JP2015189403A - Lane keeping controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lane keeping controller that safely performs lane keeping control while suppressing an increase in cost.SOLUTION: A lane keeping controller 1 which controls a vehicle to travel while keeping a predetermined position in a width direction of a travel lane partitioned by lane partition lines, comprises: partition line recognition means 4 that recognizes lane partition lines on both sides of right and left; partition line recognition rate calculating means 5 that calculates recognition rates of lane partition lines recognized by the partition line recognition means 4; and travel position change means 6 that sets a target position of keeping traveling within the travel lanes when the recognition rate for the lane partition line of lower recognition rate, out of right and left lane partition lines recognized by the partition line recognition means 4, is lower than a first threshold value, and controls the vehicle to travel while keeping the target position. The travel position change means 6 sets a target position so that the target position becomes closer to a lane partition line of a higher recognition rate, as the recognition rate of the lane partition line of lower recognition rate out of right and left lane partition lines recognized by the partition line recognition means 4 is lower.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lane keeping control device, and more particularly to a lane keeping control device capable of performing lane keeping control safely while suppressing manufacturing costs.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a lane keeping control device (LAS: Lane-Keep Assist system) as a technology for assisting driving of a vehicle. In Patent Literature 1, when the recognition rate of a lane line is reduced due to an obstacle on the lane line, a virtual lane line is generated using past travel data, map information, and the like. A technique for performing lane keeping control while avoiding a collision with an obstacle by performing lane keeping control using this virtual lane marking is disclosed.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for performing lane keeping control so as to be separated from a detected white line when a white line on which a protrusion (pole) is raised is detected.

JP 2013-25535 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-22134

  However, the above-described prior art has the following problems.

  That is, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since a virtual lane marking is generated, there is a problem that complicated arithmetic processing is required, control is complicated, and manufacturing cost is increased.

  In addition, the technique described in Patent Document 2 has a problem that the driving line of the vehicle changes each time a protrusion is detected, so that the driver feels troublesome to change the driving line.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lane keeping control device (LAS: Lane-Keep Assist system) capable of performing lane keeping control safely while suppressing manufacturing costs. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is a lane keeping control device for controlling a vehicle so as to run while maintaining a predetermined position in the width direction of a running lane divided by lane markings. A lane line recognition unit that recognizes a lane line, a lane line recognition rate calculation unit that calculates a recognition rate of the lane line recognized by the lane line recognition unit, and a left and right lane line recognized by the lane line recognition unit When the recognition rate of the lane line with the lower recognition rate is lower than the first threshold, a target position for maintaining the travel in the travel lane is set, and the target position is maintained to travel Driving position changing means for controlling the vehicle, the traveling position changing means, the lower the recognition rate of the lane line with the lower recognition rate among the left and right lane line recognized by the lane line recognition means, The target position with the higher recognition rate It is as setting the target position to be close to the line division line.

  According to this configuration, the travel position changing unit is configured such that the lower the recognition rate of the lane line with the lower recognition rate among the left and right lane line recognized by the lane line recognition unit, the lower the target rate, The target position is set so that it is close to the higher lane marking. Thereby, the position (travel line) for maintaining the travel can be changed by performing a relatively simple calculation process such as calculating the recognition rate, and the lane keeping control can be performed safely while suppressing an increase in cost. That is, the lower the lane line recognition rate, the larger the obstacles that may be present on the lane line. The lower the lane line recognition rate, the greater the distance between such a large obstacle and the target position ( (Margin) can be increased and driving safety can be improved.

  In the present invention, preferably, the travel position changing means does not change the target position even if the recognition rate changes until a predetermined time has elapsed after the vehicle has moved to the previously set target position. Maintain the running position of the vehicle.

  According to this configuration, it can be prevented that the driver feels troublesome to change the travel line. For example, when reflection poles are provided at regular intervals on the lane line, even if the recognition rate of the lane line is lowered due to the reflection pole, the target position is changed for each reflection pole. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling troublesome about the change of the driving line.

  In the present invention, preferably, when the recognition rates of the left and right lane markings are equal to or higher than the first threshold, the travel position changing means does not set the target position and the vehicle travels at a predetermined position. To control the vehicle.

  According to this configuration, when the recognition rate of the left and right lane lanes is high, even if an obstacle is present on the left and right lane lanes, the vehicle is maintained as having no influence on the driving of the host vehicle. Lane maintaining control can be performed without moving the position from a predetermined position (for example, the center of the lane).

  In the present invention, preferably, the lane keeping control is not performed when the recognition rate of the lane marking on the side with the low recognition rate is equal to or lower than the second threshold value lower than the first threshold value.

  According to this configuration, when the recognition rate of the lane line is extremely low, it is possible to prohibit the lane maintenance control from the viewpoint of ensuring safety.

  In the present invention, the first threshold is preferably 80%.

  According to this configuration, the first threshold value can be set to an appropriate value, and lane keeping control can be performed more safely.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an apparatus for performing lane keeping control safely while performing control with relatively simple arithmetic processing and suppressing an increase in cost.

It is a block diagram which shows functionally the composition of the lane maintenance control device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that vehicle control is performed by the lane keeping control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. In this invention, it is a graph which shows an example of the relationship between the white line recognition rate and the offset amount of a target position. In this invention, it is a graph which shows the other example of the relationship between the white line recognition rate and the offset amount of a target position. In this invention, it is a map which shows the further another example of the relationship between the white line recognition rate and the offset amount of a target position. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the lane keeping control apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows a mode that vehicle control is performed by the lane keeping control apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the lane keeping control apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the lane keeping control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which vehicle control is performed by the lane keeping control device according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lane keeping control device 1 according to the first embodiment travels while maintaining a predetermined position in the width direction (for example, the center of the lane) of the traveling lane divided by the lane markings 9 and 10. This is a device for controlling the vehicle 13. The predetermined position in the width direction may not be the center of the lane, and may be a position shifted from the center of the lane to the left side or the right side. However, in the following description, the predetermined position in the width direction is described as the center of the lane. I do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lane keeping control device 1 includes a lane line recognition unit 4, a lane line recognition rate calculation unit 5, and a travel position change unit 6 as main components. The lane line recognition unit 4, the lane line recognition rate calculation unit 5, and the travel position change unit 6 are each configured as a functional unit included in an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 3. The ECU 3 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like.

  The lane keeping control device 1 further includes a camera 2, a display 7, and a steering actuator 8. The camera 2, the display 7, and the steering actuator 8 are each electrically connected to the ECU 3.

  Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

<About camera 2>
The camera 2 images a region 11 (see FIG. 2) in front of the vehicle including the road surface, and acquires captured images of the left lane line 9 and the right lane line 10 with respect to the vehicle 13. FIG. 2 shows only the imaging area 11 on the left side of the vehicle. Lane lanes 9 and 10 are lines that divide the traveling lane, and are white lines, yellow lines, solid lines that continue in the lane length direction (for example, lane line 9), and intermittently in the lane length direction. A broken line (for example, lane marking 10) etc. are included. In the following description, the lane markings 9 and 10 are referred to as the left white line 9 and the right white line 10 for explanation.

<Regarding the lane marking recognition means 4>
The lane marking recognition unit 4 recognizes the left white line 9 and the right white line 10 based on the captured image acquired from the camera 2. Various methods for white line recognition are known, but in this embodiment, for example, the luminance value of the image is differentiated along the horizontal direction of the captured image, and the luminance value is rapidly increased based on this differential value. A point that changes to is detected, and this point is detected as a white line.

  That is, when an image in which a white line is present is captured, a luminance differential value is obtained for the data on the horizontal scanning line. If the differential peaks appear in the order of minus and plus from the left side, and the interval between the peaks is within a reasonable level as the width of the white line, the left and right peak positions are It is determined that it is an edge, and an intermediate point between both peak positions is recognized as a white line position.

<Regarding the lane marking recognition rate calculation means 5>
The lane marking recognition rate calculation means 5 calculates the recognition rates of the white lines 9 and 10 recognized by the lane marking recognition means 4. As shown in FIG. 2, there are one white line on the left and right for the vehicle 8, so when scanning for white line detection is performed from the left side to the right side of the image, the white line is on the left side for one scan. One point is detected on the right side. Also, if the number of pixels of the image is 300 in the vertical direction, for example, if there are white lines from the top to the bottom of the image and white lines can be detected for all scanning lines (300 lines), 300 points on the left side, 300 white lines are recognized on the right side.

  However, not all white lines may be recognized due to obstacles on the white line. Here, the number of recognized white lines is divided by the total number of scanning lines, and the ratio is used as the recognition rate. For example, if 150 white lines are recognized on the left side of the vehicle, 270 white lines are recognized on the right side of the vehicle, and the total number of scanning lines is 300, the recognition rate of the left white line is 150/300 = 50. %, The right white line recognition rate is 270/300 = 90%. Note that the calculation method described here is an example, and another method may be used.

<About the traveling position changing means 6>
In the example shown in FIG. 2, in the traveling lane of the vehicle 8, there are a plurality of obstacles 12 on the left white line 9 in some sections, and the recognition rate of the left white line 9 is that the obstacle 12 exists. The recognition rate of the right white line 10 is lower in the interval. The “obstacle” here means an obstacle that recognizes a white line, and examples thereof include a reflection pole, a traffic sign, a cone, and a parked vehicle. Further, a state in which the white line itself is thinned due to deterioration of the white line or the white line is dirty and the white line recognition rate is reduced may be regarded as a state in which the obstacle 12 exists.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the traveling position changing unit 6 has a lower white line recognition rate than the first threshold th1 among the left and right white lines 9 and 10 recognized by the lane marking recognition unit 4. When it is low, a target position for maintaining traveling in the travel lane is set, and the vehicle 13 is controlled to travel while maintaining the target position. Specifically, the travel position changing means 6 sets the target position to a position offset from the center of the lane to the white line side with a higher recognition rate. Further, the travel position changing means 6 has a higher recognition rate as the recognition rate of the white line 9 with the lower recognition rate among the left and right white lines 9 and 10 recognized by the lane marking recognition means 4 is lower. The target position is set so as to be closer to the white line 10 on the other side. That is, the lower the recognition rate of the white line 9 with the lower recognition rate, the larger the offset amount from the lane center. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the state of the vehicle 13 changes in the order of (A) → (B) → (C). In the example shown in FIG. 2, the recognition rate of the left white line 9 is lower than the recognition rate of the right white line 10 due to the presence of the obstacle 12. Further, the first threshold th1 is not particularly limited, but is set to 80% in advance, for example.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the white line recognition rate with the lower white line recognition rate and the offset amount of the target position. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the offset amount gradually increases as the white line recognition rate decreases. As the white line recognition rate decreases, the increase rate of the offset amount (slope of the graph) gradually decreases. Also, the offset amount increases at the same time that the white line recognition rate falls below 100%. Further, when the recognition rate is lowered to some extent (for example, 20% or less), the lane keeping control is not performed.

  FIG. 4 is a graph showing another example of the relationship between the recognition rate of the white line with the lower white line recognition rate and the offset amount of the target position. In the example shown in FIG. 4, when the white line recognition rate of the lower white line recognition rate is between 100% and 80%, the offset amount remains zero, and at the same time the white line recognition rate falls below 80%, the offset amount increases. doing. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the white line recognition rate with the lower white line recognition rate is high (80% or more), the vehicle 13 is controlled to maintain the lane so as to travel in the center of the lane.

  FIG. 5 is a map showing still another example of the relationship between the white line recognition rate of the lower white line recognition rate and the offset amount of the target position. Also in the example shown in FIG. 5, the offset amount gradually increases as the white line recognition rate decreases. Note that the numerical values shown in FIG. 5 are examples, and the numerical values may be changed as appropriate.

<About display 7>
The display 7 is a device that displays the state of lane keeping control. For example, the display 7 displays the recognition rate NL of the left white line 9 and the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10 on the screen. Further, the display 7 displays where the target position for maintaining the travel is set in the travel lane. The display 7 displays whether lane keeping control is being performed.

<About the steering actuator 8>
The steering actuator 8 applies steering torque to the steering shaft of the vehicle 13 based on an instruction from the travel position changing means 6 so that the vehicle 13 travels while maintaining the target position offset from the center of the lane or the center of the lane.

  Next, the operation of the lane keeping control device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the lane keeping control device 1.

  First, it is determined whether or not the power switch of the lane keeping control device 1 is turned on (step S1). If YES, the lane marking recognition unit 4 acquires a captured image from the camera 2 (step S2). On the other hand, if NO, the process returns to step S1.

  Next, the left white line 9 and the right white line 10 on both sides of the vehicle 13 are detected (step S3). Next, the recognition rate NL of the left white line 9 and the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10 are calculated (step S4).

  Next, it is determined whether the recognition rate NL of the left white line 9 is equal to or higher than the first threshold th1 and the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10 is equal to or higher than the first threshold th1 (step S5). For example, the first threshold th1 is set to 80% in advance. If YES, the lane keeping control of the vehicle 13 is performed so that the target position of the vehicle is at the center of the lane (step S6). In step S6, the vehicle 13 travels as shown in the state (A) of FIG.

  After step S6, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the power switch of the lane keeping control device 1 is turned off (step S7). If yes, the process ends. On the other hand, if NO, the process returns to step S2.

  If NO in step S5, it is determined whether at least one of the recognition rate NL of the left white line 9 or the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10 is equal to or less than the second threshold th2 (step S8). The second threshold th2 is a value lower than the first threshold th1, and is set to 20% in advance, for example. If yes, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, if NO, it is determined whether the recognition rate NL of the left white line 9 is greater than the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10 (step S9). If YES, the target position of the vehicle 13 is set to a position offset L (m) to the left from the center of the lane, and the vehicle 13 is controlled to maintain the lane so as to travel the set target position (step S10). The offset amount L (m) is set based on, for example, any graph in FIGS. 3 to 4 or the map in FIG. On the other hand, if NO, it is determined whether the recognition rate NL of the left white line 9 is smaller than the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10 (step S11). If YES, the target position of the vehicle 13 is set to a position offset L (m) to the right from the center of the lane, and the vehicle 13 is controlled to maintain the lane so as to travel the set target position (step S12). In step S12, the vehicle 13 travels as shown in the state (C) of FIG. On the other hand, if NO, the recognition rate NL of the white line 9 is equal to the recognition rate NR of the right white line 10, and the process proceeds to step S6. After step S10 and step S12, the process proceeds to step S7. The above is the operation of the lane keeping control device 1.

  According to the lane keeping control device 1, the travel position changing unit 6 is configured such that the lower the white line 9 with the lower recognition rate among the left and right white lines 9 and 10 recognized by the lane marking recognition unit 4, the lower the target rate. The target position is set so that the position is close to the white line 10 with the higher recognition rate. As a result, the position where the running is maintained can be changed by performing a relatively simple arithmetic process such as calculating the recognition rate, and the lane keeping control can be performed safely while suppressing an increase in cost. As the recognition rate of the white line 9 is lower, there is a possibility that the obstacle present on the white line 9 is larger. According to the lane keeping control device 1, the lower the lane marking recognition rate, the larger the distance (margin) between such a large obstacle 12 and the target position, and the safety of traveling can be improved.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2, the obstacle 12 having almost the same width as the white line 9 is shown, but when the obstacle 12 is a parked vehicle having a larger width than the white line 9, a sand reservoir, or the like, Greater safety is achieved.

  Further, according to the lane keeping control device 1, when the recognition rate of the white lines 9 and 10 on both the left and right sides is high (for example, 80% or more), the obstacles that affect the traveling of the vehicle 13 are white lines 9 and 10 on the left and right sides. Lane maintenance control can be performed without moving the position where the running is maintained from the center of the lane.

  Further, according to the lane keeping control device 1, when the recognition rate of the white line 9 is extremely low (for example, 20% or less), it is possible to prohibit the lane keeping control from the viewpoint of ensuring safety.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which vehicle control is performed by the lane keeping control device according to the second embodiment.

  The lane keeping control device according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that, even after the recognition rate of the white line with the lower recognition rate is recovered, until a predetermined time elapses from the previous offset, This is the point that the traveling position of the vehicle is maintained, and other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, even if the recognition rate of the left white line 9 is recovered, the target position is changed until a predetermined time elapses after the vehicle 13 moves to the previously set target position. First, the traveling position of the vehicle 13 is maintained (state (D)).

  This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the lane keeping control device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Processing different from that in FIG. 6 will be described, and description of the same processing as in FIG. 6 will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the second embodiment, step S13 is inserted between step S8 and step S9. In step S13, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the movement of the vehicle to the previously set target position (step S10 or step S12). However, in the first step S13 after the switch-on is determined in step S1, this process is omitted, and the process directly proceeds from step S8 to step S9. That is, after the process of step S10 or step S12 is performed at least once, the process of step S13 is performed. The predetermined time is not particularly limited, and is set to an appropriate value in advance. When it is determined YES in step S13, the target position of the vehicle 13 is changed based on any of the graphs of FIGS. 3 to 4 or the map of FIG. 5, and the vehicle 13 is in the lane so as to travel the changed target position. Maintenance control is performed (steps S10 and S12). On the other hand, if NO is determined in step S13, the process returns to step S2.

  According to the second embodiment, it is possible to prevent the driver from bothering to change the travel line due to the offset. For example, when reflection poles are provided on the white line 9 at regular intervals, the target position can be changed for each reflection pole even if the recognition rate of the white line 9 decreases due to being hidden by the reflection pole. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver from feeling troublesome about the change of the target position.

1 Lane Keeping Control Device 2 Camera 3 ECU
4 lane marking recognition means 5 lane marking recognition rate calculation means 6 travel position change means 7 display 8 steering actuator 9 left white line 10 right white line 11 imaging area 12 obstacle 13 vehicle

Claims (5)

A lane keeping control device for controlling a vehicle so as to run while maintaining a predetermined position in the width direction of a traveling lane divided by lane markings,
Lane marking recognition means for recognizing lane markings on the left and right sides;
A lane line recognition rate calculating means for calculating a recognition rate of the lane line recognized by the lane line recognition means;
Of the left and right lane markings recognized by the lane marking recognition means, the target position for maintaining the running in the driving lane when the recognition rate of the lane marking with the lower recognition rate is lower than the first threshold A travel position changing means for setting and controlling the vehicle to travel while maintaining the target position,
The travel position changing means has a higher recognition rate as the target position has a higher recognition rate as the recognition rate of the lane line having the lower recognition rate among the left and right lane line recognized by the lane line recognition unit is lower. A lane keeping control device, wherein the target position is set so as to be close to a lane marking line.   The travel position changing means maintains the travel position of the vehicle without changing the target position even if the recognition rate changes until a predetermined time has elapsed since the vehicle moved to the previously set target position. The lane keeping control device according to claim 1.   When the recognition rates of the left and right lane markings are equal to or higher than the first threshold, the travel position changing means does not set the target position and controls the vehicle so that the vehicle travels the predetermined position. The lane keeping control device according to claim 1, wherein the lane keeping control device is provided.   4. The lane keeping control is not performed when the recognition rate of the lane marking on the low recognition rate side is equal to or lower than a second threshold value lower than the first threshold value. The lane keeping control device described.   The lane keeping control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first threshold value is 80%.

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