JP2018136813A - Alarm generator and brake control unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inter-vehicle distance control unit capable of upgrading performance of avoiding a collision with a preceding vehicle and controlling an inter-vehicle distance according to the behavior of the preceding vehicle.SOLUTION: An ECU 12 included in an onboard system 10 performs processing to be described below for the purpose of generating an alarm or activating a brake before an own vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle. That is, the ECU 12 detects a trajectory of the preceding vehicle, and collates the detected trajectory with a predefined condition. If the trajectory is consistent with the predefined condition, the ECU 12 hastens alarm generation timing or brake activation timing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a warning generation device, and more particularly to a warning generation device that is mounted on a host vehicle and generates a warning before the host vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle.

  The present invention also relates to a brake control device, and more particularly to a brake control device that is mounted on a host vehicle and activates a brake before the host vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle.

  An example of this type of device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This device estimates vehicle behavior in front and front sides, and attempts to perform vehicle speed control before a vehicle traveling in front of an adjacent lane enters the own traveling lane. As a result, inter-vehicle distance control with a sense of security for the driver is realized.

JP 2001-199260 A

  However, in the case where the vehicle ahead is meandering within the own traveling lane or the boundary between the own traveling lane and the adjacent lane due to unstable traveling such as staggering, in the device of Patent Document 1, vehicle speed control is frequently performed, The driver feels uncomfortable. In other words, the device of Patent Document 1 has a limit in performance for avoiding a collision with a preceding vehicle.

Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an inter-vehicle distance control device that can improve the performance of avoiding a collision with a preceding vehicle and that is in accordance with the preceding vehicle behavior.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a warning generating device capable of enhancing the performance of avoiding a collision with a preceding vehicle.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a brake control device capable of enhancing the performance of avoiding a collision with a preceding vehicle.

The inter-vehicle distance control device according to the present invention is an inter-vehicle distance control device that is mounted on the host vehicle and adjusts the inter-vehicle distance when the host vehicle determines that the behavior of the preceding vehicle is unstable. And a control means for increasing the inter-vehicle distance when the trajectory detected by the detection means matches a predetermined condition.
The warning generation device according to the present invention is a warning generation device that is mounted on a host vehicle and generates a warning before the host vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle. The detection unit detects a locus of the preceding vehicle, and is detected by the detection unit. Control means is provided for advancing the generation of a warning when the recorded trajectory meets a predetermined condition.

  A brake control device according to the present invention is a brake control device that is mounted on a host vehicle and activates a brake before the host vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle. The detecting unit detects a locus of the preceding vehicle, and is detected by the detecting unit. Control means is provided for advancing the brake operation timing when the recorded trajectory meets a predetermined condition.

  If the trajectory of the preceding vehicle meets the predetermined condition, the inter-vehicle distance is adjusted to be longer, and the warning generation time or the brake operation time is advanced. Thereby, the performance which avoids the collision with a preceding vehicle can be improved.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted system of this Example. It is a flowchart which shows a part of operation | movement of ECU shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows a part of other operation | movement of ECU shown in FIG. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of the driving state of the own vehicle and another vehicle.

  Referring to FIG. 1, an in-vehicle system 10 of this embodiment includes an ECU (warning generating device or brake control device) 12. A brake pedal 14, a front camera 16, a vehicle speed sensor 18, and a radar 20 are connected to the input side of the ECU 12. A brake actuator 22 and a buzzer 24 are connected to the output side of the ECU 12.

  The brake pedal 14 is provided at the foot of the driver's seat. When the brake pedal 14 is depressed by the driver, the brake actuator 22 is actuated, whereby a braking force is applied to the host vehicle 100. The front camera 16 is provided in the front part of the host vehicle 100 and captures scenes in front and front sides of the host vehicle 100. The vehicle speed sensor 18 detects the speed of the host vehicle 100, and the radar 20 detects an obstacle such as the preceding vehicle 200 from the front or front side of the host vehicle 100. The buzzer 24 is provided on the dashboard and issues a warning to the driver using sound.

  The ECU 12 repeatedly executes the collision avoidance process according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 and the threshold control process shown in FIG. 3 in order to improve the performance of avoiding a collision with the preceding vehicle 200. A control program corresponding to these flowcharts is stored in the memory 12 mm.

  In step S1, it is determined whether or not a lane has been detected based on the output of the front camera 16, and in step S3, whether or not the preceding vehicle 200 exists is determined based on the output of the radar 20. If any one of the determination result in step S1 and the determination result in step S3 is NO, the current collision avoidance process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if both of the determination result in step S1 and the determination result in step S3 are YES, the process proceeds to step S5, and a TTC (Time To Collision indicating the time until the host vehicle 100 collides with the preceding vehicle 200. ) Is calculated.

  In the process of calculating the TTC, the distance from the host vehicle 100 to the preceding vehicle 200 is calculated every moment based on the output of the radar 20. In the process of calculating the TTC, the speed of the host vehicle 100 with respect to the preceding vehicle 200 is also calculated based on a change in the distance from the host vehicle 100 to the preceding vehicle 200.

  In step S7, it is determined whether or not the TTC calculated in step S5 indicates infinity. If the decision result in the step S7 is YES, it is considered that the preceding vehicle 200 is moving away at a speed higher than the speed of the own vehicle 100, and the current collision avoidance process is ended. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S7 is NO, the process advances to a step S9 to calculate / set the threshold values THt and THd.

  Here, the threshold value THt indicates a shorter time as the speed of the host vehicle 100 with respect to the preceding vehicle 200 is higher than the TTC. Further, the threshold value THd is less than the distance from the host vehicle 100 to the preceding vehicle 200 and indicates a longer distance as the speed of the host vehicle 100 with respect to the preceding vehicle 200 increases.

  In step S11, the timer 12tm is reset and started, and in step S13, it is determined whether or not the measured value of the timer 12tm has reached the threshold value THt. If a determination result is NO, it will progress to step S17 as it is. On the other hand, if the determination result is YES, in step S15, the buzzer 24 is requested to generate a warning, and then the process proceeds to step S17. The driver is prompted to decelerate by the warning issued by the process of step S15.

  In step S <b> 17, the distance from the host vehicle 100 to the preceding vehicle 200 is calculated based on the output of the radar 20. In step S19, it is determined whether or not the calculated distance has been shortened to the threshold value THd. If a determination result is NO, it will progress to step S23 as it is. On the other hand, if the determination result is YES, the brake actuator 22 is requested for braking in step S21, and then the process proceeds to step S23. The host vehicle 100 decelerates by the process of step S21.

  In step S23, it is determined whether or not the release condition is satisfied. If the determination result is NO, the process returns to step S13, whereas if the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step S25. In step S25, the warning issued in step S15 and the braking activated in step S21 are released. The current collision avoidance process ends after the process of step S25.

  Referring to FIG. 3, in step S31, it is determined whether or not threshold values THt and THd are set by the process of step S9. If the determination result is NO, the current threshold control process is terminated as is, while if the determination result is YES, the trajectory of the preceding vehicle 200 is stored in the memory 12 mm in step S33.

  In step S35, it is determined whether or not the trajectory stored in the memory 12mm is unstable (= whether or not the trajectory meets a predetermined condition). In step S37, it is determined whether or not a release condition is satisfied. If both the determination result in step S35 and the determination result in step S37 are NO, the process returns to step S35.

  If the determination result of step S35 is YES, it will progress to step S39 and will reduce the threshold value THt within the range below the TTC calculated in step S5. In step S41, the threshold value THd is increased within a range that is less than the distance from the host vehicle 100 to the preceding vehicle 200. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, if the trajectory of the preceding vehicle 200 is unstable, a warning is issued at an early timing, and the brake is also activated at an early timing.

  If the determination result of step S37 is YES, it will progress to step S43 and will erase | eliminate the locus | trajectory memorize | stored in memory 12mm. The current threshold control process ends after the process of step S41 or step S43.

  As can be seen from the above description, the ECU 12 provided in the in-vehicle system 10 executes the following processing to generate a warning or activate the brake before the host vehicle 100 collides with the preceding vehicle 200. That is, the ECU 12 detects the trajectory of the preceding vehicle 200 (S33), and the detected trajectory collates a predetermined condition (S35). If the locus matches the predetermined condition, the ECU 12 advances the warning generation time (S35, S39, S13) or the brake operation time (S35, S41, S19).

  Thereby, the performance which avoids the collision with the preceding vehicle 200 can be improved. In other words, even when the preceding vehicle 200 is unstable and difficult to predict, the driver can be warned early without giving unnecessary acceleration / deceleration control. Further, even when the preceding vehicle 200 is suddenly decelerated and steered thereafter, damage such as a collision can be minimized.

  In this embodiment, both the process for advancing the warning occurrence time and the process for advancing the brake operation time are executed, but either one of the processes may be omitted. In this embodiment, the buzzer 24 is used to issue a warning by sound. However, the display may be used to issue a video warning.

10 ... In-vehicle system 12 ... ECU
14 ... Brake pedal 16 ... Front camera 18 ... Vehicle speed sensor 20 ... Radar 22 ... Brake actuator 24 ... Buzzer

Claims (2)

A warning generator that is mounted on a host vehicle and generates a warning before the host vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle,
A warning generating device comprising: detecting means for detecting a locus of the preceding vehicle; and control means for advancing the occurrence timing of the warning when the locus detected by the detecting means matches a predetermined condition. A brake control device that is mounted on the host vehicle and activates a brake before the host vehicle collides with a preceding vehicle,
A brake control device comprising: detection means for detecting a trajectory of the preceding vehicle; and control means for advancing the operation timing of the brake when the trajectory detected by the detection means matches a predetermined condition.

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