JP2010254004A - Traveling control device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately perform inter-vehicle distance control with a low-height preceding vehicle as an object of control without increasing the vertical detection region of an object detection means. <P>SOLUTION: A lateral relative speed calculation means M4 calculates the lateral relative speed of a preceding vehicle with respect to an own vehicle, and when a control object determination means M2 excludes the preceding vehicle whose inter-vehicle distance detected by a radar device 15 has become less than a prescribed distance from the object of control, and the calculated lateral relative speed is equal to or more than a prescribed speed, the control object determination means M2 determines the preceding vehicle ahead the preceding vehicle excluded from the object of control as a new object of control, so that it is possible to continue the inter-vehicle distance control by using the preceding vehicle ahead the pertinent preceding vehicle as a new preceding vehicle by confirming that the preceding vehicle excluded from the object of control does not exist just ahead the own vehicle. Thus, it is possible to prevent a driver from being given any feeling of incompatibility due to the abnormal approach of the own vehicle to the preceding vehicle, and it is possible to prevent the inter-vehicle distance control from being unnecessarily stopped. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is based on object detection means for detecting an object in front of the own vehicle, own vehicle travel locus estimation means for estimating the travel locus of the own vehicle, and outputs of the object detection means and the own vehicle travel locus estimation means. A vehicle comprising: a control object determining unit that determines a preceding vehicle to be controlled by the own vehicle; and an inter-vehicle distance control unit that controls an inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle controlled by the control object determining unit and the host vehicle. The present invention relates to a traveling control device for a vehicle.

  Radar device detects obstacles such as the preceding vehicle, and when the vehicle may collide with an obstacle, it issues a warning to the driver to encourage spontaneous collision avoidance operation or activates automatic braking device In order to avoid collisions with obstacles and reduce collision damage, alarms and automatic braking are activated unnecessarily when the radar device detects falling objects on the road that the vehicle can straddle. In order to prevent this, it is known from Patent Document 1 below to identify a preceding vehicle that may collide with the vehicle and a fallen object on the road surface that does not collide with the vehicle.

  If the radar device cannot detect the preceding vehicle during execution of the inter-vehicle distance control that keeps the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle constant, and the inter-vehicle distance immediately before the A device for canceling the distance control is known from Patent Document 2 below.

Japanese Patent No. 3966673 Japanese Patent No. 3646660

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 4, a situation is considered in which a preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height exists in front of the own vehicle Va equipped with a radar device, and a preceding vehicle Vb ′ having a high vehicle height exists further ahead. . When the distance between the host vehicle Va and the preceding vehicle Vb is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the radar device of the host vehicle Va can detect the preceding vehicle Vb (see FIG. 4A), but the host vehicle Va. When the inter-vehicle distance of the preceding vehicle Vb becomes less than the predetermined value, the radar device of the own vehicle Va cannot detect the preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height, and in fact, although the preceding vehicle Vb exists, There is a possibility that the preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′ having a high vehicle height ahead is erroneously recognized as a control target of the inter-vehicle distance control (see FIG. 4B).

  As described above, since the radar device does not detect the preceding vehicle Vb, if the inter-vehicle distance control is started with the preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′ further ahead of the preceding vehicle Vb as the control target, the own vehicle Va becomes the preceding vehicle. There is a possibility that the driver may feel uncomfortable by abnormally approaching Vb.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and makes it possible to accurately perform inter-vehicle distance control for a preceding vehicle having a low vehicle height without expanding the vertical detection region of the object detection means. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention described in claim 1, an object detection means for detecting an object ahead of the own vehicle, an own vehicle travel locus estimation means for estimating the travel locus of the own vehicle, Control object determining means for determining a preceding vehicle to be controlled by the own vehicle based on outputs of the object detecting means and the own vehicle travel locus estimating means, and a preceding vehicle and the own vehicle controlled by the control object determining means And a vehicle distance control means for controlling the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle, the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle is calculated based on the outputs of the object detection means and the control target determination means. A lateral relative speed calculating means for controlling the lateral relative speed when the preceding vehicle whose inter-vehicle distance detected by the object detecting means is less than a predetermined distance is released from the controlled object. When the lateral relative speed at the time of release calculated by the degree calculating means is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, a preceding vehicle ahead of the preceding vehicle released from the controlled object is determined as a new controlled object. A vehicle travel control device is proposed.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the configuration of claim 1, in addition to the configuration of claim 1, the control object determining means, when the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle at the time of release is less than a predetermined speed, A vehicular travel control device is proposed in which a preceding vehicle further ahead of a preceding vehicle released from the controlled object is not determined as a new controlled object.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the configuration of claim 1 or the preceding vehicle 2, the inter-vehicle distance control means is configured such that the relative speed in the lateral direction of the preceding vehicle at the time of release is less than a predetermined speed. In this case, a vehicular travel control device is proposed in which inter-vehicle distance control is stopped.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, when the object detection unit detects an object ahead of the host vehicle, the host vehicle travel track estimation unit estimates the travel track of the host vehicle, and the control target determination unit includes the object detection unit and the host vehicle travel. Based on the output of the trajectory estimation means, the preceding vehicle to be controlled is determined by the own vehicle, and the inter-vehicle distance control means controls the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle to be controlled by the control object determining means and the own vehicle. At this time, the lateral relative speed calculation means calculates the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle with respect to the own vehicle based on the outputs of the object detection means and the control target determination means, and the control target determination means is detected by the object detection means. When the preceding vehicle whose inter-vehicle distance is less than the predetermined distance is released from the control target, if the relative speed in the lateral direction is equal to or higher than the predetermined speed, the preceding vehicle further ahead of the preceding vehicle released from the control target Is determined as a new control target, so it is possible to continue inter-vehicle distance control with the preceding preceding vehicle as a new preceding vehicle after confirming that there is no preceding vehicle released from the control target immediately before the host vehicle. It becomes. As a result, it is possible not only to prevent the own vehicle from abnormally approaching the preceding vehicle and causing the driver to feel uncomfortable, but also to prevent the inter-vehicle distance control from being unnecessarily stopped.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the relative speed in the lateral direction of the preceding vehicle when the preceding vehicle is released from the controlled object is less than a predetermined speed, the control object determining means is further forward of the preceding vehicle. Since the preceding preceding vehicle is not determined as a new control target, when there is a preceding vehicle that is no longer recognized by the control target determining means immediately before the host vehicle, inter-vehicle distance control is performed with the preceding preceding vehicle as the control target. It is possible to reliably prevent the own vehicle from abnormally approaching the preceding vehicle.

  According to the configuration of claim 3, the inter-vehicle distance control means stops the inter-vehicle distance control when the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle when the preceding vehicle is released from the control target is less than a predetermined speed. When there is a preceding vehicle that is no longer recognized by the control target determining means, the inter-vehicle distance control is performed on the preceding preceding vehicle as a control target to ensure that the own vehicle abnormally approaches the preceding vehicle. Can be prevented.

The block diagram which shows the structure of an inter-vehicle distance control apparatus. Explanatory drawing when canceling or continuing the inter-vehicle distance control. The flowchart explaining an effect | action. Explanatory drawing of the problem of a prior art example.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a constant inter-vehicle distance control device as an example of a vehicle travel control device of the present invention. The fixed inter-vehicle distance control device automatically accelerates / decelerates the own vehicle with an acceleration actuator and a deceleration actuator in order to maintain the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle detected by the radar device and the own vehicle.

  The electronic control unit U of the fixed inter-vehicle distance control device includes own vehicle travel locus estimation means M1, control target determination means M2, inter-vehicle distance control means M3, and lateral relative speed calculation means M4. A yaw rate sensor 11, a vehicle speed sensor 12, a steering angle sensor 13, and a navigation system 14 are connected to the own vehicle traveling locus estimation means M1, and an own vehicle traveling locus estimation means M1 and a radar device 15 are connected to the control target determining means M2. The inter-vehicle distance control means M3 is connected with the control object determining means M2, the lateral relative speed calculating means M4, the acceleration actuator 17 and the deceleration actuator 18, and the lateral relative speed calculating means M4 is controlled with the control object determining means M2 and the radar. A device 15 is connected.

  The own vehicle traveling locus estimation means M1 calculates the turning direction and turning radius of the own vehicle based on the yaw rate detected by the yaw rate sensor 11, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 12, and the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 13. Then, by adding the shape data of the road on which the host vehicle is traveling stored in the navigation system 14 to this, the future traveling locus of the host vehicle is estimated.

  The control target determining means M2 recognizes the closest preceding vehicle present on the future travel locus of the host vehicle among the objects detected by the radar device 15 as a control target for the constant inter-vehicle distance control. However, when the vehicle height of the nearest preceding vehicle is low and the inter-vehicle distance is small, the preceding vehicle cannot be recognized and the second closest preceding vehicle is erroneously recognized as the nearest preceding vehicle. There is.

  The lateral relative speed calculating means M4 calculates the relative speed in the lateral direction of the preceding vehicle (vehicle width direction of the host vehicle) recognized by the control target determining means M2 based on the output of the radar device 15.

  The inter-vehicle distance control means M3 controls the operation of the acceleration actuator 17 and the deceleration actuator 18 of the own vehicle in order to maintain the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle recognized by the control object determination means M2 at the set inter-vehicle distance. When the means M2 can no longer recognize the preceding preceding vehicle, the lateral relative speed calculating means M4 is based on the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle recognized by the control target determining means M2, and thereafter Change the content of distance control.

  Next, the outline of the fixed inter-vehicle distance control will be described based on FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height, such as a sports car, travels ahead of the host vehicle Va traveling by operating the inter-vehicle distance control means M3, and a normal vehicle height is further ahead of the vehicle. Consider a situation in which a preceding vehicle Vb ′ (hereinafter referred to as a preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′) is traveling (see FIG. 2A). At this time, since the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle Va and the preceding vehicle Vb is sufficiently large, the radar device 15 of the host vehicle Va detects the preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height.

  When the own vehicle Va approaches the preceding vehicle Vb and the inter-vehicle distance becomes less than a predetermined distance, the preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height is deviated downward from the detection range of the radar device 15 of the own vehicle Va and cannot be detected. At this time, in order to determine whether the preceding vehicle Vb that has not been detected still exists in front of the host vehicle Va, or whether it has deviated laterally from the travel locus of the host vehicle Va and is not already in front of the host vehicle Va. In addition, the lateral relative speed immediately before the preceding vehicle Vb is not detected is compared with a threshold value. The threshold is a value corresponding to the lateral speed when the vehicle changes lanes, and is, for example, 1 m / sec.

  When the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle Vb is less than the threshold value, the preceding vehicle Vb is still in front of the own vehicle Va without changing the lane, and the inter-vehicle distance with the own vehicle Va is less than a predetermined value. Therefore, it is determined that the radar device 15 can no longer detect it, and the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped (see FIG. 2B). As a result, the own vehicle Va misidentifies the preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′ as the preceding vehicle Vb, and the fixed inter-vehicle distance control is performed with the preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′ as the control target. As a result, the own vehicle Va abnormally approaches the preceding vehicle Vb. This can prevent the driver from feeling uncomfortable.

  On the other hand, if the relative speed in the lateral direction of the preceding vehicle Vb is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the preceding vehicle Vb is lane-changed and deviates laterally from the travel locus of the host vehicle Va, and the preceding vehicle Vb has already been detected. It is determined that the vehicle does not exist ahead of the host vehicle Va, and the constant inter-vehicle distance control is continued (see FIG. 2C). Thus, the own vehicle Va is prevented from being unnecessarily stopped by the constant inter-vehicle distance control in which the constant inter-vehicle distance control is continued with the new preceding vehicle Vb (the previous preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′) being controlled. Can do.

  As described above, when the own vehicle Va is performing the constant inter-vehicle distance control with the preceding vehicle Vb as a control target, if the preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height is not detected by the radar device 15, the preceding vehicle Vb is When there is a possibility that the vehicle exists immediately before the host vehicle Va, the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped. As a result, the own vehicle Va continues the constant inter-vehicle distance control with the preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′ in front of the preceding vehicle Vb as the control target, and the own vehicle Va abnormally approaches the preceding vehicle Vb, giving the driver a sense of incongruity. Can be prevented beforehand.

  Further, when the own vehicle Va is performing the constant inter-vehicle distance control with the preceding vehicle Vb as a control target, even if the preceding vehicle Vb having a low vehicle height is not detected by the radar device 15, the preceding vehicle Vb If the vehicle is moving at a lateral speed that is equal to or greater than the threshold just before the detection, it is determined that the vehicle Va has deviated from the course due to the lane change, and a new preceding vehicle Vb (original preceding preceding vehicle Vb ′) is controlled. The constant inter-vehicle distance control can be continued as a target, and the constant inter-vehicle distance control can be prevented from being unnecessarily stopped.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to widen the vertical detection area of the radar device 15 so that the preceding vehicle Vb with a low vehicle height can be detected, the radar device 15 detects a road surface structure or a fallen object and executes an inappropriate inter-vehicle distance control. Can be prevented in advance.

  Next, the above operation will be described in detail based on the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the host vehicle Va is under inter-vehicle distance control in step S1, it is confirmed in step S2 whether or not the host vehicle Va is traveling stably based on the outputs of the yaw rate sensor 11 and the steering angle sensor 13. The reason is that the relative speed in the lateral direction of the preceding vehicle Vb cannot be accurately calculated in a state where the host vehicle Va is turning.

  When the host vehicle Va is traveling stably in step S2, and the control object recognition means M2 releases the preceding vehicle Vb from the control object in step S3, the distance between the host vehicle Va and the preceding vehicle Vb is a predetermined distance in step S4. If it is less than that, it is determined that there is a possibility that the preceding vehicle Vb has entered the lower side of the vertical direction detection region of the radar device 15 of the own vehicle Va and has become undetectable, and in step S5, the lateral relative speed calculating means M4 However, the relative speed in the horizontal direction at the time when the preceding vehicle Vb is released from the control target is calculated and compared with a threshold value (for example, 1 m / sec).

  As a result, if the lateral relative speed is greater than or equal to the threshold value in step S5, it is determined that the preceding vehicle Vb has changed lanes and disappeared from the front of the host vehicle Va. In step S6, the preceding vehicle Vb is ahead of the original preceding vehicle Vb. If there is a preceding vehicle Vb ', the inter-vehicle distance control is continued in step S7 with the preceding preceding vehicle Vb' as a new preceding vehicle Vb. Conversely, in step S6, the preceding preceding vehicle Vb 'is placed in front of the original preceding vehicle Vb. If NO exists, it is determined that there is no control object ahead of the host vehicle Va, and thus the inter-vehicle distance control is terminated in step S8.

  If the lateral relative speed is less than the threshold value in step S5, it is determined that the preceding vehicle Vb does not change the lane and still exists immediately before the own vehicle Va in a non-detected state, and the inter-vehicle distance control is performed in step S8. Exit. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the own vehicle Va from performing the inter-vehicle distance control with the preceding preceding vehicle Vb as the control target, and causing the own vehicle Va to abnormally approach the preceding vehicle Vb and causing the driver to feel uncomfortable.

  If the distance between the host vehicle Va and the preceding vehicle Vb is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance in step S4, the preceding vehicle Vb has entered the lower side of the vertical direction detection area of the radar device 15 of the host vehicle Va and has become undetectable. Instead, it is simply determined that the preceding vehicle Vb has changed its course and is out of the control target, skips step S5 and proceeds to steps S6 to S8.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment, the constant inter-vehicle distance control device is illustrated as the vehicle travel control device, but the present invention is an arbitrary travel control that controls the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle based on the detection result of the object detection means. It can be applied to a device (such as a traffic jam tracking control device).

M1 Own vehicle travel locus estimation means M2 Control object determination means M3 Inter-vehicle distance control means M4 Lateral relative speed calculation means Va Own vehicle Vb Preceding vehicle Vb 'Previous preceding vehicle 15 Radar device (object detection means)

Claims (3)

Object detection means (15) for detecting an object in front of the vehicle;
Own vehicle traveling locus estimation means (M1) for estimating the traveling locus of the own vehicle;
A control object determining means (M2) for determining a preceding vehicle to be controlled by the own vehicle based on outputs of the object detecting means (15) and the own vehicle traveling locus estimating means (M1);
In a vehicular travel control device comprising inter-vehicle distance control means (M3) for controlling the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle (Vb) and the host vehicle (Va) that are controlled by the control target determining means (M2),
A lateral relative speed calculating means (M4) for calculating a lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle (Vb) with respect to the own vehicle (Va) based on outputs of the object detecting means (15) and the control target determining means (M2). With
When the preceding vehicle (Vb) in which the inter-vehicle distance detected by the object detection unit (15) is less than a predetermined distance is released from the control target, the control target determination unit (M2) If the lateral relative speed at the time of release calculated in (M4) is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed, the preceding preceding vehicle (Vb ′) further ahead of the preceding vehicle released from the controlled object is determined as a new controlled object. A vehicular travel control device.   When the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle (Vb) at the time of release is less than a predetermined speed, the control target determining means (M2) is further ahead of the preceding vehicle (Vb) released from the control target. The vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the preceding vehicle (Vb ') is not determined as a new control target.   The inter-vehicle distance control means (M3) stops inter-vehicle distance control when the lateral relative speed of the preceding vehicle (Vb) at the time of release is less than a predetermined speed. Item 3. The vehicle travel control device according to Item 2.

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