JP2008030617A - Traffic-lane-keeping assist system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set up an optimum traveling line according to a driver. <P>SOLUTION: A traffic-lane-keeping assist system 10 is provided with a traveling-lane recognition means 1a that recognizes a traveling lane on a road on which a vehicle travels, a traveling line set-up means 1b that sets up target traveling lines L1, L2, which are targets within the traveling lane from the traveling lane recognized by the traveling-lane recognition means 1a, a steering control means 2 that controls the steering of the vehicle from the target traveling lines L1, L2 set up by the traveling line set-up means 1b, and a line-of-sight detection means 1c that detects line-of-sight directions P1, P2, P3 of the vehicle driver. The traveling line set-up means 1b sets up target traveling lines L1, L2 from the line-of-sight directions P1, P2, P3 of the driver detected by the line-of-sight detection means 1c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lane keeping assist device that controls a vehicle so as to travel on a travel line set in a lane, for example.

Conventionally, the track record of the driving line in the driving lane at the driving point of the route is recorded for each driver's favorite mode, and the target driving in the lane at the driving point is referred to the favorite driving record data at the time of automatic steering. A vehicle travel control method and apparatus for setting a line are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-162799 A

  In the above conventional travel control method and apparatus, the target travel line is set with reference to the travel record data of the travel point once traveled. Therefore, since no travel record data exists at the travel point where the vehicle travels for the first time, the target travel line cannot be set, and it becomes difficult to set an optimal travel line.

  The present invention is for solving such problems, and a main object is to set an optimum travel line according to the driver.

In order to achieve the above object, one embodiment of the present invention provides:
Travel lane recognition means for recognizing a travel lane on a road on which the vehicle travels;
Travel line setting means for setting a target travel line as a target in the travel lane based on the travel lane recognized by the travel lane recognition means;
A lane keeping assist device comprising: steering control means for controlling steering of the vehicle based on the target travel line set by the travel line setting means;
Gaze detection means for detecting the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle,
The travel line setting means is a lane keeping assist device that sets the target travel line based on the driver's gaze direction detected by the gaze detection means.

  According to this aspect, the travel line setting means sets the target travel line based on the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection means. Thereby, an optimal travel line can be set according to the driver.

In this aspect, the vehicle further comprises a curve road detecting means for detecting a curve road from which the vehicle will enter,
When the curved road is detected by the curved road detection means, and the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the visual line detection means is directed toward the inside of the curved road, the travel line setting means is The target travel line near the middle of the curved road may be set closer to the inside of the curved road. Thereby, according to a driver | operator's eyes | visual_axis direction, a driver | operator's favorite travel line can be set.

In this one aspect, further comprising sleepiness detection means for detecting the sleepiness of the driver,
The drowsiness of the driver is detected by the drowsiness detection means, the curve road is detected by the curve road detection means, and the gaze direction of the driver detected by the gaze detection means is closer to the inside of the curve road. The travel line setting means may set the target travel line at substantially the center in the width direction of the curved road. Thereby, safety can be ensured while setting a driver's favorite travel line according to the driver's line-of-sight direction.

  According to the present invention, an optimal travel line can be set according to the driver.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a lane keeping assist device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The lane keeping assist device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a lane keeping ECU 1 that performs control (lane keep control) so that the vehicle travels in the lane, a steering ECU (steering control means) 2 that controls steering of the vehicle, It has. Note that the lane includes any line that divides the road, such as a white line (including a line of an arbitrary color such as a yellow line, a solid line, a broken line, a dotted line, and a double line), a bots dot, and a cat's eye.

  The lane keeping ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 1 and the steering ECU 2 are composed of, for example, a microcomputer and execute various processes according to control and calculation programs and control each part of the device 10. It has a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) for storing CPU execution programs, a readable / writable RAM (Random Access Memory) for storing calculation results, a timer, a counter, an input interface, an output interface, etc. is doing. Further, the lane keeping ECU 1 and the steering ECU 2 are connected to each other via a vehicle LAN (Local Area Network) 3 so that bidirectional communication is possible.

  The lane keeping ECU 1 includes a travel lane recognition unit (travel lane recognition means) 1a that recognizes a travel lane on the road on which the vehicle travels, and a travel line setting unit (travel line) that sets a target travel line within the travel lane. A setting unit) 1b, a gaze detection unit (gaze detection unit) 1c that detects the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle, and a curved road detection unit (curve road detection unit) 1d that detects a curved road on which the vehicle enters. Have.

  The traveling lane recognition unit 1a, the traveling line setting unit 1b, the line-of-sight detection unit 1c, and the curved road detection unit 1d are realized by a program stored in the ROM and executed by the CPU, for example.

  The traveling lane recognition unit 1a is connected to a camera 4 such as a CCD camera that is disposed in the front of the vehicle and captures the front of the vehicle. The camera 4 captures a lane on the road ahead of the vehicle and transmits a captured image of the lane to the traveling lane recognition unit 1a. The traveling lane recognition unit 1a performs well-known image processing on the captured image of the lane captured by the camera 4, and recognizes the lane on the road that exists ahead of the vehicle and will travel.

  The curved road detection unit 1d detects, for example, a curved road on which the vehicle enters from now (hereinafter referred to as an incoming curved road) in which the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the curve entrance is within a predetermined distance (FIG. 2). . Further, the navigation device 5 is connected to the curved road detection unit 1d.

  The navigation device 5 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 5a that detects the current position of the vehicle, and a map information storage unit 5b that stores map information.

  The GPS receiver 5a calculates the current position of the vehicle by receiving GPS radio waves transmitted from a plurality of GPS satellites. The map information storage unit 5b stores map information including road information using, for example, a hard disk.

  The navigation device 5 compares the current position of the vehicle detected by the GPS receiving unit 5a with the road information of the map information stored in the map information storage unit 5b, and the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling The position on the road is detected.

  The curved road detection unit 1d determines the distance from the current position X of the vehicle to the curve entrance X1 based on the road on which the vehicle currently detected by the navigation device 5 is traveling and the current position on the road. An approach curve road having a predetermined distance S is detected (FIG. 2).

  The predetermined distance S has an optimal value set in advance in the RAM of the lane keeping ECU 1, but may be varied according to the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 6. That is, the predetermined distance S may be increased as the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 6 increases. Here, the curve entrance X1 indicates, for example, a position where the curve of the approach curve path occurs.

  The curved road detection unit 1d may detect an approach curved road within a predetermined radius of curvature (excluding a specific curved road such as a constant curve excluding a sharp curve and a curve close to a straight line). Good. The curved road detection unit 1d detects the curvature radius of the approaching curved road based on the road information on which the vehicle detected by the navigation device 5 is currently traveling, and when this curvature radius is within a predetermined curvature radius, You may detect this approach curve road. It is assumed that the position information of the curve entrance X1 and the curvature radius of the approach curve path are included in the map information stored in the map information storage unit 5b of the navigation device 5.

  The line-of-sight detection unit 1c performs known image processing on the driver's face image captured by the camera 7 to detect the driver's line-of-sight direction. For example, a CCD camera or the like is used as the camera 7 and is disposed in the vicinity of a room mirror in the passenger compartment so that the driver's face can be photographed.

  The line-of-sight detection unit 1c includes the position of the camera 7 that captures the driver's face, the captured image of the driver's face and eyes captured by the camera 7, and the vehicle traveling direction detected by the navigation device 5. Based on this, the driver's line-of-sight direction can be detected.

  The line-of-sight detection unit 1c detects, for example, whether the driver's line-of-sight direction is on the left side, approximately the center, or the right side in the width direction of the road of the vehicle. Further, when the vehicle enters an approach curve road having a certain curvature, the line-of-sight detection unit 1c has a driver's line-of-sight direction closer to the inside P1, substantially the center P2 or outside in the width direction of the approach curve road in front of the vehicle. It is detected that it is at the side P3 (FIG. 2).

  The line-of-sight detection unit 1c may detect the direction of the driver's line of sight based on the line of sight of the driver's left and right eyes detected by the eye mark recorder. The eye mark recorder detects the reflection intensity at the driver's cornea using an infrared camera, and detects the left and right lines of sight based on the reflection intensity.

  The travel line setting unit 1b sets a target travel line as a target in the lane recognized by the travel lane recognition unit 1a. For example, the travel line setting unit 1b sets a target travel line at approximately the center (dotted line) L1 in the lane width direction. When the vehicle travels according to the target travel line, the vehicle travels in the approximate center between the pair of lanes.

  Further, the travel line setting unit 1b sets, for example, the target travel lines for the curve entrance X1 and the curve exit X2 to the outside (or the center) of the approach curve road, and sets the target travel line near the middle of the approach curve road. Alternatively, it may be set to the so-called out-in-out (solid line) L2 that is set closer to the inside of the approach curve road (FIG. 2).

  The steering ECU 2 controls the steering of the vehicle by controlling the steering device 8 (FIG. 3). In the steering device 8, a steering shaft 8b is connected to the steering wheel 8a, and an output shaft 8d is connected to the steering shaft 8b via a torsion bar 8c. The output shaft 8d is provided with a pinion, and the pinion meshes with the rack of the steering rack 8e. A pair of left and right steering wheels 8f are connected to both ends of the steering rack 8e. That is, when the output shaft 8d of the steering wheel 8a and the steering shaft 8b is rotated, the rack shaft 8e performs a linear motion via the pinion and the rack, thereby changing the directions of the pair of left and right steering wheels 8f (steering). ) A steering assist force is added to the rotational force of the pinion of the output shaft 8d from a steering actuator 8g such as an electric motor. The torsion bar 8c is provided with a torque sensor 9 that detects the steering torque of the steering shaft 8b based on the amount of twist of the torsion bar 8c.

  A steering ECU 2 is connected to the steering actuator 8g of the steering device 8. For example, the steering ECU 2 controls the steering actuator 8g of the steering device 8 based on the steering torque detected by the torque sensor 9, and adds an optimal steering assist force to the steering shaft 8b. Thereby, the steering in the left-right direction of each steered wheel 8f is optimally controlled.

  The steering ECU 2 controls the steering assist force of the steering actuator 8g so that the vehicle travels on the target travel line set by the travel line setting unit 1b. Thereby, the vehicle travels according to the set target travel line. The steering ECU 2 controls the steering assist force of the steering actuator 8g so that the substantially central portion of the vehicle is aligned with the target travel line set by the travel line setting unit 1b.

  By the way, when a vehicle travels on a curved road, a favorite travel line may differ depending on the driver. For example, some drivers prefer the out-in-out L2 as a travel line when traveling on a curved road. Such a driver's line-of-sight direction generally tends to be directed toward the inside P1 of the approach curve road before the curve entrance X1 (for example, a position X at a predetermined distance S from the curve entrance X1) ( Figure 2).

  Thus, in the lane keeping assist device 10 according to the present embodiment, the approach curve road is detected by the curve road detection unit 1d, and the driver's gaze direction detected by the line of sight detection unit 1c is closer to the inside of the approach curve P1. The travel line setting unit 1b sets the target travel line to the out-in-out L2. Thereby, the target travel line according to the driver's preference can be automatically set.

  Next, an example of a control processing flow of the lane keeping assist device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a control processing flow of the lane keeping assist device 10 according to the present embodiment. Note that the control processing flow shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed every predetermined minute time.

  The navigation device 5 detects the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling and the current position on the road (S100).

  The curve road detection unit 1d of the lane keeping ECU 1 detects the approach curve road based on the road on which the vehicle detected by the navigation device 5 is currently traveling and the current position on the road (S110).

  When the curved road detection unit 1d detects an approach curve road (Yes in S110), the line-of-sight detection unit 1c detects the driver's line-of-sight direction (S120).

  At this time, the line-of-sight detection unit 1c may continuously detect the driver's line-of-sight direction for a predetermined time (for example, about 1 to 2 seconds) to detect the tendency of the driver's line-of-sight direction. . Thereby, a driver | operator's gaze direction can be detected with high precision. On the other hand, when the curved road detection unit 1d does not detect an approaching curved road (No in S110), this control processing routine is terminated.

  The travel line setting unit 1b of the lane keeping ECU 1 determines whether or not the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c faces the inner side P1 of the approach curve road (S130).

  Whether or not the traveling line setting unit 1b has a tendency that the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c is facing the inner side P1 of the approach curve road (for example, whether the driver is facing frequently). It may be judged.

  When the travel line setting unit 1b determines that the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c is facing the inner side P1 of the approach curve road (Yes in S130), the target travel line is out-in-out L2 (S140), and the process proceeds to the next process (S160).

  On the other hand, when the travel line setting unit 1b determines that the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c is not facing the inner side P1 of the approach curve path (No in S130), the travel line setting unit 1b sets the target travel line to the approach curve. The approximate center L1 in the width direction of the road is set (S150), and the next process (S160) is entered.

  The steering ECU 2 controls the steering actuator 8g of the steering device 8 so that the vehicle travels according to the target travel line set by the travel line setting unit 1b of the lane keeping ECU 1 (S160).

  As described above, in the lane keeping assist device 10 according to the present embodiment, the approach curve road is detected by the curve road detection unit 1d, and the driver's gaze direction detected by the gaze detection unit 1c is closer to the inside of the approach curve P1. The travel line setting unit 1b sets the target travel line to the out-in-out L2. Thereby, the target travel line according to the driver's preference can be automatically set. That is, an optimal travel line can be set according to the driver. In addition, since the driving line according to the driver's preference is set, the driver does not feel uncomfortable.

  As mentioned above, although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described using one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to such one embodiment, and within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention, Various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiment.

  In the above embodiment, the curved road detection unit 1d detects the approaching curved road based on the road on which the vehicle detected by the navigation device 5 is currently traveling and the current position on the road. However, an approach curve road is detected by arbitrarily combining a photographed image of the front of the vehicle photographed by the camera 4 with a road on which the vehicle is currently traveling detected by the navigation device 5 and a position on the road. May be. Thereby, the approach curve road can be detected with higher accuracy.

  In the above embodiment, when the approach curve road is detected by the curve road detection unit 1d and the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c is directed toward the inner side P1 of the approach curve road, Although the setting unit 1b sets the target travel line to the out-in-out L2, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the travel line setting unit 1b is based on the line-of-sight direction of an arbitrary driver detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c. An arbitrary target travel line may be set.

  For example, when the approach curve road is detected by the curve road detection unit 1d and the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c is directed to the approximate center P2 of the approach curve road, the travel line setting unit 1b is The target travel line may be set at the approximate center L1 of the approach curve road. When the approach curve road is detected by the curve road detection unit 1d and the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c faces the outside P3 of the approach curve road, the travel line setting unit 1b The target travel line may be set closer to the outside of the approach curve road.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the case of a single lane road.

  In the above-described embodiment, a curved road that turns to the left is applied. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a curved road that curves in an arbitrary direction, an S-shaped curved road that has a plurality of curved roads, and the like. Applicable to any curved road.

  In the above embodiment, a configuration having a drowsiness detection unit (drowsiness detection means) 1e for detecting the drowsiness of the driver may be employed (FIG. 5). For example, the drowsiness detection unit 1e detects the number of blinks (number of times / minute) per unit time of the driver based on a photographed image of the driver's face photographed by the camera 4, and the number of blinks is a predetermined value or more. The drowsiness may be detected as drowsiness in the driver (or the driver's arousal level is low). The heart rate of the driver may be detected using a sensor built in the steering wheel 8a or the seat belt, and the driver's sleepiness may be detected based on the change in the heart rate. It is possible to detect the drowsiness of the driver.

  In this case, the drowsiness of the driver is detected by the drowsiness detection unit 1e, the approach curve path is detected by the curve road detection unit 1d, and the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight detection unit 1c is inside the approach curve road. When facing the shift P1, the travel line setting unit 1b may set the target travel line at the approximate center L1 in the width direction of the approach curve road. Accordingly, when the driver is drowsy, the target travel line is set at the approximate center L1 of the approach curve road, and thus safety is ensured.

  By the way, when the drowsiness of the driver is detected by the drowsiness detection unit 1e, a warning may be given to the driver. For example, when the drowsiness of the driver is detected by the drowsiness detection unit 1e, the engine ECU and / or the brake ECU respectively control the driving force and / or braking force of the vehicle to change the acceleration in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Thus, vibrations in the vehicle longitudinal direction may be given to the driver. Further, the steering ECU 2 may control the steering actuator 8g of the stearin device 8 to give the driver vibrations in the left-right direction of the vehicle. In addition, by giving a disturbance to the target value of the inter-vehicle distance or the target value of the rake control when the inter-vehicle distance control is performed, the control that gives the vibration (jerky control) may be intentionally performed. Thereby, an effective stimulus can be given to the driver. Therefore, the driver's arousal level can be effectively increased and sleepiness can be reliably removed from the driver. At the same time, a warning sound is output from a horn or the like, or a warning light arranged on the instrument panel of the vehicle is turned on / flashed, so that the driver's arousal level can be increased more effectively and the driver can be more sleepy. It can be removed reliably.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a lane keeping assist device that controls a vehicle so as to travel on a travel line set in the lane. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure of the lane maintenance assistance apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the approach curve road to which the target travel line was set. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the steering device of the lane keeping assistance apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the control processing flow of the lane keeping assistance apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure further provided with a drowsiness detection part in a lane keeping apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Lane maintenance ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a Traveling lane recognition part 1b Traveling line setting part 1c Eye-gaze detection part 1d Curved road detection part 1e Sleepiness detection part 2 Steering ECU
4 Camera 5 Navigation Device 7 Camera 10 Lane Maintenance Support Device

Claims (3)

Travel lane recognition means for recognizing a travel lane on a road on which the vehicle travels;
Travel line setting means for setting a target travel line as a target in the travel lane based on the travel lane recognized by the travel lane recognition means;
A lane keeping assist device comprising: steering control means for controlling steering of the vehicle based on the target travel line set by the travel line setting means;
Gaze detection means for detecting the gaze direction of the driver of the vehicle,
The lane keeping assist device, wherein the travel line setting means sets the target travel line based on the driver's gaze direction detected by the gaze detection means. The lane keeping assist device according to claim 1,
A curve road detecting means for detecting a curve road from which the vehicle enters;
When the curved road is detected by the curved road detection means, and the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the visual line detection means is directed toward the inside of the curved road, the travel line setting means is A lane keeping assist device, wherein the target travel line near the middle of a curved road is set closer to the inside of the curved road. The lane keeping assist device according to claim 2,
It further comprises drowsiness detection means for detecting the drowsiness of the driver,
The drowsiness of the driver is detected by the drowsiness detection means, the curve road is detected by the curve road detection means, and the gaze direction of the driver detected by the gaze detection means is closer to the inside of the curve road. The lane keeping assisting device is characterized in that the travel line setting means sets the target travel line at substantially the center in the width direction of the curved road.

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