JP2008037134A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving support device for performing further active driving support by changing the drive support contents when a vehicle travels around a place where people gather. <P>SOLUTION: The driving support device 100 having driving support means 8, 9 and 10 for supporting driving operation by a driver comprises an own-vehicle position recognition means 11 for recognizing an own vehicle position, a local information acquisition means 12 for acquiring local information related to the place where people gather, a caution necessity determination means 13 for determining whether the own vehicle position recognized by the own-vehicle position recognition means 11 requires caution based on the local information acquired by the local information acquisition means 12, and a driving support characteristic control means 14 for changing the driving support characteristics of the driving support means 8, 9 and 10 based on the determination result by the caution necessity determination means 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device, and more particularly to a driving support device that changes driving support content and performs more active driving support when a vehicle travels around a place where people gather.

  Conventionally, a person who uses a facility such as a concert venue holds schedule information indicating a time zone for moving around the facility, and the facility user moves around the facility by referring to the schedule information when the vehicle approaches the facility. Be aware of the possibility that there is a possibility that the facility user may move around the facility and the communication center side terminal that determines the possibility and sends the determination result to the vehicle-side terminal mounted on the vehicle There is known a driving support system including a vehicle-side terminal that outputs a warning for prompting the user (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The above-described driving support system can increase the driver's awareness of the pedestrian by notifying the driver of the state of the pedestrian moving around a predetermined facility such as a concert venue.
JP 2004-234320 A

  However, since the driving support system described in Patent Document 1 only gives a warning or restricts the maximum speed and does not actively support driving, a pedestrian suddenly jumps out. In case you can not cope.

  In view of the above-described points, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device that changes driving support content and performs more active driving support when a vehicle travels around a place where people gather.

  In order to achieve the above object, a driving support device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a driving support device that includes driving support means for supporting a driving operation by a driver and recognizes the position of the host vehicle. The vehicle position recognized by the vehicle position recognition means based on the area information acquired by the means, the area information acquisition means for acquiring the area information related to the place where people gather, and the area information acquisition means requires attention Caution necessity determining means for determining whether or not the position is to be operated, and driving support characteristic control means for changing the driving support characteristic of the driving support means based on a determination result by the caution necessity determination means. It is characterized by.

  Further, the second invention is the driving support device according to the first invention, wherein the area information relating to the place where the person gathers includes information on the holding time of the event held in each place, The necessity determination means determines whether or not the own vehicle position is a position that requires attention based on information related to the event holding time.

  A third invention is a driving support device according to the first or second invention, wherein the driving support characteristic control means increases a braking force according to an operation amount of a brake.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the driving support device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the driving support characteristic control means increases the tire turning angle according to the operation amount of the steering wheel. To do.

  The fifth invention is the driving support device according to the first or second invention, wherein the driving support characteristic control means reduces the throttle opening according to the operation amount of the accelerator. .

  By the means described above, the present invention can provide a driving support device that changes driving support contents and provides more active driving support when a vehicle travels around a place where people gather.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a driving support apparatus according to the present invention. The driving support device 100 includes a control device 1, a positioning device 2, a communication device 3, a storage device 4, a brake sensor 5, an accelerator sensor 6, a steering angle sensor 7, a brake actuator 8, a throttle actuator 9, and a steering actuator 10. .

  The control device 1 is connected to each component via an in-vehicle network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or a LIN (Local Interconnect Network), and includes a positioning device 2, a communication device 3, a storage device 4, a brake sensor 5, an accelerator sensor. 6 and the steering angle sensor 7 are received, and control signals are output to the brake actuator 8, the throttle actuator 9 and the steering actuator 10.

  The control device 1 is a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like, and includes a vehicle position recognition unit 11, a region information acquisition unit 12, and a caution necessity determination. Programs corresponding to the means 13 and the driving support characteristic control means 14 are stored in the ROM, the programs are expanded on the RAM, and the corresponding processing is executed by the CPU.

  The positioning device 2 is a device for measuring the position of the vehicle. For example, the positioning device 2 measures and calculates the position of the vehicle based on a signal output from a GPS satellite via a GPS antenna by a GPS receiver of a car navigation system. The positioning method may be any method such as independent positioning or relative positioning (including interference positioning), but preferably relative positioning with high accuracy is used. At this time, the vehicle position may be corrected based on outputs from various sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor and a gyro sensor, and various information received via a beacon receiver, an FM multiplex receiver, or the like.

  The communication device 3 is a device used for communication between the vehicle and the communication center, and receives, for example, regional information transmitted by the communication center using a mobile phone frequency.

  Further, the communication device 3 may receive regional information by road-to-vehicle communication with a magnetic nail or the like embedded in a road using a specific low-power radio frequency, or vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles. You may make it receive area information from an optical beacon etc. using optical communication.

  “Regional information” refers to information related to places where people gather (concert halls, museums, schools, public halls, department stores, etc.), parks, roads, etc., location information (latitude, longitude, altitude), nearest station, etc. In addition to information on the location of the event, information on the duration of the event held at each place, the time of the event, closed days, etc. is included.

  The storage device 4 is a device having a non-volatile storage medium for storing various data. For example, the storage device 4 is a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like, and is an area acquired via the preinstalled map database 41 or the communication device 3. An information database 42 is stored. The map database 41 may acquire and update update information via the communication device 3.

  The brake sensor 5 is a sensor for detecting the depression amount of the brake pedal. For example, in a hydraulically driven brake device, the hydraulic pressure is measured by a pressure sensor to indirectly detect the depression force of the driver and the depression amount of the pedal. Or measuring the position of the pedal with a contact-type or non-contact-type potentiometer or a magnetic induction type position sensor to directly detect the depression amount of the pedal.

  Further, the brake sensor 5 outputs the amount of depression of the brake pedal by the driver to the control device 1.

  Similar to the brake sensor 5, the accelerator sensor 6 is a sensor for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, and outputs the depression amount of the accelerator pedal by the driver to the control device 1.

  The steering angle sensor 7 is a sensor for measuring a steering angle. For example, a magnetic resistance by a magnet embedded in the steering shaft is read by an MR (Magnetic Resistance) element to detect a rotation angle of the steering shaft.

  Further, the steering angle sensor 7 outputs the steering angle (rotation angle) of the steering wheel (steering shaft) by the driver to the control device 1.

  The brake actuator 8 is a device for controlling the braking force by the brake device, and controls the braking force, for example, by increasing the hydraulic pressure by an electric motor.

  The brake actuator 8 controls the braking force by the brake device according to the depression amount of the brake pedal detected by the brake sensor 5, and controls the braking force based on, for example, a braking force characteristic line registered in advance.

  The braking force characteristic line is a line segment on a characteristic diagram in which the braking force generated on the vertical axis and the brake pedal depression amount are arranged on the horizontal axis, and indicates a change in the braking force corresponding to the depression amount.

  The throttle actuator 9 is a device for controlling the throttle opening. For example, like the brake actuator 8, the throttle actuator 9 is opened and closed by an electric motor to control the throttle opening.

  The throttle actuator 9 controls the throttle opening according to the depression amount of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator sensor 6, and, similar to the brake actuator 8, the throttle opening based on the throttle opening characteristic line registered in advance. To control.

  The throttle opening characteristic line is a line on the characteristic diagram in which the throttle opening realized on the vertical axis and the accelerator pedal depression amount are arranged on the horizontal axis, and shows changes in the throttle opening corresponding to the depression amount.

  The steering actuator 10 is a device for controlling the tire turning angle. For example, the tire turning angle is controlled by adjusting the oil pressure by an electric motor (electric hydraulic type), or the rack gear is directly moved to the left and right by the electric motor. Move it to control the tire turning angle.

  Further, the steering actuator 10 controls the tire turning angle according to the rotation angle of the steering wheel detected by the steering angle sensor 7, and in the same way as the brake actuator 8 or the throttle actuator 9, the tire turning angle characteristic line is registered in advance. The tire turning angle is controlled based on this.

  The tire cut angle characteristic line is a line segment on the characteristic diagram in which the vertical axis indicates the tire cut angle and the horizontal axis indicates the steering wheel rotation angle (the right direction indicates the right rotation angle and the left direction indicates the left rotation angle). The change of the tire turning angle corresponding to the steering wheel rotation angle is shown.

  Next, various units included in the control device 1 will be described.

  The own vehicle position recognizing means 11 is a means for recognizing the own vehicle position. For example, the own vehicle position recognizing means 11 receives the output of the positioning device 2 to acquire the own vehicle position (latitude, longitude, altitude) and stores it in the storage device 4. With reference to the stored map database 41, it is recognized at which point on the map the vehicle position exists.

  The area information acquisition means 12 is means for acquiring area information. For example, the area information acquisition means 12 refers to the area information database 42 stored in the storage device 4 and has been received via the communication device 3 in the past. Area information (for example, within a radius of 5 km) is extracted and acquired.

  Further, the area information acquisition unit 12 may acquire the area information at any time via the communication device 3. This is so that the latest regional information can be acquired.

  The attention necessity determination means 13 is a means for determining the necessity of attention higher than the standard for driving. For example, the own vehicle position on the map recognized by the own vehicle position recognition means 11 and the area information acquisition means 12 The necessity of attention higher than the standard is determined based on the area information acquired by the above.

  Attention necessity determination means 13 is based on whether there is a place where people gather around the vehicle position, the time of the event held at that place, the route from that place to the nearest public transportation, etc. The necessity of attention higher than the standard is determined, and if the place where people gather is within a predetermined distance range (for example, a radius of 1 km), it is determined that attention higher than the standard is necessary.

  Participants in festivals and concerts may be in a state of excitement or drinking, and their attention may be distracted.

  In addition, even if the place where people gather is within a predetermined distance range (for example, a radius of 1 km), the attention necessity determination means 13 is a predetermined time of the start time of the event held at that place. In the case of (for example, 30 minutes) or more before or after a predetermined time (for example, 1 hour) has elapsed from the end time, it may be determined that attention higher than the standard is not necessary. This is because there is little movement of event participants.

  In addition, the attention necessity determination means 13 is configured so that even if a place where people gather is within a predetermined distance range (for example, a radius of 1 km), the vehicle is on the route from the place to the nearest public transportation. If it does not exist, it may be determined that attention higher than the standard is not necessary. This is because there is little movement of event participants.

  Further, the attention necessity determination means 13 makes the participants in an excited state such as a content of an event held around the own vehicle (whether it is an event involving drinking such as a festival or a party, or a concert) The necessity of attention higher than the standard may be determined on the basis of information (number of people, age group, etc.) regarding event participants or not).

  Further, the attention necessity determination unit 13 may determine not only whether or not attention higher than the standard is necessary, but also determine the required attention level step by step. For example, the attention necessity determination unit 13 may determine that a medium level of caution is required 1 hour before the start of the event and that a high level of caution is required 30 minutes before the start of the event. This is because the amount of movement of event participants is considered to be different.

  The driving support characteristic control unit 14 is a unit for controlling the driving support characteristic, and selects the driving support characteristic based on the determination result by the attention necessity determination unit 13, for example.

  The “driving support characteristics” are the contents of driving support registered in the storage device 4 and are represented by, for example, the aforementioned braking force characteristic line, throttle opening characteristic line, and tire turning angle characteristic line.

  Next, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the flow of processing in which the driving support device 100 switches the driving support characteristics of the brake actuator 8 will be described.

  First, the driving assistance device 100 recognizes the vehicle position on the map data by the vehicle position recognition means 11 based on the output data from the positioning device 2 and the map database 41 of the storage device 4 (step S1). .

  Next, the driving support device 100 extracts the region information around the own vehicle from the region information database 42 of the storage device 4 by the region information acquisition unit 12, and the own vehicle position from the vehicle position recognized by the vehicle position recognition unit 11. Recognize the positional relationship between the location and a place where people gather (for example, an event venue), and determine whether or not higher than standard attention is required for driving at the current location by the attention necessity determination means 13. (Step S2).

  When the event venue is within a predetermined range (for example, 1 km) from the own vehicle position, when it is determined by the caution necessity determining means 13 that higher caution than the standard is necessary (YES in step S2), driving support characteristic control means 14 switches the driving support characteristic from the standard mode to the assist mode (step S3), and ends the process.

  On the other hand, if the event venue is not within a predetermined range (for example, 1 km) from the own vehicle position, if it is determined by the attention necessity determination means 13 that attention higher than the standard is not necessary (NO in step S2), driving assistance The characteristic control unit 14 maintains the driving support characteristic in the standard mode (step S4), and ends the process.

  Here, the assist mode and the standard mode will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the driving support characteristics of the brake actuator 8, where the vertical axis indicates the braking force, the horizontal axis indicates the brake pedal depression amount, the assist mode is indicated by a solid line, and the standard mode is indicated by a dotted line.

  The assist mode is a driving support characteristic of the brake actuator 8 that is adopted when it is determined by the caution necessity determining means 13 that higher caution than the standard is necessary, and the standard mode is the standard by the caution necessity determining means 13. This is the driving support characteristic of the brake actuator 8 employed when it is determined that higher caution is not necessary.

  In the standard mode, the brake actuator 8 increases the braking force in proportion to the increase of the brake pedal depression amount.

  On the other hand, in the assist mode, when the brake pedal depression amount is less than the predetermined amount, the brake actuator 8 increases the braking force corresponding to the brake pedal depression amount at a higher rate than the standard mode, and the brake pedal depression amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined amount. In this case, the braking force is increased at a lower rate than in the standard mode.

  To make it possible to generate an appropriate braking force when a pedestrian jumps out even if the driver is not used to depressing the brake pedal strongly by increasing the braking force generated by the initial operation. This is because it is not necessary to increase the braking force until the amount of depression of the brake pedal exceeds a predetermined amount.

  As a result, the driving assistance device 100 switches the driving assistance characteristic of the brake actuator 8 to the assist mode when the caution necessity determining means 13 determines that higher caution than the standard is necessary, so that the brake pedal depression amount is reduced. Even if it is small, a large braking force can be generated, and an appropriate braking force can be generated even when a pedestrian suddenly jumps out on the road.

  Next, a case where three types of driving support characteristics of the brake actuator 8 are provided will be described.

  FIG. 4 is another diagram showing the driving support characteristics of the brake actuator 8. Like FIG. 3, the vertical axis represents the braking force and the horizontal axis represents the brake pedal depression amount. 4 differs from FIG. 3 in that two types of assist modes are registered, and the first assist mode is indicated by a solid line, the second assist mode is indicated by a one-dot chain line, and the standard mode is indicated by a dotted line.

  The second assist mode has an intermediate characteristic between the first assist mode and the standard mode. In the second assist mode, the brake actuator 8 depresses the brake pedal when the brake pedal depression amount is less than a predetermined amount. When the braking force corresponding to the amount is increased at a rate that is higher than that in the standard mode and lower than that in the first assist mode, and the brake pedal depression amount exceeds a predetermined amount, the rate of increase is lower than that in the standard mode and higher than that in the first assist mode. Increase the braking force with.

  For example, when the event venue is within a predetermined range (for example, 1 km) from the vehicle position and the current time is 3 hours before the event start time, the driving support characteristic control means 14 sets the second driving support characteristic. Switch to assist mode.

  Further, the driving support characteristic control means 14 sets the driving support characteristic when, for example, the event venue is within a predetermined range (for example, 1 km) from the own vehicle position and the current time is one hour before the event start time. Switch to the first assist mode. This is because the amount of movement of event participants varies depending on the time of day.

  Further, the driving support characteristic control means 14 is used when, for example, the event venue is within a predetermined range (for example, 1 km) from the own vehicle position, and the driving road has a sidewalk protected by a guardrail. The assist characteristic may be switched to the second assist mode, and the driving assist characteristic may be switched to the first assist mode when the width of the running road is narrow and there is no sidewalk.

  This is because even if the amount of event participants' movement determined from the distance from the event venue and the time zone is the same, the degree of possibility of jumping out differs depending on the road conditions on which the vehicle is traveling. This is because the response of the brake actuator 8 is controlled according to the above to prevent a contact accident.

  Note that the driving support device 100 may include three or more types of driving support characteristics, and may change the driving support characteristics according to the degree of possibility of popping out in detail.

  Next, the driving support characteristics of devices other than the brake actuator 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the driving support characteristics of the throttle actuator 9. The vertical axis indicates the throttle opening, the horizontal axis indicates the accelerator pedal depression amount, the assist mode is indicated by a solid line, and the standard mode is indicated by a dotted line.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the driving support characteristics of the steering actuator 10. The vertical axis indicates the tire turning angle, the horizontal axis indicates the steering rotation angle, the assist mode is indicated by a solid line, and the standard mode is indicated by a dotted line.

  In FIG. 5, the assist mode is a driving support characteristic of the throttle actuator 9 that is applied when it is determined by the attention necessity determination means 13 that attention higher than the standard is necessary, and the standard mode is the attention necessity determination. This is a driving support characteristic of the throttle actuator 9 that is applied when it is determined by the means 13 that higher caution than the standard is not necessary.

  In the standard mode, the throttle actuator 9 increases the throttle opening as the accelerator pedal depression amount increases.

  On the other hand, in the assist mode, the throttle actuator 9 increases the throttle opening corresponding to the depression amount of the throttle pedal at an increase rate lower than that in the standard mode, and maintains the maximum throttle opening in a state lower than the standard mode. To.

  As a result, the driving assistance device 100 switches the driving assistance characteristic of the throttle actuator 9 to the assist mode when the caution necessity determining unit 13 determines that caution higher than the standard is necessary, so that the accelerator pedal depression amount is reduced. Even if it is large, the throttle opening can be made small so that the vehicle is not accelerated rapidly. This is to prevent a contact accident due to an error in driving operation by preventing the vehicle from rapidly accelerating at a position that requires higher attention than the standard.

  Similarly in FIG. 6, in the standard mode, the steering actuator 10 increases the tire turning angle at a constant rate as the rotation angle of the steering wheel increases. In the assist mode, the steering actuator 10 increases the tire turning angle corresponding to the rotation angle of the steering wheel at an increase rate higher than that in the standard mode.

  It is possible to generate an appropriate tire turning angle when a pedestrian jumps out even if the driver is not used to rotating the steering wheel greatly by increasing the tire turning angle generated by the initial operation. It is to make it.

  Thus, the driving assistance device 100 switches the driving assistance characteristic of the steering actuator 10 to the assist mode when the caution necessity determining means 13 determines that higher caution than the standard is necessary, thereby rotating the steering wheel rotation angle. Even if the tire is small, the tire turning angle is increased so that the steering with high responsiveness to a sudden pedestrian jumping can be realized.

  With the above configuration, the driving assistance device 100 determines the degree of possibility that a pedestrian moving around the place will jump out on the road based on the place where people gather and the holding time of the event held at the place. Since the driving support characteristics of the brake actuator 8 and the steering actuator 10 are changed based on the determination result, the responsiveness of the brake and the steering wheel can be improved when the possibility of popping out is high and attention is required. In the case where the battery pops out, appropriate driving assistance can be provided to prevent a contact accident or the like.

  In addition, since the driving support device 100 changes the driving support characteristics of the throttle actuator 9 according to the degree of possibility that a pedestrian jumps out on the road, the response of the throttle valve is required when the possibility of popping out is high and attention is required. Can be lowered to prevent sudden acceleration of the vehicle and improve the safety of pedestrians.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be added.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the driving support characteristic control unit 14 changes the driving support characteristic of the brake actuator 8, the throttle actuator 9, or the steering actuator 10 according to the degree of the possibility of popping out. You may make it adjust the sensitivity of the radar to detect according to the extent of the possibility of jumping out.

  The radar is a device for outputting an alarm or warning message when the presence of a pedestrian is detected, and the sensitivity of the radar is adjusted by changing a search angle or a search distance.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of a driving assistance device. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process which a driving assistance device switches the driving assistance characteristic of a brake actuator. FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating driving assist characteristics of a brake actuator. FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating driving assist characteristics of a brake actuator. It is a figure which shows the driving assistance characteristic by a throttle actuator. It is a figure which shows the driving assistance characteristic by a steering actuator.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control apparatus 2 Positioning apparatus 3 Communication apparatus 4 Memory | storage device 5 Brake sensor 6 Acceleration sensor 7 Steering angle sensor 8 Brake actuator 9 Throttle actuator 10 Steering actuator 11 Own vehicle position recognition means 12 Area information acquisition means 13 Attention necessity determination means 14 Driving Support characteristic control means 41 Map database 42 Regional information database 100 Driving support device

Claims (5)

A driving support device including driving support means for supporting a driving operation by a driver,
Vehicle position recognition means for recognizing the vehicle position;
Area information acquisition means for acquiring area information related to a place where people gather;
Attention necessity determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle position recognized by the own vehicle position recognition means based on the area information acquired by the area information acquisition means is a position that requires attention;
Driving support characteristic control means for changing the driving support characteristic of the driving support means based on the determination result by the necessity determination means;
A driving support apparatus comprising: The regional information related to the place where the people gather includes information on the holding time of the event held in each place,
The attention necessity determination means determines whether or not the vehicle position is a position that requires attention based on information related to the event holding time.
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein The driving support characteristic control means increases a braking force according to an operation amount of a brake;
The driving support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The driving support characteristic control means increases the tire turning angle according to the operation amount of the steering wheel.
The driving support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The driving support characteristic control means reduces the throttle opening according to the accelerator operation amount,
The driving support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

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