JP2007062711A - Control device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device for vehicles which can accurately detect lane change of an own vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: A control target determining part 15 detects a preceding vehicle by means of a radar device 14 and computes information, such as relative position, relative distance or the like between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. A lane change determining part 11 determines whether the own vehicle has changed a lane, based on the traveling locus of the own vehicle which is estimated by a traveling locus-estimating part 12, the information calculated by the control-target determining part 15, and information on a driver's indicator operation, which is detected by an indicator operation-detecting part 17. When it is decided that the own vehicle has changed lane, the lane change determining part 11 outputs the information on the lane change to a vehicle speed control part 16. The vehicle speed control part 16, which has inputted the information on the lane change, modifies the contents of the follow-up control, by using the information on the lane change. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that is equipped with an object detection device that detects an object such as a preceding vehicle, and that performs vehicle control by recognizing a preceding vehicle by the object detection device.

  In a vehicle control apparatus that performs vehicle control by recognizing a preceding vehicle, it is necessary to always recognize a preceding vehicle on the same lane as the own vehicle in order to control the own vehicle so as to follow the recognized preceding vehicle. is there. When the vehicle changes lanes, the preceding vehicle that should follow is changed before and after the lane change, but even after the lane change, the preceding vehicle before the lane change is recognized as a preceding vehicle that should continue to follow. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to accurately detect the lane change of the own vehicle.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1 as an example of detecting a lane change of the own vehicle, a function of detecting a lane change based on a detection result of a yaw rate sensor or a steering angle sensor and a driver's winker operation is known. .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-20504

  However, in the above-described function of detecting the lane change of the own vehicle, when detecting based on the detection result of the yaw rate sensor or the steering angle sensor, if the yaw rate or the steering angle of the own vehicle fluctuates due to a crosswind or the like, May detect that the lane has changed.

  On the other hand, when detecting based on the driver's blinker operation, not only does the driver detect that the lane has been changed when the driver accidentally operates the blinker, but the lane change is actually made after the blinker operation. The correct time cannot be detected. As described above, the above-described function of detecting the lane change of the own vehicle has a problem that the lane change of the own vehicle cannot be accurately detected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle control device capable of accurately detecting a lane change of the own vehicle.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the vehicle control device according to the first aspect of the present invention is an object detection unit that detects an object existing in the traveling direction of the host vehicle (for example, in the embodiment). A radar device 14), a traveling locus estimating means for estimating a traveling locus of the own vehicle (for example, a traveling locus estimating section 12 in the embodiment), and an object to be controlled based on outputs of the object detecting means and the traveling locus estimating means. Control object detection means (for example, control object determination unit 15 in the embodiment) for detecting the vehicle and lane change detection means for detecting lane change of the own vehicle (for example, lane change determination unit 11 in the embodiment) And the follow-up control for the control object detected by the control object detecting means, and the follow-up control when the lane change detecting means detects the lane change of the own vehicle. In a vehicle control device including a vehicle speed control means (for example, a vehicle speed control unit 16 in the embodiment) that changes contents, the lane change detection means is a subject vehicle to be controlled detected by the control target detection means. A lane change of the own vehicle is detected based on at least one of a relative speed or a relative position with respect to the vehicle and a traveling locus of the own vehicle estimated by the traveling locus estimating means.

  According to the vehicle control device having the above configuration, the lane change of the own vehicle is detected based on the information on the relative speed or relative position between the own vehicle and the vehicle to be controlled in addition to the information on the travel locus of the own vehicle. Is possible.

  Furthermore, the vehicle control device of the present invention according to claim 2 is the vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the lane change detection means is a travel locus of the host vehicle estimated by the travel locus estimation means. And the lateral relative speed of the control target vehicle detected by the control target detection means is equal to or greater than the travel trajectory of the host vehicle. The trajectory deviation between the control object and the travel locus of the host vehicle is opposite to the swing direction of the travel track of the host vehicle, which is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, v2 in the embodiment) in the opposite direction of the swing direction. If it is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, ΔR in the embodiment), the lane change of the own vehicle is performed.

  According to the vehicle control device having the above configuration, by providing a restriction by a predetermined value, in addition to the information on the traveling locus of the own vehicle, the information on the relative speed or the relative position between the own vehicle and the vehicle to be controlled is included. Based on this, it is possible to detect the lane change of the own vehicle more reliably.

  Furthermore, the vehicle control device according to the third aspect of the present invention is the vehicle control device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the direction indicator operation detecting means detects the operation of the direction indicator by the driver. (For example, the winker operation detection unit 17 in the embodiment), and the lane change detection means is only during a predetermined time (for example, t3 in the embodiment) during or after the operation of the direction indicator. It is characterized by detecting the lane change of the own vehicle.

  According to the vehicle control device having the above-described configuration, it is possible to consider the driver's intention to change the lane by detecting the operation of the direction indicator by the driver.

  Furthermore, the vehicle control device of the present invention according to claim 4 is the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lane change detection means is the control object detection means. The lane change of the own vehicle is detected only when the relative distance between the control object detected by the vehicle and the own vehicle is within a predetermined value (for example, L in the embodiment).

  According to the vehicle control device having the above-described configuration, the detection accuracy of the position and speed by the object detection unit is deteriorated, so that the detection of the lane change of the own vehicle is not performed from the information of the vehicle existing far from the own vehicle. It is possible.

  Furthermore, the vehicle control device of the present invention according to claim 5 is the vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the lane change detection means is configured to change the lane of the own vehicle. It is characterized in that it is not determined that the vehicle has changed lanes within a predetermined time (for example, t4 in the embodiment) after the vehicle is detected.

  According to the vehicle control device having the above-described configuration, the driver can change the lane of the own vehicle even with respect to the steering in the direction opposite to the lane change for correcting the traveling direction performed by the driver after the steering in the lane changing direction of the own vehicle. It is possible to prevent false detection.

  According to the vehicle control device of the present invention described in claim 1 and claim 2, in addition to the information on the travel locus of the host vehicle, information on the relative speed or relative position between the host vehicle and the vehicle to be controlled. It is possible to detect the lane change of the own vehicle more accurately than the case where the lane change is made only by the information of the travel track of the own vehicle because it is possible to detect the lane change of the own vehicle based on it can.

  Furthermore, according to the vehicle control device of the present invention described in claim 3, it is possible to take into account the driver's intention to change the lane by detecting the operation of the direction indicator by the driver. Therefore, it is possible to detect the lane change of the own vehicle more accurately.

  Further, according to the vehicle control apparatus of the present invention as set forth in claim 4, the detection accuracy of the position and speed by the object detection means is deteriorated, and the lane change of the own vehicle is obtained from the information of the vehicle existing far from the own vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate detection of lane changes based on low-accuracy vehicle information.

  Further, according to the vehicle control device of the present invention as set forth in claim 5, the steering in the direction opposite to the lane change for correcting the traveling direction performed by the driver after steering the vehicle in the lane change direction. However, since it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of the lane change of the host vehicle, the lane change of the host vehicle can be detected more accurately.

Hereinafter, a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the lane change determination unit 11 (lane change detection means) in the vehicle control device 1 determines whether or not the own vehicle has changed lanes based on the outputs of the control target area setting unit 13 and the blinker operation detection unit 17. And the determination result is output to the vehicle speed control unit 16. The operation in the lane change determination unit 11 will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The travel trajectory estimation unit 12 (travel trajectory estimation means) includes a yaw rate sensor 121, a vehicle speed sensor 122, a steering angle sensor 123, a navigation device 124, and an own vehicle trajectory estimation means 125, and the travel trajectory of the own vehicle. Is output to the control target area setting unit 13.

  The yaw rate sensor 121 is a sensor that detects the yaw rate of the vehicle and outputs the detection result to the vehicle trajectory estimation means 125. The vehicle speed sensor 122 is a sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle and outputs the detection result to the host vehicle trajectory estimating unit 125. The steering angle sensor 123 is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the host vehicle and outputs the detection result to the host vehicle trajectory estimation unit 125.

  For example, the navigation device 124 performs map matching on map data stored inside the device based on current position information obtained using GPS (Global Positioning System), D-GPS (Differential GPS), or the like. The current position of the host vehicle is calculated, and processing such as route search to the destination and route guidance is performed based on the calculated current position.

  The own vehicle trajectory estimation means 125 inputs information such as the detection result of the yaw rate sensor 121, the vehicle speed sensor 122, the rudder angle sensor 123, or the current position of the own vehicle calculated by the navigation device 124, and estimates the travel trajectory of the own vehicle. To do.

  The control target area setting unit 13 determines the own lane PR shown in FIG. 2 from the traveling locus of the own vehicle input from the own vehicle locus estimating means 125, and is within a certain distance range in the vertical direction of the set own lane PR ( The control target area A) is set to a range to be controlled. Here, the own lane PR is a straight line indicating the traveling direction of the own vehicle.

  The control target area setting unit 13 outputs the range set as the control target to the control target determining unit 15. Furthermore, the control target area setting unit 13 inputs information such as the relative distance, relative speed, or lateral relative speed between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle to be controlled from the control target determining unit 15, and the lane change determining unit 11. To output.

  The radar device 14 (object detection means) transmits an electromagnetic wave such as a laser beam or a millimeter wave toward an appropriate detection direction (for example, forward in the traveling direction of the host vehicle), and the transmitted electromagnetic wave is external to the host vehicle. When the object is reflected by the object (for example, a preceding vehicle), the reflected wave is input. Further, the radar device 14 generates a beat signal by mixing the transmitted electromagnetic wave and the received electromagnetic wave (reflected wave), and outputs the beat signal to the control target determining unit 15.

  The control target determination unit 15 (control target detection means) receives the beat signal received from the radar device 14 and calculates the relative distance, relative speed, lateral relative speed, etc. between the object reflecting the electromagnetic wave and the own vehicle. Is. Here, the lateral relative speed indicates a component of relative speed in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

  Further, the control target determining unit 15 inputs a range to be controlled (for example, the control target region A in FIG. 2) from the control target region setting unit 13, and determines whether or not the object reflecting the electromagnetic wave is a preceding vehicle. Judgment. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the object (leading vehicle Q) that reflected the electromagnetic wave is within the control target area A, it is determined that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle, and as shown in FIG. If the reflected object (preceding vehicle Q) is not within the control target area A, it is determined that the vehicle is not a preceding vehicle.

  Furthermore, when the control target determining unit 15 determines that the vehicle is a preceding vehicle, the control target region setting unit 13 and the vehicle speed control unit 16 receive information such as the calculated relative distance, relative speed, or lateral relative speed. Is output.

  The vehicle speed control unit 16 (vehicle speed control means) determines and controls the vehicle speed based on information input from the lane change determination unit 11 and the control target determination unit 14, and includes a control target value determination unit 161 and a vehicle control unit. 162, an acceleration actuator 163, a deceleration actuator 164, and a control state notification unit 165.

  The control target value determination unit 161 inputs information on the lane change of the own vehicle from the lane change determination unit 11, and controls information such as a relative distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, a relative speed, or a lateral relative speed. The target vehicle speed is input from the target determination unit 14 and the target vehicle speed for following the preceding vehicle is determined from the input information.

  The vehicle control unit 162 controls the acceleration actuator 163 and the deceleration actuator 164 so that the target vehicle speed determined by the control target value determination unit 161 is reached. In addition, the vehicle control unit 162 outputs the current control state to the control state notification unit 165.

  The acceleration actuator 163 controls the throttle opening, for example, and accelerates the own vehicle according to an instruction from the vehicle control unit 162. The deceleration actuator 164 controls, for example, the throttle opening and the brake fluid pressure, and decelerates the host vehicle in accordance with an instruction from the vehicle control unit 162. The control state notification unit 165 notifies the driver of information input from the vehicle control unit 162 using display means such as a meter.

  The winker operation detection unit (direction indicator operation detection means) 17 detects a winker operation by the driver and outputs the detection result to the lane change determination unit 11.

  Next, the procedure for determining whether or not the vehicle has changed lanes in the lane change determining unit 11 of FIG. 1 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 using the symbols shown in FIGS. .

  First, in step S401 of FIG. 4, the lane change determination unit 11 determines whether or not the preceding vehicle Q has been released from the control target area A of FIG. Information about the control target area A and the preceding vehicle Q is acquired from the control target area setting unit 13. In step S401, when the lane of the own vehicle P is changed, the course (that is, the own lane PR) moves in a direction crossing the adjacent lane, and when the preceding vehicle Q deviates from the control target area A, the lane change is performed. The determination unit 11 determines that the preceding vehicle Q has been released.

  When the determination result in step S401 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S402. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S401 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In step S402, it is determined whether or not the preceding vehicle Q has been recognized as a preceding vehicle for a predetermined time t1 or longer before the preceding vehicle Q is canceled in step S401. In step S402, by proceeding to the next step only when the vehicle is recognized as a preceding vehicle for a predetermined time or more, for example, temporarily enters between the own vehicle P and the preceding vehicle Q, and then immediately changes to another vehicle. Recognizing a vehicle that moves to the lane as a preceding vehicle can be prevented.

  If the determination result in step S402 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S403. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S402 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In step S403, it is determined whether or not the distance between the preceding vehicle Q and the host vehicle P is within a predetermined distance L when the preceding vehicle Q is released in step S401. When the distance between the preceding vehicle Q and the host vehicle P is long, it becomes difficult to accurately detect the position of the preceding vehicle Q, and for example, the determination system for canceling the preceding vehicle in step S401 is lowered.

  In step S403, by setting only the preceding vehicle within a predetermined distance as a target for lane change determination, the determination system in step S401 and the like is deteriorated, and it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of lane change as a result.

  If the determination result in step S403 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S404. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S403 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In step S404, it is determined whether or not the swing speed of the vehicle trajectory is greater than or equal to a predetermined value v1 during the past predetermined time t2 from the time when the preceding vehicle Q is released in step S401. Here, the swing speed of the own vehicle locus indicates a speed at which the own lane PR in FIG. 3 changes the direction from the direction along the road lane to the direction across the lane of the road as the course of the own vehicle P changes. .

  Generally, when the host vehicle P is traveling at a low speed, the vehicle body tends to be greatly shaken. Due to this shake, the direction of the own lane PR of the own vehicle P is temporarily changed. It may be determined that the preceding vehicle Q has been released in S401. In step S404, by proceeding to the next step only when the fluctuation speed of the own vehicle trajectory in which the own lane PR changes is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination of lane change due to vehicle body shake. it can.

  If the determination result in step S404 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S405. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S404 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In step S405, it is determined whether or not the locus deviation between the own vehicle P and the preceding vehicle Q is equal to or greater than a predetermined value ΔR. Here, the locus deviation is a distance between the own lane PR of the own vehicle P and the own lane PR2 of the preceding vehicle Q, as shown in FIG. In step S405, the trajectory of the own vehicle P is adjacent to the travel lane of the preceding vehicle Q by proceeding to the next step only when the trajectory deviation between the own vehicle P and the preceding vehicle Q is a predetermined distance or more. Since it is possible to confirm that the trajectory moves to the lane, it is possible to more accurately determine the lane change of the host vehicle P.

  If the determination result in step S405 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S406. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S405 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In step S406, it is determined whether or not the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle in the direction opposite to the swing of the own vehicle locus (own lane PR in FIG. 3) is equal to or greater than a predetermined value v2. When the own vehicle P changes its course to change lanes, it is detected from the own vehicle P that the preceding vehicle Q is moving in a direction opposite to the direction of the course change. In step S406, the lane change of the host vehicle P can be more accurately determined by proceeding to the next step only when the reverse lateral relative speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

  If the determination result in step S406 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S407. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S406 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 is terminated.

  In step S407, the lane change determination unit 11 determines whether or not the driver has performed a winker operation from the detection result of the winker operation detection unit 17. In step S407, since the driver's intention to change lanes can be taken into account by detecting the blinker operation, the lane change determination unit 11 can determine the lane change more appropriately.

  Since the driver may change the lane after the operation of the winker depending on the situation, it is more appropriate to proceed to the next step only within a certain time t3 after the detection of the winker operation. The lane change can be determined.

  If the determination result in step S407 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S408. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S407 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  In step S408, it is determined whether or not the lane change is determined within the past predetermined time t4 from the time when the preceding vehicle Q is canceled in step S401. When changing the lane, after the own vehicle P steers in the lane change direction and moves to the adjacent lane, the direction of travel of the own vehicle P is in the direction opposite to the lane change so that it is parallel to the road direction. The driver needs to steer.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1, it is erroneously determined that the lane change has been performed also by steering in the direction opposite to the lane change. However, in step S408, the determination of the lane change is not performed again for a certain time after the determination of the lane change, and the erroneous determination due to the steering in the direction opposite to the lane change is eliminated.

  If the determination result in step S408 is “Yes”, the process proceeds to step S409. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S408 is “No”, the lane change determination procedure shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  Finally, in step S409, it is determined that the vehicle P has changed lanes. This lane change information is output from the lane change determination unit 11 to the control target value determination unit 161, and the control target value determination unit 161 changes the content of the follow-up control using the lane change information. Thereafter, when new information on the preceding vehicle is input again from the control target determining unit 15, the control target value determining unit 161 performs control so as to perform the follow-up traveling for the preceding vehicle.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

  The present invention is suitable for use in a vehicle control device that includes an object detection device that detects an object such as a preceding vehicle, recognizes the preceding vehicle by the object detection device, and controls the vehicle.

It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the control apparatus for vehicles concerning one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the positional relationship of the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle in the state which the own vehicle is running following the preceding vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle in a state where the vehicle changes lanes from the state of FIG. 2. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure which performs judgment of lane change in the lane change judgment part 11 shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle control apparatus 11 ... Lane change judgment part (lane change detection means)
12 ... Traveling track estimation unit (traveling track estimation means)
14 ... Radar device (object detection means)
15 ... Control target determination unit (control target detection means)
16 ... Vehicle speed control unit (vehicle speed control means)
17 ... Winker operation detection unit (direction indicator detection means)

Claims (5)

Object detection means for detecting an object present in the traveling direction of the vehicle;
Traveling locus estimation means for estimating the traveling locus of the own vehicle;
Control object detection means for detecting a vehicle to be controlled based on outputs of the object detection means and the travel locus estimation means;
Lane change detection means for detecting a lane change of the own vehicle;
Vehicle speed control means for performing follow-up control on the control object detected by the control object detection means and changing the content of the follow-up control when a lane change of the host vehicle is detected by the lane change detection means. In a vehicle control device,
The lane change detection means is
At least one of a relative speed or a relative position of the control target with respect to the subject vehicle detected by the control target detection means;
A vehicle control device that detects a lane change of the own vehicle based on the traveling locus of the own vehicle estimated by the traveling locus estimating means. The lane change detection means is
The swing speed swinging to the left and right of the travel locus of the host vehicle estimated by the travel locus estimation means is a predetermined value or more, and
The lateral relative speed of the control target vehicle detected by the control target detection means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value in the direction opposite to the swing direction of the travel track of the host vehicle, and
The lane change of the own vehicle is performed when the locus deviation between the control target and the traveling locus of the own vehicle is a predetermined value or more in a direction opposite to a swing direction of the traveling locus of the own vehicle. The vehicle control device described. It further comprises direction indicator operation detecting means for detecting operation of the direction indicator by the driver,
The lane change detection means is
The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the lane change of the host vehicle is detected during the operation of the direction indicator or within a predetermined time from the end of the operation. The lane change detection means is
4. The lane change of the own vehicle is detected only when the relative distance between the control object detected by the control object detecting means and the own vehicle is within a predetermined value. The vehicle control device according to claim 1. The lane change detection means is
5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein it is not determined that the vehicle has changed its lane within a predetermined time after the lane change of the own vehicle is detected. 6.

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