JP2012226699A - Course evaluation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a course evaluation device that performs suitable evaluation by suppressing frequent change of interference style determination of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A course candidate of a local vehicle is generated (S12) and a course of the other vehicle is predicted (S14). It is repeatedly determined whether the other vehicle interferes with the local vehicle or the local vehicle interferes with the other vehicle with respect to the interference style between the course candidate of the local vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle, the interference style is determined by setting a criterion for interference style so that an interference style determined precedingly is more easily maintained (S18), and based upon the determination result, the course candidate of the local vehicle is evaluated (S20). Thus, the interference style is determined by setting the criterion for interference style so that the interference style determined precedingly is more easily maintained, so if a detection error occurs to the course candidate of the local vehicle or the predicted course of the other vehicle, frequent change of the determination of the interference style is suppressed. Thus, suitable course evaluation can be performed based upon stable determination of the interference style.

Description

  The present invention relates to a course evaluation apparatus that evaluates the course of a host vehicle.

  Conventionally, as a device for evaluating the course of a vehicle, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-020745, the course of the host vehicle and a plurality of routes of obstacles are estimated, and the host vehicle is based on the courses. There is known an apparatus for acquiring the degree of risk that an obstacle collides with an obstacle. This device obtains the risk of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle based on the course of the vehicle and a plurality of obstacles, so that it can accurately detect the situation of the host vehicle in a situation where there are many branches of the route such as an intersection. The risk is to be calculated.

JP 2009-020745 A

  However, in the above-described apparatus, there is a possibility that it is not possible to appropriately evaluate whether or not the route candidate of the own vehicle interferes with the route of another vehicle. For example, when there is another vehicle as an obstacle, it is conceivable to acquire the course of the host vehicle and the other vehicle, and highly evaluate the course candidate of the host vehicle that does not interfere with the course of the other vehicle. However, a course candidate that is determined not to interfere with another vehicle when viewed from the host vehicle may be determined as a course candidate that does not interfere with the host vehicle when viewed from another vehicle. In this case, there is room for improvement in terms of appropriately evaluating the course candidate of the host vehicle. In addition, when the vehicle course fluctuates due to a sensor error or the like, the course evaluation frequently changes, making it difficult to perform a stable course evaluation.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a course evaluation apparatus capable of appropriately evaluating a course candidate of a vehicle.

  That is, the route evaluation apparatus according to the present invention includes a route candidate generation unit that generates a route candidate of the own vehicle, a route prediction unit that predicts a route of the other vehicle, a route candidate of the own vehicle, and a predicted route of the other vehicle. It is repeatedly determined whether the other vehicle is in a form of interfering with the own vehicle and whether the own vehicle is in a form of interfering with the other vehicle. Determining means for setting the interference form determination criteria so that the interference form is easily maintained, and evaluating means for evaluating the route candidate of the host vehicle based on the determination result of the determining means; , And is configured.

  According to the present invention, a detection error is generated in the course candidate of the own vehicle or the predicted course of the other vehicle by setting the interference form determination criteria so that the previous interference form is easily maintained. In this case, it is possible to prevent frequent determination of the interference mode. For this reason, appropriate course evaluation can be performed based on the determination of the stable interference form.

Further, in the course evaluation apparatus according to the present invention, the determination unit is configured such that the host vehicle interferes with the other vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the host vehicle interferes with the other vehicle. A determination threshold value is set so that it is easy to determine that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle. A determination threshold value may be set so that it is easy to determine that the form is used.
According to the present invention, the determination threshold value is set so that it is easy to determine that the host vehicle is in a form of interfering with the other vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the host vehicle is in a form of interfering with the other vehicle. Set a determination threshold value so that it is easy to determine that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress frequent switching of the determination of the interference mode when a detection error occurs in the course candidate of the own vehicle or the predicted course of the other vehicle. For this reason, appropriate course evaluation can be performed based on the determination of the stable interference form.

Further, in the course evaluation apparatus according to the present invention, the determination unit is configured so that the other vehicle is more than the case where the determination threshold is changed so that the own vehicle is easily determined to interfere with the other vehicle. The degree of change of the determination threshold value may be reduced in the case where the determination threshold value is changed so that it is easily determined that the vehicle interferes with the host vehicle.
According to the present invention, the determination threshold value is reduced by reducing the degree of change of the determination threshold value when the determination threshold value is changed so that it is easily determined that the other vehicle interferes with the host vehicle. When the setting is changed, it is suppressed that the other vehicle is determined to interfere with the own vehicle. For this reason, it can suppress that it is determined that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle with respect to the form in which the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an increase in the route evaluation of the route candidate that causes the host vehicle to interfere with the other vehicle, and it is possible to perform the route evaluation in consideration of the driver of the other vehicle.

  In the course evaluation device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the evaluation means increase the evaluation of the course for a course candidate determined by the determination means that the other vehicle interferes with the host vehicle.

  According to the present invention, the higher the evaluation of the route is, the higher the evaluation of the route candidate is that the other vehicle is in the form of interfering with the own vehicle, so that the route in which the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle is evaluated lower. The course evaluation can be performed so that the course in consideration of the driver of the vehicle is preferentially selected.

  According to the present invention, the determination of the interference mode is frequently switched when a detection error occurs in the route candidate of the own vehicle or the predicted route of the other vehicle by setting the determination that the determination result of the previous interference mode is easily maintained. It is possible to suppress the change, and an appropriate course evaluation can be performed based on the determination of the stable interference mode.

It is the block diagram which showed the function structure of the driving assistance apparatus containing the course evaluation apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the course candidate of the own vehicle, and the predicted course of other vehicles. It is explanatory drawing of the interference form determination map and interference form parameter which are used for the course evaluation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the interference form determination map used for the course evaluation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the course evaluation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the interference form determination process in the flowchart of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a travel support apparatus 1 including a course evaluation apparatus 60 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the course evaluation device 60 is an apparatus that evaluates a course candidate of the host vehicle, and is mounted on a vehicle that travels with travel assistance, for example. As this vehicle, a vehicle capable of automatic driving or a vehicle capable of automatically controlling a part of driving operation by receiving driving assistance is used.

  The course evaluation device 60 is provided as a part of the driving support device 1, for example. The travel support device 1 includes a vehicle state detection unit 2, an environmental condition acquisition unit 3, a vehicle control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 6, and a travel output unit 9.

  The vehicle state detection unit 2 functions as a vehicle state detection unit that detects position information, vehicle speed information, and the like of the host vehicle. For example, a GPS (Global Positioning System), a wheel speed sensor, or the like is used. The GPS acquires vehicle position information. The wheel speed sensor is attached to a wheel portion of the vehicle, for example, and acquires the wheel speed of the vehicle. The vehicle state detection unit 2 is connected to the vehicle control ECU 6 and outputs the acquired vehicle state information such as position information and wheel speed information to the vehicle control ECU 6.

  The environmental status acquisition unit 3 functions as an environmental status acquisition unit that acquires environmental status information around the host vehicle, and acquires other vehicle information that acquires the driving status information of other vehicles existing around the host vehicle. Functions as a means. For example, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, a road-to-vehicle communication device, a radar sensor using a millimeter wave or a laser, or the like is used as the environmental status acquisition unit 3. When using a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device and a road-to-vehicle communication device, position information and vehicle speed information of another vehicle (another mobile body) can be acquired. Further, by using a millimeter wave radar sensor or the like, position information and relative speed information of other vehicles and obstacles on the course can be acquired. The environmental status acquisition unit 3 is connected to the vehicle control ECU 6 and outputs the acquired environmental status information around the host vehicle to the vehicle control ECU 6.

  The vehicle control ECU 6 controls the entire apparatus of the driving support device 1 and is mainly configured by a computer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown). The vehicle control ECU 6 is connected to the vehicle state detection unit 2, the environmental situation acquisition unit 3, and the travel output unit 9. Various information is input from the vehicle state detection unit 2 and the environmental situation acquisition unit 3, and the travel output unit 9 outputs various information. The vehicle control ECU 6 includes a route candidate generation unit (course candidate generation unit) 61, a route prediction unit (route prediction unit) 62, an interference form determination unit (interference form determination unit) 63, and a route evaluation unit (evaluation unit). The course evaluation device 60 includes 64.

  The “course” here refers to a concept including temporal elements such as time and speed, and is different from a “route” not including these temporal elements. In addition, “interference” means that the courses of the host vehicle and the other vehicle in consideration of the vehicle width and the vehicle length intersect in a plane.

The route candidate generation unit 61 functions as a route candidate generation unit that generates a route candidate of the host vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the route candidate generation unit 61 generates route candidates a ₁ and a ₂ for the host vehicle 81. The course candidate generation unit 61 predicts the future position, speed, direction, and the like of the host vehicle 81 from information such as the position, speed, and direction of the host vehicle 81 input from the vehicle state detection unit 2. Then, the route candidate generation unit 61 generates information on the predicted future state of the host vehicle 81 as the route candidates a ₁ and a ₂ and outputs the generated route candidates a ₁ and a ₂ to the interference form determination 63. Although FIG. 2 illustrates the case where two course candidates a ₁ and a ₂ are generated, two or more course candidates may be generated.

  The course prediction unit 62 functions as a course prediction unit that predicts the course of another vehicle based on the traveling environment. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the course b of the other vehicle 82 is predicted based on the traveling environment. The course predicting unit 62 predicts the future position, speed, direction, and the like of the other moving body from information such as the position, speed, direction, and the like of the other moving body input from the environmental status acquisition unit 3. Then, the course prediction unit 62 predicts the predicted information in the future state of the other moving body as the course b, and outputs the predicted path b to the interference form determination unit 63. In addition, although the case where one course of other vehicles 82 was predicted was explained, two or more courses may be predicted.

  In FIG. 1, an interference form determination unit 63 functions as an interference form determination unit that determines an interference form between the host vehicle and another vehicle. That is, the interference form determination unit 63 is a form in which the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle and the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle regarding the form of interference between the candidate course of the own vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle. It is repeatedly determined whether or not.

  The interference form determination unit 63 determines the interference form by setting an interference form determination standard so that the previous interference form is easily maintained. For example, if it is determined in the previous determination that the host vehicle is in a form of interfering with another vehicle, a determination criterion (determination threshold) is set so that the host vehicle is easily determined to be in a form of interfering with another vehicle. Setting criteria (determination threshold value) so that it is easy to determine that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle To determine the interference mode. The determination process by the interference form determination unit 63 is preferably performed when there is a possibility of interference or a collision in the course candidate of the host vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle.

  The determination of the interference form is preferably performed using, for example, an interference form parameter. The interference mode parameter is a parameter obtained by quantifying the interference mode between the host vehicle and the other vehicle. For example, the parameter increases as the interference level of the host vehicle increases, or increases as the interference level of the other vehicle increases. Things are used. As the interference mode parameter, a vehicle travel information value corresponding to the interference mode is used, for example, a distance between the host vehicle and the other vehicle, a relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle, or a value using those values. It is done. As shown in FIG. 2, when the own vehicle 81 changes lanes to the travel lane of the other vehicle 82, for example, the reciprocal value of the distance between the own vehicle 81 and the other vehicle 82 is used as the interference form parameter. In this case, the shorter the inter-vehicle distance, the greater the degree of interference with the host vehicle.

  A plurality of different interference pattern determination parameters may be used as the interference pattern determination parameter. For example, the inter-vehicle distance and the relative speed may be used as the interference form parameters.

  The determination of the interference form using the interference form parameter is preferably performed using an interference form determination map. As shown in FIG. 3, the interference form determination map is a map for determining whether the person is interfering with the other party or whether the other party is interfering with itself based on the interference form parameter. In this interference form determination map, a determination threshold value T for determining the interference form is set in advance, and the interference form determination parameter may exceed the determination threshold value T, and the interference form determination parameter T may interfere with the other party. Or whether the other party is interfering with itself. In FIG. 3, the larger the interference configuration parameter, the easier it is determined that it is interfering with the other party, and when the interference configuration parameter does not exceed the determination threshold, it is determined that the other party is interfering with itself. When the interference form parameter exceeds the determination threshold value, it is determined that it is interfering with the other party.

  The determination threshold value T is used as a determination reference or determination reference value when determining the interference mode between the host vehicle and another vehicle. The value of the determination threshold value T is set according to the interference mode between the host vehicle and the other vehicle.

  And when this determination threshold value T is determined to be in a form in which the own vehicle interferes with another vehicle in the previous determination, the own vehicle (self) interferes with the other vehicle (partner). The setting is changed so that it can be easily judged. Further, when it is determined that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle in the previous determination, the setting is changed so that the other vehicle is easily determined to interfere with the own vehicle.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the interference mode parameter P is larger than the determination threshold value T in the previous determination and it is determined that the host vehicle interferes with another vehicle, the determination threshold value is reached. The value T is changed to a determination threshold value Ta smaller than that. Thereby, it becomes easy to determine that the host vehicle is in a form of interfering with another vehicle.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the interference mode parameter P is smaller than the determination threshold value T in the previous determination and it is determined that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle, the determination threshold value is obtained. The value T is changed to a determination threshold value Tb larger than that. Thereby, it becomes easy to determine that the other vehicle interferes with the host vehicle.

  By changing the setting to the determination threshold values Ta and Tb, hysteresis is given to the switching of the interference pattern, and the interference pattern is frequently switched in the interference pattern that is an interference pattern parameter near the determination threshold value T. It is suppressed.

At this time, the determination threshold values Ta and Tb whose settings are changed are preferably set according to the sensor measurement error. For example, it is preferable that the determination threshold value Ta is set to a value larger than the determination threshold value T, at least the error amount of the interference form parameter based on the sensor measurement error of the vehicle state detection unit 2 and the environmental condition acquisition unit 3. Moreover, it is preferable that the determination threshold value Tb is set to a value smaller than the determination threshold value T, at least the error amount of the interference form parameter based on the sensor measurement error of the vehicle state detection unit 2 and the environmental condition acquisition unit 3. Thereby, even when the measurement error of a sensor arises, it can suppress that the determination of an interference form switches by it. Further, even when noise occurs in the sensor output, it is possible to suppress the determination of the interference form from being switched, and the vehicle can take a consistent action according to the determination.
Further, when changing the setting of the determination threshold value T, the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle as compared with the case where the determination threshold value T is changed so that it is easy to determine that the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle. In the case where the determination threshold value T is changed so as to be easily determined as a form, the degree of change of the determination threshold value T may be reduced.
For example, the difference between the determination threshold T and the determination threshold Tb is made smaller than the difference between the determination threshold T and the determination threshold Ta. At this time, the difference between the determination threshold value T and the determination threshold value Tb may be zero. In this way, when the setting of the determination threshold T is changed by making the difference between the determination threshold T and the determination threshold Tb smaller than the difference between the determination threshold T and the determination threshold Ta, the other vehicle It is suppressed that is determined to be a form that interferes with the host vehicle. For this reason, it can suppress that it is determined that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle with respect to the form in which the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress an increase in the route evaluation of the route candidate that causes the host vehicle to interfere with the other vehicle, and it is possible to perform the route evaluation in consideration of the driver of the other vehicle.

  In FIG. 1, the route evaluation unit 64 functions as an evaluation unit that evaluates a route candidate of the host vehicle based on the determination result of the interference form determination unit 63. The course evaluation unit 64 performs a course evaluation so that a course candidate determined to have a form in which another vehicle interferes with the host vehicle has a higher course evaluation.

For example, in FIG. 2, when there are two course candidates a ₁ and a ₂ of the host vehicle 81, the course evaluation is performed for each of the course candidates a ₁ and a ₂ . At this time, when the course candidate a ₁ is a form in which the other vehicle 82 interferes with the own vehicle 81 and the course candidate a ₂ is in a form in which the own vehicle 81 interferes with the other vehicle 82, the course candidate a ₂ is determined from the course candidate a _{2. 1} is highly appreciated.

  Moreover, it is preferable to evaluate a course candidate using an evaluation value. For example, an evaluation value corresponding to the interference configuration parameter is set in advance, and the evaluation value is calculated based on the interference configuration parameter in the interference configuration at the time of route estimation. The calculation of the evaluation value may be a map, may be performed using an arithmetic expression relating the interference form parameter and the evaluation value, or may be performed by other methods. The evaluation value of the course candidate is set to a higher value as the partner (other vehicle) interferes with itself (own vehicle).

  The route candidate generation unit 61, the route prediction unit 62, the interference form determination unit 63, and the route evaluation unit 64 that mainly configure the route evaluation device 60 may be configured by introducing a program into a computer, or individually. You may comprise by the hardware of.

  In FIG. 1, the travel output unit 9 is connected to the vehicle control ECU 6, and receives a control signal from the vehicle control ECU 6 to perform driving travel of the host vehicle 81, for example, travel drive, braking operation, and steering operation. The travel output unit 9 includes, for example, a travel drive ECU that controls an actuator that adjusts the opening of a throttle valve of an engine, a brake ECU that controls a brake actuator that adjusts brake hydraulic pressure, and a steering actuator that applies steering torque. This corresponds to the steering ECU to be controlled. The traveling output unit 9 performs driving traveling of the host vehicle 81, for example, traveling driving, braking operation, and steering operation, according to the route that is highly evaluated by the course evaluating unit 64 that the host vehicle 81 may travel.

  Next, the operation of the course evaluation device 60 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving support device 1 including the operation of the route evaluation device 60. This flowchart is repeatedly executed, for example, at a predetermined cycle.

  First, as shown in step S10 in FIG. 5 (hereinafter simply referred to as “S10”, the same applies to the following steps), sensor information input processing is performed. The input process is a process of inputting information of sensors constituting the vehicle state detection unit 2 and the environmental situation acquisition unit 3. For example, the detection signal of the sensor is read, and the vehicle speed information, position information, The driving situation information of other vehicles existing around is acquired.

  Next, the process proceeds to S12, and a course candidate output process is performed. The course candidate output process is a process for generating and outputting a course candidate for the host vehicle. For example, the route candidate generation unit 61 predicts the future position, speed, direction, and other states of the host vehicle based on the position, speed, direction, and other information of the host vehicle 81 input from the vehicle state detection unit 2. Information about the future state of the subject vehicle is generated as a route candidate, and the generated route candidate is output to the interference form determination 63. At this time, the course candidate may be singular or plural.

  And a process transfers to S14 and a predicted course output process is performed. The predicted course output process is a process for predicting and outputting the course of another vehicle based on the traveling environment. For example, the future position, speed, direction, etc. of other vehicles are predicted based on information such as the position, speed, direction, etc. of other moving bodies input from the environmental condition acquisition unit 3 by the course prediction unit 62, and the prediction The information on the future state of the other vehicle is output as the predicted course. At this time, the predicted course may be singular or plural.

  And a process transfers to S16 and it is determined whether the course candidate of the own vehicle and the predicted course of other vehicles interfere. In this interference determination process, for example, based on the course candidate of the own vehicle output in S12 and the predicted course of the other vehicle output in S14, the course candidate of the own vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle intersect. Whether or not there is interference is determined. At this time, when there is a possibility of interference or collision in the course candidate of the host vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle, it is preferable to determine that there is an interference. Further, when there are a plurality of candidate courses for the host vehicle and a plurality of predicted courses for other vehicles, it is determined whether or not interference occurs for each.

  If it is determined in S16 that the course candidate of the host vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle do not interfere with each other, the process proceeds to S20. On the other hand, if it is determined in S16 that the course candidate of the own vehicle and the predicted course of the other vehicle interfere with each other, the process proceeds to S18 and the interference form determination process is performed.

  In the interference form determination process, the interference form determination unit 63 is configured such that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle or the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle with respect to the interference form of the route candidate of the own vehicle and the predicted route of the other vehicle. This is a process for determining whether or not it is a form.

  This interference form determination process is performed so that the host vehicle can easily determine that the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle. And a determination threshold value is set so that it is easy to determine that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle. To determine the interference mode. Here, the previous determination is the previous determination and means the determination in the previous series of control processing. When the host vehicle and the other vehicle do not interfere with each other in the previous determination, the interference mode is determined based on the normal determination threshold value T corresponding to the interference mode between the host vehicle and the other vehicle.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a flowchart of the interference form determination process.

  As shown in S181 of FIG. 6, in the interference form determination process, first, it is determined whether or not the interference form is determined in the previous control process. That is, in a series of repeated control processes, it is determined whether or not interference determination is performed in the previous control process. If it is determined in the previous control process that the interference determination has not been performed, it is determined whether or not the interference form parameter P corresponding to the interference form between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is greater than the determination threshold value T. (S182).

  At this time, when it is determined that the interference mode parameter P is greater than the determination threshold T, it is determined that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles (S186). On the other hand, when it is determined in S182 that the interference mode parameter P is not greater than the determination threshold value T, it is determined that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles (S187).

  By the way, when it is determined in S181 that the interference mode determination has been performed in the previous control process, it is determined whether or not the interference mode is a mode in which the host vehicle interferes with another vehicle (S183). ). When it is determined in S183 that the host vehicle interferes with another vehicle, it is determined whether or not the interference mode parameter P corresponding to the interference mode between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is greater than a determination threshold value Ta. (S184).

  Here, the determination threshold value Ta is set to a value smaller than the normal determination threshold value T. Thereby, it becomes easy to determine that the own vehicle is in an interference mode with respect to the other vehicle.

  If it is determined in S184 that the interference mode parameter P is greater than the determination threshold value Ta, it is determined that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles (S186). On the other hand, if it is determined in S184 that the interference mode parameter P is not greater than the determination threshold value Ta, it is determined that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles (S187).

  By the way, when it is determined in S183 that the own vehicle does not interfere with the other vehicle, it is determined that the previous interference form is the form in which the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle. It is determined whether or not the interference mode parameter P corresponding to the interference mode is larger than a determination threshold value Tb (S185).

  Here, the determination threshold value Tb is set to a value larger than the normal determination threshold value T. Thereby, it becomes easy to determine that the other vehicle is in the form of interference with the own vehicle.

  If it is determined in S185 that the interference mode parameter P is greater than the determination threshold value Tb, it is determined that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles (S186). On the other hand, when it is determined in S185 that the interference mode parameter P is not larger than the determination threshold value Tb, it is determined that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles (S187). Then, the series of control processes in FIG.

  According to this interference form determination process, if it is determined in the previous determination that the interference form is a form in which the host vehicle interferes with another vehicle, the determination threshold is changed to It becomes easy to determine that the host vehicle is in an interference mode that interferes with other vehicles. On the other hand, if it is determined in the previous determination that the interference mode is a mode in which the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle, the other vehicle is compared with the own vehicle in the current determination by changing the determination threshold value. It becomes easy to determine that the interference mode is an interference mode.

  For this reason, even if it is a case where an error arises in an interference form parameter by sensor measurement error and sensor output noise, the situation where an interference form changes frequently can be controlled. In this interference mode determination process, the interference threshold is easily maintained by changing the determination threshold value. However, the interference mode may be easily maintained by a method other than such a method. Good.

  And a process transfers to S20 of FIG. 5, and a course evaluation process is performed. The course evaluation process is a process for evaluating course candidates of the host vehicle. This route evaluation process is performed by the route evaluation unit 64, and the route evaluation is performed so that the route candidate determined to have a form in which the other vehicle interferes with the host vehicle has a higher evaluation of the route.

  For example, in FIG. 2, when there are two course candidates a1 and a2 of the host vehicle 81, the course evaluation is performed for each of the course candidates a1 and a2. At this time, when the course candidate a1 is a form in which the other vehicle 82 interferes with the own vehicle 81 and the course candidate a2 is in a form in which the own vehicle 81 interferes with the other vehicle 82, the course candidate a1 is more likely than the course candidate a2. Highly appreciated.

  And a process transfers to FIG. 5 S22 and a driving assistance process is performed. The driving support process is a process of performing driving support of the host vehicle. For example, in the case of performing automatic driving support, drive control, braking control, and steering control are performed so that the vehicle travels according to the course highly evaluated by the course evaluation process. Done. When the processing of S22 is finished, a series of control processing is finished.

  As described above, according to the route evaluation apparatus according to the present embodiment, the interference mode between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is determined so that the previous interference mode is easily maintained, and the route evaluation is performed based on the determination result. . Thereby, it is possible to suppress frequent determination of the interference mode when a detection error occurs in a course candidate of the own vehicle or a predicted course of another vehicle. Therefore, an appropriate course evaluation can be performed based on the determination of the stable interference form.

  Further, in the course evaluation apparatus according to the present embodiment, when it is determined in the previous determination that the host vehicle is in a form of interfering with another vehicle, the host vehicle is easily determined to be in a form of interfering with the other vehicle. Is set so that it is easy to determine that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle when it is determined in the previous determination that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle. By setting the threshold value, it is possible to suppress frequent switching of the determination of the interference mode when a detection error occurs in the course candidate of the host vehicle or the predicted course of the other vehicle. For this reason, appropriate course evaluation can be performed based on the determination of the stable interference form by changing the setting of the determination threshold value.

  In the course evaluation device according to the present embodiment, a course where the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle by increasing the evaluation of the course as the course candidate determined that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle. It is possible to evaluate the course so that the course in consideration of the driver of the other vehicle is preferentially selected.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above demonstrated embodiment of the course evaluation apparatus which concerns on this invention, and the course evaluation apparatus which concerns on this invention is not limited to what was described in this embodiment. The course evaluation apparatus according to the present invention may be modified from the course evaluation apparatus according to the embodiment or applied to other apparatuses without changing the gist described in each claim.

  For example, in this embodiment, although the case where the surrounding mobile body is another vehicle was demonstrated, you may apply about another mobile body.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Travel assistance apparatus, 2 ... Vehicle state detection part, 3 ... Environmental condition acquisition part, 6 ... Vehicle control ECU, 9 ... Travel output part, 60 ... Course evaluation apparatus, 61 ... Course candidate generation part, 62 ... Course prediction part , 63 ... interference form determination unit, 64 ... course evaluation unit.

Claims (4)

A route candidate generating means for generating a route candidate of the host vehicle;
A route prediction means for predicting the route of another vehicle;
Whether the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle and whether the own vehicle interferes with the other vehicle with respect to the form of interference between the candidate course of the own vehicle and the predicted route of the other vehicle. Determining means for determining the interference mode by setting the determination criterion of the interference mode so that the previously determined interference mode is easily maintained,
Evaluation means for evaluating a course candidate of the host vehicle based on a determination result of the determination means;
A course evaluation apparatus comprising:   The determination means determines that the host vehicle is likely to be in a form of interfering with the other vehicle when the host vehicle is determined to be in a form of interfering with the other vehicle in the previous determination. A threshold is set, and when it is determined in the previous determination that the other vehicle is in a form of interfering with the own vehicle, the determination is made so that the other vehicle is likely to be in a form of interfering with the own vehicle. The course evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a threshold value is set.   The determination means determines that the other vehicle interferes with the own vehicle as compared to a case where the determination threshold value is changed so that the own vehicle is likely to interfere with the other vehicle. The course evaluation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the degree of change of the determination threshold value is reduced when the determination threshold value is changed so as to be easily performed.   The course according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the evaluation unit increases the evaluation of a route for a route candidate that is determined by the determination unit to be a form in which the other vehicle interferes with the host vehicle. Evaluation device.

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