JP2017056783A - Vehicle control device, and vehicle control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control device capable of precisely selecting a preceding car in an adjoining lane.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes a position acquiring part 12 which, for a preceding car that travels in front of an own car in an advancing direction, acquires a relative distance from the own car and a lateral position which is a relative position along the direction orthogonal to the advancing direction of the own car, and a preceding car selection part 13 which does not determine that another car traveling near an adjoining lane, in an own lane, as traveling in the adjoining lane, by selecting a preceding car of which a lateral position is within a range that is specified by an upper limit value and a lower limit value based on a width of a lane while a lateral position from the own car is shortest is selected as an adjoining preceding car that travels a lane that adjoins the lane in which the own car travels, among preceding cars.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method for selecting a preceding vehicle that travels forward in the traveling direction of the host vehicle from other vehicles existing around the host vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) has been realized in which a preceding vehicle is selected from other vehicles around the own vehicle in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and the preceding vehicle follows the preceding vehicle. In ACC, acceleration / deceleration control is performed so that the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is constant so that the vehicle follows the selected preceding vehicle. Further, when there is no preceding vehicle, control is performed to keep the speed of the host vehicle constant so that the speed set by the driver, the speed limit of the road, and the like are obtained.

  There exists a vehicle control apparatus of patent document 1 regarding this ACC. In the vehicle control device disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is determined whether or not another vehicle is present on the own lane using the own lane probability map indicating the own lane probability that is the probability that the other vehicle exists on the own lane. In this own lane probability map, the highest value of the own lane probability is set in a region in the vicinity of the vertical axis passing through the center of the own vehicle, and the value of the own lane probability is set smaller in the lateral direction. In addition, the lane width is estimated based on the front image from the image processing device, the own lane map is offset according to the lane width, and the left lane probability map and the right lane probability map are provided. By using these left lane probability map and right lane map, it is possible to obtain the probability that another vehicle exists in the left lane and the probability that the other vehicle exists in the right lane.

JP 2001-93098 A

  Since the vehicle control apparatus described in Patent Document 1 detects a travel lane line by imaging a road ahead of the host vehicle, detection of the travel lane line may be difficult in rainy weather, backlight, nighttime, and the like. is there. If the travel lane line cannot be detected, it is difficult to accurately select the preceding vehicle in the right lane and the preceding vehicle in the left lane. In addition, it is necessary to mount an imaging device, an image processing device, or the like for recognizing a travel lane marking, which causes an increase in cost. In addition, when the own lane probability is used, the value of the own lane probability is high for the vehicle existing in the center of the lane, and the value of the own lane probability of the vehicle traveling on the end of the lane is low. Therefore, it may be determined that the other vehicle traveling on the end of the lane is not a preceding vehicle.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a main object thereof is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method capable of accurately selecting a preceding vehicle in an adjacent lane.

  The present invention is a vehicle control device that acquires a relative distance from another vehicle that travels around the vehicle and a lateral position that is a relative position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle. A position acquisition unit, and a preceding vehicle selection unit that selects a preceding vehicle that is a vehicle that travels forward in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, in the lane adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle travels, The preceding vehicle selection unit selects, as the preceding vehicle, the other vehicle having the lateral position within a predetermined upper and lower limit value and the smallest relative distance from the own vehicle.

  In the above configuration, when the preceding vehicle in the adjacent lane is selected, the vehicle whose lateral position is within the upper and lower limit values is selected, so other vehicles traveling in a lane farther than the adjacent lane or the own lane It is possible to select the preceding vehicle in the adjacent lane with high accuracy without determining that the other vehicle traveling near the adjacent lane is traveling in the adjacent lane. In addition, since the vehicle with the smallest relative distance to the host vehicle is selected as the preceding vehicle, when the other vehicle with the smallest relative distance travels near the end of the adjacent lane, the other vehicle becomes the preceding vehicle. The situation where it is not selected can be prevented.

It is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle control apparatus. It is a figure explaining the process which selects the preceding vehicle of an adjacent lane. It is a figure explaining the process which selects the preceding vehicle of an adjacent lane in case a vehicle exists in the own lane and a far lane. It is a flowchart which shows a series of processes which a vehicle control apparatus performs. It is a subroutine of a preceding vehicle selection process.

  A vehicle control apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle control device has an ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) function, and causes the host vehicle to follow the vehicle so that the detected distance to the other vehicle becomes a target value of the inter-vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed. If no other vehicle is detected, control is performed so that the vehicle speed set as the target value is obtained.

  In FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 10 is a computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and the like. In the vehicle control device 10, these functions are realized by the CPU executing a program installed in the ROM.

  The vehicle is provided with a radar device 21 as a distance measuring device. The radar device 21 is a detection device that detects an object by transmitting an electromagnetic wave as a transmission wave and receiving the reflected wave, and is configured by a millimeter wave radar in this embodiment. The radar device 21 is attached to the front portion of the host vehicle, and scans a region extending over a range of a predetermined angle from the front of the vehicle with the optical axis as a center by using a radar signal. In this scanning, an object existing in a range from the own vehicle to about 200 m is detected. Then, ranging data is created based on the time from when an electromagnetic wave is transmitted toward the front of the host vehicle until the reflected wave is received, and the created ranging data is sequentially output to the vehicle control device 10. The distance measurement data includes information on the direction in which the object exists, the distance to the object, and the relative speed.

  The trajectory generation unit 11 of the vehicle control device 10 acquires a relative position from the radar device 21 at a predetermined cycle or more and generates a travel trajectory of another vehicle based on the relative position. At this time, if the number of acquisitions of the relative position is less than the predetermined number, it is determined that the travel locus cannot be generated. Note that the case where the number of acquisitions of the relative position is less than the predetermined number includes a case where another vehicle has entered the detection range of the radar device 21 due to a lane change or the like. Also, using the vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the relative speed of the target, targets that are not moving in the same direction as the host vehicle, for example, oncoming vehicles, vehicles stopped on the shoulders, road structures, etc. It excludes from the generation object of a run locus.

  The position acquisition part 12 calculates | requires the longitudinal distance which is the distance with the other vehicle about the advancing direction of the own vehicle based on the present position of the own vehicle and the other vehicle. In addition, based on the trajectory generated by the trajectory generator 11, a lateral position that is a relative distance from the current position of the host vehicle in the lateral direction that is a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the host vehicle is obtained. This horizontal position is obtained as the distance between the current position of the vehicle and the locus at the point where the vertical position of the track is the current position of the vehicle. The current position of the host vehicle is the center of the host vehicle (the center point in the vertical and horizontal directions). Further, the current position of the other vehicle is a point detected by the radar device 21 at the rear end of the other vehicle. Since the radar device 21 is provided at the front end of the host vehicle, the current position of the host vehicle may be the center in the left-right direction at the front end of the host vehicle.

  The preceding vehicle selection unit 13 includes a preceding vehicle that is a preceding vehicle in the lane (own lane) in which the host vehicle is traveling, a right-lane preceding vehicle that is a preceding vehicle in the right lane (right lane) of the own lane, A left lane preceding vehicle that is a preceding vehicle in the left lane (left lane) of the lane is selected. If the vehicle is traveling in the leftmost lane, the left lane preceding vehicle is not selected, and if the vehicle is traveling in the rightmost lane, the right lane preceding vehicle is not selected. . Further, when the host vehicle is traveling on a one-lane road, neither the left lane preceding vehicle nor the right lane preceding vehicle is selected. The right lane preceding vehicle and the left lane preceding vehicle can be collectively referred to as the adjacent preceding vehicle.

  The follow-up control unit 14 transmits a control command to the engine 31 and the brake 32 in order to keep the distance from the preceding lane vehicle constant. Specifically, when the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in the own lane becomes small, a command to reduce the torque is transmitted to the engine 31 to perform deceleration. When the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in the own lane increases, a command to increase the torque is transmitted to the engine 31 to decelerate. In addition, when the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in the own lane decreases rapidly, a command to make the fuel injection amount zero is transmitted to the engine 31 and a command to operate the brake 32 is issued. When the road is a curved section, a control command is transmitted to the steering wheel 33 so as to follow the trajectory of the preceding lane vehicle.

  When the lane change unit 15 receives a lane change instruction from the driver, the lane change unit 15 transmits a control command to the steering 33 to perform steering control. At this time, if the distance between the adjacent preceding vehicle and the own vehicle is less than the predetermined value, or if the relative speed in the approaching direction exceeds the predetermined value, the lane change is not performed or sufficient deceleration is performed in the own vehicle. I change lanes after a break.

  When the lane change control is performed by the lane change unit 15, the tracking control unit 14 changes the tracking target to the adjacent preceding vehicle, and the engine 31 and the brake 32 so that the distance from the changed tracking target becomes constant. Send a control command to At this time, the lane may be changed by an operation of the steering wheel 33 by the driver. In this case as well, as in the case of automatic steering, the engine 31 and the brake are set so that the distance from the changed tracking target is constant. A control command is transmitted to 32.

  The follow-up control unit 14 controls the vehicle speed based on the vehicle speed set by the driver, the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, or the like when there is no preceding lane vehicle. Similarly, when there is no adjacent preceding vehicle when the lane change is performed, the vehicle speed is similarly controlled.

  If the adjacent preceding vehicle is selected incorrectly in performing this tracking control, the distance from the other vehicle not selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle should not be reduced more than necessary or the lane should not be changed when changing the lane. Under certain circumstances, control of lane change may be started.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the preceding vehicle selection unit 13 performs preceding vehicle selection control so as to suppress erroneous selection of the adjacent preceding vehicle. The preceding vehicle selection control will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the lane in which the host vehicle 40 travels is the host lane 50, and the lane adjacent to the host lane 50 is the adjacent lane 51. In the adjacent lane 51, the other vehicle 41 and the other vehicle 42 travel in the same direction as the host vehicle 40. The other vehicle 41 travels near the end of the adjacent lane 51, and the other vehicle 42 travels near the center of the adjacent lane 51. Note that the other vehicle 41 and the other vehicle 42 may be referred to as preceding vehicles because they travel ahead in the traveling direction of the host vehicle 40.

  The radar apparatus 21 acquires the rear end portions of the other vehicle 41 and the other vehicle 42 as the current position 41a and the current position 42a, respectively. The current position 41a and the current position 42a are accumulated as a travel position in a time series over a predetermined period, and the trajectory generation unit 11 connects the travel positions of the other vehicles 41 and 42, respectively, thereby connecting the other vehicles 41, A trajectory 41b and a trajectory 42b are generated for each 42. Regarding the trajectories 41b and 42b, horizontal positions where the current position 40a of the host vehicle 40 and the position in the vertical direction (the traveling direction of the host vehicle) are the same are defined as a horizontal position 41c and a horizontal position 42c, respectively.

  In selecting the adjacent preceding vehicle in the adjacent lane 51, other vehicles whose lateral positions 41c and 42c are within a predetermined range are extracted as candidates for the adjacent preceding vehicle. This predetermined range is determined based on the lane width of the road on which the vehicle 40 travels. Specifically, in Japan, the lane width of an expressway is determined as 3.5 m by the road structure ordinance. Therefore, when it is assumed that the host vehicle 40 is traveling in the center of the lane, the lateral positions 41c and 42c of the traveling tracks of the other vehicles 41 and 42 traveling in the adjacent lane 51 have a lower limit L1 of 1.75 m. Yes, it can be said that the upper limit L2 is within a predetermined range of 5.25 m. That is, the lower limit L1 is set to a half value of the lane width, and the upper limit L2 is set to a value obtained by adding the lane width to the lower limit value L1 (1.5 times the lane width).

  In order to extract the adjacent preceding vehicle candidates in this way, the other vehicle 41 traveling near the end of the adjacent lane 51 is also extracted as the adjacent preceding vehicle candidate because the lateral position 41c is within the predetermined range. Then, of the extracted candidates, the one having the shortest vertical distance between the current position 40a of the own vehicle 40 and the current positions 41a and 42a of the other vehicles 41 and 42 is selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle. That is, in FIG. 2, the other vehicle 41 is selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle.

  Next, the adjacent preceding vehicle selection process when there is another vehicle other than the adjacent lane 51 will be described with reference to FIG. In the own lane 50 on which the own vehicle 40 travels, there are another vehicle 43 traveling closer to the right lane and another vehicle 44 traveling near the center of the lane. In the adjacent lane 51 (right lane) on the right side of the own lane 50, there are an other vehicle 45 traveling near the own lane 50 and an other vehicle 46 traveling near the center of the lane. Further, in the far lane 52 that is the lane on the right side of the adjacent lane 51, there is another vehicle 47 that travels closer to the adjacent lane 51. In FIG. 3, for other vehicles 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47, current positions 43a, 44a, 45a, 46a, and 47a, loci 43b, 44b, 45b, 46b, and 47b, and lateral positions 43c and 44c, respectively. , 45c, 46c, 47c.

  In the own lane 50, the lateral positions 43c and 44c of the other vehicle 43 and the other vehicle 44 are smaller than the lower limit L1, and thus are extracted as candidates for the own lane preceding vehicle in the own lane 50. Then, the other vehicle 43 having the smallest vertical distance is selected as the preceding vehicle of the own lane.

  In the adjacent lane 51, since the lateral positions 45c, 46c of the other vehicle 45 and the other vehicle 46 are larger than the lower limit value L1 and smaller than the upper limit value L2, the other vehicle 45 and the other vehicle 46 are extracted as candidates for the adjacent preceding vehicle. The At this time, although the other vehicle 43 existing in the own lane 50 exists near the adjacent lane 51, the lateral position 43c is a value smaller than the lower limit value L1, and thus is not extracted as a candidate for the adjacent preceding vehicle. Similarly, although the other vehicle 47 existing in the far lane 52 is traveling closer to the adjacent lane 51, the lateral position 47c is a value larger than the upper limit value L2, and thus is not extracted as a candidate for the adjacent preceding vehicle. And the other vehicle 45 with the shortest vertical distance is selected as an adjacent preceding vehicle among the other vehicle 45 and the other vehicle 46 extracted as candidates for the preceding vehicle. That is, the other vehicle 46 travels near the center of the adjacent lane 51 than the other vehicle 45, but the other vehicle 45 is selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle.

  In order to select the adjacent preceding vehicle in this way, other vehicles traveling in the vicinity of the adjacent lane 51 such as the other vehicle 43 and the other vehicle 47 can be excluded from the candidates for the adjacent preceding vehicle. Of the adjacent preceding vehicle candidates, the other vehicle 45 that travels in the vicinity of the center of the adjacent lane 51 but has a small vertical distance instead of the other vehicle 46 with a large vertical distance can be selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle.

  In FIG. 3, the lane on the right side of the own lane 50 is set as the adjacent lane 51, and the adjacent preceding vehicle is selected as the adjacent lane 51. However, the same processing is performed for the lane on the left side of the own lane 50. . In the case where the host vehicle 40 travels in the central lane of a three-lane road on one side, the left and right lanes are set as the adjacent lanes 51, and the adjacent preceding vehicle is selected in each.

  Here, a series of processes executed by the vehicle control device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed every predetermined control cycle.

  First, detection information is acquired from the radar device 21 (S101), and processing for setting the own lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle for the own lane and the adjacent lane is performed (S102). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not an instruction to change the lane is given by the driver (S103). If an instruction to change lanes has not been given (S103: NO), it is determined whether or not a vehicle ahead of the lane exists (S104). If the own lane preceding vehicle exists (S104: YES), follow-up control is performed to keep the distance from the own lane preceding vehicle constant (S105). If there is no preceding lane vehicle (S104: NO), control is performed with the vehicle speed as a set value (S106).

  If an instruction to change lanes is given (S103: NO), it is determined whether there is an adjacent preceding vehicle in the adjacent lane to which the lane is changed (S107). If there is an adjacent preceding vehicle (S107: YES), the steering angle and the vehicle speed are controlled to follow the adjacent preceding vehicle (S108). If there is no adjacent preceding vehicle, the steering wheel 33 is operated to change the lane (S109), the vehicle speed is set as the set value (S110), and the series of processes is terminated.

  Next, a subroutine related to the process for setting the preceding vehicle in S102 in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, one of the targets around the host vehicle acquired by the radar device 21 is selected (S201), and it is determined whether or not a trajectory can be generated for the target (S202). If a trajectory can be generated (S202: YES), a trajectory is generated (S203), and the lateral position is obtained based on the trajectory. And it is determined whether a horizontal position is less than a lower limit (S204). If the lateral position is less than the lower limit (S204: YES), the target is extracted as a candidate for the own lane preceding vehicle (S205). If the lateral position is not less than the lower limit (S204: NO), it is determined whether the lateral position is less than the upper limit (S206). If the lateral position is less than the upper limit value (S206: YES), the target is extracted as a candidate for the adjacent preceding vehicle (S207). If the lateral position is not less than the upper limit value (S206: NO), the target is likely to be located in a far lane or the like, and therefore, extraction as a candidate for an adjacent preceding vehicle is not performed. In addition, when the trajectory cannot be generated, extraction as a candidate for the own lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle is not performed. Note that, when the trajectory is generated, if the trajectory is short and the lateral position cannot be acquired, the trajectory is excluded from extraction processing as candidates for the own lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle.

  As described above, after the process of extracting the target as a candidate is performed, it is determined whether or not the extraction process has been performed for all the targets whose positions are detected by the radar device 21 (S208). If the extraction process has not been performed for all targets (S208: NO), the process of S201 is performed again.

  If the extraction process has been performed for all targets (S208: YES), the other vehicle extracted as a candidate for the own lane preceding vehicle is determined as the preceding lane preceding vehicle with the smallest vertical distance (S209). Similarly, the other vehicle extracted as a candidate for the adjacent preceding vehicle is determined as the adjacent preceding vehicle with the smallest vertical distance (S210). Then, the preceding vehicle determination process subroutine is terminated.

  With the above configuration, the vehicle control device 10 according to the present embodiment has the following effects.

  -When selecting an adjacent preceding vehicle, a vehicle whose lateral position based on the trajectory of another vehicle is within the upper and lower limit values based on the width of the adjacent lane is selected. Therefore, it is possible to select an adjacent preceding vehicle with high accuracy without determining that the vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane for other vehicles traveling in a lane farther than the adjacent lane or other vehicles traveling near the adjacent lane of the own lane. can do.

  -When selecting the adjacent preceding vehicle, the other vehicle whose horizontal position is the upper and lower limit value is selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle with the smallest vertical distance from the host vehicle. This process can prevent a situation in which the other vehicle is not selected as the adjacent preceding vehicle when the other vehicle having the smallest vertical distance travels near the end of the adjacent lane.

  -When calculating the lateral position based on the current position of the vehicle and the current position of other vehicles in road curve sections, etc., the lateral position may exceed the upper limit even though the vehicle is driving in an adjacent lane. May fall below the lower limit. In the present embodiment, the trajectory of the other vehicle is obtained, and it is determined whether or not the other vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane using the lateral position of the current position of the own vehicle. Therefore, the adjacent preceding vehicle can be accurately determined even in the curve section of the road.

  -In this embodiment, the thing which cannot produce | generate a locus | trajectory is excluded from the selection object as a preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to suppress erroneous determination of a car parked on the shoulder of the road or a road structure other than the car as a preceding car, and the preceding car can be selected with high accuracy.

  -When performing the follow-up control, the vehicle ahead and the adjacent preceding vehicle are selected, and therefore when the lane change instruction is given, the follow target can be quickly switched to the adjacent preceding vehicle.

<Modification>
In the embodiment, the trajectory is obtained for the other vehicle. However, the trajectory may not be obtained, and it may be determined whether the vehicle is a preceding vehicle based on the detected current position. In this case, it is only necessary to determine whether or not the lateral position based on the current positions of the own vehicle and the other vehicle is within a predetermined range and extract candidates for the own lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle.

  In the embodiment, the upper and lower limit values of the horizontal position are exemplified, but the upper and lower limit values are not limited to the exemplified values. The upper and lower limit values may be set variably. Specifically, the lane width or the road type may be acquired from the map information provided in the car navigation device or the like provided in the own vehicle, and the upper and lower limit values may be set based on the lane width or road type.

  In setting the upper and lower limit values of the lateral position, when the host vehicle includes an imaging device, the upper and lower limit values may be set based on the lane width acquired by the imaging device. In this case, if the lane line can be detected by the imaging device, the lane in which the other vehicle travels is specified based on the lane line, and is retained when the lane line cannot be detected. What is necessary is just to specify the lane in which another vehicle drive | works based on a lane width. If only one of the lane markings for the lane on which the vehicle is traveling is detected, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling in the center of the lane, and the value twice the distance between the vehicle and the lane marking is The width should be the lane width.

  -In setting the upper and lower limits of the lateral position, it is also possible to perform inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles and acquire lane width information from other vehicles. Further, the lane width information may be acquired from a management station or the like that manages road traffic information.

  In the embodiment, the vehicle having the smallest vertical distance is selected in selecting the own lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle. However, the vehicle having the smallest relative distance may be selected instead of the longitudinal distance.

  In the embodiment, the own lane preceding vehicle and the adjacent preceding vehicle are selected one by one in each lane, but a plurality may be selected in each lane. In this case, while the preceding vehicle having the shortest vertical distance is the target of the follow-up control, another vehicle located farther than the preceding vehicle is selected as the preceding vehicle. In this way, when the preceding vehicle that is subject to follow-up control changes lanes or the like, other preceding vehicles can be made subject to follow-up control immediately, and control responsiveness can be improved.

  In the embodiment, the radar device 21 is used as the distance measuring device. However, the configuration is not limited thereto, and any configuration such as a locator, an image sensor, or a lidar can be used. The image sensor may be a compound eye camera such as a stereo camera.

  In the embodiment, the vehicle control device 10 is caused to execute the function of ACC, but the function of the vehicle control device is not limited to ACC. LCS (Lane Change Support) that warns the driver or restricts lane changes when the lane of the vehicle is changed, TJA (Traffic Jam Assist) that automates low-speed driving in traffic jams, and the distance between the vehicles ahead is reduced. In such a case, a function such as PCS (Pre Crush Safety) for operating a brake or the like to avoid collision or reduce collision damage may be executed. A car selection process may be used. In the embodiment, the driver drives a vehicle on which the vehicle control device 10 is mounted. However, the vehicle control device 10 has an automatic driving function or a vehicle having an automatic driving function according to the embodiment. A vehicle control device may be mounted.

  -In each embodiment, although the engine 31 is provided as a drive source of the own vehicle, it also applies to a hybrid vehicle that includes a travel motor in addition to the engine 31 and an electric vehicle that includes only a travel motor as a drive source. The same can be applied.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle control apparatus, 11 ... Trajectory production | generation part, 12 ... Position acquisition part, 13 ... Prior vehicle selection part, 14 ... Follow-up control part, 15 ... Lane change part.

Claims (8)

A position acquisition unit (12) that acquires a relative distance from the own vehicle and a lateral position that is a relative position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the own vehicle with respect to a preceding vehicle that travels ahead in the traveling direction of the own vehicle;
Among the preceding vehicles, the host vehicle travels in a range where the lateral position is within a range determined by an upper limit value and a lower limit value based on the lane width and the relative distance from the host vehicle is the smallest. A vehicle control device (10) comprising: a preceding vehicle selection unit (13) that selects an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in a lane adjacent to the lane. A trajectory generator (11) that obtains the position of the preceding vehicle a plurality of times in a predetermined cycle and generates the trajectory of the preceding vehicle based on the position;
2. The vehicle control according to claim 1, wherein the position acquisition unit acquires the lateral position at a point where a relative position in the traveling direction of the host vehicle is equal to a current position of the host vehicle in the track generated by the track generation unit. apparatus.   The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the preceding vehicle selection unit acquires a width of the lane and sets the range based on the acquired width.   The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the relative distance is a distance in a traveling direction of the host vehicle.   The preceding vehicle selection unit travels in a lane in which the host vehicle travels, among the preceding vehicles, the vehicle whose lateral position is smaller than the lower limit value and whose relative distance from the host vehicle is the smallest. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further selected as a host vehicle ahead of the own lane.   The vehicle control device according to claim 5, further comprising a follow-up control unit (14) that causes the host vehicle to follow the host vehicle selected by the preceding vehicle selection unit to travel. A lane change unit (15) for detecting a lane change in the host vehicle;
The vehicle control device according to claim 6, wherein the tracking control unit changes a tracking target to the adjacent preceding vehicle when a lane change is detected. A vehicle control method executed by a vehicle control device (10) mounted on a vehicle,
A position acquisition step for acquiring a relative distance from the own vehicle and a lateral position that is a relative position in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the own vehicle with respect to a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the traveling direction of the own vehicle;
Among the preceding vehicles, the host vehicle travels in a range where the lateral position is within a range determined by an upper limit value and a lower limit value based on the lane width and the relative distance from the host vehicle is the smallest. A vehicle control method that executes a preceding vehicle selection step of selecting an adjacent preceding vehicle traveling in a lane adjacent to the lane.

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