JP2006098221A - Preceding vehicle detector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a preceding vehicle detector precluding a road face from being erroneously recognized as a preceding vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: This preceding vehicle detector receives a reflected wave of an irradiation wave emitted from own vehicle to detect the presence of the preceding vehicle. The preceding vehicle detector is provided with: a travel condition detecting means for detecting a traveling condition with a road face irradiated with the irradiation wave; and a determination means for determining whether an object reflecting the irradiation wave is the preceding vehicle or the road face, on the basis of a waveform of the reflected wave, when the presence of traveling condition with the road face irradiated with the irradiation wave is detected by the travel condition detecting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a preceding vehicle detection device that detects a preceding vehicle from a reflected wave of an irradiation wave emitted from the host vehicle.

As this type of technology, a radar device is disclosed that irradiates microwaves or laser light, and calculates the relative speed and inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle from the intensity of the reflected wave (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
Japanese Patent No. 3125496

  However, in the prior art described in Patent Document 1, for example, when the host vehicle suddenly decelerates while following the preceding vehicle, the front of the host vehicle is lowered by the deceleration G (pitching occurs). The irradiated wave is also irradiated downward and is recognized as an object existing in front of the host vehicle by the reflected wave from the road surface behind the preceding vehicle. Furthermore, even if the preceding vehicle that was following before the body of the host vehicle returned to the horizontal state is accelerated and goes out of the detection range, the preceding vehicle that travels on the road surface at the same speed as the host vehicle due to the reflected wave from the road surface There was a problem that it might be misrecognized.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a preceding vehicle detection device that does not erroneously recognize a road surface as a preceding vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, in a preceding vehicle detection device that detects the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle by receiving a reflected wave of an irradiation wave irradiated from the host vehicle, a traveling state in which the irradiation wave is irradiated on the road surface is detected. When the traveling state detecting means and the traveling state detecting means detect the traveling state where the irradiation wave is irradiated on the road surface, whether the object that reflected the irradiation wave based on the reflected wave waveform is the preceding vehicle or the road surface And determining means for determining.

  In the present invention, the preceding vehicle detection device can reduce erroneously recognizing a reflected wave from the road surface as a reflected wave from the preceding vehicle during following the preceding vehicle.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the preceding vehicle detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration will be described.

  FIG. 1 is an overall system diagram of a vehicle equipped with a travel control device including a control device 12, a preceding vehicle detection device 13, and an image processing unit 17 according to the first embodiment.

  The vehicle equipped with the travel control device is driven using the engine 1, the automatic transmission 2 that changes the engine output according to the travel state, the fuel injection control by the fuel injection control device 5, and the shift control by the transmission control device 6. Force control (according to engine brake control in some cases), braking force control using the braking fluid pressure control device 8, a control device 12 for controlling the following inter-vehicle distance, and an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle for performing the inter-vehicle distance control It includes a preceding vehicle detection device 13 that detects an object, a distance from the preceding vehicle, and a relative speed, and an image processing unit 17 that detects the inclination of the host vehicle with respect to the road ahead.

  The engine 1 is composed of a gasoline engine, a diesel engine, or the like, and the output from the engine 1 is input to the automatic transmission 2. The engine 1 is not particularly limited as long as it generates a driving force such as an electric motor regardless of the internal combustion engine.

  The automatic transmission 2 shifts between the input and output by switching the electromagnetic solenoid valve in the transmission control device 6 in accordance with the shift signal from the control device 12 to engage and release the clutch and brake, thereby automatically changing the speed. The driving force output from the machine 2 is transmitted to the drive wheels 4a and 4b via the speed reducer 3.

  The brake fluid pressure control device 8 adjusts the brake fluid pressure from the master cylinder 11 operated by the brake pedal 10 by the control signal from the control device 12, and supplies the pressure to the wheel cylinders 7a to 7d of the respective wheels.

  The control device 12 receives detection signals from various detection devices such as the brake fluid pressure sensor 9, the preceding vehicle detection device 13, the wheel speed sensor 14, the accelerator opening sensor 15, and the manual switch 16, and based on these detection signals. The calculation is performed and a control signal is output to the fuel injection control device 5, the transmission control device 6, the brake fluid pressure control device 8, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the inter-vehicle distance control device 100 incorporated in the control device 12 includes an inter-vehicle control unit 101 that calculates and determines the target vehicle speed from the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle according to the host vehicle speed. A vehicle speed command value selection unit 102 that selects one of the vehicle speed and the target traveling speed determined by the inter-vehicle distance control unit 101 as a speed command value, and controls the driving force of the engine or the like and the braking force of the brake or the like by the speed command value. A vehicle speed control unit 103.

  The manual switch 16 is constituted by, for example, a button switch, and a driver can set a desired vehicle speed (upper limit vehicle speed in follow-up traveling) and an inter-vehicle time by operating the button switch. The set vehicle speed can be input and set every 5 km / h by operating a button switch between 50 km / h and 100 km / h, for example. Further, the set inter-vehicle distance can be set by switching a three-step inter-vehicle distance such as “long”, “medium”, and “short” every time the button switch is pressed. The set vehicle speed and the set inter-vehicle distance set by the manual switch 16 are input to the inter-vehicle control unit 101, the vehicle speed command value selection unit 102, and the vehicle speed control unit 103.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the preceding vehicle detection device 13 is provided at the front of the vehicle 20, determines whether there is a preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle from the reflected wave, and determines the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The distance and relative speed are obtained by calculation processing, and the vehicle presence / absence determination information, the inter-vehicle distance information, and the relative speed information generated here are output to the inter-vehicle control unit 101 and the vehicle speed control unit 103. As shown in FIG. 4, the preceding vehicle detection device 13 includes a laser light emitting element 203 that emits a laser as an irradiation wave in response to a command from the CPU 201, a laser light emitting circuit 202 that controls the laser light emitting element 203, and a laser for detecting the preceding vehicle. A projection window 205 for irradiating the outside of the apparatus 13, a reflection mirror 204 for scanning the irradiation wave, a stepping motor 207 for rotating the reflection mirror 204 up and down, left and right, and a motor for driving the stepping motor 207 It has a drive circuit 206, a light receiving window 208 for receiving the reflected wave, a laser light receiving element 209 for detecting the reflected wave, and a received light signal amplifying circuit 210 for amplifying a signal from the laser light receiving element 209.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing unit 17 is attached to the inside of the vehicle 20 so that a road surface image in front of the vehicle can be acquired from the center of the upper portion of the windshield. In order to acquire a road surface image as shown in FIG. Image pickup means (hereinafter referred to as a camera) 301 such as a CCD or CMOS image sensor, an image memory 302 for storing an image acquired by the camera 301, and a pitching amount of the host vehicle from an image acquired by the camera 301 by image processing And the processor 303 inputs the measured pitching amount to the preceding vehicle detection device 13.

  The wheel speed sensor 14 detects the wheel speed Vwj. The vehicle speed of the host vehicle is calculated from the wheel speed Vwj, and this vehicle speed information is output to the inter-vehicle distance controller 101 and the vehicle speed controller 103.

  The inter-vehicle distance control unit 101 receives inter-vehicle distance information, relative speed information, set vehicle speed information, set inter-vehicle time information, and the like, sets an inter-vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed from these information, and calculates a target vehicle speed.

  The vehicle speed command value selection unit 102 compares the set vehicle speed with the target vehicle speed, and outputs the smaller vehicle speed to the vehicle speed control unit 103 as a vehicle speed command value.

  The vehicle speed control unit 103 receives the set vehicle speed information, the set inter-vehicle time information, the preceding vehicle inter-vehicle distance information, the relative speed information, the vehicle speed information, and the like, and fuel-injects the engine torque command value Teng determined according to the inter-vehicle distance control. The brake torque command value Tbk determined in accordance with the inter-vehicle distance control is output to the control device 5 and to the brake fluid pressure control device 8, respectively.

  The fuel injection control device 5 controls the fuel injection amount FI according to the engine torque command value Teng input from the vehicle speed control unit 103.

  The brake fluid pressure control device 8 generates a brake fluid pressure Pbk that applies a braking force to the wheels using, for example, an ABS actuator in accordance with the brake torque command value Tbk input from the vehicle speed control unit 103.

  The engine 1 and the wheel cylinders 7a to 7d make the vehicle run at a constant speed, accelerate or decelerate according to the fuel injection amount FI by the fuel injection control device 5 and the brake fluid pressure Pbk by the brake fluid pressure control device 8. Thus, the vehicle is controlled to have the set inter-vehicle time and the set vehicle speed.

  Next, the operation will be described.

[Leading vehicle detection]
The preceding vehicle detection device 13 emits a laser beam in the direction of the reflection mirror 204 by the laser light emitting element 203 controlled by the CPU 201 via the laser light emitting circuit 202. A lens (not shown) is provided in front of the laser light emitting element 203, and the laser is spread at a predetermined angle. The reflection mirror 204 is driven up and down and left and right by a stepping motor 207 controlled by the CPU 201 via a motor drive circuit 206 and scans the laser emitted from the laser light emitting element 203 within a predetermined angular range of up and down and left and right. The laser is irradiated through a lens provided in the light projection window 205. The above predetermined angle is determined by the design factor of the size of the scanning range of the irradiation wave, the resolution, the performance of the stepping motor 207, the required size of the preceding vehicle detection device 13, and the like. The laser irradiated from the projection window 205 is a laser having a predetermined area as shown in FIG. 6A, but the laser intensity distribution is as shown in FIG. The strength at the center is the strongest, and the strength decreases as the distance from the center increases. The reflected wave from the object irradiated with the irradiation wave is collected by a lens provided in the light receiving window 208 and received by the laser light receiving element 209. A signal from the laser light receiving element 209 is amplified by the received light signal amplification circuit 210 and input to the CPU 201.

  The CPU 201 determines whether the reflected wave received from the received light signal is a reflected wave from the preceding vehicle, a reflected wave from a stationary object, or a reflected wave from the road surface. And the relative speed and the preceding vehicle are calculated and transmitted to the inter-vehicle distance control device 100.

  Whether the received reflected wave is a reflected wave from a preceding vehicle, a reflected wave from a stationary object, or a reflected wave from a road surface is determined by the following method.

  If the relative speed calculated by the CPU 201 is the same as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, it is determined as a stationary object.

Assuming that the road surface is a perfect scattering surface, the reflected wave intensity I of the laser irradiated to the road surface is determined by Lambert's cosine law.
I = Kd × Ii × cosα (1)
It is represented by Here, Kd is the scattering reflectance, Ii is the road surface incident light intensity, and α is the incident angle formed by the road surface normal and the laser. A perfect scattering surface is a surface having the same luminance when viewed from any direction of reflected light.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the angle of the laser incident on the position R1 closest to the vehicle is α1, and the angle of the laser incident on the position R2 farthest is α2, the laser is at a constant angle. Since it spreads and irradiates the road surface, α1 <α2. Therefore, since cos α1> cos α2, if the product Kd × Ii of the road surface scattering reflectance Kd and the road surface incident light intensity Ii is the same at the position R1 and the position R2, the reflected wave intensity I1 and the position R2 at the position R1 The relationship of the magnitude with the reflected wave intensity I2 is I1> I2. The reflected wave reflected at the position R1 reaches the laser light receiving element 209 earlier than the reflected wave reflected at the position R2. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the intensity of the laser incident on the road surface is an intensity distribution in which the intensity at the center is strong and the intensity at the periphery is weak, so the reflection intensity and time of the reflected wave observed in the laser light receiving element 209 are reduced. As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 8, the relationship is a reflected wave waveform with the peak leftward. A solid line in FIG. 8 shows a laser waveform in the laser light emitting element 203. As shown in Equation 1, the reflected wave intensity I is related to the product of the laser incident intensity and cos α, so the reflected intensity is not necessarily maximized at the position where the laser intensity is maximum. Thus, the reflected wave intensity with the peak left is observed.

  The reflected wave reflected by the laser having a height like a preceding vehicle is observed with a strong reflection intensity concentrated in a short time as shown by the dotted line in FIG. The solid line in FIG. 9 indicates the laser waveform in the laser light emitting element 203 as in FIG.

  Since the reflected wave from the preceding vehicle and the reflected wave from the road surface have different waveforms, the preceding vehicle and the road surface can be determined from the similarity of the waveform. The similarity is determined by a ratio between the height Lf of the reflected wave peak intensity Ia from the road surface and the width Lt at the position of the intensity Ib as shown in FIGS. The intensity Ib is a predetermined intensity or a predetermined ratio of the peak intensity Ia. The determination of the similarity may be another method (for example, determination based only on the width Lt), and is not particularly limited to this embodiment.

[Constant speed running]
When the preceding vehicle is not detected by the preceding vehicle detection device 13, the inter-vehicle distance control device 100 of the vehicle has the driving force of the engine 1 and the wheel cylinders 7 a to 7 so as to keep the set vehicle speed set by the driver with the manual switch 16. The braking force by 7d is controlled. For example, if the driver sets the set vehicle speed to 100 km / h using the manual switch 16, the inter-vehicle distance control unit 101 does not output the target vehicle speed because no preceding vehicle has been detected. As a result, the vehicle speed command value selection unit In 102, 100 km / h of the set vehicle speed information input from the manual switch 16 is selected, and 100 km / h is output to the vehicle speed control unit 103 as a vehicle speed command value. Thereafter, the vehicle speed control unit 103 controls the engine 1 via the fuel injection control device 5 while monitoring vehicle speed information and the like so as to maintain the driver's set vehicle speed of 100 km / h.

[Deceleration]
When the preceding vehicle detection device 13 detects a preceding vehicle that is slower than the current vehicle speed of the host vehicle in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the vehicle is decelerated so as to maintain the inter-vehicle time. Accordingly, when a preceding vehicle (for example, 80 km / h) slower than the driver's set vehicle speed (for example, 100 km / h) is detected, the inter-vehicle control unit 101 determines an inter-vehicle distance according to the speed based on the driver's set inter-vehicle time information, The target vehicle speed calculated from the relative speed between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is output to the vehicle speed command value selection unit 102. In the vehicle speed command value selection unit 102, set vehicle speed information (here, 100 km / h) from the manual switch 16 and target vehicle speed information (here, 80 km / h) from the inter-vehicle distance control unit 101 are input. The smaller target vehicle speed is output to the vehicle speed control unit 103 as a vehicle speed command value (80 km / h in this case). The vehicle speed control unit 103 controls the fuel injection control device 5 and the brake fluid pressure control device 8 so as to achieve the set inter-vehicle time based on the input vehicle speed command value, thereby driving the engine 1 and the wheel cylinders 7a to 7d. The braking force by is controlled.

[Following running]
The vehicle is controlled to travel following the preceding vehicle detected by the preceding vehicle detection device 13 while keeping the following time calculated according to the speed based on the set inter-vehicle time set by the driver. The inter-vehicle control unit 101 sets an inter-vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed based on the input vehicle speed information, inter-vehicle distance information, relative vehicle speed information, and set inter-vehicle time information, and calculates a target vehicle speed. The vehicle speed command value selection unit 102 selects a vehicle with a low vehicle speed from the driver's set vehicle speed information and the target vehicle speed from the inter-vehicle control unit 101 and outputs the selected vehicle speed value to the vehicle speed control unit 103 as a command vehicle speed value. The vehicle speed control unit 103 performs acceleration / deceleration control of the host vehicle via the fuel injection control device 5 and the brake fluid pressure control device 8 according to a vehicle speed command value or the like. Note that the vehicle speed at this time is set to the upper limit of the set vehicle speed set by the driver, and when the vehicle speed exceeds the set vehicle speed, the follow-up running is stopped and constant speed running is performed.

[Acceleration running]
When the preceding vehicle in the traveling direction of the host vehicle changes from the traveling lane, for example, by changing the traveling lane, the vehicle is accelerated up to the driver's set vehicle speed. At this time, the vehicle speed command value selection unit 102 inputs the driver's set vehicle speed to the vehicle speed control unit 103 as the vehicle speed command value because the inter-vehicle distance control unit 101 does not set the target vehicle speed. The vehicle speed control unit 103 increases the fuel injection amount by the fuel injection control device 5 and accelerates the host vehicle to the vehicle speed command value.

[Redetermine preceding car]
If there is a possibility of misrecognizing the road surface ahead of the host vehicle as the preceding vehicle during the preceding vehicle following traveling, it is determined whether the detected reflected wave is from the preceding vehicle or from the road surface. When the preceding vehicle is searched and the preceding vehicle is re-detected, follow-up traveling is performed for the detected preceding vehicle, and when the preceding vehicle cannot be detected, constant speed traveling is performed.

  A means for determining a situation where there is a possibility of erroneously recognizing the road surface ahead of the host vehicle as a preceding vehicle will be described. The camera 301 in FIG. 5 acquires an image of the road surface ahead of the host vehicle and stores it in the image memory 302. In the image stored in the image memory 302, the white lines L1 and L2 on the side of the running road surface as shown in FIG. 10 are detected by the white line detection unit 304 of the processor 303, and the upper left corner of the screen is set as the origin as shown in FIG. The X axis is set horizontally and the Y axis is set vertically.

  The vehicle traveling direction estimation unit 305 estimates the direction of the host vehicle and the road curvature with respect to the white line detected by the white line detection unit 304. As shown in FIG. 11, the widths Xa and Xb between the intersection points a1 and a2 of the straight lines La and Lb and the white lines L1 and L2 perpendicular to the Y axis at the positions Y = Ya and Yb and the intersection points b1 and b2 are calculated. Then, a center line L12 connecting the midpoint of the width Xa and the midpoint of the width Xb is set. If the inclination between the center line L12 and the Y-axis is within a certain range, it is determined that the vehicle is running with an inclination with respect to the white line or the road is curved, and the inclination of the white line and the road curvature are determined by image processing. To produce a white line image parallel to the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

  The vehicle behavior estimation unit 306 estimates the pitching amount of the host vehicle with respect to the road surface based on the coordinate information of the white line obtained from the vehicle traveling direction estimation unit 305. If the solid line in FIG. 12 is an image of a white line obtained when no pitching occurs (for example, when the vehicle is stopped), a two-dot chain line indicates that when pitching occurs and the front of the vehicle is lowered (for example, when the vehicle is decelerated). A white line image with the Y-axis negative direction opened is obtained from the white line image indicated by, and when the front of the vehicle moves up (for example, during acceleration), a white line image with the Y-axis negative direction closed is obtained from the white line image indicated by the one-dot chain line. It is done. The processor 303 holds the inclination of the white line with respect to the Y axis when no pitching occurs, and determines that there is a possibility that the road surface may be erroneously recognized as a preceding vehicle when the amount of change in the inclination of the detected white line with respect to the Y axis is large. .

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the preceding vehicle re-detection process. Each step will be described below.

  In step S1, it is determined whether the vehicle is following the preceding vehicle. If the vehicle is following, the process proceeds to step S2.

  In step S2, it is determined whether or not the change in pitching amount (difference from the previously detected value) is larger than a predetermined value. If YES, the process proceeds to step S3. If NO, the process proceeds to step S4. Continue running. This step S2 corresponds to the traveling state detecting means of the present invention.

  In step S3, it is determined from the detected reflected wave waveform whether the reflected wave is a reflected wave from the preceding vehicle or a reflected wave from the road surface. If the reflected wave is from the preceding vehicle, the process proceeds to step S4 and the follow-up running is continued. In the case of a reflected wave from the road surface, the process proceeds to step S5. This step S3 corresponds to the determination means of the present invention.

  In step S5, a preceding vehicle is searched, and if it can be re-detected, the process proceeds to step S6 to follow the re-detected preceding vehicle, and if it cannot be detected again, the process proceeds to step S7 and the constant speed is reached. Run. The re-detected preceding vehicle may be a preceding vehicle that was previously followed or may be a newly detected preceding vehicle.

  Here, although the preceding vehicle detection device 13 determines the possibility of erroneously recognizing the road surface as the preceding vehicle based on the amount of change in the pitching amount of the host vehicle using image processing, the front road surface is uphill. Even in this case, the road surface may be erroneously recognized as a preceding vehicle. However, even when the front road surface is uphill, the possibility of misrecognition can be determined by the same processing as in this embodiment. That is, the image processing unit 17 can detect a state in which the road surface and the host vehicle are relatively inclined with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

  In addition, here, the possibility of misrecognition is determined by using the image processing based on the amount of change in the pitching amount of the host vehicle. However, when a brake operation is detected, a misrecognition is detected when a brake operation is detected. It may be determined that the vehicle may have made a mistake, or there may have been a misrecognition when it was detected that a deceleration G greater than or equal to the specified value was detected in the host vehicle by providing a front-rear G sensor that detects the vehicle front-rear G. You may judge that there is. The brake operation sensor corresponds to the brake operation detection means of the present invention, and the front / rear G sensor corresponds to the deceleration detection means of the present invention.

  Next, the effect of the preceding vehicle detection device of the first embodiment will be described.

  (1) When there is a possibility that the road surface is erroneously recognized as a preceding vehicle, it is determined whether the reflected wave of the laser is a reflected wave from the preceding vehicle or a reflected wave from the road surface. The possibility is reduced, and accurate inter-vehicle distance control can be performed.

  (2) Since the object that reflected the irradiation wave is determined based on the change of the reflected wave with time, it is possible to accurately determine whether the reflected wave is from the preceding vehicle or from the road surface.

  (3) When it is detected that the host vehicle is tilted relative to the road surface in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, it is determined whether the reflected wave is a reflected wave from the preceding vehicle or a reflected wave from the road surface. Therefore, the possibility of erroneously recognizing the road surface as a preceding vehicle can be reduced.

  (4) Since it is determined that there is a possibility of erroneous recognition of the preceding vehicle detection device 13 by the white line image processing acquired in the image processing unit 17, not only when the host vehicle is tilted but also when there is an uphill ahead In addition, since the possibility of erroneous recognition by the preceding vehicle detection device 13 can be determined, the possibility of erroneous recognition can be reduced.

  (5) Since it is determined that there is a possibility of erroneous recognition of the preceding vehicle detection device 13 when it is detected that the host vehicle is decelerating, the possibility of erroneous recognition can be reduced.

  (6) Since it is determined that there is a possibility of erroneous recognition by the preceding vehicle detection device 13 when a brake operation is detected, the possibility of erroneous recognition can be determined even when a white line or the like cannot be detected on the road surface.

  The preceding vehicle detection device of the present invention has been described based on the first embodiment. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the invention according to each claim of the claims is described. Design changes and additions are allowed without departing from the gist.

  For example, in the preceding vehicle detection device of the first embodiment, the white line is detected by the image processing unit 17, but the yellow line of the center line may be detected.

  The present invention not only identifies the type of detected object using the reflected wave of the irradiation wave emitted from the own vehicle and performs inter-vehicle distance control on the preceding vehicle, but also obstacles other than the preceding vehicle on the road, etc. It can also be used for other vehicle control such as a collision prevention device that detects the situation and gives a warning or the like to the driver.

1 is an overall system diagram of a vehicle equipped with a travel control device according to a first embodiment. 1 is a system block diagram illustrating a configuration of a travel control device according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the attachment position of the preceding vehicle detection apparatus and image processing part based on Example 1. FIG. 1 is a system block diagram illustrating a configuration of a preceding vehicle detection device according to a first embodiment. 1 is a system block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the intensity distribution of the laser to irradiate based on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the case where a laser is irradiated to the road surface based on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the reflected wave waveform from the road surface based on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the reflected wave waveform from the preceding vehicle based on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the image of the white line on the road surface acquired in the image process part based on the actual example 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining the method based on Example 1 which calculates the inclination or road curvature of the own vehicle and a white line. It is a figure which shows the acquisition image of the white line by the inclination of the own vehicle based on Example 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a preceding vehicle re-detection process according to the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engine 2 Automatic transmission 3 Reduction gear 4 Drive wheel 5 Fuel injection control device 6 Transmission control device 7 Wheel cylinder 8 Braking fluid pressure control device 9 Braking fluid pressure sensor 10 Brake pedal 11 Master cylinder 12 Control device 13 Leading vehicle detection device 14 wheel speed sensor 15 accelerator opening sensor 16 manual switch 17 image processing unit 20 vehicle 100 inter-vehicle distance control device 101 inter-vehicle control unit 102 vehicle speed command value selection unit 103 vehicle speed control unit 202 laser light emitting circuit 203 laser light emitting element 204 reflecting mirror 205 Light window 206 Motor drive circuit 207 Stepping motor 208 Light receiving window 209 Laser light receiving element 210 Light reception signal amplification circuit 301 Camera 302 Image memory 303 Processor 304 White line detection unit 305 Vehicle traveling direction estimation unit 306 Vehicle behavior estimation unit

Claims (6)

In the preceding vehicle detection device that detects the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle by receiving the reflected wave of the irradiation wave emitted from the own vehicle,
Traveling state detecting means for detecting a traveling state in which the irradiation wave is irradiated onto the road surface;
When the traveling state detecting means detects that the irradiation wave is traveling on the road surface, it is determined whether the object reflecting the irradiation wave is a preceding vehicle or a road surface based on the waveform of the reflected wave. A determination means;
A preceding vehicle detection device comprising: In the preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 1,
The preceding vehicle detection device, wherein the waveform of the reflected wave is a change in the intensity of the reflected wave over time. In the preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 1 or 2,
The traveling state detection means detects a state in which the host vehicle is inclined relative to the road surface in the traveling direction of the host vehicle as a traveling state in which the irradiation wave is irradiated onto the road surface. . In the preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 3,
The traveling state detection unit includes an imaging unit that captures an image of the front of the host vehicle, and detects a state in which the host vehicle is inclined relative to the road surface in the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on image information from the imaging unit. A preceding vehicle detection device. In the preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 3,
The traveling state detecting unit includes a deceleration detecting unit that detects that the host vehicle is decelerating, and based on a detection signal from the deceleration detecting unit, the host vehicle moves in the traveling direction of the host vehicle. A preceding vehicle detection device for detecting a relatively inclined state. In the preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 3,
The travel state detection means includes a brake operation detection means for detecting a brake operation by the driver, and the host vehicle is relative to the road surface in the travel direction of the host vehicle based on a detection signal from the brake operation detection means. A preceding vehicle detection device characterized by detecting a state of being tilted automatically.

Images