JP2008114777A - Automatic braking controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic braking controller enabling a user to recognize the timing for starting braking operation. <P>SOLUTION: When a position 21 of a vehicle reaches a position of 500 meters from an automatic braking start position 32, an enlarged map 30a of the automatic braking start position is displayed as a divided screen. An indicator 31a indicating the distance up to the automatic braking start position together with an own vehicle position mark 21 and an automatic braking start position mark 32 indicating the automatic braking start position are displayed in the enlarged map 30a. In the indicator 31a, the distance between a position of the vehicle and the automatic braking start position is displayed by length of a bar, and length of the bar is reduced as approaching the automatic braking start position. When a position of the vehicle reaches a position of 20 meters from the automatic braking start position, an enlarged map 30b of the automatic braking start position having a larger rate of reduced scale when compared with that of the enlarged map 30a is displayed as a divided screen. An indicator 31b and the automatic braking start position mark 32 are displayed in the enlarged map 30b together with the own vehicle position mark 21 in the same way as the enlarged map 30a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic braking control device that controls an appropriate vehicle speed when a vehicle enters a corner.

Conventionally known is an automatic braking device that detects the shape of a road ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle, calculates an appropriate passing speed of the road ahead of the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the detected road shape, and decelerates the vehicle to the appropriate passing vehicle speed. (For example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-315937

  In the conventional automatic braking device, when entering the corner, it is not known at which point braking is started. Therefore, there is a problem that braking is started at a timing unexpected by the user, and the user feels uncomfortable.

(1) The automatic braking control apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a current position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, a braking start means for starting braking of the vehicle before the vehicle enters the corner of the road, and starting the braking. And a notifying means for notifying a distance between the position where the braking is started and the current location of the vehicle.
(2) The invention according to claim 2 is the automatic braking control device according to claim 1, wherein the notification means includes one of a display monitor and a head-up display for displaying an indicator indicating a distance. .
(3) The invention according to claim 3 is the automatic braking control device according to claim 2, wherein an enlarged map indicating a position where braking is started is displayed on either the display monitor or the head-up display. .
(4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic braking control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the notification means also notifies the braking strength.
(5) The invention according to claim 5 is the automatic braking control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the notification means notifies the distance or the strength of braking by voice.
(6) The invention of claim 6 is the automatic braking control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising travel control means for traveling while maintaining a certain distance between the vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle, When a vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle is traveling at a speed exceeding an appropriate speed for passing through the corner, the braking means is prioritized over the traveling control means, and the braking means is prioritized over the traveling control means. It is characterized by notifying.

  According to the automatic braking control device of the present invention, the user is notified of the distance to the position where braking is started. Therefore, since the user can recognize the timing at which braking is started, braking is started at an unexpected timing and the user does not feel uncomfortable.

  FIG. 1 shows an automatic braking control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The automatic braking control device 1 displays the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position where braking is started on the display monitor 16. The automatic braking control device 1 includes a control circuit 11, ROM 12, RAM 13, current location detection device 14, image memory 15, display monitor 16, speaker 17, input device 18, braking device 19, and disk drive 110. The disk drive 110 is loaded with a DVD-ROM 111 in which map data is stored. Other than the braking device 19 functions as a navigation device.

  The control circuit 11 includes a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and performs various controls by executing a control program stored in the ROM 12 using the RAM 13 as a work area. The control circuit 11 controls the vehicle speed by operating a braking device 19 such as a brake so that the vehicle can pass through the corner of the road at an appropriate speed.

  The current location detection device 14 is a device that detects the current location of the vehicle. The current location detection device 14 includes a vibration gyro 14a, a vehicle speed sensor 14b, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 14c, and the like. The vibration gyro 14a detects the traveling direction of the vehicle, the vehicle speed sensor 14b detects the vehicle speed, and the GPS sensor 14c detects a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. The automatic braking control device 1 determines the display range of the map based on the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14 and displays the current location on the map. Further, the road ahead of the vehicle is specified based on the current location of the vehicle detected by the current location detection device 14. The shape of the identified road is detected by the control circuit 11.

  The image memory 15 stores image data to be displayed on the display monitor 16. This image data includes map drawing data and various graphic data, which are appropriately generated based on the map data stored in the DVD-ROM 111. The automatic braking control device 1 can perform map display and the like by using the image data generated in this way.

  The disk drive 110 reads map data from the DVD-ROM 111. The map data includes map display data and the like. The map display data includes road link information and node information stored in the map data. The map display data has map data of a plurality of scales from wide areas to details, and the scale of the display map can be changed according to a user request. The map data may be read from a recording medium other than the DVD-ROM 111, such as a CD-ROM or a hard disk.

  Based on the map data, the control circuit 11 detects the presence or absence of a corner that needs to control the vehicle speed on the road ahead in the vehicle traveling direction, that is, a corner having a curvature radius equal to or less than a predetermined value. The radius of curvature of the corner is calculated as the radius of curvature of the curve connecting the nodes from the information on the arrangement of the nodes included in the node information. Also, the optimum speed for passing through the corner is calculated from the radius of curvature of the curve. If the vehicle tries to enter the corner of the road beyond this optimum speed, the control circuit 11 operates the braking device 19 before the vehicle enters the corner so that the vehicle is decelerated to the optimum speed.

  The display monitor 16 provides the user with various information such as a map near the vehicle position as a screen display based on various information such as map data. The speaker 17 outputs sound for instructing the user to perform various input operations and informing various information. The input device 18 has an input switch for a user to set various commands, and is realized by a button switch on an operation panel.

  The braking device 19 includes a brake device and the like, and decelerates the vehicle so that the vehicle can pass through the corner at an appropriate speed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the display of the braking start position of the automatic braking control apparatus 1 in one embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display screen of the display monitor 16 displaying the map 20 around the vehicle position. At the vehicle position, a vehicle position mark 21 is displayed over the map 20. It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling at a speed exceeding an appropriate speed for passing through the corner 22a of the road 22 and is about to enter the corner 22a of the road 22.

  The automatic braking control device 1 decelerates the vehicle so that the vehicle passes through the corner 22a at an appropriate vehicle speed. Hereinafter, the braking performed by the automatic braking control device 1 to decelerate the vehicle is referred to as automatic braking. When the vehicle is further than 500 m before the position where automatic braking is started (hereinafter referred to as automatic braking start position), a map 20 around the vehicle position shown in FIG. 2 is displayed.

  When the position of the vehicle is 500 m before the automatic braking start position, a sound “The brake is automatically depressed 500 m ahead” is output from the speaker 17. And as shown to Fig.3 (a), the enlarged map 30a which displayed the automatic braking start position is displayed as a divided screen. The enlarged map 30a displays an indicator 31a indicating the distance to the automatic braking start position together with the own vehicle position mark 21, and an automatic braking start position mark 32 indicating the automatic braking start position. In the indicator 31a, the distance between the position of the vehicle and the automatic braking start position is displayed as the length of the bar, and the length of the bar becomes shorter as the vehicle approaches the automatic braking start position.

  When the position of the vehicle is 20 m before the automatic braking start position, a sound “soon to brake” is output from the speaker 17. And as shown in FIG.3 (b), the enlarged map 30b with a larger scale ratio compared with the enlarged map 30a is displayed as a divided screen. Similar to the enlarged map 30a, an indicator 31b and an automatic braking start position mark 32 are displayed on the enlarged map 30b together with the own vehicle position mark 21.

  Next, the distance display process to the automatic braking start position of the automatic braking control device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 to 6 is performed in the control circuit 11 by executing a program that starts when the map 20 around the vehicle position is displayed on the display screen of the display monitor 16.

  In step S <b> 401, the current location detection device 14 detects the current location of the vehicle. In step S402, a road in the vehicle traveling direction is specified based on the current location of the vehicle, and the shape of the specified road is detected. The shape of the road is detected from the arrangement of nodes on the identified road. In step S403, it is determined whether there is a corner whose vehicle speed should be controlled in the vehicle traveling direction. Whether there is a corner for which the vehicle speed should be controlled is determined by calculating the radius of curvature of the curve formed by connecting the nodes and determining whether the radius of curvature is smaller than a predetermined value. If there is a corner at which the vehicle speed is to be controlled, an affirmative determination is made in step S403, and the process proceeds to step S404. If there is no corner at which the vehicle speed should be controlled, a negative determination is made in step S403 and the process returns.

  In step S404, an appropriate vehicle speed (appropriate vehicle speed) Vc for passing through the corner is calculated. The relationship between the curvature radius of the road and the appropriate vehicle speed Vc is tabulated in advance, and the appropriate vehicle speed Vc is calculated by referring to the table. In step S405, the vehicle speed V of the vehicle is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 14b.

  In step S406, it is determined whether the vehicle speed V of the vehicle is higher than the appropriate vehicle speed Vc. If larger, an affirmative decision is made in step S406 and the process proceeds to step S407. If the vehicle speed V of the vehicle is less than or equal to the appropriate vehicle speed Vc, a negative determination is made in step S406 and the process returns. In step S407, an automatic braking start position is calculated. Based on the deceleration by automatic braking, the automatic braking start position at which the vehicle speed of the vehicle becomes the appropriate vehicle speed Vc at the corner entry position is calculated as the automatic braking start position. Then, the process proceeds to step S501 in FIG.

  In step S501, the current location of the vehicle is detected. In step S502, the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position calculated in step S407 is calculated. In step S503, it is determined whether the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position is 500 m or less. In the case of 500 m or less, an affirmative determination is made in step S503, and the process proceeds to step S504. If it is greater than 500 m, a negative determination is made in step S503, and the process returns to step S405 in FIG. In step S504, it is determined whether the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position is 20 m or less. If it is 20 m or less, an affirmative determination is made in step S504, and the process proceeds to step S601 in FIG. If larger than 20 m, a negative determination is made in step S504, and the process proceeds to step S505.

  In step S505, the voice guidance “The brake is automatically depressed 500m ahead” is output from the speaker 17. In step S506, the enlarged map 30a indicating the automatic braking start position is displayed as a divided screen on the display screen of the display monitor 16. In step S507, the indicator 31a displaying the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position is displayed.

  In step S508, the vehicle speed V of the vehicle is detected. In step S509, it is determined whether the vehicle speed V of the vehicle is greater than the appropriate vehicle speed Vc. If larger, an affirmative decision is made in step S509 and the process proceeds to step S510. If the vehicle speed V of the vehicle is less than or equal to the appropriate vehicle speed Vc, a negative determination is made in step S509, and the process proceeds to step S610 in FIG. In step S510, an automatic braking start position is calculated. In step S511, the current location of the vehicle is detected. In step S512, the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the vehicle position start position is calculated. In step S513, it is determined whether the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position is 20 m or less. If it is 20 m or less, an affirmative determination is made in step S513, and the process proceeds to step S601 in FIG. If it exceeds 20 m, a negative determination is made in step S513, and the process returns to step S508.

  In step S601, a voice guidance saying “I will step on the brakes soon” is output from the speaker 17. In step S602, the enlarged map 30b having a larger scale ratio than the enlarged map 30a is displayed as a divided screen. In step S603, the indicator 31b is displayed.

  In step S604, the vehicle speed V is detected. In step S605, it is determined whether the vehicle speed V is greater than the appropriate vehicle speed Vc. If larger, step S605 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S606. If the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to the appropriate vehicle speed Vc, a negative determination is made in step S605, and the process proceeds to step S610. In step S606, an automatic braking start position is calculated. In step S607, the current location is detected. In step S608, the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position is calculated. In step S609, it is determined whether the vehicle has passed the automatic braking start position. If it has passed, an affirmative determination is made in step S609, and the process proceeds to step S610. If it has not passed, a negative determination is made in step S609, and the process returns to step S604. In step S610, the enlarged maps 30a and 30b and the indicators 31a and 31b are deleted.

The automatic braking control device 1 according to the above embodiment has the following operational effects.
(1) The user is notified of the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position. Therefore, since the user can recognize the timing at which braking is started, braking is started at an unexpected timing and the user does not feel uncomfortable.

(2) The distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position is displayed by indicators 31a and 31b. Therefore, the distance to the automatic braking start position can be easily grasped visually.

(3) When the vehicle approaches the automatic braking start position, since the automatic braking start position approach is notified by voice, braking is started at an unexpected timing, and there is no sense of incongruity.

(4) Indicators 31a and 31b are displayed when the vehicle speed V of the vehicle exceeds the appropriate vehicle speed Vc, and indicators 31a and 31b are not displayed unless the vehicle speed V exceeds the appropriate vehicle speed Vc. Thereby, it can be grasped that the automatic braking control device 1 is activated, and the user is relieved. Further, if the vehicle speed V of the vehicle exceeds the appropriate vehicle speed Vc, the enlarged maps 30a and 30b are displayed, and if not exceeded, the enlarged maps 30a and 30b are not displayed. Also by this, it can grasp | ascertain that the automatic braking control apparatus 1 is starting, and a user is relieved.

(5) Since the enlarged maps 30a and 30b showing the automatic braking start position are displayed, it is possible to easily recognize at which point the automatic braking is started.

The automatic braking control device 1 of the above embodiment can be modified as follows.
(1) You may make it notify a user the strength (deceleration) of braking by automatic braking together with the distance from the current location of the vehicle to the automatic braking start position. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the strength of braking by automatic braking is displayed by an indicator 33. As a result, braking is started with an unexpected braking strength, and there is no sense of incongruity. In this case, the braking device 19 may be configured to perform braking by combining braking by the engine brake and braking by the foot brake so that the braking strength can be changed. Even when strong deceleration is performed by the same foot brake, the user can reduce the impact caused by braking by performing gentle deceleration by engine braking first.

(2) Although the indicators 31a and 31b displaying the distance to the automatic braking start position are displayed on the display monitor 16, the indicators 31a and 31b are displayed in the display area 81 of the front windshield glass from the head-up display as shown in FIG. May be displayed. Also by this, the user can recognize the timing at which braking is started, so that braking is started at an unexpected timing and the user does not feel uncomfortable. When the enlarged map of the automatic braking start position is displayed in the display area 81 of the head-up display, since it cannot be displayed in detail, it is displayed by a combination of rectangles 82a to 82d as shown in FIG. The automatic braking start position is indicated by a blinking arrow 83.

(3) By auto-cruise control, the vehicle may be traveling while maintaining a certain distance between the vehicle traveling ahead. At this time, when the preceding vehicle exceeds the appropriate vehicle speed and enters the corner, the automatic braking may be prioritized over the automatic cruise control. That is, the vehicle is decelerated even if the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle increases. Then, a voice guidance may be output from the speaker 17 as “automatic braking is given priority because the front vehicle has a fast corner approach speed.” On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle enters the corner at a speed equal to or lower than the appropriate speed, the vehicle travels while maintaining a certain distance from the preceding vehicle by auto-cruise control. At this time, a voice guidance may be output from the speaker 17 “follow the vehicle ahead”. The speed at which a corner can be turned varies depending on the performance of the vehicle. For this reason, when following a sports car having a high cornering performance, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from entering the corner at a speed exceeding the cornering performance of the vehicle. In addition, since the user is notified that the automatic braking is prioritized over the auto cruise control, the user does not feel discomfort even if the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle being followed increases.

(4) A recommended route from the current position to the destination is searched, and when the vehicle is traveling by route guidance according to the recommended route, a corner that should be controlled in the vehicle traveling direction is detected based on the recommended route. You may make it do. Since the vehicle does not always travel forward at an intersection or the like, it is possible to accurately detect the corner of the road on which the vehicle travels.

(5) As shown in FIG. 9, the automatic braking control device 1 </ b> A may be configured by connecting a navigation device 91 and a BCU (Brake Control Unit) 92 with a CAN (Control Area Network). The navigation device 91 calculates a curvature value (curvature radius, etc.) of the road from the map data and transmits it to the BCU 92. The BCU 92 calculates a deceleration or the like from the curvature value transmitted from the navigation device 91, and controls the vehicle based on the deceleration. In addition, the distance to the automatic braking start position is calculated, and the result is transmitted to the navigation device 91.

  The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

The correspondence between the elements of the claims and the embodiments will be described.
The present location detection means of the present invention corresponds to the current location detection device 14, and the braking start means corresponds to the control circuit 11 and the braking device 19. The braking start position calculation means corresponds to the control circuit 11, and the notification means corresponds to the control circuit 11, the display monitor 16 and the speaker 17. The traveling control means corresponds to the control circuit 11. In addition, the above description is an example to the last, and when interpreting invention, it is not limited to the correspondence of the component of said embodiment and the component of this invention at all.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the automatic braking control apparatus of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the map around the own vehicle position displayed on the display screen of a display monitor. FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining a display screen displayed when the distance to the automatic braking start position reaches 500 m, and FIG. 3B illustrates the distance to the automatic braking start position of 20 m. It is a figure for demonstrating the display screen displayed when it hits. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process until calculation of an automatic braking start position in the display process which displays the distance to an automatic braking start position. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process which displays the distance to an automatic braking start position when approaching to the distance within 500 m from an automatic braking start position. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the display process which displays the distance to an automatic braking start position when approaching to the distance within 20 m from an automatic braking start position. It is a figure for demonstrating the display screen which displayed the distance to an automatic braking start position, and the intensity | strength of braking. It is a figure for demonstrating the display of the distance to the automatic braking start position by a head-up display. It is a figure for demonstrating the automatic braking control apparatus comprised by connecting a navigation apparatus and BCU by CAN.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A Automatic braking control apparatus 11 Control circuit 14 Present location detection apparatus 16 Display monitor 17 Speaker 19 Braking apparatus 21 Own vehicle position mark 22 Road 22a Corner 31a, 31b, 33 Indicator 32 Automatic braking start position mark 91 Navigation apparatus 92 BCU
110 Disk drive 111 DVD-ROM

Claims (6)

Current location detection means for detecting the current location of the vehicle;
Braking start means for starting braking of the vehicle before the vehicle enters a corner of the road;
Braking start position calculating means for calculating a position for starting the braking;
An automatic braking control device comprising: a notification means for notifying a distance between a position where the braking is started and a current location of the vehicle. In the automatic braking control device according to claim 1,
The automatic brake control device, wherein the notification means includes one of a display monitor and a head-up display that display an indicator indicating the distance. The automatic braking control device according to claim 2,
An automatic braking control device, wherein an enlarged map showing a position where the braking is started is displayed on either the display monitor or the head-up display. In the automatic braking control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The automatic brake control device characterized in that the notification means also notifies the braking intensity. In the automatic braking control device according to claim 1 to 4,
The automatic brake control device characterized in that the notification means notifies the distance or the strength of braking by voice. The automatic braking control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Travel control means for traveling while maintaining a certain distance between the vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle,
When a vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle is traveling at a speed exceeding an appropriate speed for passing through the corner, the braking unit is prioritized over the traveling control unit, and the braking is performed over the traveling control unit. An automatic braking control device for notifying priority of means.

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