JP2009023560A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an driving support device for much more flexibly switching the control content of driving support according to the peripheral circumstances of a road on which one's own vehicle travels, and for preventing any improper driving support from being performed. <P>SOLUTION: This driving support device 100 equipped with a driving support means 10 for automatically supporting the driving of a vehicle according to a traveling state is provided with an image pickup means 2 for picking up the image of the periphery of the own vehicle; an entry possibility decision means 11 for deciding the possibility of the entry of a pedestrian to a road on which a self-vehicle travels based on an image picked up by an image pickup means 2; and a control content switching means 12 for switching the control content of driving support by the driving support means 10 regardless of the type of a road based on the decision result of the entry possibility decision means 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device, and in particular, switches various driving support control contents such as follow-up driving control, constant speed driving control, or lane keeping control depending on the surrounding conditions of a road on which the vehicle travels, and is inappropriate. The present invention relates to a driving assistance device that avoids driving assistance.

  Conventionally, there is a travel control device capable of stopping the vehicle by reducing the distance between the vehicles without stopping the follow-up control for controlling the speed of the vehicle so as to keep the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle at a predetermined distance. It is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  This travel control device includes a first follow-up control mode in which the host vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance until the host vehicle stops, and the host vehicle only when the host vehicle speed decreases to a predetermined speed. And a second follow-up control mode for following the preceding vehicle.

  This travel control device applies the first follow-up control mode when it is detected by the navigation device that the vehicle is traveling on an automobile-only road or a wide general road with a lane width equal to or larger than a predetermined width, The second follow-up control mode is applied when it is detected by the navigation device that the vehicle is traveling on a narrow general road having a lane width less than a predetermined width.

As a result, this travel control device switches the two following modes according to the type of road, so that there are many pedestrian crossings, and the own vehicle with a relatively large inter-vehicle distance on a general road with many intersecting roads. Can be prevented, and as a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which crossing of the road other than the pedestrian crossing is induced between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle.
JP 2006-182259 A

  However, the travel control device described in Patent Document 1 uses a navigation device to determine the type of road (there is an expressway, an automobile-only road, a general road, etc.), and according to the determined road type. Since switching between the two following modes, the judgment of the road type is uniform, roads where the lane width is less than the predetermined width but there is no pedestrian crossing, and roads where the lane width is greater than the predetermined width but the pedestrian crosses frequently It may not be possible to respond flexibly to difficult roads.

  Further, in a situation where an expressway and a general road overlap each other, there is a case where the determination of the road type is wrong and an inappropriate follow-up mode is applied.

  In view of the above-described points, the present invention provides a driving support device that switches the control content of driving support more flexibly according to the surrounding conditions of the road on which the vehicle travels and prevents inappropriate driving support from being performed. The purpose is to provide.

  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 provided with driving support means for automatically supporting driving of a vehicle according to a traveling state, and the periphery of the own vehicle An imaging means for imaging the vehicle, an entrance possibility determination means for determining the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like on a road on which the vehicle travels based on an image captured by the imaging means, and an entrance possibility determination means. Control content switching means for switching the control content of the driving support by the driving support means regardless of the road type based on the determination result is provided.

  Moreover, 2nd invention is the driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st invention, Comprising: The said driving assistance means act | operates following driving | running | working driving | running | working control, constant speed driving | running control, or lane maintenance control, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The third aspect of the invention is the driving support apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the driving support means operates follow-up running control, and the control content switching means is a pedestrian on the road on which the vehicle is running. If it is determined that there is a high possibility that the vehicle will enter, the control content of the follow-up running control by the driving support means is set so that the operation of the follow-up running control is stopped when the speed of the host vehicle falls below a predetermined speed. It is characterized by switching regardless of the road type.

  Further, a fourth invention is the driving support device according to the first invention, wherein the approach possibility determining means is based on the structure of the sidewalk, and the approach of a pedestrian or the like entering the road on which the vehicle travels. It is characterized by determining the possibility.

  With the above-described means, the present invention provides a driving support apparatus that switches the control details of driving support more flexibly according to the surrounding conditions of the road on which the vehicle travels, and prevents inappropriate driving support from being performed. Can be provided.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration example of a driving support device according to the present invention. A control unit 1 of the driving support device 100 outputs a camera 2, a vehicle speed sensor 3, a radar 4 and a navigation device 5. Information is received, a predetermined calculation is performed based on the information, and a control signal based on the calculation result is output to the accelerator control device 6, the brake control device 7, and the steering control device 8.

  The control unit 1 is a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. For example, the driving support means 10, the entry possibility determination means 11, and the control contents While storing a program corresponding to each of the switching means 12 in the ROM, the CPU is caused to execute processing corresponding to each means.

  The camera 2 is a device that captures the periphery of the vehicle, and is a camera that uses an image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and faces the front of the vehicle in the vicinity of the rearview mirror. It is attached as follows.

  In addition, the camera 2 may be an infrared camera that can shoot at night or a stereo camera that can measure the distance to the subject.

  For example, the image captured by the camera 2 is subjected to image processing such as binarization processing and edge detection processing, and the presence of a road sign or road marking is recognized by pattern matching processing. Recognize the presence of people on board, motorbikes, people who work around the road (hereinafter referred to as “pedestrians”), or between two points in the image Used to measure the distance.

  The camera 2 may be an infrared thermography that detects infrared radiant energy emitted from a subject. In this case, an image taken by the camera 2 is used to detect a pedestrian or the like existing around the vehicle. The camera 2 may be a camera that uses both a normal camera and a thermography.

  The image captured by the camera 2 may be a still image or a moving image over a predetermined time (for example, 5 seconds).

  The vehicle speed sensor 3 is a sensor that measures the speed of the vehicle. For example, an MR (Magnetic Resistance) element reads a change in a magnetic field caused by a magnet attached to each wheel and rotating with each wheel as a magnetic resistance, and this is converted into a rotation speed. The rotation speed of the wheel and the speed of the vehicle are detected by taking out as a proportional pulse signal.

  The radar 4 is a sensor for measuring a distance between the own vehicle and an object around the own vehicle. For example, the radar 4 is a laser radar, an ultrasonic radar, or a millimeter wave radar. Output.

  The navigation device 5 is a system for guiding a vehicle by indicating a route to a destination based on vehicle position information acquired by a GPS function and map information stored in a hard disk, a DVD, or the like.

  The navigation device 5 can specify the road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the vehicle position information (latitude, longitude, altitude) and map information, and further, by using the map matching technology, Even if the position information includes a measurement error, the road on which the vehicle is traveling can be identified with high accuracy.

  The accelerator control device 6, the brake control device 7, and the steering control device 8 are devices for adjusting the accelerator opening, the brake braking force, and the steering angle, respectively, based on the control signal output from the control unit 1.

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

  The driving support means 10 is means for supporting driving of the host vehicle. For example, the driving position of the host vehicle in the lane specified from the image output by the camera 2 and the driving of the host vehicle output by the vehicle speed sensor 3 are described. Following travel control, constant speed travel control, lane keeping control, or the like is executed based on the speed or the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle output by the radar 4.

  “Following running control” is control for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and its preceding vehicle at a predetermined set inter-vehicle distance. For example, both the speed of the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle are 60 km / h, When the current inter-vehicle distance is 60 m and the preceding vehicle decelerates to 50 km / h and the inter-vehicle distance decreases, the driving support means 10 transmits a control signal to the accelerator control device 6 to reduce the accelerator opening. Alternatively, a control signal is transmitted to the brake control device 7 to increase the brake braking force, and the driver decelerates the vehicle without depressing the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal so that the speed is less than 50 km / h. Control to maintain the inter-vehicle distance at 60 m.

  “Constant speed running control” is control for maintaining the speed of the host vehicle at a predetermined set speed. For example, when the current speed of the host vehicle is 60 km / h and the set speed is 80 km / h, driving is performed. The support means 10 increases the accelerator opening, and accelerates the vehicle to control the speed to 80 km / h without the driver depressing the accelerator pedal.

  The “lane keeping control” is control that prevents the own vehicle from deviating from the lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling. For example, the own vehicle is on any one of the lane lines (including lane boundary lines, road outer lines, etc.). When approaching, the driving support means 10 sends a control signal to the steering control device 8 to adjust the steering angle in the direction away from the lane marking so that the driver can move the vehicle without operating the steering. Continue to drive along the lane.

  The approach possibility determining means 11 is a means for determining the possibility of an object entering the road on which the host vehicle is running. Image processing such as valuation processing, edge extraction processing, pattern matching processing, etc., road width, lane width, shoulder width, presence / absence of pedestrian crossings, presence / absence of sidewalks, curbs, guardrails, fences that separate roadways and sidewalks Or the presence or absence of a level | step difference etc. is recognized and the possibility of the approach of a pedestrian etc. to the road where the own vehicle drive | works is determined.

  Further, the approach possibility determination means 11 determines whether there is a pedestrian or the like around the road on which the vehicle travels or on the road based on the image around the vehicle acquired using the thermography, You may make it determine the possibility of the approach of the pedestrian etc. to the road where the own vehicle drive | works.

  In addition, the approach possibility determination means 11 acquires images of the vicinity of the vehicle with the camera 2 periodically (for example, at intervals of 1 minute), and based on the images, the approach to the road on which the vehicle is traveling is acquired. Determine the possibility of pedestrians entering.

  Moreover, the approach possibility determination means 11 acquires the image of the surroundings of the own vehicle with the camera 2 for every predetermined travel distance (for example, 500 meters), and the pedestrian etc. to the road where the own vehicle runs for every image. The possibility of entering the vehicle may be determined.

  For example, the approach possibility determining means 11 is configured to enter the road on which the vehicle travels when the lane width is wider than a predetermined value, there is no pedestrian crossing around the vehicle, and there is no pedestrian around the road. It is determined that there is no possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like, and in other cases, it is determined that there is a possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like to the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

  In addition, the approach possibility determining means 11 may determine whether the vehicle is in the case where the lane width is narrower than a predetermined value, there is a pedestrian crossing around the vehicle, and the presence of a pedestrian around the road is confirmed. It is determined that there is a possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and otherwise, it is determined that there is no possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like on the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Good.

  The entry possibility determination means 11 determines the possibility of entry by selecting “Yes” or “No”, but depending on the combination of various facts, there is no entry such as 10%, 30%, 80%, etc. You may make it determine with the numerical value of a step.

  The control content switching unit 12 is a unit for switching the control content of the driving support by the driving support unit 10 based on the determination result of the entry possibility determination unit 11, for example, a pedestrian to the road on which the own vehicle is traveling, etc. When it is determined that there is a high possibility of entering the vehicle, a speed for shortening the set inter-vehicle distance of the follow-up running control or stopping the operation of the follow-up running control (hereinafter referred to as “stop speed”). Or introduce.

  Despite driving on roads where pedestrians are highly likely to enter, continuation of follow-up control to maintain a relatively large inter-vehicle distance induces crossing of pedestrians and other roads This is to prevent this from happening.

  In this case, when it is determined that the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like into the road on which the vehicle is traveling is high, the control content switching means 12 determines how sensitive the accelerator is to open according to the movement of the preceding vehicle. It means that the degree or the brake braking force is fluctuated).

  In addition, the control content switching means 12 may automatically reduce the set speed of the constant speed traveling control when it is determined that the possibility of a pedestrian or the like entering the road on which the vehicle is traveling is high. The lane keeping control may be stopped.

  This is to limit the traveling speed so that it can be prepared for sudden jumping out of pedestrians, etc., and to give priority to maintaining the lane excessively and to avoid approaching pedestrians etc. This is to prevent the steering operation from being hindered.

  The control content switching unit 12 switches the control content of various driving assistances as needed based on a single determination result of the entry possibility determination unit 11, but when a similar determination result is obtained a predetermined number of times. The control content may be switched as long as possible, or the control content may be switched only when the same determination result continues a plurality of times.

  Further, the control content switching means 12 switches the control content of various driving support based on the alternative determination result of the entry possibility determination means 11 at any time. Based on the determination result, the control details of various driving assistances may be adjusted steplessly.

  Next, a process in which the driving support device 100 switches the control content of the follow-up control (hereinafter referred to as “control content switching process”) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the control content switching process, and the driving support device 100 executes the control content switching process periodically (for example, at an interval of 1 minute). It is assumed that the following traveling control has already been activated.

  First, the driving assistance apparatus 100 captures an image around the own vehicle using the camera 2 (step S1).

  Thereafter, the control unit 1 of the driving support device 100 determines the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like on the road on which the vehicle travels based on the image acquired via the camera 2 by the approach possibility determination unit 11. (Step S2). Details of this process will be described later.

  When it is determined that a pedestrian or the like is likely to enter (YES in step S3), the control unit 1 uses the control content switching unit 12 to introduce a stop speed (for example, 5 km / h) to the follow-up traveling control. When the speed of the host vehicle falls below the stop speed (for example, 5 km / h), the follow-up traveling control is stopped (step S4). This is to enable the driver to maintain the inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the road on which the pedestrian or the like is expected to enter by manual operation.

  The control unit 1 resumes the follow-up running control by the driving support means 10 when the speed of the host vehicle is increased again to a predetermined speed (for example, 15 km / h) after the follow-up running control is temporarily stopped. I will let you. This is to reduce the driving load on the driver.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like is low (NO in step S3), the control unit 1 does not introduce the stop speed to the follow-up traveling control by the control content switching unit 12, and continues as it is. The follow-up running control is continued, and if the stop speed has already been introduced, the control content switching means 12 removes the restriction based on the stop speed (step S5). This is to execute driving support commensurate with a road on which a pedestrian or the like is not expected to enter.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a process in which the approach possibility determination unit 11 determines the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like into the road (hereinafter referred to as “entry possibility determination process”) will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the entry possibility determination process.

  First, the control unit 1 of the driving support device 100 performs image processing such as binarization processing and edge extraction processing on the image acquired via the camera 2, and road boundaries, lane markings, and After extracting the boundary of the bonnet part of the own vehicle, a lane width, a shoulder width, etc. are calculated by relative comparison based on a known vehicle width (step S11).

  After that, the control unit 1 confirms whether there is a pedestrian crossing based on the road marking of the pedestrian crossing stored in the ROM or the registered image corresponding to the road sign by pattern matching processing, and confirms the pedestrian crossing. If it can, the position (latitude, longitude) is recorded (step S12).

  Further, the control unit 1 confirms whether or not a registered image such as a guard rail, a step or a curb stored in the ROM exists near the road boundary of the acquired image by pattern matching processing, and there is a sidewalk beside the road. Whether or not there is a sidewalk, if there is a sidewalk, the sidewalk width, the structure of the sidewalk (separated from the roadway by guardrails, curbs, fences or steps, etc., or simply the extension of the shoulder) .) Is recognized (step S13).

  Note that the control unit 1 may recognize the type of road on which the vehicle travels by using the output of the navigation device 5 and limit the types of registered images used for matching in the pattern matching process. . This is because unnecessary pattern matching processing is omitted and the load on the control unit 1 is reduced.

  Furthermore, the control unit 1 confirms whether or not a registered image of a pedestrian or the like exists in the image acquired via the thermography by the pattern matching process (step S14).

  Lastly, the approach possibility determining means 11 of the control unit 1 has a wide lane width, a distance from the nearest pedestrian crossing, a road configuration (meaning a wide shoulder width, presence / absence of a sidewalk, a sidewalk configuration, etc.). Further, the presence / absence of pedestrians around the vehicle is comprehensively determined to determine the possibility of the pedestrians entering the road on which the vehicle is traveling (step S15).

  For example, if the sidewalk and the roadway are separated from each other by a guardrail, the entrance possibility determining means 11 may determine whether a pedestrian or the like may enter even if the presence of a pedestrian or the like is recognized by the thermography. On the other hand, even if the presence of a pedestrian or the like is not recognized by the road by thermography, the distance from the nearest pedestrian crossing to the current position is a predetermined value (for example, 1 km). If there is no sidewalk separated from the roadway, it is determined that there is a high possibility that a pedestrian or the like will enter.

  With the above configuration, the driving support device 100 can provide optimal driving support according to road conditions in a timely and prompt manner.

  In addition, the driving support device 100 can provide the optimal driving support according to the surrounding environment in a timely and prompt manner without fixing the content of the driving support according to the type of road on which the vehicle travels. it can.

  In addition, since the driving support device 100 does not necessarily need to determine the type of road on which the vehicle travels, the driving support device 100 can be applied to a vehicle that does not include the navigation device 5, while the vehicle that includes the navigation device 5. Even if the navigation device 5 erroneously detects the type of road in a situation where, for example, a general road and a highway overlap each other, Regardless of the detection result of the navigation device 5, it is possible to provide optimal driving support according to the surrounding environment in a timely and prompt manner.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, 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, the driving assistance device 100 may assist the map matching of the navigation device 5 by determining the type of road on which the vehicle travels from the determination result regarding the possibility of entry by a pedestrian or the like.

  In addition, the driving assistance device 100 flexibly switches the driving assistance control contents according to the environment around the own vehicle regardless of the type of the road, but the own vehicle travels from the determination result on the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like. The type of road to be determined may be determined, and the driving assistance control content may be switched according to the road type. In this case, it is not necessary to switch the control details of the driving assistance as long as the vehicle travels on the road whose type is specified, so that the number of determinations can be reduced and the load on the control unit 1 can be reduced.

  In addition, the driving support device 100 determines the possibility of a pedestrian or the like entering the road on which the vehicle travels from the image acquired by the camera 2, and switches the driving support control contents at any time based on the determination result. However, it recognizes the possibility of an emergency vehicle (an ambulance, a fire engine, a police car, etc.) entering the road on which the vehicle travels from the image acquired by the camera 2 based on the presence of the rotating light. The control details of the driving assistance may be switched as needed based on the recognition result.

  For example, when it is determined that there is a possibility of an emergency vehicle entering, the driving support device 100 allows the vehicle to travel on the shoulder by stopping the lane keeping control, and does not prevent the emergency vehicle from passing. Like that.

It is a block diagram which shows roughly the example of a structure of the driving assistance device by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a control content switching process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an approach possibility determination process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 2 Camera 3 Vehicle speed sensor 4 Radar 5 Navigation apparatus 6 Accelerator control apparatus 7 Brake control apparatus 8 Steering control apparatus 10 Driving support means 11 Approach possibility determination means 12 Control content switching means 100 Driving support apparatus

Claims (4)

A driving support device having driving support means for automatically supporting driving of a vehicle according to a running state,
Imaging means for imaging the periphery of the vehicle;
An approach possibility determination means for determining the possibility of an object entering the road on which the vehicle travels based on an image captured by the imaging means;
Control content switching means for switching the control content of the driving support by the driving support means regardless of the road type based on the determination result of the entry possibility determining means,
A driving support apparatus comprising: The driving support means activates follow-up running control, constant speed running control or lane keeping control,
The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The driving support means operates follow-up running control,
When it is determined that there is a high possibility that a pedestrian or the like will enter the road on which the vehicle travels, the control content switching means stops the operation of the follow-up travel control when the speed of the vehicle falls below a predetermined speed. To switch the control content of the following traveling control by the driving support means,
The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The entry possibility determination means determines the possibility of entry of a pedestrian or the like on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, based on the configuration of the sidewalk.
The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

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