JP2017073060A - Lane change support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lane change support device that performs support of a lane change of a subject vehicle in consideration of a type of a peripheral vehicle which travels around the subject vehicle.SOLUTION: A lane change support device 100 of a subject vehicle M comprises: a type determining unit 13 that determines whether a peripheral vehicle is a passenger car or a motorcycle; a determination value calculating unit 14 that calculates a determination value based on a lateral speed of the peripheral vehicle; and an appropriateness determining unit 15 that determines appropriateness of a lane change, based on a result of comparison between the determination value and a determination threshold. The appropriateness determining unit 15 uses the determination threshold different in a case where it is determined that the peripheral vehicle is the passenger car and a case where it is determined that the peripheral vehicle is the motorcycle, when determining the appropriateness of the lane change.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a lane change support device.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a support device that supports the lane change of the host vehicle. When the own vehicle changes lanes, the support device notifies the driver of the own vehicle that another vehicle changes lanes to the travel lane to which the lane is changed.

JP2013-54614A

  Here, in the assistance apparatus described in Patent Document 1, notification is performed based on TTC [Time To Collision: collision margin time] between the host vehicle and another vehicle. However, since the assistance apparatus described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the type of other vehicle, it cannot be said to be suitable assistance. Therefore, in this technical field, there is a need for a lane change support device that performs lane change support for the host vehicle in consideration of the types of surrounding vehicles (other vehicles) that travel around the host vehicle.

  One aspect of the present invention is a lane change support device that supports lane change of a host vehicle, and a type determination unit that determines whether a surrounding vehicle traveling around the host vehicle is a passenger car or a motorcycle, A determination value calculation unit that calculates a determination value based on the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle, and a determination unit that determines whether or not the lane change of the host vehicle is possible based on a comparison result between the determination value and a predetermined determination threshold value; A lane change execution unit that executes lane change of the host vehicle based on the determination result in the determination unit, and the determination unit determines whether the lane change is possible or not when the surrounding vehicle is a passenger vehicle by the type determination unit. Different determination threshold values are used for the case where it is determined that the vehicle is a motorcycle and the case where it is determined that the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle.

  In this lane change support device, the determination threshold used when determining whether or not the lane change is possible differs depending on whether the surrounding vehicle is a passenger car or a motorcycle. For this reason, the lane change support device can determine whether or not the lane of the host vehicle can be changed in consideration of the type of the surrounding vehicle, and can perform lane change support.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide lane change support for a host vehicle in consideration of the types of surrounding vehicles that travel around the host vehicle.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the lane change assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows a mode that the surrounding vehicle is drive | working the 2nd adjacent lane of a vehicle (own vehicle). It is a top view which shows a mode that a vehicle (own vehicle) and the surrounding vehicle are drive | working the same lane. It is a top view which shows a mode that a vehicle (own vehicle) and the surrounding vehicle are drive | working the same lane. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process of lane change assistance performed by driving assistance ECU. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the lane change assistance performed by driving assistance ECU which concerns on a 1st modification. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the lane change assistance performed by driving assistance ECU which concerns on a 2nd modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the 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 lane change support device 100 according to the present embodiment. A lane change support device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle (own vehicle) M such as a passenger car, and supports a lane change (lane change) of the vehicle M by a driver. The lane change support device 100 executes lane change support for automatically controlling the vehicle M so as to change the lane from the traveling lane in which the vehicle M travels toward the adjacent lane.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lane change support device 100 includes a radar [Radar] 1, a camera 2, a vehicle speed sensor 3, a direction indicator sensor 4, a driving support ECU [Electronic Control Unit] 5, and an actuator 6. .

  The radar 1 detects surrounding vehicles that travel around the vehicle M. Specifically, the radar 1 detects surrounding vehicles around the vehicle M using radio waves (for example, millimeter waves). The radar 1 detects surrounding vehicles by transmitting radio waves around the vehicle M and receiving radio waves reflected by the surrounding vehicles. The radar 1 transmits the detection result to the driving support ECU 5.

  The camera 2 images the road around the vehicle M. Specifically, the camera 2 images the white line of the traveling lane of the vehicle M and the white line of the lane around the traveling lane of the vehicle M. The camera 2 transmits the captured image information to the driving support ECU 5.

  The vehicle speed sensor 3 is a detector that detects the speed of the vehicle M. As the vehicle speed sensor 3, for example, a wheel speed sensor that is provided for a wheel of the vehicle M or a drive shaft that rotates integrally with the wheel and detects the rotation speed of the wheel is used. The vehicle speed sensor 3 transmits the detected vehicle speed information to the driving assistance ECU 5.

  The direction indicator sensor 4 is provided with respect to the direction indicator lever of the vehicle M, for example, and detects the operation of the direction indicator lever by the driver. The direction indicator sensor detects whether an operation of the direction indicator lever by the driver is an operation of the right direction indicator or an operation of the left direction indicator. The direction indicator sensor 4 transmits the detected direction indicator information to the driving support ECU 5.

  The actuator 6 is a device that executes traveling control of the vehicle M. The actuator 6 includes at least an engine actuator, a brake actuator, and a steering actuator. The engine actuator controls the driving force of the vehicle M by changing the amount of air supplied to the engine (for example, changing the throttle opening) in accordance with a control signal from the driving support ECU 5. The engine actuator controls the driving force of a motor as a power source when the vehicle M is a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle.

  The brake actuator controls the brake system according to a control signal from the driving support ECU 5 and controls the braking force applied to the wheels of the vehicle M. As the brake system, for example, a hydraulic brake system can be used. The steering actuator controls driving of an assist motor that controls steering torque in the electric power steering system in accordance with a control signal from the driving support ECU 5. As a result, the steering actuator controls the steering torque of the vehicle.

  Next, the driving assistance ECU 5 will be described. The driving support ECU 5 is an electronic control unit having a CPU [Central Processing Unit], a ROM [Read Only Memory], a RAM [Random Access Memory], and the like. The driving assistance ECU 5 loads various programs stored in the ROM into the RAM and executes them by the CPU, thereby executing various controls. The driving assistance ECU 5 may be composed of a plurality of electronic control units.

  When the direction indicator information is input from the direction indicator sensor 4, the driving assistance ECU 5 executes lane change support so as to change the lane to the adjacent lane on the side where the direction indicator lever is operated. Specifically, the driving support ECU 5 functionally includes a surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11, a lane determination unit 12, a type determination unit 13, a determination value calculation unit 14, an availability determination unit 15, and a lane change execution unit 16. ing.

  The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 detects the presence or absence of a surrounding vehicle based on the detection result of the radar 1. When there is a surrounding vehicle, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 detects the position of the surrounding vehicle, the speed of the surrounding vehicle, the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle, the traveling direction of the vehicle M, and the like based on the detection result of the radar 1. To do. Various detection processes performed by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 based on the detection result of the radar 1 can be performed using a known technique.

  The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 determines whether or not the surrounding vehicle is earlier than the vehicle M based on the detection result of the radar 1 and the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 3. The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 determines whether the surrounding vehicle is earlier than the vehicle M based on the lane in which the surrounding vehicle travels and the speed along the extending direction of the lane in which the vehicle M travels. For example, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 uses a known technique based on the direction of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle travels detected by the lane determination unit 12 described later and the detection result (such as the speed of the surrounding vehicle) of the radar 1. Thus, the speed of the surrounding vehicle along the extending direction of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle travels can be calculated. Similarly, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 uses a known technique based on the direction of the lane in which the vehicle M travels detected by the lane determination unit 12 described later and the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 3. The speed of the vehicle M along the extending direction of the traveling lane can be calculated.

  The lane determination unit 12 detects the lane in which the vehicle M travels and the lane around the vehicle M based on the white line included in the imaging information input from the camera 2 and also detects the lane direction. The lane determination unit 12 determines the lane in which the surrounding vehicle travels based on the detected lane and the position of the surrounding vehicle detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the lane determination unit 12 has a lane L2 that is adjacent to the lane L3 that is adjacent to the lane L1 that the vehicle M is traveling, or is adjacent to the lane L2 that is adjacent to the lane L1 that the vehicle M is traveling. It is determined whether the vehicle A is traveling, whether the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the lane L1 on which the vehicle M travels as shown in FIG.

  The type determination unit 13 determines whether the surrounding vehicle detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 is a large vehicle, a passenger car, or a motorcycle. The determination process performed by the type determination unit 13 can be performed using a known technique based on the detection result of the radar 1.

  The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates a determination value used when determining whether or not the lane change support for the vehicle M can be executed. This determination value is calculated based on the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle. Here, calculating the determination value based on the lateral speed includes calculating the determination value by adding a predetermined calculation to the value of the lateral speed and using the value of the lateral speed as a determination value as it is. Including. In the present embodiment, the determination value calculation unit 14 uses the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle as the determination value. The lateral speed is a speed in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the lane.

  The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle using the detection result of the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. For example, the determination value calculation unit 14 determines the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle based on the speed and traveling direction of the surrounding vehicle detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 and the direction of the lane detected by the lane determination unit 12. It may be calculated.

  The lateral speed here is the speed at which the surrounding vehicle heads to the lane to which the vehicle M changes lanes. For example, the lateral speed is the speed V1 when the surrounding vehicle A heads for the lane L2 when the vehicle M is going to change the lane from the lane L1 to the lane L2 as shown in FIG. The lateral speed is the speed V2 when the surrounding vehicle A heads for the lane L2 when the vehicle M is going to change the lane from the lane L1 to the lane L2 as shown in FIGS.

  The availability determination unit 15 determines whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible based on a comparison result between the determination value calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 and a predetermined determination threshold value. This determination is performed when the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in a lane adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling, as shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, this determination is a case where the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the lane L <b> 1 on which the vehicle M travels, and the surrounding vehicle A travels in front of the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A This is performed when the vehicle M is earlier. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, this determination is a case where the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the lane L1 where the vehicle M travels, and the vehicle M travels in front of the surrounding vehicle A, and the vehicle M It is performed when the vehicle is slower than the surrounding vehicle A.

  The case shown in FIG. 2 is a case where the driver of the vehicle M operates the turn indicator lever to change the lane to the lane L2. In this case, it is conceivable that the surrounding vehicle A also changes the lane to the lane L2 in which the vehicle M is about to change the lane. Therefore, the availability determination unit 15 determines whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible so that the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A do not change lanes to the same lane L2.

  The case shown in FIG. 3 is a case where the driver of the vehicle M operates the turn indicator lever to change the lane to the lane L2. In this case, it is conceivable that the surrounding vehicle A also changes the lane to the lane L2 in which the vehicle M is about to change the lane. When the vehicle M is earlier than the surrounding vehicle A, it is conceivable that the surrounding vehicle A blocks the course of the vehicle M on the lane L2 to which the lane is changed. Therefore, the availability determination unit 15 determines whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible so that the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A do not change lanes to the same lane L2.

  The case shown in FIG. 4 is a case where the driver of the vehicle M operates the turn indicator lever to change the lane to the lane L2. In this case, it is conceivable that the surrounding vehicle A also changes the lane to the lane L2 that the vehicle M intends to change the lane. When the surrounding vehicle A is earlier than the vehicle M, it is conceivable that the vehicle M blocks the course of the surrounding vehicle A on the lane L2 to which the lane is changed. Therefore, the availability determination unit 15 determines whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible so that the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A do not change lanes to the same lane L2.

  The availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change of the vehicle M is permitted when the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle calculated as the determination value by the determination value calculation unit 14 is less than a predetermined determination threshold. That is, the availability determination unit 15 determines that the surrounding vehicle does not change the lane when the lateral speed is less than the determination threshold, and determines that the lane change of the vehicle M is possible. On the other hand, if the lateral speed is equal to or higher than the determination threshold, the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change of the vehicle M is impossible (not possible).

Here, the availability determination unit 15 uses different determination thresholds based on the types of surrounding vehicles determined by the type determination unit 13. The determination unit 15 uses the determination threshold value X1 when the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle. The determination unit 15 uses the determination threshold value X2 when the surrounding vehicle is a passenger car. The determination unit 15 uses the determination threshold value X3 when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle. In the availability determination unit 15, a determination threshold value X1, a determination threshold value X2, and a determination threshold value X3 are set in advance. The magnitudes of the determination threshold value X1, the determination threshold value X2, and the determination threshold value X3 are smaller in the order of the determination threshold value X1, the determination threshold value X2, and the determination threshold value X3, as indicated by the following expression (1).
X3 <X2 <X1 (1)

  For example, if the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle, the motorcycle can move greatly in the lane. For this reason, it becomes difficult to determine whether the lane change is performed or the lateral position in the lane is simply changed when the motorcycle moves in the lateral direction. For this reason, when the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle, a larger value is set as the determination threshold value X1 than when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle and a passenger vehicle. In addition, when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle, there is little (almost) no lateral movement in the lane. For this reason, when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle, it can be determined that the lane change is performed even at a low lateral speed. Accordingly, when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle, a smaller value is set as the determination threshold value X3 than when the surrounding vehicle is a passenger car and a motorcycle. When the surrounding vehicle is a passenger car, a value between the determination threshold value X1 for a motorcycle and the determination threshold value X3 for a large vehicle is set as the determination threshold value X2.

  The lane change execution unit 16 performs lane change support for the vehicle M when the lane change unit 15 determines that the lane change is possible. Specifically, the lane change execution unit 16 transmits a control signal to the actuator 6 so as to change the lane from the lane in which the vehicle M is currently traveling to the adjacent lane on which the direction indicator lever is operated. Assist lane change at

  Next, the flow of lane change support processing performed by the driving support ECU 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The process shown in FIG. 5 is started when the direction indicator lever is operated by the driver and the direction indicator information is input from the direction indicator sensor 4 to the driving support ECU 5. Note that when the direction indicator information is newly input to the driving support ECU 5 during the process of the flowchart, the driving support ECU 5 ends the current process and starts a new process.

  First, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 detects the presence or absence of a surrounding vehicle based on the detection result of the radar 1. In addition, when there is a surrounding vehicle, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 detects the position of the surrounding vehicle, the speed of the surrounding vehicle, the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle, the traveling direction of the vehicle M, and the like (S101). The lane determination unit 12 determines whether or not a surrounding vehicle is detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 (S102).

  When the surrounding vehicle A is detected (S102: YES), the lane determination unit 12 determines the lane in which the surrounding vehicle travels (S103). Then, the lane determination unit 12 determines whether or not the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle M or is traveling in a lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the vehicle M (S104). When the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle M or when traveling in the lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the vehicle M (S104: YES), the lane determination unit 12 determines that the surrounding vehicle A is a vehicle It is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling in the two adjacent lanes from the M traveling lane (S105).

  When the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the two adjacent lanes from the traveling lane of the vehicle M (S105: YES), the type determination unit 13 determines whether the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle based on the detection result of the radar 1 It is determined whether the vehicle is a passenger car or a motorcycle (S106). The availability determination unit 15 selects a determination threshold (determination thresholds X1 to X3) according to the type of the surrounding vehicle based on the type of the surrounding vehicle determined by the determination value calculation unit 14 (S107).

  The judgment value calculation unit 14 calculates the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle (S108). The availability determination unit 15 compares the lateral speed calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 with a determination threshold selected according to the type of the surrounding vehicle (S109). When the lateral speed is less than the determination threshold value (S109: YES), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change is possible. And the lane change execution part 16 performs the lane change support of the vehicle M by transmitting a control signal to the actuator 6 (S110).

  In the process of S102, if no surrounding vehicle is detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 (S102: NO), the lane change execution unit 16 provides lane change support for the vehicle M because there is no surrounding vehicle (S110). ).

  In the process of S104, if the surrounding vehicle A is not traveling in the same lane as the vehicle M and is not traveling in the next lane from the traveling lane of the vehicle M (S104: NO), the lane change execution unit 16 Does not support the lane change of the vehicle M (cancel the lane change).

  In the process of S109, if the lateral speed is not less than the determination threshold value (S109: NO), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change is impossible. And the lane change execution part 16 does not perform lane change support (cancel lane change).

  In the process of S105, when the surrounding vehicle A is not traveling in the two adjacent lanes from the traveling lane of the vehicle M (S105: NO), that is, when the surrounding vehicle A and the vehicle M are traveling in the same lane The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 determines whether or not the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in front of the vehicle M (S111). When the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in front of the vehicle M (S111: YES), the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 determines whether the vehicle (own vehicle) M is earlier than the surrounding vehicle (preceding vehicle) A (vehicle M Whether or not the vehicle overtakes surrounding vehicle A) (S112). When the vehicle M is earlier than the surrounding vehicle A (S112: YES), the driving support ECU 5 performs the process of S106 described above.

  In the process of S111, when the surrounding vehicle A is not traveling in front of the vehicle M (S111: NO), that is, when the surrounding vehicle A is traveling behind the vehicle M, the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 (Self-vehicle) It is determined whether or not M is slower than surrounding vehicle (following vehicle) A (whether or not vehicle M is overtaken by surrounding vehicle A) (S113). When the vehicle M is slower than the surrounding vehicle A (S113: YES), the driving support ECU 5 performs the process of S106 described above.

  In the process of S112, when the vehicle M is not earlier than the surrounding vehicle A (S112: NO), since the surrounding vehicle A traveling ahead is earlier even if the lane is changed to the same lane, the lane change execution unit 16 Lane change support for the vehicle M is performed (S110).

  In the process of S113, if the vehicle M is not slower than the surrounding vehicle A (S113: NO), the vehicle M traveling ahead is faster even if the lane is changed to the same lane. M lane change support is performed (S110).

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and when the availability determination unit 15 compares the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle A with the determination threshold and determines whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible, the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle. Different threshold values are used depending on whether the vehicle is a passenger car or a large vehicle. For this reason, the lane change support device 100 can determine whether or not the lane change of the vehicle M can be performed in consideration of the type of the surrounding vehicle A, and can perform lane change support according to the type of the surrounding vehicle A.

(First modification)
Next, a first modification will be described. In the lane change support device 100 according to the embodiment, the lateral speed is used as the determination value, but the lane change support device 100 according to the first modification uses TTC as the determination value. Hereinafter, the difference between the lane change support device 100 according to the first modification and the lane change support device 100 according to the embodiment will be mainly described, and description of the same elements will be omitted.

  The determination value calculation unit 14 uses the TTC of the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A as a determination value used when determining whether or not the lane change support for the vehicle M can be executed. TTC means a time obtained by dividing the relative distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A by the relative speed between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A.

  When it is determined by the lane determination unit 12 that the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the lane next to the traveling lane of the vehicle M (in the case of FIG. 2), the determination value calculation unit 14 determines that the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A TTC in the horizontal direction is calculated. In this case, the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle A using the detection result of the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the lateral speed of the vehicle M using the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 3. For example, the determination value calculation unit 14 determines the lateral speed of the vehicle M using a known technique based on the direction of the lane in which the vehicle M travels detected by the lane determination unit 12 and the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 3. Can be calculated. The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates a lateral distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A (distance K1 in FIG. 2) based on the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. To do. For example, the determination value calculation unit 14 is based on the position of the surrounding vehicle A detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11, the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A, the direction of the lane detected by the lane determination unit 12, and the like. The lateral distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A can be calculated. The determination value calculation unit 14 determines the lateral direction between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A based on the calculated lateral speed of the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A and the lateral distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A. TTC at is calculated.

  When the lane determination unit 12 determines that the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle M (in the case of FIGS. 3 and 4), the determination value calculation unit 14 determines that the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A The TTC in the vertical direction is calculated. The longitudinal direction is a direction along the extending direction of the traveling lane of the vehicle M. In this case, the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the vertical speed of the surrounding vehicle A based on the detection result of the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. For example, the determination value calculation unit 14 is a known technique based on the direction of the traveling lane of the surrounding vehicle A detected by the lane determination unit 12 and the detection result (such as the speed of the surrounding vehicle A) of the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. Can be used to calculate the vertical speed of the surrounding vehicle A. The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the vertical speed of the vehicle M using the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 3. For example, the determination value calculation unit 14 extends the travel lane of the vehicle M using a known technique based on the direction of the travel lane of the vehicle M detected by the lane determination unit 12 and the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 3. The speed along the current direction can be calculated. Based on the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11, the determination value calculation unit 14 determines the lateral distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A (the distance K2 in FIGS. 3 and 4). ) Is calculated. For example, the determination value calculation unit 14 is based on the position of the surrounding vehicle A detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11, the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A, the direction of the lane detected by the lane determination unit 12, and the like. The vertical distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A can be calculated. The determination value calculation unit 14 determines the longitudinal direction between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A based on the calculated longitudinal speed of the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A and the longitudinal distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A. TTC at is calculated.

The determination unit 15 uses a different determination threshold based on the type of the surrounding vehicle determined by the type determination unit 13 as a determination threshold used for determining whether to change lanes. The determination unit 15 uses a determination threshold Y1 when the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle. The determination unit 15 uses the determination threshold Y2 when the surrounding vehicle is a passenger car. The determination unit 15 uses the determination threshold Y3 when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle. In the availability determination unit 15, a determination threshold Y1, a determination threshold Y2, and a determination threshold Y3 are set in advance. The magnitudes of the judgment threshold Y1, the judgment threshold Y2, and the judgment threshold Y3 are smaller in the order of the judgment threshold Y1, the judgment threshold Y2, and the judgment threshold Y3, as shown by the following equation (2).
Y3 <Y2 <Y1 (2)

  The magnitudes of the determination thresholds Y1 to Y3 are set based on the same concept as the determination thresholds X1 to X3 described in the embodiment.

  Next, the flow of lane change support processing performed by the driving support ECU 5 in the first modification will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the processing of S201 to S206 and S210 to S213 shown in FIG. 6 is the same as the processing of S101 to S106 and S110 to S113 shown in FIG.

  When the determination value calculation unit 14 determines the type of the surrounding vehicle (S206), the availability determination unit 15 determines based on the type of the surrounding vehicle based on the type of the surrounding vehicle determined by the determination value calculation unit 14. A threshold value (determination threshold values Y1 to Y3) is selected (S207). The judgment value calculation unit 14 calculates TTC between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A (S208). Here, the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the TTC in the lateral direction when the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the lane two adjacent to the traveling lane of the vehicle M. Further, when the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle M, the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the TTC in the vertical direction.

  The availability determination unit 15 compares the TTC calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 with the determination threshold selected according to the type of the surrounding vehicle (S209). When TTC is less than the determination threshold value (S209: YES), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change is possible. And the lane change execution part 16 performs lane change assistance of the vehicle M by transmitting a control signal to the actuator 6 (S210). In the process of S209, if TTC is not less than the determination threshold value (S209: NO), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change is not possible. And the lane change execution part 16 does not perform lane change support (cancel lane change).

  As described above, also in the first modified example, the availability determining unit 15 compares the TTC for the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A with the determination threshold to determine whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible. Different determination threshold values are used depending on whether the vehicle is a motorcycle, a passenger car, or a large vehicle. For this reason, the lane change support device 100 can determine whether or not the lane change of the vehicle M can be performed in consideration of the type of the surrounding vehicle A, and can perform lane change support according to the type of the surrounding vehicle A.

(Second modification)
Next, a second modification will be described. In the lane change support device 100 according to the embodiment, the lateral speed is used as the determination value, but the lane change support device 100 according to the second modification uses the offset amount and the TTC as the determination value. Hereinafter, differences between the lane change support device 100 according to the second modification and the lane change support device 100 according to the embodiment will be mainly described, and description of the same elements will be omitted.

  The offset amount is a deviation amount between the lane center Lc of the lane in which the peripheral vehicle A travels and the center in the width direction of the peripheral vehicle A, as shown in FIGS. Further, the offset amount here is the amount of deviation between the lane center Lc and the surrounding vehicle A when the surrounding vehicle A is approaching the lane change destination lane where the vehicle M changes the lane. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the vehicle M is going to change the lane from the lane L1 to the lane L2, as shown in FIG. 2, the offset amount is a deviation when the surrounding vehicle A is closer to the lane L2 with respect to the lane center Lc. is there. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the vehicle M is going to change the lane from the lane L1 to the lane L2, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the offset amount when the surrounding vehicle A is closer to the lane L2 with respect to the lane center Lc. This is the amount of deviation.

  The determination value calculation unit 14 uses the offset amount of the surrounding vehicle A with respect to the lane center Lc and the TTC of the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A as the determination value used when determining whether or not the lane change support of the vehicle M can be executed. . The determination value calculation unit 14 uses the same TTC as the first modification described above as the TTC.

  The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the offset amount using a known technique based on, for example, the lane detected by the lane determination unit 12 and the position of the surrounding vehicle A detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11. can do. As an example, the lane determination unit 12 calculates the lane width of the traveling lane of the vehicle M based on the white line included in the imaging information of the camera 2. The lane width can be calculated using known image processing. The determination value calculation unit 14 assumes that the lane width around the vehicle M is the same as the lane width of the lane in which the vehicle M travels, and estimates the lane center Lc of the lane in which the surrounding vehicle A travels (FIGS. 2 to 4). ). The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 detects the width of the surrounding vehicle A and the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A based on the detection result of the radar 1. The surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11 can calculate the width of the surrounding vehicle A using a known technique based on the detection result of the radar 1. The determination value calculation unit 14 can calculate the offset amount using the estimated lane center Lc, the width of the surrounding vehicle A detected by the surrounding vehicle recognition unit 11, and the distance between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A. .

The determination unit 15 determines determination thresholds Z1 to Z3 that are compared with the offset amount calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 and determination thresholds Y1 to Y3 that are compared to the TTC, as determination thresholds used for determining whether or not to change lanes Is used. Determination threshold values Z1 to Z3 to be compared with the offset amount are set for each type of the surrounding vehicle determined by the type determination unit 13. The determination unit 15 uses the determination threshold value Z1 when the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle. The determination unit 15 uses a determination threshold value Z2 when the surrounding vehicle is a passenger car. The determination unit 15 uses a determination threshold value Z3 when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle. In the availability determination unit 15, a determination threshold value Z1, a determination threshold value Z2, and a determination threshold value Z3 are set in advance. The magnitudes of the determination threshold value Z1, the determination threshold value Z2, and the determination threshold value Z3 are smaller in the order of the determination threshold value Z1, the determination threshold value Z2, and the determination threshold value Z3, as indicated by the following equation (3).
Z3 <Z2 <Z1 (3)

  Determination thresholds Z1 to Z3 to be compared with the offset amount are set based on the width of the surrounding vehicle A. For example, since a large vehicle has a large vehicle width, it protrudes from the traveling lane with a small offset and enters an adjacent lane. For this reason, when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle, it can be determined that the lane change is performed even with a small offset amount. Therefore, when the surrounding vehicle is a large vehicle, the smallest value is set as the determination threshold value Z3. Since a motorcycle has a narrower vehicle width than a passenger car, the largest value is set as the determination threshold value Z1.

  Determination threshold values Y1 to Y3 compared with TTC are the same as those in the first modification.

  When the availability determination unit 15 determines whether the lane of the vehicle M can be changed, first, whether the offset amount calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 as the determination value is less than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Z1 to Z3). Determine whether or not. Next, when the offset amount is less than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Z1 to Z3), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the TTC calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 as the determination value is the determination threshold (determination thresholds Y1 to Y3). It is judged whether it is less than. When the TTC is less than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Y1 to Y3), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change of the vehicle M is possible. That is, if the offset amount is less than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Z1 to Z3) and the TTC is less than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Y1 to Y3), the admissibility determination unit 15 does not change the lane. It is determined that the lane change of the vehicle M is possible. On the other hand, the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change of the vehicle M is impossible when the offset amount is equal to or greater than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Z1 to Z3). Even if the offset amount is less than the determination threshold (determination thresholds Z1 to Z3), if the TTC is greater than or equal to the determination threshold (determination thresholds Y1 to Y3), the availability determination unit 15 cannot change the lane of the vehicle M. judge.

  Next, the flow of lane change support processing performed by the driving support ECU 5 in the second modification will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the processes of S301 to S306 and S312 to S315 shown in FIG. 7 are the same as the processes of S101 to S106 and S110 to S113 shown in FIG.

  When the determination value calculation unit 14 determines the type of the surrounding vehicle (S306), the availability determination unit 15 determines based on the type of the surrounding vehicle based on the type of the surrounding vehicle determined by the determination value calculation unit 14. A threshold is selected (S307). Here, the determination unit 15 determines from the determination thresholds Z1 to Z3 for comparison with the offset amount and from the determination thresholds Y1 to Y3 for comparison with the TTC, based on the types of surrounding vehicles. Select a threshold.

  The determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the offset amount of the surrounding vehicle (S308). The availability determination unit 15 compares the offset amount calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 with a determination threshold selected according to the type of the surrounding vehicle (S309). When the offset amount is less than the determination threshold value (S309: YES), the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the TTC between the vehicle M and the surrounding vehicle A (S310). Here, the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the TTC in the lateral direction when the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the lane two adjacent to the traveling lane of the vehicle M. Further, when the surrounding vehicle A is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle M, the determination value calculation unit 14 calculates the TTC in the vertical direction.

  The availability determination unit 15 compares the TTC calculated by the determination value calculation unit 14 with the determination threshold selected according to the type of the surrounding vehicle (S311). When TTC is less than the determination threshold value (S311: YES), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change of the vehicle M is possible. Then, the lane change execution unit 16 performs lane change support for the vehicle M by transmitting a control signal to the actuator 6 (S312). When the offset amount is not less than the determination threshold value in the process of S309 (S309: NO), or when TTC is not less than the determination threshold value in the process of S311 (S311: NO), the availability determination unit 15 determines that the lane change is not possible. And the lane change execution part 16 does not perform lane change support (cancel lane change).

  As described above, also in the second modified example, the possibility determination unit 15 compares the offset amount with the determination threshold value and compares the TTC with the determination threshold value to determine whether the lane change of the vehicle M is possible. In addition, different determination thresholds are used depending on whether the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle, a passenger car, or a large vehicle. For this reason, the lane change support device 100 can determine whether or not the lane change of the vehicle M can be performed in consideration of the type of the surrounding vehicle A, and can perform lane change support according to the type of the surrounding vehicle A.

  In the second modification, the lane change assist device 100 uses TTC as a determination value when determining whether or not lane change is possible, but the lateral speed described in the embodiment may be used instead of TTC.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, the lane change support device 100 may include a rider instead of the radar 1. The rider detects surrounding vehicles around the vehicle M using light.

  In addition to the detection result of the radar 1, the type determination unit 13 may determine the type of the surrounding vehicle using, for example, a known image processing technique based on the imaging result of the camera 2.

  Further, in the above embodiment and the first and second modifications, the type determination unit 13 classifies the surrounding vehicles into three types: a motorcycle, a passenger car, and a large vehicle, but it is sufficient that at least a motorcycle and a passenger car can be classified. . When the peripheral vehicles are classified into motorcycles and passenger cars, the passenger cars may include vehicles other than motorcycles. Moreover, you may classify a surrounding vehicle into 4 or more types.

  In addition to the case where the direction indicator information is input from the direction indicator sensor 4, the driving support ECU 5, for example, when there is a lane change instruction from an automatic driving device or the like that automatically drives the vehicle M, the lane described above. Change support processing may be performed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Peripheral vehicle recognition part, 12 ... Lane determination part, 13 ... Type determination part, 14 ... Determination value calculation part, 15 ... Permissible determination part, 16 ... Lane change execution part, 100 ... Lane change support apparatus, A ... Peripheral vehicle , M ... Vehicle (own vehicle).

Claims (1)

A lane change support device that performs lane change support for controlling the host vehicle so as to change lanes from a traveling lane toward an adjacent lane,
A type determination unit that determines whether a surrounding vehicle traveling around the host vehicle is a passenger car or a motorcycle;
A determination value calculation unit for calculating a determination value based on the lateral speed of the surrounding vehicle;
A determination unit for determining whether or not the lane change of the host vehicle is possible based on a comparison result between the determination value and a predetermined determination threshold;
A lane change execution unit that executes lane change of the host vehicle based on a determination result in the availability determination unit;
When determining whether the lane change is possible, the availability determining unit determines that the surrounding vehicle is the passenger car and the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle when the type determining unit determines that the surrounding vehicle is a motorcycle. A lane change assisting device that uses the determination threshold values different from each other.

Images