JP2018181061A - Drive support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive support device capable of more suitably controlling an embodiment of warning processing.SOLUTION: A drive support ECU1 sequentially calculates risk levels each representing a degree of risk of collision between an own vehicle and another object, and performs warning processing in an aspect in accordance with each risk level. Also, the drive support acquires travel environment information including gradient of a road on which the own vehicle travels on the basis of information provided by a locator 5 or the like, and determines whether or not the road on which the own vehicle travels is within a prescribed habitual deceleration section such as a downhill. When a driver performs deceleration operation at a point not within the habitual deceleration section during warning processing, warning intensity of the warning processing is alleviated or the warning processing is suspended by correcting the risk level to a lower level. On the other hand, when a position where the driver performs deceleration operation is within the habitual deceleration section, no correction for reducing the risk level is performed or an amount of reduction is set at a relatively smaller value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that warns a driver of the possibility of a collision with another object.

  Conventionally, there is a driving support device that warns a driver of a predetermined dangerous event by outputting an alarm sound. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a driving support apparatus that determines the degree of danger depending on how close the host vehicle is at an intersection registered as a danger point, and performs warning processing in a mode according to the degree of danger. ing. The warning process is a process of displaying a predetermined warning message on a display or outputting an alarm sound from a speaker. Further, in the driving support device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the driver recognizes the dangerous event notified by the driving support device when detecting that the driver performed the brake operation while performing the warning processing. It considers it as a thing and stops warning processing.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2007-280263

  Based on the fact that the driver operates the brake pedal, the driving support device disclosed in Patent Document 1 considers that the dangerous event notified by the driving support device is recognized by the driver, and stops the warning processing. However, the operation for decelerating the vehicle (hereinafter, decelerating operation) may be customarily performed (in other words, unconsciously) for the purpose of merely adjusting the speed. That is, the decelerating operation can be performed without intention of avoiding a dangerous event or the like.

  Therefore, just because the driver performs the deceleration operation does not necessarily mean that the driver has recognized a dangerous event. In other words, a control mode that weakens the driver's level of danger simply is not preferable simply because the deceleration operation is performed.

  The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving assistance apparatus capable of more appropriately controlling an embodiment of warning processing.

  In order to achieve the object, the present invention detects an alert object that is an object that may collide with a vehicle based on output data of a surrounding area monitoring sensor that acquires information about an object present around the vehicle. Risk level calculation unit that calculates a risk level indicating the degree of risk of collision with the critical object detected by the risk detection unit and the vehicle based on the output data of the risk detection unit (F2) and the surrounding area monitoring sensor (F3) and a traveling environment recognition unit (F6) for acquiring traveling environment information including at least one of road gradient and curvature, which is information about an environment in which the vehicle is traveling, and a predetermined notification device A warning processing unit that starts warning processing, which is processing for warning the driver of the critical items in cooperation with the risk level calculation unit, in accordance with the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F4) and an operation information acquisition unit (F5) for sequentially acquiring information indicating the content of the driving operation performed by the driver from the operation amount sensor that outputs the information indicating the content of the driving operation performed by the driver Based on the contents of the driving operation specified by the operation information acquisition unit, the pattern of the driver's action after the warning process is started is sequentially determined, and the traveling environment information acquired by the traveling environment recognition unit is used. , The action processing unit (F8) determines whether or not the action pattern performed by the driver corresponds to a predetermined safety action for avoiding a collision with the critical object, and the warning processing unit performs the warning processing And a risk level correction unit (F9) that corrects the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit based on the determination result of the behavior determination unit, and the warning processing unit If the correction by Tadashibu is executed, an embodiment of the warning processing, and changes to the embodiments according to the corrected risk level.

  In the above configuration, the behavior determination unit sequentially determines the behavior pattern of the driver after the warning process is started, and the behavior pattern performed by the driver in consideration of the traveling environment in which the vehicle is traveling needs attention. It is determined whether it corresponds to a predetermined safety action for avoiding a collision with an object.

  Generally, the deceleration operation when customarily performed for the purpose of merely adjusting the speed is performed in a predetermined traveling environment such as downhill. Therefore, using the driving environment information to determine whether or not the driver's action has implemented the safety action as in the above configuration, the habitual deceleration operation derived from the driving environment is avoided the collision with the caution item. It is possible to reduce the possibility of mishandling as a deceleration operation to Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to control the embodiment of the warning process more appropriately.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the parentheses described in the claim shows correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later as one aspect, Comprising: The technical scope of this invention is limited. is not.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a driving support system 100. FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the installation position of the peripheral vision device 4; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a driving support ECU 1; It is a figure showing an example of a warning mode for every risk level. It is a figure showing an example of a setup for every driving environment of a degree of safety contribution to accelerator release operation. It is a figure showing an example of a setup for every driving environment of a degree of safety contribution to accelerator release operation. It is a figure showing an example of setting for every driving environment of a degree of safety contribution applied when a driver performs accelerator off operation and brake on operation. It is a figure showing an example of setting for every driving environment of a degree of safety contribution applied when a driver carries out only visual inspection. It is a flow chart for explaining warning start related processing. It is a flow chart for explaining warning mode control processing. It is a figure showing an example of a setup for every driving environment of a degree of safety contribution to accelerator release operation. It is a figure showing an example of setting for every driving environment of a degree of safety contribution applied when a driver performs accelerator off operation and brake on operation. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a setting example for each traveling environment of the degree of safety contribution to the behavior pattern of the driver in the third modification example.

  Hereinafter, as an example of a mode for carrying out the present invention, a driving support system 100 to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving support system 100 according to the present embodiment includes a driving support ECU 1, a speaker 2, a display 3, a peripheral viewing device 4, a locator 5, a peripheral monitoring sensor 6, a vehicle state sensor 7, and a driver camera 8. Have. In addition, ECU in a member name is an abbreviation of Electronic Control Unit, and means an electronic control unit.

  Each of the speaker 2, the display 3, the peripheral vision device 4, the locator 5, the periphery monitoring sensor 6, the vehicle state sensor 7, and the driver camera 8 is a communication network (hereinafter, LAN: Local Area Network) built in the vehicle. It is connected to the driving support ECU 1 so as to be intercommunicatable with each other. Hereinafter, for convenience, the vehicle on which the driving support system 100 is mounted is also referred to as a host vehicle.

  The driving support ECU 1 performs processing (hereinafter, warning processing) for notifying the driver that there is an object (for example, a preceding vehicle) which may collide with the host vehicle in cooperation with a notification device such as the speaker 2 It is an ECU that The driving support ECU 1 corresponds to the driving support device described in the claims. The notification device here is a device that uses sound, light, vibration, heat or the like to notify an occupant (hereinafter referred to as a driver) sitting on the driver's seat of predetermined information. The display 3 and the peripheral vision device 4 correspond to the notification device in addition to the speaker 2 described above.

  In addition, although the driving assistance system 100 of this embodiment shall be provided with the speaker 2, the display 3, and the peripheral vision device 4 as an alerting | reporting device, it does not restrict to this. A tactile device may be provided as the notification device. The haptic device is a device that stimulates the driver's touch by generating vibration or the like. As the haptic device, for example, a vibrator disposed at a portion in contact with the driver's body, such as a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a driver's seat, a seat belt, etc., can be adopted.

  The driving support ECU 1 is configured as a computer. That is, the driving support ECU 1 includes a CPU 11 which executes various arithmetic processing, a flash memory 12 which is a non-volatile memory, a RAM 13 which is a volatile memory, an I / O 14 and a bus line connecting these components. . The CPU 11 may be realized using, for example, a microprocessor or the like. The I / O 14 is an interface for the driving support ECU 1 to input and output data with an external device (for example, the periphery monitoring sensor 6). The I / O 14 may be realized using an IC, a digital circuit element, an analog circuit element, or the like.

  The flash memory 12 stores a program (hereinafter referred to as a driving support program) for causing a normal computer to function as the driving support ECU 1. The above-described driving support program may be stored in a non-transitory tangible storage medium including the flash memory 12. Execution of the driving support program by the CPU 11 corresponds to execution of a method corresponding to the driving support program. The driving support ECU 1 provides various functions by the CPU 11 executing the driving support program. The various functions of the driving support ECU 1 will be described later separately.

  The speaker 2 outputs a voice and an alarm sound based on the signal input from the driving support ECU 1. The speaker 2 may be a parametric speaker that achieves sharp directivity by using ultrasonic waves.

  The display 3 is a device that displays an image input from the driving support ECU 1. In the present embodiment, as an example, the display 3 is a display (so-called center display) provided on the top of the central portion in the vehicle width direction (hereinafter, central region) of the instrument panel. The display 3 is capable of full color display, and can be realized using a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display or the like.

  In another aspect, the display 3 may be a head-up display that projects a virtual image on a portion in front of the driver's seat of the windshield. Further, the display 3 may be a display (so-called meter display) disposed in an area located in front of the driver's seat in the instrument panel. The display 3 may be a display mounted at a position other than the above-described position or a display provided in an information processing terminal (for example, a smartphone) brought into the vehicle interior by a driver.

  The peripheral vision device 4 is a light emitting device realized using an LED or the like. The peripheral vision device 4 is disposed at a position that enters the peripheral vision of the driver who is looking at the front of the host vehicle. Here, the peripheral vision refers to an area out of the effective visual field and in which the visual field is entered. The effective visual field may assume, for example, a range within 30 degrees in the vertical direction and 20 degrees in the horizontal direction with reference to the direction in which the eyes are pointing. For example, the upper side of the instrument panel (hereinafter referred to as the upper side of the instrument panel) 200 and the surface of the front pillar on the side of the vehicle interior of the vehicle It is the part 300 and the like.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the peripheral vision device 4 is realized by arranging a plurality of light emitting elements on the top surface 200 of the instrument panel along the vehicle width direction as shown in FIG. The plurality of light emitting elements constituting the peripheral vision device 4 may be disposed along the connecting portion of the lower end portion of the windshield and the top surface 200 of the instrument panel, or the edge portion on the seat side in the top surface 200 of the instrument panel It may be arranged along.

  The peripheral vision device 4 causes part or all of the plurality of light emitting elements to emit light based on an instruction of the driving support ECU 1. Further, the peripheral vision device 4 forms a partial attractive spot Spt by causing the light emitting element at a position according to the content of the instruction from the driving support ECU 1 to emit light in a predetermined light emission mode. The elements constituting the light emission mode here include color, luminance, presence or absence of blinking, blinking interval, and the like. The attraction spot Spt itself provided by the peripheral vision device 4 is realized by causing a part of the plurality of light emitting elements to emit light locally, so the position of the attraction spot Spt is movable in the width direction. In addition, the peripheral vision device 4 can change the emission color and the emission size of the attraction spot Spt.

  The locator 5 is a device that measures the current position of the vehicle. The locator 5 is realized using a GNSS receiver 51, an inertial sensor 52, and a map database (hereinafter, DB) 53. The GNSS receiver 51 detects the current position of the GNSS receiver 51 sequentially (for example, every 100 milliseconds) by receiving a navigation signal transmitted from a positioning satellite that constitutes a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It is a device. The inertial sensor 52 is, for example, a three-axis gyro sensor and a three-axis acceleration sensor.

  The map DB 53 is a non-volatile memory storing map data indicating road connection and the like. The map data has, for example, node data on a point (hereinafter referred to as a node) at which a plurality of roads intersect, merge or branch, and link data on a road (hereinafter referred to as a link) connecting the points. The link data also includes information such as road shape information, speed limit information, and road type information. The road shape information is information indicating the road shape such as the slope or curvature of the road, and the speed limit information is information indicating the speed limit of the road. The road type information is information indicating the type of road, such as whether it is an expressway.

  The locator 5 combines the current position of the host vehicle and the road on which the host vehicle is traveling by combining the positioning result of the GNSS receiver 51, the measurement result of the inertial sensor 52, and the map data ) One after another. Then, vehicle position data indicating the identified current position is sequentially provided to the driving support ECU 1. The current position of the vehicle may be expressed, for example, by latitude, longitude, and altitude.

  Further, the locator 5 reads map data (hereinafter, peripheral map data) in a predetermined range determined based on the current position from the map DB 53, and provides the driving support ECU 1 with the map data. The peripheral map data may include at least information indicating the shape of the traveling path such as the slope or curvature of the traveling path (hereinafter, traveling path information). Further, as a more preferable aspect in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the peripheral map data also includes information indicating the position of the tunnel (hereinafter, tunnel position information) when the traveling path passes through the tunnel. Furthermore, when a planned travel route, which is a route to a predetermined destination, is planned by the driver's operation, the surrounding map data output by the locator 5 is an intersection (right turn or left turn) It is assumed that information indicating the position of the intersection (hereinafter, left-right turn position information) is also included.

  The map data may be acquired from an external server or the like via a wide area communication network. Further, the locator 5 only needs to have the above-described function, and when the navigation device is mounted on the own vehicle, the navigation device may be used as the locator 5.

  The surrounding area monitoring sensor 6 is a device that collects information about an object present around the host vehicle. For example, a periphery surveillance camera for imaging a predetermined range outside the vehicle, a millimeter wave radar for transmitting a survey wave to a predetermined range outside the vehicle, LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), and the like. Sonar etc. can be adopted. In addition, an inter-vehicle communication device that performs mutual communication with another vehicle is also included in the surrounding area monitoring sensor 6 since it corresponds to a device that collects information about other vehicles existing around the vehicle.

  Here, as an example, the periphery surveillance sensor 6 is assumed to be a periphery surveillance camera (hereinafter referred to as a front surveillance camera) mounted so as to capture an image in front of the vehicle. The forward surveillance camera as the periphery surveillance sensor 6 sequentially outputs a captured image to the driving assistance ECU 1. Of course, the periphery monitoring sensor 6 may be a known sensor other than the above-described sensor. The driving support ECU 1 may also include a plurality of sensors.

  The vehicle state sensor 7 is a sensor that detects a state amount related to traveling control of the host vehicle. The driving support system 100 in the present embodiment includes a brake sensor, an accelerator sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, a shift position sensor, and a steering angle sensor as the vehicle state sensor 7. The brake sensor is a sensor that detects the position of the brake pedal, in other words, the amount by which the brake pedal is depressed by the driver (hereinafter referred to as the amount of depression of the brake). The accelerator sensor is a sensor that detects the position of the accelerator pedal, in other words, the amount by which the accelerator pedal is depressed by the driver (hereinafter referred to as the accelerator depression amount). The vehicle speed sensor is a sensor that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle. The shift position sensor is a sensor that detects the set position of the shift lever. The steering angle sensor is a sensor that detects a rotation angle of the steering wheel (so-called steering angle).

  Each sensor sequentially provides the driving support ECU 1 with data indicating the current value (that is, the detection result) of the physical state amount to be detected. The detection results of various sensors may be provided to the driving support ECU 1 via an optional electronic control unit (ECU) or the like.

  The brake sensor, the accelerator sensor, the steering angle sensor, the shift position sensor, and the like also function as a sensor that detects the content of the driving operation of the driver. Hereinafter, the sensor that detects the content of the driving operation of the driver will also be described as an operation amount sensor for the sake of convenience. The type of sensor to which the driving support ECU 1 is to be connected may be appropriately designed as the vehicle state sensor 7, and may not be connected to all the above-described sensors. In addition, sensors other than those described above, for example, a yaw rate sensor may be connected. The yaw rate sensor is a sensor that detects a rotational angular velocity (that is, a yaw rate) about the vertical axis of the host vehicle.

  The driver camera 8 is a camera installed to capture the face of the driver. The driver camera 8 is realized using, for example, a near infrared light source, a near infrared camera, and a control unit that controls them. The driver camera 8 sequentially detects the posture of the occupant at the driver's seat, the direction of the driver's face, the direction of the line of sight, the degree of eyelid opening, etc. by performing known image recognition processing on the captured image of the near infrared camera Do.

  The driver camera 8 is disposed at an appropriately designed position, for example, a steering column cover or a portion of the instrument panel facing the driver's seat, so as to capture the face area of the occupant seated in the driver's seat. It should be done. The driver camera 8 sequentially outputs information indicating the head posture of the driver specified from the photographed image, the face direction, the gaze direction, the degree of eyelid opening, and the like to the driving support ECU 1.

<About the function of the driving support ECU 1>
The driving support ECU 1 provides functions corresponding to various functional blocks shown in FIG. 3 by the CPU 11 executing the above-described driving support program. That is, the driving support ECU 1 functions as a functional block: peripheral object information acquisition unit F1, risk detection unit F2, risk level calculation unit F3, warning processing unit F4, vehicle state recognition unit F5, traveling environment recognition unit F6, driver state recognition unit F7 , An action determination unit F8, and a risk level correction unit F9.

  Note that part or all of the functional blocks included in the driving support ECU 1 may be realized using one or a plurality of ICs (in other words, as hardware). Further, part or all of the functional blocks included in the driving support ECU 1 may be realized by a combination of execution of software by the CPU 11 and hardware members.

  The peripheral object information acquiring unit F1 is configured to acquire information on a predetermined target present in the periphery of the host vehicle based on the output data of the peripheral monitoring sensor 6. The peripheral object information acquisition unit F1 of the present embodiment performs an image recognition process on the captured image of the front surveillance camera as the periphery surveillance sensor 6, and detects a predetermined target object present in front of the host vehicle The relative position of the target object to the vehicle, the relative movement direction, the movement speed, etc. are specified.

  The object here is, for example, a pedestrian, an animal other than human, another vehicle, a structure installed along a road, and the like. Other vehicles include bicycles, motor bikes and motorcycles. The structures installed along the road are, for example, guardrails, curbs, trees, telephone poles, road signs, traffic lights, and the like. Further, in the present embodiment, as a more preferable aspect, it is assumed that road markings such as a traveling division line, falling objects on the road, and the like are also registered as objects.

  The peripheral object information acquisition unit F1 acquires information such as relative position for each object existing around the host vehicle. Hereinafter, for convenience, information indicating the type, relative position, moving direction, and moving speed of each object present in the periphery of the host vehicle will be referred to as surrounding object information. In addition, the function which extracts the information about a target object from the captured image of a front surveillance camera may be equipped with the front surveillance camera itself. In that case, data provided from the forward surveillance camera can be used as peripheral information as it is.

  The risk detection unit F2 determines whether or not there is an object that may collide with the host vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a cautionary object) based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit F1. In other words, the risk detection unit F2 is configured to determine that an object present at a position where there is a possibility of a collision with the host vehicle is a matter requiring attention. Determining whether or not the cautions are present corresponds to detecting the cautions present around the host vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the risk detection unit F2 detects an object (for example, a preceding vehicle or a pedestrian) present in front of the host vehicle as the important object. Of course, as another aspect, an object approaching from a direction (for example, a lateral direction) intersecting with the traveling direction of the own vehicle may be extracted as the attention object at the intersection where the own vehicle enters from now.

  In addition, when the risk detection unit F2 detects the critical object, the collision remaining time (hereinafter, TTC: Time-To-Collision), which is the remaining time until the critical object and the vehicle collide, is calculated. Calculate sequentially. TTC may be calculated based on the relative position, relative velocity, and relative movement direction of the critical object. For example, the TTC may be a value obtained by dividing the distance between the critical object and the host vehicle by the relative speed. TTC can use a well-known calculation algorithm. TTC may be TTC2nd which considered acceleration. The TTC calculated by the risk detection unit F2 is used by a risk level calculation unit F3 or the like described later. If there are multiple items of concern, TTC may be calculated for each of the items of concern.

  An object that does not interfere with the traveling of the vehicle, such as a road marking such as a traveling section line or a stop line, may be treated as an object that has no possibility of colliding with the vehicle. In addition, other vehicles traveling in the opposite lane should be treated as an object that has no possibility of colliding with the own vehicle unless clearly indicated by the turn indicator or the like that there is a plan to move in the direction in which the own vehicle exists. Good. The same applies to other vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane. In addition, what is necessary is just to specify the information (for example, the operation state of a direction indicator) regarding the course of the other vehicle by receiving by vehicle-to-vehicle communication or analyzing a captured image of the surroundings surveillance camera. As another aspect, even if an object is present in front of the host vehicle, an object moving away from the host vehicle may be treated as an object that has no possibility of colliding with the host vehicle.

  The risk level calculation unit F3 determines the degree of risk of collision between the subject matter and the subject vehicle based on TTC calculated by the risk detection part F2 when the subject matter is detected by the risk detection part F2. Determine the risk level that represents height. The risk level is a parameter that means that the higher the risk level, the higher the possibility of collision between the critical object and the vehicle. If the critical point is not detected by the risk detection unit F2, the risk level is set to the minimum value.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the risk level calculation unit F3 determines the risk level in five steps from 1 to 5. Level 1 corresponds to a state where the risk level is the lowest and there is almost no risk of collision with the critical item (in other words, a sufficiently small value). The state of level 1 is a level corresponding to a state in which it is not necessary to notify the driver of the danger of a collision with the critical object. Level 5 is a level which means that there is a very high possibility that the critical object and the vehicle collide with each other, or a state where a collision can not be avoided. Level 5 corresponds to a situation in which the driver should be strongly appealed for the danger of a collision with the caution.

  The risk level calculation unit F3 determines the risk level to be higher as the TTC calculated by the risk detection unit F2 is smaller. Specifically, the risk level is set to 1 when TTC is equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold Th1, and the risk is set if TTC is lower than the first threshold Th1 and equal to or higher than a predetermined second threshold Th2. Set the level to 2. When the TTC is less than the second threshold Th2 and equal to or greater than the predetermined third threshold Th3, the risk level is set to 3. When the TTC is less than the third threshold Th3 and equal to or greater than the predetermined fourth threshold Th4, the risk level is set to 4. When the TTC is less than a predetermined fourth threshold Th4, the risk level is set to 5.

  The specific value of the first threshold Th1 may be designed as appropriate. Here, as an example, the first threshold Th1 is 14 seconds. The configuration in which the threshold value Th1 is set to 14 seconds is a configuration in consideration of the nature of the driver in which the approach to the object is perceived by the increase rate of the visual size of the object. In the region where the TTC is 14 seconds or more, the driver hardly perceives a change in the size of the critical object such as the preceding vehicle, and accordingly hardly perceives that the host vehicle is approaching the critical object. Therefore, the area where TTC is 14 seconds or more corresponds to an area where it is difficult for the driver to understand the event being warned even if the warning processing is performed, and conversely, the driver may be bothersome. In view of the nature of such a driver, when the TTC is 14 seconds or more, it is preferable to determine that there is almost no risk of collision (that is, level 1).

  The second threshold Th2 may be appropriately determined in a range smaller than the first threshold Th1. For example, the second threshold Th2 may be 10 seconds. The third threshold Th3 may be appropriately determined in a range smaller than the second threshold Th2. For example, the third threshold Th3 may be 6 seconds. The fourth threshold Th4 may be appropriately determined in a range smaller than the third threshold Th3. For example, the fourth threshold Th4 may be set to 3 seconds.

  The risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is provided to the warning processing unit F4 and the risk level correction unit F9. When the risk detection unit F2 detects a plurality of items requiring caution, the risk level may be calculated for each of the plurality of items requiring attention using the method described above. Moreover, although the structure which employ | adopts TTC as a parameter | index for determining a risk level is illustrated as an example in this embodiment, it does not restrict to this. The index for calculating the risk level may be an inter-vehicle distance. Also, the risk level may be evaluated by the degree of approach, which is a parameter obtained by dividing the inter-vehicle distance by the traveling speed of the host vehicle. Furthermore, when the risk level calculation unit F3 determines that the driver is in the appropriate state when it is determined by the driver state recognition unit F7 described later that the driver is in the inappropriate state such as the state of looking aside The risk level may be determined to be one step higher than that. In the present embodiment, the risk level calculation unit F3 determines the risk level in five steps from 1 to 5 as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The risk level may be evaluated in three or four stages, or in six or more stages.

  The warning processing unit F4 is configured to execute processing (that is, warning processing) for notifying the driver of the presence of the critical object detected by the risk detection unit F2 using an alarm sound or the like. The warning processing unit F4 basically performs the warning processing in a notification mode according to the risk level calculated by the risk level calculating unit F3. However, when the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is corrected by the risk level correction unit F9 described later, the warning process is performed in a mode according to the corrected risk level. That is, the implementation mode of the warning process by the warning processing unit F4 (in other words, the operation mode of each notification device) is determined by the final risk level.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation mode of each notification device for each risk level described above (in other words, the notification mode for each risk level). For example, when the risk level is set to 1, the alert processing unit F4 does not operate any notification device for alerting.

  When the risk level is set to 2, the display 3 displays an image (hereinafter referred to as a caution image) that calls attention to a collision with an object present in front of the vehicle. Moreover, in the peripheral vision device 4, the attraction spot Spt is formed by causing a portion corresponding to the direction in which the attention object is present to emit light with a predetermined color. According to such an aspect, the driver can intuitively recognize the direction in which the caution item is present. In other words, the line of sight of the driver can be guided in the direction in which the object requiring attention is present. The luminescent color may be a color that does not excessively give a visual stimulus to the driver, and here, is orange as an example. In another embodiment, the light emission color may be yellowish green, yellow, or the like to weakly warn the driver. In the present embodiment, part of the peripheral vision device 4 is lit, but as another aspect, the entire peripheral vision device 4 may be illuminated with a predetermined color tone.

  In addition, when the risk level is set to 2, while using the display 3 and the peripheral vision device 4 visually prompts the driver to pay attention to the item to be warned, the speaker 2 is not activated. This is because auditory stimuli such as alarm sounds are more likely to bother the driver than visual stimuli. In other words, at the stage where the risk level is relatively low, it is possible to add a visual stimulus while reducing the risk of giving an annoyance to the driver by not adding an auditory stimulus.

  When the risk level is set to 3, the warning processing unit F4 causes the speaker 2 to output a warning sound while displaying a warning image on the display 3. The alarm sound output when the risk level is 3 is set to a sound relatively lower than the alarm sound output when the risk level described later is 4. As a ringing pattern, a relatively long sound is repeatedly output at predetermined intervals. Sound pressure is also set to a relatively small value.

  In addition, when the risk level is set to 3, the warning processing unit F4 sets the part corresponding to the direction in which the attention object exists in the peripheral vision device 4 at relatively long intervals (in other words, slowly). Blink. That is, the blinking eye spot Spt is formed. According to the blink type attraction spot Spt, it can be expected that the line of sight of the driver can be more strongly guided in the direction in which the item requiring attention is present than the attraction spot Spt of the type which keeps on lighting.

  When the risk level is set to 4, the warning processing unit F4 displays a predetermined warning image on the display 3. The warning image is an image that strongly appeals (i.e. warns) the danger of a collision with an object present in front of the vehicle, and is an image that can be expected to give the driver a sense of crisis rather than a caution image. For example, when the background color of the caution image is yellow, the background color of the warning image may be red.

  When the risk level is set to 4, the warning processing unit F4 causes the speaker 2 to output a warning sound. The alarm sound output when the risk level is 4 is set to a sound relatively higher than the alarm sound output when the risk level is 3. The length of the sound and the repetition interval are also set to relatively short values. Sound pressure is also set to a relatively strong value. Furthermore, when the risk level is set to 4, the warning processing unit F4 causes part or all of the peripheral vision device 4 to blink at standard intervals. The luminescent color is a color (for example, red) that causes the driver to pay more attention than at a risk level of 3.

  When the risk level is set to 5, the warning processing unit F4 causes the display 3 to display a warning image and causes the speaker 2 to output a continuous warning sound. The tone of the alarm sound to be output when the risk level is 5 is set to be the same as or relatively high as the alarm sound output when the risk level is 4. The sound pressure may be set to the same as or relatively strong value as the alarm sound output when the risk level is 4. Furthermore, when the risk level is set to 5, the warning processing unit F4 blinks part or all of the peripheral vision device 4 at an interval shorter than the standard interval. The luminescent color may be the same color as the risk level of 4.

  The implementation mode of the warning process for each risk level described above is an example, and can be changed as appropriate. However, the higher the risk level, the higher the risk of a collision with a critical item is to be set as a form that appeals strongly to the driver. Encouraging the driver of the danger of collision with a critical object is equivalent to enhancing the visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli given to the driver. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the intensity at which the alert processing makes the driver complain about the risk of a collision with the alert object is also referred to as alert intensity. As described above, the warning level is set to be higher as the risk level is higher.

  The vehicle state recognition unit F5 sequentially specifies the state of the host vehicle based on the signal input from the vehicle state sensor 7. For example, the vehicle state recognition unit F5 sequentially (for example, 200 milliseconds) traveling speed of the host vehicle, steering angle, accelerator depression amount, brake depression amount, operation state of direction indicator, acceleration acting on the host vehicle, etc. Every) to identify. Data indicating the traveling speed and the like of the own vehicle is stored as the own vehicle data in the RAM 13 or the like.

  A plurality of host vehicle data different in generation time may be sorted in chronological order and stored in the RAM 13 so that the latest host vehicle data is at the top, for example. In addition, the vehicle data that has been stored for a certain period of time may be sequentially discarded. The storage period of the host vehicle data may be appropriately designed so that the action determination process described later can be performed. For example, the storage period of the host vehicle data may be set to about 6 to 12 seconds. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the storage period of the host vehicle data is set to 10 seconds.

  The amount of depression of the accelerator and the amount of depression of the brake are information indicating the content of the driving operation of the driver. Therefore, the vehicle state recognition unit F5 that acquires the amount of depression of the pedal, the amount of depression of the brake, and the like corresponds to the operation information acquisition unit described in the claims.

  The traveling environment recognition unit F6 is configured to acquire information (hereinafter, traveling environment information) about a road on which the host vehicle is traveling (that is, a traveling path). The traveling environment information is, for example, a slope or a curvature of the traveling path. Furthermore, the traveling environment recognition unit F6 also corresponds to traveling environment information whether or not the own vehicle is positioned in a tunnel entry preparation section in which the remaining distance to the tunnel entrance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. In addition, when the planned travel route is set, it also corresponds to the traveling environment information whether or not the host vehicle is positioned in the turn preparation zone where the remaining distance to the turn intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. In addition, it may correspond to traveling environment information whether or not the host vehicle is positioned in a curve entry preparation section described later as the third modification.

  The traveling environment recognition unit F6 acquires the gradient of the traveling road based on the surrounding map data sequentially provided from the locator 5, and specifies whether the traveling road is an upward slope or a downward slope. The angles to be regarded as the upward slope and the downward slope may be designed as appropriate. For example, when the gradient is 5% (≒ 3 degrees) or more in the upward direction, it is determined that the traveling road is the upward gradient. When the gradient is 5% or more in the downward direction, it is determined that the traveling road is the downward gradient. If the value is in between, it may be determined that the gradient is flat.

  Hereinafter, the upward gradient is represented by a positive value, and the downward gradient is represented by a negative value. For example, a road with a slope of + 5% or more indicates a road with an upward slope (hereinafter, an upward slope), and a road with a slope of -5% or less indicates a road with a downward slope (hereinafter, a downward slope). In addition, the data which show the gradient of a road may be acquired from a well-known inclination sensor.

  In addition, although the aspect which classified the gradient of the road into an upslope, flat, and downslope 3 patterns in this embodiment is disclosed, it does not restrict to this. It may be classified into five patterns of steep upslope, upslope, flat, downslope and steep downslope. For example, a steep upslope may represent a state with a slope of + 8% or more, and a steep downslope may represent a state with a slope of -8% or less. Moreover, you may classify | categorize into six or more patterns by introduce | transducing patterns, such as a moderate upslope (for example, the state of 2%-5% of gradients).

  Further, the traveling environment recognition unit F6 acquires the curvature of the traveling road based on the surrounding map data provided from the locator 5, and determines whether the traveling road is a straight road or a curve. When the curvature is less than a predetermined threshold (in other words, when the radius of curvature is larger than the predetermined threshold), it is determined that the traveling road is a straight road. On the other hand, when the curvature is equal to or more than the predetermined threshold (in other words, when the curvature radius is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold), it is determined that the traveling road is a curve. In addition, it is preferable that the threshold value which divides a straight road and a curve is a value according to the speed limit of a traveling path. The curvature of the road may be estimated from the detection results of the lateral acceleration sensor or the yaw rate sensor.

  Furthermore, when the tunnel position information is provided from the locator 5, the traveling environment recognition unit F6 calculates the remaining distance from the current position to the tunnel entrance, and determines whether the current position corresponds to a tunnel entry preparation section. Determine In addition, when the left / right turn position information is provided from the locator 5, the remaining distance from the current position to the left / right turn intersection is calculated, and it is determined whether the current position corresponds to the right / left turn preparation section. In addition, what is provided from the locator 5 may be used as the present location.

  Data indicating the recognition result of the traveling environment recognition unit F6 is stored in the RAM 13 or the like as traveling environment data. The traveling environment recognition unit F6 generates and stores traveling environment data at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 200 milliseconds). A plurality of pieces of traveling environment data different in generation time may be sorted in chronological order and stored in the RAM 13 so that the latest traveling environment data comes first, for example. Further, traveling environment data that has been generated and stored and for which a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed may be sequentially discarded. The storage period of the traveling environment data may be set to the same value as the storage period of the host vehicle data.

  The driver state recognition unit F <b> 7 is configured to sequentially specify the state of the driver based on the detection result of the driver camera 8 or the detection result of the vehicle state sensor 7. The driver state recognition unit F7 determines, based on, for example, the face direction and the line-of-sight direction of the driver specified by the driver camera 8, whether or not the driver is in the looking-aside state not looking at the front of the vehicle. For example, when the driver's face is directed in a direction that makes an angle of 20 degrees or more with the front of the vehicle, it is determined that the driver is in a look-aside state.

  Further, it is determined from the degree of opening of the driver's eyelid whether the driver is in a sleep state or not. Furthermore, even if the driver is not asleep, it is determined whether or not the driver is in a low awakening state in which the driver's awareness level is decreasing, based on temporal changes such as the degree of opening of the eyelid. In addition, it is determined whether or not it is a random state by the fluctuation of the line of sight or the like. It may be determined using the degree of fluctuation of the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor whether or not it is a random state. The method of determining the driver's state such as a look-ahead state, a doze state, a low awake state, and a random state is not limited to the method described above. Well known methods can be employed. The driver camera 8 and the steering angle sensor correspond to the driver state sensor described in the claims.

  When the driver state recognition unit F7 determines that the driver corresponds to any of the aptitude state, the doze state, the low awake state, and the random state, the driver is in an inappropriate state for the driving operation (hereinafter, an inappropriate state) It is determined that In addition, when the driver determines that the driver does not fall under any of the awakening state, the drowsy state, the low awake state, and the random state, the driver is determined to be in a state suitable for driving operation (hereinafter, appropriate state). Do.

  Here, as an example, the driver state recognition unit F <b> 7 determines all states of the awaiting state, the drowsy state, the low awake state, and the random state, but the present invention is not limited thereto. It may be configured to determine only a part of the look-ahead state, the doze state, the low awake state, and the random state. The determination result of the driver state recognition unit F7 is referred to by the action determination unit F8. Further, the determination result of the driver state recognition unit F7 may be used for calculation of the risk level by the risk level calculation unit F3.

  The action determination unit F8 starts the warning process, the content of the driving operation of the driver at the current time, the state of the driver, the traveling environment, and the warning process when the warning processing unit F4 performs the warning process in a predetermined mode. By comparing the above items at the time, it is determined whether or not the driver has carried out the predetermined safety action. For convenience, the process of determining whether or not the safety action has been performed is hereinafter also referred to as action determining process. The state immediately before the start of the warning process (specifically, within a few seconds) can be treated as the state at the time of the start of the warning process.

  Here, the safety action refers to a decelerating operation for avoiding a collision with an object present in front of the host vehicle detected as a critical object / reducing damage at the time of the collision. The action determination unit F8 of the present embodiment determines the content of the driving operation of the driver in order to identify the conscious deceleration operation as the above-mentioned safety action and the customary (unconscious) deceleration operation derived from the traveling environment. Not only in consideration of the driving environment, it is determined whether or not the safety action has been carried out. In other words, the safety action in the present embodiment is defined in association with the traveling environment.

  In the present embodiment, a safety contribution degree is set that indicates the degree of contribution to the reduction of the risk of collision with the critical object with respect to a plurality of action patterns that can be implemented by the driver triggered by execution of the alert processing. ing. Even with the same behavior pattern, the degree of contribution to risk reduction varies depending on the situation in which the action is performed. Therefore, the degree of safety contribution itself for each behavior pattern is also set in association with the traveling environment. The behavior pattern in which the degree of safety contribution is set to a predetermined threshold (here, 1) or more corresponds to the above-mentioned safety behavior.

  FIGS. 5-8 shows an example of the setting value of the degree of safety contribution for every action pattern according to driving environment. 5-8 corresponds to what the behavior determination part F8 represented notionally the data for determining whether the driver implemented safety action. 5 to 6 show an example of the degree of safety contribution for each traveling environment when the driver turns off the accelerator pedal (in other words, releases) but does not depress the brake pedal.

  Further, FIG. 7 shows an example of the degree of safety contribution for each traveling environment when the driver turns off the accelerator pedal and depresses the brake pedal. FIG. 8 shows an example of the degree of contribution to the safety when the driver's state shifts from the unsuitable state to the proper state although the pedal operation is not performed. Hereinafter, for convenience, the operation of turning off the accelerator pedal is referred to as an accelerator off operation, and the operation of depressing the brake pedal by a predetermined amount or more is referred to as a brake on operation.

  The degree of contribution to safety of each driver's behavior pattern may be managed by a pattern number assigned to each combination of the driver's behavior pattern and the traveling environment. As a different example in this embodiment, a pattern number starting with A is given to the action pattern for performing only the accelerator off operation, and for the action pattern for performing both the accelerator off operation and the brake on operation, Pattern numbers beginning with B are assigned. Moreover, the pattern number which starts from C is provided to the action pattern which does not carry out an accelerator off operation.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, even when the driver performs the same action, the degree of safety contribution corresponding to the action pattern is set to a different value according to the implementation environment. In other words, an action regarded as a safety action in one driving environment is not regarded as a safety action in another driving environment.

  For example, an action pattern in which the accelerator pedal is turned off in the middle of a flat road (hereinafter, flat road) or an ascending road is regarded as a safety action, while an action pattern in which the accelerator pedal is turned off in the middle of a descending road is a safety action Not considered. This is because on the downhill road, the driver is likely to carry out the accelerator off operation as an operation for the conventional speed adjustment. In addition, since it is difficult for the vehicle to decelerate due to gravity on a downhill road, the risk of collision with a preceding vehicle or the like is also less likely to decrease. Therefore, the action only for turning off the accelerator pedal in the middle of the downhill is not regarded as a safety action. The downward slope road corresponds to an example of the custom decelerating section described in the claims.

  In addition, since gravity acts in the deceleration direction in the middle of the uphill road, it can be expected that a sufficient deceleration effect can be obtained by turning off the accelerator pedal. In addition, if the road is flat, turning off the accelerator pedal causes the braking force from the drive source such as the engine (for example, the engine brake or regenerative brake) to work, and the acceleration derived from gravity does not work. An effect is obtained. Therefore, the accelerator off operation is treated as a safety action on the way of a flat road or an ascending slope road. It should be noted that whether or not the accelerator off operation on a flat road is taken as a safety action may be appropriately designed in consideration of the characteristics of the vehicle. In another aspect, it is also possible to adopt a setting in which the accelerator off operation on a flat road is not regarded as a safety action.

  In addition, the degree of safety contribution is set to a different value depending on the traveling environment when the brake operation is performed, also for the brake on operation. This is because the braking force developed differs depending on the action direction of gravity between the case where the driver steps on the brake on the uphill slope by a predetermined amount and the case where the driver steps on the same slope on the downhill slope. .

  Furthermore, when the traveling environment changes from a flat road or an uphill road to a downhill road, the driver is likely to carry out an accelerator-off operation as an operation for customary speed adjustment. In other words, the accelerator-off operation performed in the situation where the traveling environment has transitioned from the flat road / uphill road to the downhill road is highly likely to be a custom decelerating operation. The accelerator off operation in the case where the traveling environment transitions from the uphill road to the flat road is similar. Therefore, the action of the pattern corresponding to the pattern numbers A-4 to 6 is not treated as a safety action (that is, the degree of safety contribution is set to 0).

  As the overall tendency, the degree of safety contribution is set higher in the case where the accelerator operation and the brake operation are performed than in the case where only the accelerator operation is performed. In addition, the degree of safety contribution to the same action is set higher in the case of the upward slope than in the case of the downward slope. Furthermore, since the driver is more likely to notice the presence of the critical object based on the warning processing when the driver state changes from the incorrect state to the proper state, the degree of contribution to safety is set high. When it is determined that the driver has implemented the safety action, the action determination unit F8 provides the risk level correction unit F9 with the degree of safety contribution associated with the safety action.

  The risk level correction unit F9 corrects the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 based on the degree of safety contribution provided from the action determination unit F8. In this embodiment, as an example, a value obtained by subtracting the degree of safety contribution provided from the action determination unit F8 from the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is used as the final risk level in the warning processing unit F4. provide. That is, the degree of safety contribution is adopted as the correction amount (strictly, the reduction amount) as it is. In addition, since the minimum value of the risk level is 1, when the result of subtracting the degree of safety contribution from the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is 0 or less, the risk level is the minimum value. Set to one. For convenience, the process by which the risk level correction unit F9 corrects the risk level in accordance with the degree of safety contribution provided from the action determination unit F8 will be briefly described as a correction process.

<About the operation of the driving support ECU 1>
Next, the operation of the driving support ECU 1 will be described using the flowcharts shown in FIGS. First, warning start related processing performed by the driving support ECU 1 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. 9. The warning start related process is a process for starting the warning process. The warning start related processing is sequentially performed (for example, every 200 milliseconds), for example, in a situation where the own vehicle is traveling and the warning processing is not performed.

  First, in step S101, the vehicle state recognition unit F5 specifies the current state of the host vehicle, such as an accelerator depression amount, based on the signal input from the vehicle state sensor 7. Then, the host vehicle data indicating the current state of the host vehicle is stored in the RAM 13 and the process proceeds to step S102. In step S102, the traveling environment recognition unit F6 generates traveling environment data indicating the current traveling environment based on the information provided from the locator 5 or the like, and proceeds to step S103.

  In step S103, the driver state recognition unit F7 specifies the current state of the driver based on at least one of the detection result of the driver camera 8 and the detection result of the vehicle state sensor 7, and the driver is in an appropriate state Determine if it is in proper condition. Then, the determination result is stored in the RAM 13 and the process proceeds to step S104.

  In step S104, the peripheral object information acquiring unit F1 acquires information on a predetermined target existing around the host vehicle based on the output data of the surrounding area monitoring sensor 6, and the process proceeds to step S105. In step S105, first, the risk detection unit F2 determines the presence / absence of the important matter based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit F1. If a cautionary item exists, calculate TTC with the cautionary matter. Then, the risk level calculation unit F3 calculates the risk level based on the TTC calculated by the risk detection unit F2. The risk level is set to 1 when there is no critical item. When the calculation of the risk level is completed, the process proceeds to step S106.

  In step S106, the warning processing unit F4 determines whether the risk level calculated by the risk level calculating unit F3 in previous step S105 is a warning implementation level. The alert implementation level is a level at which the alert processing unit F4 implements alert processing. In the present embodiment, when the risk level is set to 2 or more, the warning processing unit F4 performs warning processing in a mode according to the risk level. That is, two or more risk levels correspond to the warning implementation levels.

  Thus, step S106 corresponds to the process of determining whether the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 in the previous step S105 is 2 or more. When the risk level is set to 2 or more, step S106 is affirmed and moves to step S107. On the other hand, when the risk level is set to 1, this flow is ended. That is, when the risk level is set to 1, warning processing is not started. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, among the levels that can be set as the risk level, the level at which the warning process is not performed / stopped (here, 1) is hereinafter also referred to as a warning stop level.

  In step S108, the warning process is performed in a mode according to the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 in step S105. That is, each notification device starts to operate in a mode according to the current risk level. If the process of step S108 is completed, it will move to step S109. In step S109, various data obtained in steps S101 to S104 and indicating the state immediately before the start of the warning process is stored as the previous state data, and the present flow ends.

  Next, a warning mode control process implemented by the driving support ECU 1 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The warning mode control process is a process of controlling an embodiment of the warning process based on the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 and the result of the correction process by the risk level correction unit F9. The warning mode control process may be performed sequentially (for example, every 100 milliseconds) while the warning process is being performed.

  First, in step S201, the peripheral object information acquisition unit F1 acquires information on a predetermined target present around the host vehicle based on the output data of the surrounding area monitoring sensor 6, and the process proceeds to step S202. In step S202, as in step S105, the risk level calculation unit F3 calculates the current risk level in cooperation with the risk detection unit F2, and then proceeds to step S203. In step S203, the warning processing unit F4 determines whether the risk level newly calculated in the previous step S202 is the warning implementation level (that is, is 2 or more). When the risk level is 2 or more, step S203 is affirmed and moves to step S204. On the other hand, if the current risk level is 1, the determination in step S203 is negative, and the process proceeds to step S212.

  Steps S204 to S206 are the contents of processing similar to steps S101 to 103, and acquire the current operation contents of the driver, the traveling environment, and the state of the driver. If various information is acquired, it will move to step S207.

  In step S207, the behavior determination unit F8 compares the current operation state of the driver acquired in steps S204 to S206, the state of the driver, and various data indicating the traveling environment with the immediately preceding state data, so that the driver is safe. Determine if the action has been taken. The determination as to whether or not the safety action has been performed may be performed using a map, a table or the like previously designed with the traveling environment, the state of the driver, and the operation content as parameters.

  A point in time when the action determination unit F8 determines in step S207 that the driver performs the accelerator off operation corresponds to the accelerator off point in the claims. Further, the point in time when the action determination unit F8 determines in step S207 that the driver has performed the safety action corresponds to the point in time when the safety action is described in the claims.

  As a result of the action determination processing, when it is determined that the driver has implemented the safety action (in other words, when the safety action by the driver is detected), step S208 is positively determined, and the process moves to step S209. When it is determined that the driver has implemented the safety action, the behavior determination unit F8 provides the risk level correction unit F9 with the degree of safety contribution corresponding to the implemented safety action.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the safety action has not been performed by the driver, the negative determination is made in step S208, and the process proceeds to step S211. In addition, when the driver does not execute the safety action, the correction process in step S209 described later is not performed, so the risk level calculated in step S202 determines the implementation mode of the warning process by the warning processing unit F4 as it is. Adopted as a risk level.

  In step S209, the risk level correction unit F9 corrects the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 based on the degree of safety contribution provided from the action determination unit F8. Then, the corrected risk level is provided to the warning processing unit F4, and the process proceeds to step S210. In addition, when step S209 is performed, the risk level after correction | amendment is employ | adopted as a risk level which determines the implementation aspect of the warning process by the warning processing part F4.

  In step S210, it is determined whether the risk level after correction is the warning implementation level. When the risk level after correction is two or more, step S210 is affirmed and moves to step S211. On the other hand, when the risk level after correction is 1, the negative determination is made in step S210, and the process proceeds to step S212.

  In step S211, warning processing is performed in a mode according to the final risk level determined in the above processing. If the final risk level determined in this flow is higher than the final risk level determined in the previous flow, the implementation of the alert processing with the cautions Change the risk of collision to a mode that appeals to the driver more strongly. In other words, the warning strength is strengthened.

  In addition, when the final risk level determined in this flow is lower than the final risk level determined in the previous flow, the implementation of the alert processing with the special attention item Change the risk of collision to a mode that makes the driver more vulnerable. In other words, it weakens the warning intensity. If the final risk level determined in this flow and the final risk level determined in the previous flow are the same, alert processing in the mode performed before the start of this flow Continue to In step S212, the warning process is stopped and this flow ends.

<Summary of the embodiment>
When the driving support ECU 1 sequentially executes the warning start related processing, the warning processing is started at the timing when the risk level becomes the warning implementation level (that is, 2 or more). In addition, while performing warning processing, it is determined whether or not the driver has carried out the safety action, and when the driver has carried out the safety action, the risk level is lowered by a level corresponding to the safety action. Correct to a value.

  According to such a configuration, the driver can shift the embodiment of the warning process to a relatively weak mode by executing the decelerating operation such as the accelerator off operation. That is, it is possible to suppress continuing the execution of the warning process in the same notification mode despite the driver performing the safety action such as the deceleration operation. As a result, it is possible to reduce the risk of giving a bother to the driver by continuing to execute the warning process in the same manner.

  In addition, the action determination unit F8 of the present embodiment determines whether the driver has performed the safety action in consideration of not only the operation content of the driver but also the traveling environment such as the slope of the road surface. That is, it is determined whether or not the safety action has been performed depending on what operation the driver has performed in what situation. According to such a configuration, whether the decelerating operation performed by the driver is an operation intentionally performed to avoid a collision with the cautionary object is performed unconsciously as a routine operation according to the traveling environment It can more accurately identify whether it is an operation. As a result, it is possible to reduce the risk of causing the implementation of the warning process to be shifted to a relatively weak mode based on the deceleration operation performed by the driver involuntarily in accordance with the traveling environment. In other words, the implementation of the alerting process can be controlled more appropriately.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a simple two-stage evaluation as to whether or not the safety action has been carried out does not control the implementation of the warning process, but a contribution to safety that is preset for each action pattern and traveling environment. The degree is used to control the implementation of the alerting process. Specifically, as the degree of contribution to safety increases, the embodiment of the warning process is transitioned to a mode in which the sense of tension is weakened. Here, since the degree of safety contribution itself is a parameter set according to the degree of contribution to the reduction of the collision risk, according to the above configuration, only the level corresponding to the actual reduction amount of the collision risk is warned. Embodiments can be weakened. That is, the number of levels that weakens the warning intensity is adjusted according to the degree to which the action performed by the driver contributes to the improvement of safety. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the driver will be bothered by performing the warning process.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the embodiment of the warning process is controlled in consideration of the change in the state of the driver. For example, when the driver shifts from an inappropriate state such as a sidewalk to an appropriate state in which the line of sight is directed ahead of the host vehicle, it grasps the traffic situation around the host vehicle (for example, the positional relationship with the cautions) Can be expected. In such a state, the driver can expect to execute an operation based on the recognition result of the traffic situation at the next moment, which means that the warning processing of alerting the driver has been performed to some extent. Do. Therefore, it is not necessary to continue warning processing with the same strength. According to the above configuration, it is possible to achieve both of alerting the driver and reducing the risk of causing the driver to bother.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The various modifications described below are also included in the technical scope of this invention, Furthermore, except the following Also, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Moreover, the following various modifications can also be implemented combining suitably. In addition, about the member which has the function same as the member described in the above-mentioned embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted. In addition, when only a part of the configuration is mentioned, the configuration of the embodiment described above can be applied to the other parts.

[Modification 1]
Although the embodiment described above divides the operation content of the driver with respect to the brake pedal into two patterns of on / off and sets the degree of safety contribution, the invention is not limited thereto. It is preferable to set the degree of safety contribution according to the amount of depression of the brake pedal (that is, the amount of depression of the brake).

  In that case, it is preferable to set the degree of safety contribution higher as the brake depression amount is larger. However, since the risk of a collision with the following vehicle may occur in a sudden brake or the like, the degree of safety contribution may be corrected by the stepping-in speed, which is the speed at which the brake pedal is depressed. As the stepping-in speed is higher or when the stepping-in speed is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold, the degree of safety contribution is set to a relatively small value.

  Note that the degree of safety contribution to the brake on operation may be determined based on both the amount of brake depression and the slope of the road. That is, the degree of safety contribution is set larger as the amount of depression of the brake is larger and the road gradient is larger. According to such a setting, the degree of safety contribution to the brake operation increases as the road gradient increases even with the same amount of brake depression.

  Moreover, although the embodiment mentioned above divided the operation content of the driver with respect to the accelerator pedal into 2 patterns of on / off and disclosed the aspect which set the degree of safety contribution, it does not restrict to this. In the case of the upward slope, an operation to reduce the depression amount of the accelerator pedal (that is, the accelerator depression amount) by a predetermined amount may be adopted as the safety action.

[Modification 2]
In the above-described embodiment, a configuration is disclosed in which the embodiment (that is, the warning strength) of the warning process is controlled based on the state transition of the driver, such as whether the driver has transitioned from the inappropriate state to the proper state. Not limited to. The driving support ECU 1 may control the embodiment of the warning processing without considering the change in the driver's state. Such a configuration will be described below as a second modification.

  The driving support ECU 1 in the modification 2 does not include the driver state recognition unit F7. Moreover, in connection with this, the driving assistance system 100 of the modification 2 does not need to be equipped with the driver camera 8. That is, the driver state recognition unit F7 and the driver camera 8 are arbitrary elements.

  The behavior determination unit F8 of the driving assistance ECU 1 configured as described above may be implemented using a map, a table, or the like previously designed with the driver's operation content and the traveling environment as parameters. FIGS. 11 to 12 show an example (in other words, an example of a safety action) of setting modes of the degree of safety contribution for each traveling environment for each action pattern in the second modification.

[Modification 3]
Although the aspect which set the down slope road to the habitual deceleration area was illustrated above, it does not restrict to this. Generally, even when the driver is traveling in a tunnel entry preparation section, a turn preparation section, or a section where the remaining distance before entering a curve is within a predetermined distance (hereinafter, curve entry preparation section), Deceleration operation can be implemented as a routine operation. That is, part or all of the tunnel entry preparation section, the turn preparation section, and the curve entry preparation section may be set as the custom deceleration section.

  For example, the tunnel entry preparation section and the turn preparation section are set as the habitual deceleration section, and as shown in FIG. 13, the safety contribution to the deceleration operation when the current vehicle position is the tunnel entry preparation section / turn preparation section The degree may be set to a value smaller than the degree of safety contribution to the deceleration operation in the normal section. The normal section here is a section that is not set as a customary deceleration section.

  Specifically, while the degree of safety contribution to the accelerator-off operation on the flat road set to the normal section is set to 1, the accelerator on the flat road set to the tunnel entry preparation section / right turn preparation section is set. Set the degree of safety contribution to the off operation to 0. That is, while the accelerator off operation on the flat road set in the normal section is regarded as a safety action (specifically, the safety contribution is 1), the flat set in the tunnel entry preparation section / right turn preparation section The accelerator off operation on the road is not regarded as a safety action.

  In FIG. 13, pattern number A-41 represents an accelerator-off operation on a flat road set as a normal section, and pattern number A-42 is a flat road set as a tunnel entry preparation section. Represents the accelerator off operation at Pattern No. A-43 represents the accelerator off operation on the flat road set in the turn preparation zone.

[Modification 4]
Based on the output data of a predetermined sensor, the traveling environment recognition unit F6 specifies whether the state of the road surface is a predetermined state in which the braking force hardly acts (hereinafter, the braking force reduction state), and corrects the risk level The part F9 may change the correction amount of the risk level in accordance with the identification result. For example, when the road surface state is in the braking force reduction state, the risk level correction unit F9 makes the degree of safety contribution associated with various behavior patterns more than the case where the road surface state is the normal state. Operate one step down. That is, when the road surface state is in the braking force reduction state, the reduction amount of the risk level is made smaller by one step than that in the normal state.

  Here, the braking force reduction state refers to a state in which the frictional force between the road surface and the tire is reduced, for example, a wet road surface due to rain, snow accumulation, and a non-paved state. A state in which the tire wears and the frictional force is reduced may be included in the braking force reduced state.

  Whether or not the road surface of the traveling road is in the braking force reduction state may be specified by analyzing the captured image of the forward monitoring camera as the periphery monitoring sensor 6. In addition, the road surface condition derived from the weather, such as whether the road surface is wet, may be estimated from the detection result of a rain sensor that detects rain, or may be estimated from the operating condition of the wiper. Alternatively, it may be specified by receiving weather information distributed from a center (not shown).

[Modification 5]
In the embodiment described above, the design correction amount (in other words, the degree of contribution to safety) derived from the safety action performed by the driver corrects the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 to the warning stop level Therefore, if the value is large enough, the risk level is corrected to the warning stop level. For example, when the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is 3 and the correction amount derived from the safety action performed by the driver is 2 or more, the final risk level is corrected to 1.

  According to such a configuration, the driver can immediately stop the warning processing if the driver performs predetermined safety actions, but the risk is eliminated even though the risk is not completely eliminated. There is a risk of illusion.

  Therefore, as long as the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is the warning implementation level, the risk level correction unit F9 provides a sufficient correction amount so that the risk level after correction becomes the warning stop level. Even when the driver carries out the safety action, the warning stop level may not be set but the lowest level (specifically, 2) of the warning implementation levels may be set. For example, when the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 is 3 and the correction amount derived from the safety action performed by the driver (in other words, the degree of safety contribution) is 2 or more, the final result is Level of risk is set to 2.

  According to such a configuration, since the warning processing itself continues, it is possible to notify the driver that the risk has not been completely eliminated. Also, the implementation of the alert process may transition to a relatively weak level, thus reducing the risk of annoying the driver.

[Modification 6]
In the above, although the risk level correction part F9 disclosed the structure which employ | adopts the safing contribution degree matched with the action pattern as an amount (namely, correction amount) which corrects a risk level as it is, it does not restrict to this. A value obtained by multiplying the degree of safety contribution by a predetermined coefficient may be adopted as the correction amount.

  Moreover, although the structure which determines correction amount indirectly from the safety action which the driver implemented using the concept of a safety contribution degree was disclosed above, it does not restrict to this. The correction amount may be uniquely determined from the safety action performed by the driver. For example, the correction amount for each traveling environment may be set for each action pattern. In that case, the correction amount for each behavior pattern and each traveling environment may be set based on the same idea as the degree of safety contribution. In such a configuration, the correction amount corresponds to the degree of safety contribution.

[Modification 7]
In the above-described embodiment, the risk level correcting unit F9 is configured to determine the risk if the driver does not observe a decelerating action such as an accelerator-off operation by the driver even after a predetermined standby time (for example, 4 seconds) has elapsed since the warning process was started The risk level calculated by the level calculation unit F3 may be corrected to a value one step higher. That is, the risk level correction unit F9 may have a function of correcting the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit F3 to a predetermined value lower value as well as a predetermined value higher value.

100 driving support system, 1 driving support ECU (drive supporting device), 2 speakers, 3 displays, 4 peripheral vision devices, 5 locators, 6 peripheral monitoring sensors, 7 vehicle state sensors, 8 driver cameras, F1 peripheral information acquisition unit, F2 risk detection unit, F3 risk level calculation unit, F4 warning processing unit, F5 vehicle condition recognition unit (operation information acquisition unit), F6 driving environment recognition unit, F7 driver condition recognition unit, F8 behavior determination unit, F9 risk level correction unit

Claims (9)

A risk detection unit (F2) that detects an alert object that is an object that may collide with the vehicle based on output data of a surrounding area monitoring sensor that acquires information about an object present around the vehicle;
A risk level calculation unit (F3) that calculates a risk level indicating the degree of risk of collision between the critical item detected by the risk detection unit and the vehicle based on the output data of the surrounding area monitoring sensor; ,
A traveling environment recognition unit (F6) that acquires traveling environment information that is information about an environment in which the vehicle is traveling, and includes at least one of a slope and a curvature of at least a road on which the vehicle is traveling;
A warning processing unit (F4) that starts warning processing, which is processing for warning the driver of the critical object in cooperation with a predetermined notification device, according to the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit;
An operation information acquisition unit (F5) that sequentially acquires information indicating the content of the driving operation performed by the driver from the operation amount sensor that outputs information indicating the content of the driving operation performed by the driver;
Based on the contents of the driving operation specified by the operation information acquisition unit, the pattern of the action of the driver after the start of the warning process is sequentially determined, and the traveling acquired by the traveling environment recognition unit An action determination unit (F8) that determines whether the action pattern performed by the driver corresponds to a predetermined safety action for avoiding a collision with the critical object based on environmental information;
A risk level correction unit (F9) that corrects the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit based on the determination result of the action determination unit when the warning processing unit is performing the warning process; Equipped with
When the correction by the risk level correction unit is performed, the warning processing unit changes an embodiment of the warning processing to an embodiment according to the corrected risk level. apparatus. The action determination unit performs, as the action pattern of the driver after the warning process is started, whether an accelerator-off operation is performed that is an operation to turn off the accelerator pedal, and a brake-on operation to turn on the brake pedal It is judged one by one whether or not
In each of the behavior patterns of the plurality of drivers set as determination targets by the behavior determination unit, a safety contribution degree indicating the degree of contribution to the reduction of the risk of the collision with the cautions according to the traveling environment Are set in multiple stages,
The said risk level correction | amendment part determines the reduction amount of the said risk level according to the said safing contribution matched with the said action pattern performed by the said driver, The said Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Driving support device. On the road, a custom decelerating section, which is a section where a custom decelerating operation for speed adjustment is implemented, is preset.
The value of the degree of safety contribution in the habitual deceleration section to the same behavior pattern is smaller than the value of the degree of safety contribution in the normal section, which is a section not set as the habitual deceleration section. The driving support apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the driving support apparatus is set to The risk level calculator determines the risk level in a plurality of three or more stages, and
The lowest level among the plurality of risk levels is set to a warning stop level which is a level for stopping the warning processing by the warning processing unit, and the warning processing unit is configured to calculate the risk level calculated. The warning process is started when the risk level becomes a warning implementation level that is higher than the warning stop level,
The risk level correction unit provides a correction amount sufficient to set the risk level to the warning stop level as long as the risk level calculated by the risk level calculation unit is the warning implementation level. The driving according to claim 3, wherein, even when the driver carries out the safety action, the warning stop level is not set but the lowest level among the warning implementation levels is set. Support device. The action determination unit sequentially determines whether or not an accelerator-off operation, which is an operation to turn off the accelerator pedal, has been performed.
While the warning processing unit is executing the warning processing, the position of the vehicle at the time of accelerator off at which it is determined that the accelerator off operation has been performed by the action determination unit is a habitual deceleration operation. When it corresponds to a habitual decelerating section preset as a section to be carried out, the action judging unit does not judge that the driver carried out the safety action, while the position of the vehicle at the time of the accelerator off If the section is not set as the habitual deceleration section, it is determined that the safety action has been performed,
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the risk level correcting unit performs the correction to reduce the risk level by a predetermined amount when it is determined that the safety action is performed.   As the above-mentioned habitual slowing section, a road with a downward slope, a section in which the remaining distance before entering an intersection is within a predetermined distance, a section in which a remaining distance to a tunnel entrance is within a predetermined distance, a curve The driving assistance apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein at least one of the sections in which the remaining distance before entering the vehicle is within a predetermined distance is set. And a driver state recognition unit (F7) that sequentially specifies the state of the driver based on data input from the driver state sensor that is mounted on the vehicle and outputs information indicating the state of the driver.
The driving support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the risk level correction unit determines a correction amount based on a specification result of the driver state recognition unit.   When the slope of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is an up slope at the time of safety action implementation at which it is determined that the safety action has been performed by the action determination unit, the risk level correction unit is a road The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the risk level is reduced more than when the slope of the slope is a down slope.   The risk level correction unit is configured to determine the risk level by the risk level calculation unit when the action determination unit does not determine that the safety action has been executed even if a predetermined time has elapsed since the warning process was started. The driving assistance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the driving assistance apparatus is corrected to a value higher by a predetermined amount than the value calculated by the equation (10).

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