JP2012237683A - Vehicle control object discrimination device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control object discrimination device capable of discriminating whether vehicle body control is necessary or not with respect to uncontrolled objects such as upper object or lower object.SOLUTION: The vehicle control object discrimination device is provided with object detection means for detecting the object at a vehicle front on the basis of a plurality of layers set to different heights in a vertical direction and grouping means for combining a plurality of detection point data obtained in each layer by the object detection means to recognize them as one object. In the discrimination device, when the difference in the number of objects of respective detection point data on the plurality of layers is a predetermined number or more, the grouping means recognizes that the detection point data detected by each layer of which the difference in the number of objects of the detection point data is the predetermined number or more, are different objects without grouping the detected detection point data.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control object determination device.

  Conventionally, in a determination apparatus that performs vehicle control by detecting an object in front of a vehicle using a radar, a plurality of detection point data obtained by a detection unit are grouped using a multi-layer radar, A technique is known in which a layer having the maximum detection point data in each layer is extracted, and detection points necessary for vehicle body control are extracted with high accuracy (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-32430 A

  However, the above-described conventional determination apparatus has a problem that it is grouped and extracted up to the detection points of the upper object and the lower object of the target object, which are unnecessary for vehicle body control.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a vehicle control object determination device capable of determining whether or not an upper object is necessary for vehicle control with respect to a non-control object such as a lower object. To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention described in claim 1 is directed to a vehicle based on a plurality of layers (for example, layers L1 to L3, Lm, and Ln in the embodiment) set at different heights in the vertical direction. Object detection means (for example, the radar device 2 in the embodiment) for detecting a front object, and a plurality of detection point data (for example, detection point data D1 to D3 in the embodiment) obtained in each layer by the object detection means. , Dh, Dr) and grouping means (for example, step S2 in the embodiment) for recognizing as one object, a vehicle control object determination device (for example, a vehicle control object determination in the embodiment) In the apparatus 1), when the difference in the number of detection point data of each of the plurality of layers is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the grouping means The difference number of of without grouping detection point data detected by each layer is given above, characterized in that it recognized as a separate object.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when an object is recognized by combining a plurality of detection point data obtained in each layer by the grouping means, the number of detection point data in each layer is between layers. If they differ greatly, they are recognized as different objects without being grouped as one object, for example, because the layer with the largest number of detection point data and the other layers can be recognized individually, There is an effect that it is possible to individually determine whether detection point data is necessary for vehicle body control for an uncontrolled object such as an upper object or a lower object.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle control object determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the layer irradiated by the radar apparatus of the said vehicle control target determination apparatus ahead of the advancing direction of the own vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the said control object determination apparatus for vehicles. It is a figure at the time of detecting the road guide sign from the front by the said radar apparatus, Comprising: (a) shows the positional relationship of the own vehicle and a guide sign, (b) shows the detection point data of each layer. It is a figure at the time of detecting a pedestrian from the front by the said radar apparatus, Comprising: (a) shows the positional relationship of the own vehicle and a pedestrian, (b) shows the detection point data of each layer. It is a figure which shows an example which extracted separately the most many layers of the grouped detection point data shown in FIG.4 (b), and other layers. It is a figure which shows an example which extracted separately the most layers and other layers of the grouped detection point data shown in FIG.5 (b).

Next, a vehicle control object determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The vehicle control object determination device 1 of this embodiment determines the possibility that an object ahead of the traveling direction of the host vehicle C (see FIG. 2) detected by the radar device 2 collides with the host vehicle C, for example. It is a device that determines whether or not it is an object.

  The radar device 2 is a beam scan type radar using an electromagnetic wave such as laser light or millimeter wave, for example, and a detection target region set in front of the traveling direction of the host vehicle C is divided into a plurality of regions (hereinafter referred to as layers). The electromagnetic wave transmission signal is transmitted by scanning each region. And the radar apparatus 2 receives the reflected signal which arose by each outgoing signal being reflected by the object outside the own vehicle. Here, FIG. 2 shows an example of the layers L1 to L3 irradiated by the radar device 2 forward in the traveling direction of the host vehicle C. In the example of FIG. . Note that the number of divisions of the layer is not limited to three as long as it is plural.

  The radar device 2 further includes data on the direction in which the electromagnetic wave is irradiated and data on the distance to the object existing in this direction based on the electromagnetic wave data reflected and received by the object existing in front of the host vehicle C. The detection point data is acquired every predetermined time, and the data is output to the vehicle control object determination device 1.

The vehicle control target determination device 1 includes grouping means 4 and object detection means 5.
The grouping unit 4 and the object detection unit 5 are respectively configured by a part of arithmetic processing performed in the vehicle control target determination device 1. The details of the operation of the vehicle control target determination device 1 will be described later.

  The vehicle body control device 3 is a device that controls the behavior of the vehicle body, such as driving a brake to apply a braking force to the host vehicle C. The vehicle body control device 3 obtains the relative position of the object with respect to the host vehicle C based on the information regarding the position of the object detected by the radar device 2, and the host vehicle C and the object may collide. It is determined whether or not. When it is determined that there is a possibility of collision between the host vehicle C and an object, the vehicle body control device 3 performs vehicle body control for avoiding the collision, such as applying a braking force to the host vehicle C by a brake. In addition to the braking force by the brake, the vehicle body control for avoiding the collision includes shifting to the deceleration side by the transmission, changing the throttle opening to the closing side by the throttle actuator, and turning by the steering actuator. Such as a collision avoidance assist operation.

  Here, the possibility of collision of an object with the host vehicle C can be determined as follows. First, a relative relationship related to the relative distance of the object with respect to the host vehicle C, for example, a speed of the object (for example, a relative speed with respect to the host vehicle C) based on a temporal change in the position of the object is calculated, or a movement trajectory of the object is estimated. In addition, the current position of the host vehicle C is calculated based on a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal, an autonomous navigation calculation process based on the vehicle speed and the yaw rate, etc., the time change of the current position of the host vehicle C, the vehicle speed and the yaw rate, etc. Based on the above, the travel locus of the host vehicle C is estimated.

  Next, for example, an area where the traveling locus of the host vehicle C and the movement locus of the object intersect is set as a contact prediction region, and a time required for the host vehicle C to reach the contact prediction region (collision time TTC) is estimated. Then, the object trajectory in the width direction of the object trajectory when the host vehicle C has traveled for the collision time TTC while maintaining the current travel state (for example, the current vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc.). The amount of overlap between the vehicle and the host vehicle C is calculated. For example, when the overlap amount is larger than 0, it is determined that there is a possibility that the host vehicle C and the object are in contact. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the collision time TTC is less than or equal to a predetermined alarm start threshold time (for example, 2 seconds). If the collision time TTC is less than or equal to the alarm start threshold time, the vehicle body control device 3 described above. As a result, an alarm device (not shown) is notified to the occupant to avoid a collision, and a support operation (vehicle body control) for avoiding the collision is started.

The vehicle control object determination device 1 of this embodiment has the above-described configuration. Next, the operation of the vehicle control object determination device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, in step S1, a plurality of detection point data for an object existing within the scanning range of the radar device 2 is acquired.
Next, in step S2, a grouping process for grouping the detection point data acquired in step S1 for each object is performed. Note that the processing in step S2 corresponds to grouping means.

  FIG. 4 is an example of detection point data when a road guide sign is detected by the radar device 2 from the front. In this case, as shown in FIG. L3 is set side by side in the vertical direction. The electromagnetic wave irradiated to the layer L1 is reflected by the lower edge 11a of the sign 11 of the guide sign 10 shown in FIG. 4A, and the electromagnetic waves irradiated to the layer L2 and the layer L3 are on the left side of the guide sign 10. Reflected by the upright column 12. A plurality of detection point data D1 corresponding to the left and right lengths of the sign 11 of the guide sign 10 are arranged in the layer L1, and the detection point data D2 corresponding to the left and right lengths of the support column 12 are arranged in the layers L2 and L3. , D3. And these detection point data D1-D3 will be grouped by performing the grouping process of step S2 mentioned above.

  FIG. 5 is an example of detection point data when the radar device 2 detects a pedestrian h on the road, and the layer Lm and the layer Ln are set side by side. In the layer Lm, a large number of detection point data Dr corresponding to the road surface R are arranged in the left-right direction, and the layer Ln includes detection point data Dh corresponding to the pedestrian h. These detection point data Dm and Dh are grouped by the grouping process. That is, also in the case of FIG. 5, the road surface R and the detection point data Dh and Dm of the pedestrian h are grouped.

  In step S3, the score of the detection point data of each layer is calculated for each grouping. For example, the layers L1 to L3 shown in FIG. 4 will be described as an example. The detection point data D1 included in each of the layers L1 to L3 is 6 points for the layer L1, 1 point for the layer L2, and 1 point for the layer L3. A score of .about.D3 is calculated.

Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the difference in the number of detection point data included in each layer is equal to or less than a preset threshold value.
If the determination result in step S4 is “Yes” (below the threshold value), the process proceeds to step S5. If the determination result in step S4 is “No” (greater than the threshold value), the process proceeds to step S6, where the most frequent layer and the other layers are separated, both detection point data are extracted, and this routine is temporarily executed. finish.

  Here, the width dimension of the object increases as the number of detection point data of each layer increases. For example, in the case of the guide sign 10 shown in FIG. 4, the signboard portion 10 having a relatively large width when viewed from the own vehicle C side and the column portion 12 having a small width are grouped into one. In the case of an example, it is determined that the difference between the points of the detection point data D1 to D3 of each layer L1 to L3 is significantly different from the threshold value, and the determination result of step S4 is “No”, and the difference between the two or more large width differences is large Presumed to be a combination of objects. The same applies to the example of FIG. 5, and it is determined that the difference in the points of the detection point data Dh and Dr between the layer Lm irradiated to the road surface R and the layer Ln irradiated to the pedestrian h is larger than the threshold value. Is done. Note that the threshold value of the difference in the number of points of the detection point data is set to an appropriate value in advance according to the shape of the object on which the possibility of collision is supposed to be determined.

  In step S5, the layer having the largest number of detection point data (hereinafter, simply referred to as the most layer) is determined, the detection point data of the most layer is extracted, and this routine is terminated once. That is, only the detection point data (point sequence) included in the most layers is extracted, and the extracted detection point data is used for determination of the possibility of collision.

  On the other hand, in step S6, the most frequent layer is determined, the most frequent layer and the other layers are separated, and detection point data of the most frequent layer and the other layers are individually extracted. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the detection point data D1 of the layer L1 that is the most layer is extracted, and the detection data D2 of the layer L2 and the detection point data D3 of the layer L3 that are other layers are gathered together. And extracted (enclosed by a solid line in FIG. 6). In the example of FIG. 7, the detection point data Dr is extracted from the layer Lm including the detection point data Rm of the road surface R which is the most layer, and the detection point data Dh is extracted from the layer Ln which is the other layer. Will be. As a result, the determination of the possibility of collision based on the detection point data Dr of the layer Lm that is the most layer and the determination of the possibility of collision based on the detection point data Dh of the layer Ln that is the other layer are performed separately. . Note that the detection point data Dr on the road surface R can be excluded from the determination target of the collision possibility because it is known that the road surface R is the irradiation position of the layer Lm.

  Here, for example, in the case of the guide sign 10, when the possibility of collision is determined using only the detection point data of the most layers, the width of the grouped objects becomes the width of the most layers. Although it is determined that there is a possibility of collision up to the part that can be passed, the detection point data D1 of the signboard unit 11 and the detection point data D2 and D3 of the support column 12 have a possibility of collision individually as shown in FIG. Since it is used for the determination, the signboard unit 11 that is an upper object existing above the host vehicle C is determined as a non-control target object with a low (or no) collision possibility, and further, according to the relative position of the column 12. The possibility of collision is determined. When there is a possibility of collision, an alarm, vehicle body control, or the like is appropriately performed based on the above-described collision time TTC or the like.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the detection point data Dh of the pedestrian h and the detection point data Dr of the road surface R are individually provided for the determination of the possibility of collision, and thus exist below the host vehicle C. When the road surface R which is a downward object is determined as a non-control target object with low (or no) collision possibility, the collision possibility is determined according to the relative position of the pedestrian h, and when there is a collision possibility, Based on the collision time TTC and the like, alarms and vehicle body control are appropriately performed.

  Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, when an object is recognized by combining a plurality of detection point data obtained in each layer by the grouping process, the number of detection point data in each layer is large between layers. If they are different, they are recognized as different objects without being grouped as one object.For example, the most frequent layer with the largest number of detection point data and the other layers can be recognized separately. It is possible to determine whether or not detection point data for an uncontrolled object such as an upper object or a lower object is individually required for vehicle body control.

In addition, this invention is not restricted to the structure of embodiment mentioned above, A design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the guide sign 10 and the pedestrian h have been described as examples of the control target object.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control object determination apparatus for vehicles L1-L3, Lm, Ln Layer 2 Radar apparatus (object detection means)
D1 to D3, Dh, Dr detection point data Step S2 Grouping means

Claims (1)

Object detection means for detecting an object in front of the vehicle based on a plurality of layers set at different heights in the vertical direction;
In the vehicle control object determination device comprising: a plurality of detection point data obtained in each layer by the object detection means, and a grouping means for recognizing as one object
When the difference in the number of detection point data of each of the plurality of layers is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the grouping unit detects the detection point data detected in each layer where the difference in the number of detection point data is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The vehicle control object determination device is characterized by recognizing that they are different members without grouping them.

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