JP2010182207A - Drive support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive support device which supports user's driving a vehicle, on the basis of predictive contents of movement of peripheral vehicles. <P>SOLUTION: A drive support device (E1) includes a road information acquisition means (100) which acquires road information relating to a road on which the vehicle is running; a vehicle information acquisition means (101) which acquires vehicle information including positions and speeds of peripheral vehicles running in the periphery of the vehicle; an action history acquisition means (102) which acquires information relating to action histories of drivers driving the peripheral vehicles; a movement prediction means (104), which predicts movement of peripheral vehicles, on the basis of the road information acquired by the road information acquisition means (100), the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means (101), and the action histories of drivers driving the peripheral vehicles, which are acquired by the action history acquisition means (102); and a drive supporting means (105), which determines drive support contents of the vehicle on the basis of movement of peripheral vehicles predicted by the movement prediction means (104). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a driving support device that supports driving of a host vehicle based on the predicted contents of movement of surrounding vehicles.

  Conventionally, it is a vehicle (own vehicle, preceding vehicle, oncoming vehicle, etc.) driven by each driver according to the driving history of each driver (for example, a history that an accident has occurred at an intersection in the past). ) Around the danger area, caution area, caution area (the size of these areas is larger for vehicles driven by drivers who have experienced accidents) There is known a vehicle control device that performs a plurality of motion simulations and performs driving support while selecting an optimal travel route according to the degree of overlap between the three areas related to the own vehicle and the three areas related to the other vehicle. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-056372 A

  However, the vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1 changes the size of the above-described three regions belonging to each surrounding vehicle based on the driving history of each driver driving the surrounding vehicle traveling around the host vehicle. , Because it does not predict the movement of each surrounding vehicle based on the driving history of each driver, it only simulates the situation that occurs according to the movement that the own vehicle can take, depending on the movement of the surrounding vehicle In some cases, the situation that occurs is inappropriate and the vehicle cannot be properly supported.

  In view of the above-described points, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device that supports driving of the host vehicle based on the predicted content of the movement of surrounding vehicles.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a driving support device according to the first invention includes road information acquisition means for acquiring road information relating to a road on which the host vehicle travels, positions of surrounding vehicles that travel around the host vehicle, and Vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information including speed, action history acquisition means for acquiring information related to an action history of a driver driving a surrounding vehicle, road information acquired by the road information acquisition means, and vehicle information acquisition Motion prediction means for predicting the movement of the surrounding vehicle based on the vehicle information acquired by the means and the action history of the driver driving the surrounding vehicle acquired by the action history acquisition means, and the motion prediction means predicted Driving assistance means for determining driving assistance contents of the own vehicle based on the movement of the surrounding vehicle.

  Moreover, 2nd invention is a driving assistance device which concerns on 1st invention, Comprising: The driving information acquisition means which acquires the driving information of the said surrounding vehicle is provided, The said motion estimation means is the said driving information additionally The movement of the specific vehicle is predicted based on the driving information of the specific vehicle among the surrounding vehicles acquired by the acquisition means.

  Moreover, 3rd invention is the driving assistance device which concerns on 2nd invention, Comprising: The said specific vehicle is a preceding vehicle, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  Moreover, 4th invention is the driving assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd invention, Comprising: The said driving information acquisition means acquires driving information via vehicle-to-vehicle communication, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The fifth aspect of the invention is a driving support apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, further comprising a prediction content display unit that displays the movement of the surrounding vehicle predicted by the movement prediction unit.

  With the above-described means, the present invention can provide a driving support device that supports driving of the host vehicle based on the predicted content of the movement of surrounding vehicles.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the driving assistance apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the present arrangement | positioning of the vehicle in the vicinity of a junction. It is FIG. (1) for demonstrating the prediction arrangement | positioning of the vehicle in the vicinity of a junction. FIG. 10 is a diagram (No. 2) for describing the predicted arrangement of vehicles near the junction. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the driving assistance process which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the prediction content change process which concerns on the Example of this invention.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a driving support device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the driving support device E1 approaches the junction while predicting the movement of a vehicle traveling around the junction. An in-vehicle device for supporting driving of the host vehicle, which receives outputs from a vehicle speed sensor 20, a brake sensor 21, an accelerator sensor 22, a camera 23, a radar 24, and a communication device 25, and a navigation system 30 and a storage device 31 The control unit 10 executes various calculations while exchanging data between them and outputs control signals to the engine ECU 40 and the brake ECU 41.

  The control unit 10 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 road information acquisition unit 100, the vehicle information acquisition unit 101, the action history While the programs corresponding to each of the acquisition means 102, the driving information acquisition means 103, the motion prediction means 104, the driving support means 105, and the prediction content display means 106 are stored in the ROM, the processing corresponding to each means is executed on the CPU. Let

  The vehicle speed sensor 20 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. The rotation speed of the wheel and the speed of the vehicle are detected by taking out as a proportional pulse signal.

  The brake sensor 21 is a sensor for detecting the amount of depression 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 driver's depression force and the pedal depression amount. Alternatively, the position of the pedal is measured by a contact type or non-contact type potentiometer or a magnetic induction type position sensor to directly detect the depression amount of the pedal, and the detected value is output to the control unit 10.

  Similar to the brake sensor 21, the accelerator sensor 22 is a sensor for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, and outputs a value of the depression amount of the accelerator pedal by the driver to the control unit 10.

  The camera 23 is a device for imaging the driver, and is a camera including an imaging element such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), for example. Output to. Thereby, the control part 10 can grasp | ascertain a driver | operator's periphery confirmation operation | movement (for example, operation | movement recognized based on the direction of a driver | operator's face and the direction of a gaze).

  The radar 24 is a device for measuring the distance between the host vehicle and an object in the vicinity of the host vehicle. For example, the radar 24 generates ultrasonic waves, laser light, or radio waves (for example, millimeter waves). Is reflected by an object to be measured (for example, another vehicle), and the reflected wave is received to compare the transmitted wave and the received wave. Based on the phase difference, the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle are compared. Existence or non-existence, or the distance between the host vehicle and another vehicle is grasped.

  The communication device 25 is a device for controlling communication with the outside. For example, using a communication protocol such as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), a communication device mounted on another vehicle or a communication installed on a road. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication and road-to-vehicle communication can be executed with the device.

  Further, the communication device 25 may be configured to be able to exchange information between the own vehicle and a fixed facility (database center) via a mobile phone network.

  The navigation system 30 indicates the route to the destination based on the position information of the vehicle acquired by the GPS (Global Positioning System) function and the map information stored in the hard disk, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or the like. This is a system for guiding, and for example, outputs information related to the current position of the host vehicle and the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the junction to the control unit 10.

  The storage device 31 is a device for storing various types of information. For example, the storage device 31 is a storage medium such as a hard disk or a DVD, and stores an action history database 310 (hereinafter referred to as “behavior history DB 310”).

  The action history DB 310 is a database systematically configured so that information related to a driver's action history can be searched. For example, the action history DB 310 is based on the frequency of lane change, the frequency of overtaking or overtaking, or the frequency of sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration. The information on the driver's action history derived in this way is for each driving environment (for example, highway driving, city driving, rainy driving, night driving, long driving, commuting driving, etc.) and for each driver. I remember it.

  In addition, the information regarding the driver's behavior history is preferably expressed in a plurality of levels. For example, the lane change when driving on an expressway is one of the three stages of “high”, “normal”, and “low”. Set to any level.

  Each vehicle is equipped with an existing device for identifying a driver such as an ID card reader or a fingerprint authentication device, and the behavior history DB 310 can accumulate a behavior history for each driver.

  In addition, the action history DB 310 may be collectively managed at a fixed facility such as a database center. In this case, each vehicle periodically collects information on driving behavior (for example, every time an ignition switch is turned off). B) Upload to the database center.

  The action history DB 310 may include information on each driver's traffic rule violation history, accident history, driving frequency, driving license acquisition date and time, and the like. This is because it is useful for predicting the driving behavior of each driver.

  The engine ECU 40 is an electronic control device for controlling the driving force by the engine. For example, the engine ECU 40 controls the driving force by the engine while operating the throttle actuator in accordance with the control signal output from the control unit 10 and adjusting the throttle opening. To do.

  The brake ECU 41 is an electronic control device for controlling the braking force by the brake. For example, the brake ECU 41 controls the braking force by the brake while adjusting the brake pressure by operating the brake actuator according to the control signal output from the control unit 10. .

  Next, various units included in the control unit 10 will be described.

  The road information acquisition unit 100 is a unit for acquiring information about roads around the host vehicle. For example, the host vehicle becomes a confluence on the basis of the position information and map information of the host vehicle output from the navigation system 30. Information that the vehicle is approaching, information that the host vehicle has passed the junction, and the location (latitude, longitude, altitude, etc.) and shape of the junction (number of lanes on the main road, number of lanes on the junction) , And the curve radius of the combined flow path, etc.).

  The vehicle information acquisition unit 101 is a unit that acquires vehicle information of surrounding vehicles that travel around the host vehicle. For example, the road information acquisition unit 100 uses information indicating that the host vehicle is approaching a junction (for example, Information indicating that the distance from the vehicle to the merging point is less than 500 m.), The surrounding vehicles existing within a predetermined distance range (for example, 1 km square) from the own vehicle. The vehicle information to be transmitted is acquired, and the control unit 10 can grasp the arrangement of surrounding vehicles at the current time.

  In this case, the vehicle information is information periodically transmitted by each peripheral vehicle through the communication device 25 mounted on each peripheral vehicle or information returned by each peripheral vehicle in response to a vehicle information request signal from the own vehicle. Yes, including vehicle ID, driver ID, position information (latitude, longitude, altitude), speed information, and the like of each surrounding vehicle.

  Further, the vehicle information acquisition means 101 receives position information (latitude, longitude) of a vehicle approaching the junction by receiving an output of a radar that detects a vehicle that is installed near the junction and approaches the junction through road-to-vehicle communication. , Altitude) and speed information may be acquired as vehicle information.

  The action history acquisition means 102 is a means for acquiring information related to the action history of the driver driving each surrounding vehicle (hereinafter referred to as “action history information”) via inter-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication. For example, after acquiring vehicle information transmitted from each neighboring vehicle by the vehicle information obtaining unit 101 and grasping the arrangement of the neighboring vehicles, the neighboring vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “related” ”), And an action history request signal (including the vehicle ID of the host vehicle) is transmitted to the related peripheral vehicles, and each related peripheral vehicle is transmitted according to the action history request signal. Acquires action history information sent back to the vehicle.

  Each related peripheral vehicle extracts an action history corresponding to the current driver from the action history DB 310 stored in the respective storage device 31, generates action history information, and sends the action history request signal to the own vehicle. The action history information is returned.

  In addition, each surrounding vehicle may transmit the action history information corresponding to the current traveling environment and the current driver of each surrounding vehicle together with the vehicle information without specifying the transmission destination. In this case, the own vehicle can acquire the action history information of the related peripheral vehicle without having to transmit an action history request signal to the related peripheral vehicle.

  Further, the action history acquisition means 102 may access a fixed facility such as a database center to acquire action history information of each related peripheral vehicle. In this case, authentication (specification) of the surrounding vehicle is performed by the camera or an attached processing device based on an image (including a license plate) of the vehicle approaching the merge point captured by the camera installed near the merge point. The action history acquisition unit 102 may receive the authentication result through road-to-vehicle communication.

  The driving information acquisition means 103 is means for acquiring driving information of a driver who drives each related peripheral vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication, for example, a brake sensor mounted on each related peripheral vehicle. 21, primary driving information that is the output itself of the accelerator sensor 22 or the camera 23, or secondary driving information generated by processing the primary driving information by the control unit 10 mounted on each related peripheral vehicle ( For example, the acceleration start timing of the preceding vehicle that travels on the joint path detected based on the output of the accelerator sensor 22, the brake timing of the preceding vehicle detected based on the output of the brake sensor 21, or the output of the camera 23 The timing at which the driver of the preceding vehicle detected on the basis of the road visually confirms the main road side (right rear), etc.) To get from the vehicle.

  For example, each related peripheral vehicle may start transmission of driving information after receiving an action history request signal and continuously transmit primary driving information to the own vehicle that has transmitted the action history request signal. When the driver determines that a specific action (depressing an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal, or a visual confirmation operation, etc.) has been performed, secondary driving information is sent to the vehicle that has sent the action history request signal. You may make it transmit.

  In addition, each related peripheral vehicle may start transmission of driving information after receiving a driving information request signal separately transmitted by the own vehicle. This is because the host vehicle does not necessarily need to collect driving information from all related peripheral vehicles, and the processing of the control unit 10 of the driving support apparatus E1 mounted on the host vehicle by collecting only necessary and sufficient driving information. This is to reduce the load.

  The motion prediction unit 104 is a unit for predicting the motion of related peripheral vehicles. For example, the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit 100 (the fact that the host vehicle is approaching the junction, and its junction Point position and shape), vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means 101 (positions and speeds of surrounding vehicles), action history information of related peripheral vehicles acquired by the action history acquisition means 102, and Based on the above, the movement of related peripheral vehicles toward the junction is predicted.

  Specifically, the control unit 10 of the driving support apparatus E1 mounted on the host vehicle requests an action history for acquiring an action history near the junction among the action histories of related peripheral vehicles traveling on the main road. A signal is transmitted to each relevant surrounding vehicle.

  Each related peripheral vehicle that has received the action history request signal extracts an action history in the vicinity of the confluence of the driver with reference to the action history DB 310 in each driving support device E1, and an action including the extracted action history The history information is returned to the own vehicle.

  After that, the control unit 10 of the driving support device E1 mounted on the host vehicle decelerates near the merging point by the action history acquisition unit 102 and changes the lane to the passing lane in advance near the merging point, and enters from the merging channel. Action history information of each related peripheral vehicle representing the degree of accepting the vehicle ahead, the degree of accepting a vehicle that accelerates near the junction and enters from the junction, and the like is acquired.

  Thereafter, the control unit 10 of the driving support device E1 mounted on the host vehicle combines the action histories of the respective related peripheral vehicles by the motion prediction unit 104, and the related surroundings from the present time to the time when the own vehicle passes the junction. Among the movements of the vehicle group, the movement that is most likely to occur is predicted.

  In addition, the motion prediction unit 104 predicts the motion of the related peripheral vehicle group toward the junction that has already been predicted based on the driving information of all or some of the related peripheral vehicles acquired by the driving information acquisition unit 103. To change. Preferably, driving information of a preceding vehicle that travels ahead of the host vehicle that has the greatest influence on the driving of the host vehicle is acquired, and the prediction content is changed based on the driving information. This is to obtain more prompt and reliable prediction contents.

  The driving support means 105 is a means for supporting the driving of the vehicle. For example, the driving support means 105 determines the danger level and eventually the optimal driving support content based on the motion of the related peripheral vehicle group predicted by the motion prediction means 104, and is mounted on the vehicle. A control signal is output to the speaker, the navigation system 30, the engine ECU 40, the brake ECU 41, etc., and the determined driving support content is executed.

  The danger level is composed of a plurality of levels determined in accordance with the predicted contents of the movement of the related surrounding vehicle group. For example, the preceding vehicle traveling along the joint path is abrupt in order to lead the vehicle traveling on the main road. “High” is set when deceleration is expected (because the inter-vehicle distance decreases rapidly), and “medium” is set when moderate deceleration is predicted. (Because the inter-vehicle distance is reduced.), The level “low” is set when it is predicted that the preceding vehicle traveling along the merge path will accelerate in order to merge before the vehicle traveling on the main road. (This is because the inter-vehicle distance increases.)

  The driving assistance content is determined according to the danger level. For example, as the danger level increases, assistance by inter-vehicle distance control based on the output of the radar 24, assistance by voice guidance, assistance by voice and image display, throttle actuator and brake Changes such as support by forced driving intervention through actuators. Note that the driving assistance content may be one in which the above-described plurality of assistances are executed simultaneously.

  The prediction content display means 106 is a means for displaying the movement of the related peripheral vehicle group predicted by the motion prediction means 104 on the display, for example, while outputting image information to the display in the navigation system 30, the motion prediction means 104. The movement of the related peripheral vehicle group predicted by the vehicle is displayed on the display as a moving image (animation) or a still image.

  Next, a method for supporting driving by the driver of the host vehicle V1 by the driving support device E1 mounted on the host vehicle V1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2C. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the current arrangement of six vehicles traveling on a main road of one side three lanes or a merge path that merges with the main road, and FIGS. 2B and 2C are predicted by the motion prediction means 104. The predicted arrangement | positioning of the vehicle when the own vehicle V1 arrives at a confluence | merging point is shown. The vehicles V1 to V6 are preferably equipped with the driving support device E1, respectively, but the vehicles V2 to V6 other than the host vehicle V1 are vehicles having only a function of transmitting vehicle information and action history information to the outside. There may be.

  FIG. 2A shows three vehicles V4 to V6 that travel on a main road, a host vehicle V1 that travels along a junction for joining the main road, a preceding vehicle V2 that travels in front of the host vehicle, and The following vehicle V3 which drive | works back is shown.

  The control unit 10 in the driving support device E1 of the host vehicle V1 recognizes that the host vehicle V1 is approaching the confluence by the road information acquisition unit 100, and also detects from the host vehicle V1 by the vehicle information acquisition unit 101. It is assumed that a vehicle information request signal is transmitted to surrounding vehicles within a predetermined distance range, and vehicle information returned from each surrounding vehicle is acquired.

  Furthermore, the control unit 10 of the host vehicle V1 identifies the preceding vehicle V2 and the vehicle V3 as related peripheral vehicles based on the acquired vehicle information by the action history acquisition unit 102, and the two vehicles join the driver. An action history request signal for obtaining an action history near the point is transmitted to the two vehicles.

  The vehicles V4 and V5 are not identified as related peripheral vehicles because the host vehicle V1 is estimated to have already traveled far ahead when the host vehicle V1 arrives at the junction, and the following vehicle V6 is also identified as the host vehicle V1. Therefore, the control unit 10 of the host vehicle V1 does not transmit an action history request signal to the vehicles V4 to V6. Thereby, the control part 10 can reduce the processing load in the driving information acquisition means 103 and the motion estimation means 104, without collecting unnecessary action history information.

  The vehicles V2 and V3 that have received the action history request signal transmitted from the host vehicle V1 extract the action history near the confluence by referring to the action history DB 310 in the storage device 31 mounted on each vehicle, and the communication device The action history information including the extracted action history is sent back to the host vehicle V1 via 25.

  2B and 2C show that the own vehicle V1 joins based on the current vehicle arrangement shown in FIG. 2A and the action history information acquired from the vehicles V2 and V3 by the motion prediction unit 104 in the control unit 10 of the own vehicle V1. It is an example of the prediction content which predicted the vehicle arrangement | positioning in the time of reaching a point.

  FIG. 2B shows the action history of the driver of the preceding vehicle V2 that tends to merge by aggressive acceleration, and the vehicle V3 that tends to merge the merged vehicle forward by aggressively decelerating. The prediction content based on the driver's behavior history is shown.

  On the other hand, FIG. 2C shows the behavior history of the driver of the preceding vehicle V2 that tends to merge after waiting for the vehicle traveling on the main road to pass, and let's pass through the merge point early by aggressive acceleration. The prediction content based on the action history of the driver of the vehicle V3 that tends to be

  In this way, the motion prediction unit 104 acquires not only the behavior history of the preceding vehicle V2 that directly affects the merging of the host vehicle V1, but also the behavior history of the vehicle V3 that directly affects the motion of the preceding vehicle V2. Thus, the vehicle arrangement when the host vehicle V1 joins the main road can be predicted in more detail.

  Note that the motion prediction unit 104 may acquire action histories of a plurality of vehicles that affect the motion of the preceding vehicle V2 and execute more detailed prediction, and may include one or more vehicles that affect the motion of the vehicle V3. You may make it perform further detailed prediction by acquiring the action history of other vehicles (for example, preceding vehicle of vehicle V3).

  Moreover, the prediction content display means 106 may be made to express the transition from the vehicle arrangement at the present time shown in FIG. 2A to the prediction content shown in FIG. 2B or FIG. 2C as a moving image on the display in the navigation system 30. The prediction content shown in 2B or 2C may be displayed as a still image.

  Next, a process (hereinafter referred to as “driving support process”) in which the driving support device E1 mounted on the host vehicle V1 supports the driving of the host vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the driving support process, and the driving support apparatus E1 repeatedly executes this process at a predetermined interval.

  First, the control unit 10 uses the road information acquisition unit 100 to acquire information on the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the junction based on the position information and map information of the host vehicle output from the navigation system 30. It is determined whether or not the vehicle is approaching the junction (step S1).

  When it is determined that the host vehicle has not yet approached the merging point (NO in step S1), the control unit 10 temporarily terminates the driving support process related to merging. This is because it is not necessary to support driving of the host vehicle.

  When it is determined that the host vehicle is approaching the junction (YES in step S1), the control unit 10 uses the road information acquisition unit 100 to determine the number of lanes of the main road, the number of lanes of the junction, and the Road information such as the curve radius of the combined flow path is acquired (step S2). This is because the positional relationship between the surrounding vehicles can be recognized while appropriately arranging the surrounding vehicles on the main road and the combined flow path based on the vehicle information from each surrounding vehicle acquired later.

  Thereafter, the control unit 10 causes the vehicle information acquisition unit 101 to transmit a vehicle information request signal via the communication device 25 to the surrounding vehicles existing within a predetermined distance range (for example, 1 km) from the own vehicle. A request is made to return information, and vehicle information returned from each neighboring vehicle is acquired (step S3).

  Note that the vehicle information request signal transmitted by the host vehicle includes the vehicle ID of the host vehicle or the driver ID of the driver of the host vehicle so that each surrounding vehicle can specify a reply destination. Further, the vehicle information returned by each surrounding vehicle includes the position and speed (output of the vehicle speed sensor 20 mounted on each surrounding vehicle) so that the control unit 10 of the own vehicle that has received the vehicle information can recognize the movement of each surrounding vehicle. And the vehicle ID of each surrounding vehicle or the driver ID of the driver of each surrounding vehicle is included so that the control unit 10 of the own vehicle that has received the vehicle information can identify each surrounding vehicle.

  Thereafter, the control unit 10 uses the action history acquisition unit 102 to directly join the own vehicle from the surrounding vehicles that have returned the vehicle information based on the traveling direction of each surrounding vehicle, the traveling lane, the vehicle speed, and the like. Specific related peripheral vehicles are identified, an action history request signal is transmitted to the related peripheral vehicles, and action history information is requested to be returned to the related peripheral vehicles. History information is acquired (step S4).

  In addition, the action history request signal transmitted by the own vehicle specifying the other party can be recognized that each related peripheral vehicle is identified as the related peripheral vehicle, or the vehicle ID of each related peripheral vehicle or the driving of each related peripheral vehicle. The driver ID of the driver is included, and the vehicle ID of the host vehicle or the driver ID of the driver of the host vehicle is included so that each related surrounding vehicle can identify the reply destination.

  The action history information returned by each related peripheral vehicle includes the vehicle ID of the own vehicle or the driver ID of the driver of the own vehicle so that the own vehicle can be recognized as a reply destination. It is assumed that the vehicle ID of each related peripheral vehicle or the driver ID of the driver of each related peripheral vehicle is included so that the control unit 10 of the host vehicle that has received the history information can identify the related peripheral vehicle that is the transmission source.

  After that, the control unit 10 predicts the arrangement of the surrounding vehicles by the motion prediction unit 104 as shown in FIG. 2B or 2C (step S5), and displays the predicted arrangement on the in-vehicle display in the navigation system 30 (step S5). S6).

  Further, the control unit 10 determines the danger level or the optimal driving support content based on the movement of the related peripheral vehicle group predicted by the motion prediction unit 104 by the driving support unit 105, and the vehicle-mounted speaker, the navigation system 30, the engine ECU 40 The determined driving assistance content is executed while outputting a control signal to the brake ECU 41 and the like (step S7).

  Thereafter, the control unit 10 uses the driving information acquisition unit 103 to monitor the driving information transmitted by all or a part of related peripheral vehicles (for example, preceding vehicles) toward the own vehicle while predicting the movement 104. Is started (step S8), and the prediction content by the motion prediction means 104 can be changed in real time by changing the prediction content predicted by the vehicle according to the driving information (hereinafter referred to as “prediction content change processing”). To do.

  Next, the prediction content changing process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the prediction content changing process. The driving support device E1 mounted on the own vehicle repeatedly executes this process at a predetermined interval until the own vehicle passes the junction. To do.

  First, the control unit 10 acquires driving information transmitted from related peripheral vehicles (for example, a preceding vehicle) by the driving information acquisition unit 103 (step S11), and selects a vehicle that travels on the driving lane of the main road. The timing at which the preceding vehicle starts accelerating in order to pass, or the timing at which the preceding vehicle starts to decelerate in order to precede the vehicle traveling on the traveling lane of the main road is recognized.

  Thereafter, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the driving information of the driver driving the preceding vehicle affects the vehicle arrangement already predicted by the motion prediction unit 104 (step S12), and affects the predicted vehicle arrangement. When it determines, the vehicle arrangement | positioning is changed based on the driving information by the motion estimation means 104 (step S13).

  Specifically, the control unit 10 obtains driving information indicating depression of the brake pedal by the driver of the preceding vehicle when the vehicle arrangement as shown in FIG. 2B is predicted based on the action history of the related surrounding vehicle. In such a case, it is determined that the possibility of realizing the vehicle arrangement shown in FIG. 2B is low, and the prediction content is changed to the vehicle arrangement shown in FIG. 2C.

  In this case, the control unit 10 may prepare standby prediction content by the motion prediction unit 104 in advance, and may stand by so that the prediction content can be immediately switched according to the driving information of the preceding vehicle. Alternatively, the prediction may be performed again according to the driving information of the preceding vehicle.

  Thereafter, the control unit 10 changes the danger level or the optimum driving support content in accordance with the change in the predicted content of the vehicle arrangement (step S14), and causes the driving support means 105 to execute the changed driving support content. To do.

  On the other hand, while determining that the driving information of the preceding vehicle does not affect the vehicle arrangement predicted by the motion prediction unit 104 (NO in step S12), the control unit 10 does not change the prediction content and the driving support content. The process proceeds to step S15.

  After that, the control unit 10 determines whether or not the own vehicle has passed the current merge point based on the road information acquired by the road information acquisition unit 100 (step S15), and the own vehicle determines the merge point. If it is determined that it has not yet passed (NO in step S15), the processing from step S11 to step S14 is repeated.

  In addition, the control part 10 is made to complete | finish this driving assistance content change process, when it determines with the own vehicle having passed the junction (YES of step S15).

  With the above configuration, the driving support device E1 predicts the movement of each surrounding vehicle based on the behavior history of the driver driving each surrounding vehicle, so the vehicle arrangement when the host vehicle approaches the junction is more reliable. It is possible to support the driving of the host vehicle while predicting with high efficiency.

  Further, the driving support device E1 recognizes the movements of the surrounding vehicles in real time while acquiring the driving information of all or some of the surrounding vehicles, and reflects the recognition result in the prediction of the movements of the surrounding vehicles. It is possible to support the driving of the vehicle while predicting the vehicle more reliably.

  In addition, since the driving support device E1 acquires driving information of the preceding vehicle in particular and reflects it in the prediction of the movement of the surrounding vehicle, it predicts the movement of the vehicle particularly related to the driving of the own vehicle with higher reliability. While driving the vehicle, it can be supported.

  In addition, since the driving support device E1 predicts the movement of the surrounding vehicle while acquiring the vehicle information, the action history information, and the driving information in real time through the inter-vehicle communication, Driving the vehicle can be supported.

  Moreover, since the driving assistance apparatus E1 displays the predicted content of the movement of the surrounding vehicle on the display and presents it to the driver of the own vehicle, the vehicle arrangement when the own vehicle joins can be more easily understood by the driver of the own vehicle. I can tell you.

  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, in the above-described embodiment, the driving support device E1 supports the driving of the host vehicle that approaches the junction while traveling along the junction, but the same is applied to the southern vehicle that approaches the junction while traveling on the main road. It may be possible to support the vehicle, or it may be possible to support driving of the host vehicle when approaching an intersection or when changing lanes.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Control part 20 Vehicle speed sensor 21 Brake sensor 22 Accelerator sensor 23 Camera 24 Radar 25 Communication apparatus 30 Navigation system 31 Memory | storage device 40 Engine ECU
41 Brake ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Road information acquisition means 101 Vehicle information acquisition means 102 Action history acquisition means 103 Driving information acquisition means 104 Motion prediction means 105 Driving support means 106 Predicted content display means 310 Action history database E1 Driving support device V1 Own vehicle V2 Predecessor vehicle V3 Subsequent vehicle V4 to V6 main road vehicles

Claims (5)

Road information acquisition means for acquiring road information relating to the road on which the vehicle is traveling;
Vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information including the position and speed of surrounding vehicles traveling around the host vehicle;
An action history acquisition means for acquiring information on an action history of a driver driving a surrounding vehicle;
Movement of the surrounding vehicle based on the road information acquired by the road information acquisition means, the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means, and the action history of the driver driving the surrounding vehicle acquired by the action history acquisition means Motion prediction means for predicting
Driving assistance means for determining driving assistance contents of the own vehicle based on the movement of the surrounding vehicle predicted by the movement prediction means;
A driving support apparatus comprising: Driving information acquisition means for acquiring driving information of the surrounding vehicles,
The movement prediction means additionally predicts the movement of the specific vehicle based on the driving information of the specific vehicle among the surrounding vehicles acquired by the driving information acquisition means.
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein The specific vehicle is a preceding vehicle.
The driving support device according to claim 2, wherein The driving information acquisition means acquires driving information via inter-vehicle communication.
The driving support device according to claim 2, wherein Comprising prediction content display means for displaying the movement of the surrounding vehicle predicted by the motion prediction means;
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein