JP2018043705A - Vehicle travel control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To evacuate a vehicle to an adequate position when a driver becomes an abnormal state to improve safety without causing further accident after the evacuation.SOLUTION: A vehicle travel control device sets an area existing ahead of the traveling lane where the own vehicle evacuates and stops when detecting an abnormal state of a driver during traveling on a downhill slope as a forward evacuation use area, detects an object by which movement of the own vehicle after stopping can be suppressed as an evacuation use object within the forward evacuation use area, sets a target course where the own vehicle is traveled targeting the evacuation use object, and performs a travel control so that the own vehicle travels along the target course and stops in the vicinity of the evacuation use object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel control device for a vehicle that ensures sufficient safety and stops when a driver retreats in an abnormal state or the like.

  In recent years, even in the event of an abnormality in the driver, a technology has been proposed and put into practical use by ensuring that the vehicle is evacuated using automatic driving technology (automatic steering, automatic braking, etc.) to ensure safety. Has been. For example, in JP-A-2006-85563 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1), when it is determined that the driver is in an abnormal state, an in-vehicle alarm is performed, and a predetermined first time has elapsed since the in-vehicle alarm was started. Even if there is no response from the driver, an out-of-vehicle alarm is performed, and when there is no driver response even after a predetermined second time has elapsed since the start of the out-of-vehicle alarm, a vehicle for performing danger avoidance processing The technology of the control device is disclosed.

JP-A-2006-85563

  However, even with the control device as disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, depending on the location where the vehicle is retracted and stopped, particularly when a driver abnormality is detected and the vehicle stops on a downhill, the vehicle is under its own weight. Alternatively, the vehicle may move due to some impact and cause a further accident such as a fall on the cliff of the vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when an abnormality occurs in the driver, it can be retreated to an appropriate position, and safety can be improved without causing further accidents after retreating. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle travel control device.

  One aspect of the vehicle travel control device of the present invention includes a travel environment information acquisition unit that acquires travel environment information related to an environment in which the host vehicle travels, a travel information detection unit that detects travel information of the host vehicle, When an abnormal state of the driver is detected by the abnormal state detecting means by the abnormal state detecting means on the hill on the basis of the abnormal condition detecting means for detecting an abnormal state and the traveling environment information and the traveling information, the own vehicle A front evacuation use area setting means for setting an area where the vehicle evacuates and stops as a front evacuation use area, and detects from the front evacuation use area an object that can suppress movement of the host vehicle after stopping as an evacuation use object A target course for running the vehicle with the evacuation usage target detection means and the evacuation usage target as a target is set, and the vehicle travels along the target course and stops in the vicinity of the evacuation usage target. And control means for driving controlled so that.

  According to the vehicle travel control device of the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the driver, the vehicle can be retreated to an appropriate position, and safety can be improved without causing any further accidents after retreating. Become.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a vehicle travel control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of the evacuation control program by one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the distance to the front evacuation utilization area | region set according to the vehicle speed by one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram of the detected evacuation usage target according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4A shows an example of the evacuation usage target detected in the forward evacuation usage area, and FIG. Is an explanatory diagram when the retreat use target is a convex portion with respect to the road surface, and FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram when the retreat use target is a concave portion with respect to the road surface. It is explanatory drawing of the evacuation utilization object set when the avoidance target is detected by one Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a travel control device for a vehicle. The travel control device 1 includes a travel control unit 10, a surrounding environment recognition device 11, a driver state detection device 12, a travel parameter detection device 13, and a host vehicle. Position information detection device 14, inter-vehicle communication device 15, road traffic information communication device 16, input devices of switch group 17, engine control device 21, brake control device 22, steering control device 23, display device 24, speaker / buzzer 25 output devices are connected.

  The surrounding environment recognition device 11 includes a camera device (stereo camera, monocular camera, color camera, etc.) provided with a solid-state imaging device or the like provided in a vehicle interior that captures image information by capturing an external environment of the vehicle, 1 is constituted by a radar device (laser radar, millimeter wave radar, etc.) for receiving a reflected wave from a three-dimensional object, sonar (not shown).

  The surrounding environment recognition device 11 performs, for example, a well-known grouping process on the distance information based on the image information captured by the camera device, and the three-dimensional road shape in which the grouping distance information is set in advance. By comparing with data, three-dimensional object data, etc., lane line data, pedestrians, and vehicles (preceding vehicles, oncoming vehicles, parallel vehicles, parked vehicles) are extracted. In addition, the surrounding environment recognition device 11 is provided with a convex portion with respect to a road surface of three-dimensional object data such as data such as guardrails, side walls, curbs, and the like along the road, and a concave portion with respect to the road surface such as a depression. The movement is detected as a controllable target, and the avoidance target that should avoid the entry of the host vehicle, such as a cliff, is extracted along with the speed of the target, the relative position (distance, angle) from the host vehicle. Thus, the surrounding environment recognition device 11 is provided as a traveling environment information acquisition unit.

  The driver state detection device 12 reduces the driver's arousal level by detecting a steering operation (steering angle) as disclosed in the above-described field-of-view camera, infrared lamp, or the like, or disclosed in JP2012-234398A. Is detected.

  The driver state detection device 12 detects a driver's heart rate, pulse waveform, blood pressure, sweating state, body temperature, and the like using a biometric sensor as disclosed in JP-A-2002-104013, and detects these values. For example, it is determined whether or not the physical condition of the driver is abnormal by comparing the average personal data of the driver with the average value of the driver and determining whether or not it is within a certain range. The driver state detection device 12 detects that the driver is in an abnormal state when it is determined that the driver's arousal level is low and the physical condition of the driver is abnormal. Thus, in the present embodiment, the driver state detection device 12 is provided as an abnormal state detection unit.

  The travel parameter detection device 13 is the travel information of the host vehicle, specifically, the vehicle speed, the steering torque, the steering angle, the yaw rate, the lateral acceleration, the accelerator opening, the throttle opening, the road surface gradient of the road surface, and the road surface friction. Coefficient estimates are detected. As described above, the travel parameter detection device 13 is provided as travel information detection means.

  The own vehicle position information detecting device 14 is, for example, a known navigation system, and receives, for example, a radio wave transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite and determines the current position based on the radio wave information. Detected on map data stored in advance in flash memory, CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), Blu-ray (Blu-ray: registered trademark) disk, HDD (Hard disk drive), etc. Identify your vehicle position.

  The map data stored in advance includes road data and facility data. Road data includes link position information, type information, node position information, type information, and information on connection relations between nodes and links, that is, road branching, junction point information and maximum vehicle speed information on branch roads, etc. Contains. The facility data has a plurality of records for each facility, and each record includes the name information of the target facility, location information, facility type (department store, store, restaurant, parking lot, park, vehicle failure) It has data that shows information). When the vehicle position on the map position is displayed and a destination is input by the operator, a route from the departure point to the destination is calculated in a predetermined manner and displayed on a display device 24 such as a display or a monitor. In addition, the speaker / buzzer 25 can be guided by voice guidance. Thus, the own vehicle position information detection device 14 is provided as a travel environment information acquisition unit.

  The inter-vehicle communication device 15 is composed of, for example, a narrow-area wireless communication device having a communication area of about 100 [m] such as a wireless LAN, and directly communicates with other vehicles without passing through a server or the like to transmit and receive information. It is possible to do. And vehicle information, traveling information, traffic environment information, etc. are exchanged by mutual communication with other vehicles. The vehicle information includes specific information indicating the vehicle type (in this embodiment, the type of passenger car, truck, motorcycle, etc.). The traveling information includes vehicle speed, position information, brake lamp lighting information, blinking information of a direction indicator transmitted at the time of turning left and right, and blinking information of a hazard lamp blinking at an emergency stop. Furthermore, the traffic environment information includes information that varies depending on the situation such as road traffic congestion information and construction information. Thus, the inter-vehicle communication device 15 is provided as a travel environment information acquisition unit.

  The road traffic information communication device 16 is a so-called road traffic information communication system (VICS: Vehicle Information and Communication System: registered trademark). The road traffic information of the car park is received in real time, and the received traffic information is displayed on the previously stored map data. Thus, the road traffic information communication device 16 is provided as a travel environment information acquisition unit.

  The switch group 17 is a switch group related to the driver's driving support control. For example, the switch group 17 is a switch that controls the traveling at a constant speed that is set in advance, or the distance between the preceding vehicle and the time between the preceding cars are set in advance. A switch for keeping track at a constant value, a lane keeping control switch for driving control while maintaining the driving lane at the set lane, a lane departure preventing control switch for preventing departure from the driving lane, and preceding Passing control execution permission switch for executing overtaking control of vehicles (vehicles to be overtaken), switch for executing automatic driving control for performing all these controls in cooperation, vehicle speed, inter-vehicle distance, inter-vehicle distance required for each control It consists of a switch for setting time, speed limit, etc., or a switch for canceling each control. Furthermore, the switch group 17 has an emergency switch that allows the driver or the passenger to execute the evacuation control when the driver is in an abnormal state. Thus, the switch group 17 has a function as an abnormal state detection means.

  The engine control device 21 uses, for example, a fuel for a vehicle engine (not shown) based on the intake air amount, throttle opening, engine water temperature, intake air temperature, oxygen concentration, crank angle, accelerator opening, and other vehicle information. This is a known control unit that performs main control such as injection control, ignition timing control, and control of an electronically controlled throttle valve.

  The brake control device 22 controls a four-wheel brake device (not shown) independently of the driver's brake operation based on, for example, a brake switch, four-wheel wheel speed, steering angle, yaw rate, and other vehicle information. This is a known control unit capable of performing yaw moment control (yaw brake control) for adding yaw moment to a vehicle such as a known antilock brake system or side slip prevention control. Then, when the brake force of each wheel is input from the traveling control unit 10, the brake control device 22 calculates the brake fluid pressure of each wheel based on the brake force, and a brake drive unit (not shown). ).

  The steering control device 23 controls the assist torque by an electric power steering motor (not shown) provided in the vehicle steering system based on, for example, vehicle speed, steering torque, steering angle, yaw rate, and other vehicle information. It is a control device. In addition, the steering control device 23 can perform lane keeping control for performing traveling control while maintaining the above-described traveling lane in the set lane, lane departure preventing control for performing departure prevention control from the traveling lane, and retreat control described later. The steering angle required for the lane keeping control, the lane departure prevention control, and the evacuation control (the target steering angle at the time of evacuation) or the steering torque is calculated by the travel control unit 10 and input to the steering control device 23. The electric power steering motor is driven and controlled according to the control amount.

  The display device 24 is a device that provides a visual warning and notification to drivers and passengers such as monitors, displays, and alarm lamps in a vehicle. In addition, outside the vehicle, the device performs visual warnings and notifications to surrounding vehicles such as hazard lamps and passers-by. For example, when an abnormal state of the driver is detected (detected by the driver state detection device 12 or the emergency switch of the switch group 17 is turned on) and the evacuation control is executed, the display device 24 displays a display or An alarm lamp visually notifies the driver and passengers that the evacuation control is started when an abnormal state of the driver is detected. Further, outside the vehicle, the display device 24 notifies a surrounding vehicle, a passerby, and the like that the evacuation travel is started after the evacuation travel is started by a hazard lamp. The notification (alarm) for the inside and outside of the vehicle by the display device 24 is continued until it is turned off by a driver, a passenger or the like even if the vehicle is withdrawn and stopped.

  The speaker / buzzer 25 is an apparatus that gives an audible warning or notification such as a voice recorded in advance to a driver or a passenger in the vehicle. Similarly, outside of the vehicle, the device performs an audible warning and notification such as a pre-recorded voice to surrounding vehicles and passers-by. For example, when an abnormal state of the driver is detected (detected by the driver state detection device 12 or the emergency switch of the switch group 17 is turned on) and the evacuation control is executed, the speaker / buzzer 25 For example, an evacuation warning is issued to the inside (driver / passenger) and outside the vehicle (neighboring vehicles / passers-by) such as “Emergency evacuation”. To do. The notification (alarm) to the inside and outside of the vehicle by the speaker / buzzer 25 continues even if the vehicle is withdrawn and stopped, until it is turned off by a driver or a passenger.

  And the traveling control part 10 is based on each input signal from each apparatus 11-17 mentioned above, collision prevention control with an obstruction etc., constant speed traveling control, follow-up traveling control, lane keeping control, lane departure prevention control In addition, automatic driving control or the like is executed by performing overtaking control or the like in cooperation. When an abnormal state of the driver is detected (detected by the driver state detecting device 12 or the emergency switch of the switch group 17 is turned on) during the automatic driving control or the non-automatic driving control of the vehicle, FIG. The process proceeds to evacuation control described in the flowchart. In this evacuation control, when an abnormal state of the driver is detected during downhill driving, an area where the host vehicle evacuates and stops in front of the traveling road is set as a front evacuation use area, and the vehicle is stopped from the front evacuation use area Targets that can restrain the movement of the host vehicle afterwards are detected as evacuation targets, a target course for driving the host vehicle is set with the evacuation target as a target, and the target course is run along the target course to be in the vicinity of the evacuation target. Travel control is performed so that the host vehicle stops. In this way, the travel control unit 10 is configured to have functions as a evacuation use target detection unit and a control unit.

  Next, the evacuation control program executed by the travel control unit 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as “S”) 101, the driver state detection device 12 detects that the driver is in an abnormal state as described above.

  Next, the process proceeds to S102, in which it is determined whether or not an abnormal state of the driver has been detected. If the driver is determined to be abnormal, the process proceeds to S103, and if the driver is determined to be normal, the program is directly exited.

  When it is determined that the driver is abnormal and the process proceeds to S103, the travel control unit 10 sets a front retreat use area where the host vehicle retreats and stops in front of the travel path.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), the forward evacuation use area has a width of Sw from the end of the road on both sides of the front of the road (front of the distance SL), and the lengths Sc (Sw and Sc are both in advance). (Values set by experiment, calculation, etc.) (left front retreat use area Rl, right front retreat use area Rr). The distance SL to the front evacuation use areas Rl and Rr is a distance that can be estimated that the vehicle can be stopped when a braking force that has been set in advance by experiment, calculation, or the like is applied in advance when the driver is in an abnormal state. For example, it is set according to the vehicle speed V as shown in FIG.

  Next, the process proceeds to S104, where the movement of the host vehicle after stopping from within the forward evacuation use areas Rl, Rr set in S103 can be controlled (data such as guardrails, side walls, curbs, etc. existing along the road) A target closest to the host vehicle is detected as a retreat use target from among a convex portion (see FIG. 4B) for the road surface of the three-dimensional object data and a concave portion for the road surface such as a depression (see FIG. 4C). . Further, based on the camera image of the surrounding environment recognition device 11 and the map data of the vehicle position information detection device 14, an avoidance target that should avoid the entry of the vehicle such as a cliff closest to the vehicle from the front of the traveling path. To detect.

Next, in S105, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is traveling on a downhill based on the camera image of the surrounding environment recognition device 11, the gradient sensor of the travel parameter detection device 13, the map data of the vehicle position information detection device 14, and the like. If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a downhill as a result of the determination in S105, the process proceeds to S106, and it is determined whether or not an evacuation target is detected as a result of the detection in S104.

  Then, when the save use target is detected, the process proceeds to S107, and the save use target is set to the target point Pt (see FIG. 4A). As a result of the detection at 104, if no evacuation target is detected, the process proceeds to S108, where it is determined whether an avoidance target such as a cliff is detected at S104.

  If the avoidance target is detected as a result of the determination in S108, the process proceeds to S109, and the point closest to the own vehicle on the road side opposite to the avoidance target in the forward retreat use area is the target point of the retreat use target. Pt is set (see FIG. 5).

  If it is determined as a result of the determination in S108 that the avoidance target has not been detected, the process proceeds to S110, and the point closest to the host vehicle in the forward retreat use area is set as the target point Pt for the retreat use target. .

  After setting the target point Pt in any one of S107, S109, and S110, the process proceeds to S111, and a target course up to the target point Pt (for example, a course indicated by Can in FIGS. 4A and 5) is set. This target course may be set as a straight line, for example, as is well known, or may be set as a quadratic curve. In addition, the course shown by Cn in FIG. 4A and FIG. 5 shows a course in a case where the driver does not have an abnormality and travels normally.

  Further, on this target course Can, a point in front of a set distance Lt to the target point Pt (a distance according to vehicle specifications set in advance by experiments, calculations, etc., for example, 0.5 m) is set as a target. The stop position Ps is set (see, for example, FIGS. 4A and 5).

  Then, the process proceeds to S112, and automatic driving control (automatic steering control, automatic brake control) is performed until the vehicle stops at the target stop position Ps along the target course Can set in S111. In this automatic driving control, the steering position is maintained as it is in a stopped state. Also, the braking force is maintained as it is. For the brake, the parking brake is operated. When the automatic driving control for evacuation is performed, as described above, the display device 24 starts the evacuation control when an abnormal state of the driver is detected by a display or an alarm lamp in the vehicle. This is visually notified to the driver and passengers. In addition, outside the vehicle, a hazard lamp informs the surrounding vehicles, passers-by, and the like that the evacuation operation is started after the evacuation operation is started. The notification (alarm) for the inside and outside of the vehicle by the display device 24 is continued until it is turned off by a driver, a passenger or the like even if the vehicle is withdrawn and stopped. Further, the speaker / buzzer 25 performs, for example, “emergency” on the inside of the vehicle (driver / passenger) / outside the vehicle (peripheral vehicle / passenger) when the abnormal state of the driver is detected. A voice alarm such as “Evacuate” is issued to notify the user. The notification (alarm) to the inside and outside of the vehicle by the speaker / buzzer 25 continues even if the vehicle is withdrawn and stopped, until it is turned off by a driver or a passenger.

  If the vehicle stopped at the target stop position Ps is a convex portion with respect to the road surface of the three-dimensional object data such as a curb stone, as shown in FIG. Or, even if it moves due to some impact, the convex portion functions as a wheel stopper and does not cause a further accident of the vehicle. Similarly, when the object to be evacuated is a road guardrail or other three-dimensional object, these three-dimensional objects act as those that restrict the movement of the vehicle. Even if the vehicle moves due to such an impact, the movement of the vehicle is suppressed to a small level and no further accidents of the vehicle occur. Further, when the object to be retreated is a recess with respect to a road surface such as a depression, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), even if the vehicle is moved by its own weight or due to some impact after stopping, the recess is stopped by the wheel. It will function as a vehicle and will not cause further accidents.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when an abnormal state of the driver is detected during downhill traveling, the area where the host vehicle retracts and stops in front of the traveling path is set as the front retreat use area. Detecting a target that can restrain the movement of the host vehicle after stopping from the front evacuation use area as a evacuation use target, setting a target course for driving the host vehicle with the evacuation use target as a target, and following the target course The vehicle is controlled to travel so that the host vehicle stops in the vicinity of the evacuation target. For this reason, when an abnormality occurs in the driver, it is possible to improve safety without retreating to an appropriate position and causing further accidents after retreating.

  In this embodiment, the case where the driver is in an abnormal state in the state of automatic driving has been described as an example. However, the driver is not used in the state of automatic driving, but the vehicle has a function of automatic steering or automatic brake control. It goes without saying that the present embodiment can be applied when an abnormal state occurs.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the host vehicle is traveling downhill has been described as an example. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied even when the vehicle is traveling uphill. When the vehicle is traveling uphill, as in the case of traveling downhill, the vehicle is evacuated by setting a left rear evacuation area and a right rear evacuation area as shown in FIG. Control. In this case, in particular, the steering angle required to travel along the target course is the steering angle in reverse.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Travel control apparatus 10 Travel control part (Evacuation utilization object detection means, control means)
11 Ambient environment recognition device (traveling environment information acquisition means)
12 Driver state detection device (abnormal state detection means)
13 Travel parameter detection device (travel information detection means)
14 Vehicle position information detection device (traveling environment information acquisition means)
15 Vehicle-to-vehicle communication device (running environment information acquisition means)
16 Road traffic information communication device (running environment information acquisition means)
17 Switch group (abnormal state detection means)
21 Engine control device 22 Brake control device 23 Steering control device 24 Display device 25 Speaker buzzer

Claims (3)

Driving environment information acquisition means for acquiring driving environment information related to the environment in which the host vehicle travels;
Traveling information detecting means for detecting traveling information of the own vehicle;
An abnormal state detecting means for detecting an abnormal state of the driver;
Based on the travel environment information and the travel information, when the own vehicle is on a slope and the abnormal state detecting means detects the driver's abnormal state, the area where the own vehicle retracts and stops in front of the travel path Forward evacuation use area setting means to set as an area;
A retreat use target detecting means for detecting a target that can restrain movement of the host vehicle after stopping from the front retreat use area as a retreat use target;
A control means for setting a target course for running the host vehicle with the retreat use target as a target, running along the target course, and controlling the own vehicle to stop near the retreat use target;
A travel control device for a vehicle, comprising:   The retreat use target detecting means detects the avoidance target in the front retreat use area when detecting a avoidance target that should avoid entry of the host vehicle on the travel path based on the travel environment information and the travel information. 2. The vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a point closest to the host vehicle on the opposite road side is set as a retreat use target.   3. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, wherein the retreat use target is either a concave portion with respect to a road surface or a convex portion with respect to a road surface.

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