, and a target output shaft torque command is issued to restore the normal accelerator gain from a high gain state (1114). And the alerting | reporting of the raise of the gain by the alarm apparatus 7 and the display apparatus 8 is stopped (1115). Thereafter, the process returns to the start (1116).
The embodiment described above is described in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not described in order to limit the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment includes all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram explaining the schematic structure of the motor vehicle driving assistance device of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the motor vehicle driving assistance device of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the imaging | photography range and road of 4 cameras. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the motor vehicle driving assistance device of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the time change of the depression amount of an accelerator, an engine speed, and the transmission gear ratio. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the motor vehicle driving assistance device of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the process of Embodiment 3 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Transition possibility judgment apparatus 2 ... Vehicle operation characteristic control apparatus 3 ... Accelerator opening degree sensor 4 ... Engine / transmission control apparatus 5 ... Engine 6 ... Transmission 7 ... Alarm apparatus 8 ... Display apparatus 9 ... Timer 10 ... Accelerator dispersion | distribution Calculation device 11, 12, 13, 14 ... camera 100 ... own vehicle 101 ... other vehicle 102 ... first lane 103 ... second lane 110 ... shooting range of front camera 120 ... shooting range of right rear side camera 130: Left rear side camera shooting range 140 ... Back camera shooting range

Claims (8)

Lane observation means for observing a first lane in which the host vehicle travels and a second lane in which the host vehicle does not travel;
Based on the output of the lane observation means, a transition possibility judgment means for judging the possibility of transition of the host vehicle to the second lane;
A vehicle driving support device comprising vehicle operation characteristic control means for controlling vehicle operation characteristics of the host vehicle based on the determination by the transition possibility determination means. Accelerator opening detection means for detecting the accelerator opening,
When it is determined by the transition possibility determination means that the host vehicle can transition to the second lane,
2. The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle operating characteristic control means increases an output shaft torque with respect to the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means. When it is determined by the transition possibility determination means that the host vehicle can transition to the second lane,
The vehicle operation characteristic control means sets a target output shaft torque for the accelerator opening,
3. The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of a target engine speed and a target speed ratio of the transmission is set based on the target output shaft torque. When it is determined by the transition possibility determination means that the host vehicle can transition to the second lane,
4. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 3, wherein the transmission ratio of the transmission is controlled by the vehicle operation characteristic control means. When it is determined by the transition possibility determination means that the host vehicle can transition to the second lane,
4. The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a signal delay means for increasing the engine speed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the accelerator operation. The transition possibility determination means determines that the host vehicle can transition to the second lane,
When it is detected by the accelerator opening detection means that the accelerator opening is suddenly returned,
4. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle operating characteristic control means maintains or increases the set transmission gear ratio for a predetermined time. A means for calculating the standard deviation of the accelerator operation within a predetermined time;
After increasing the output shaft torque for the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means by the vehicle operation characteristic control means,
3. The vehicle driving support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein if the calculated value of the standard deviation is smaller than a predetermined value, the output shaft torque is reduced.     2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of display means and warning means for notifying that the output shaft torque for the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening detecting means is increased by the vehicle operation characteristic control means. The automobile driving assistance device according to any one of Items 7 to 7.

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