JP2019109645A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a driving support device capable of improving preventive safety by recognizing a small-sized driving vehicle.SOLUTION: A driving support device 100 comprises: a front camera 106 for imaging the other vehicle from an own vehicle 10; inter-vehicle distance discrimination means 102 for discriminating whether the other vehicle travels within a predetermined distance; and vehicle discrimination means 103 by which, in a case where the other vehicle satisfies the conditions that there are three or more wheels and there is a seat arrangement of arranging seats in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle as single- or two-seater, on the basis of an image that is picked up by the front camera, the other vehicle is discriminated as a small-sized electric vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device.

  In a society with a low birth rate and an aging population, it is predicted that elderly people have an increased opportunity to drive a small electric vehicle such as a so-called senior car and travel on a general road. On the other hand, it is also predicted that in the future, automatic driving of four-wheeled vehicles will spread.

  It is predicted that the spread of autonomous driving vehicles will precede in urban areas where traffic is relatively low, such as rural areas or remote islands, rather than urban areas where traffic is overwhelmingly high.

  In areas where the traffic volume is relatively small, there are more elderly people driving small electric vehicles than in urban areas, so it is expected that there will be more cases where autonomous driving vehicles travel along the road with small electric vehicles.

  In general, elderly people who drive small electric vehicles such as senior cars tend to have a low ability to recognize surrounding conditions due to deterioration. For this reason, forget to turn on the turn signal and turn right or left, take off from the temporary stop state without sufficiently checking back, enter into the intersection without temporary stop, or do not have any aura. It often happens.

  In addition, the elderly are more likely to drive with a feeling closer to a pedestrian. For this reason, it is often the case that awareness to comply with traffic regulations such as traveling at low speed on the center of the road is low.

  In particular, in a senior car, not only the vehicle is small, but the tire has a small diameter and a low body, so it is difficult to determine the direction of bending.

  Carry out traffic safety education for elderly people, and even if they expect self-help efforts, decline can not be avoided and there is a limit. For this reason, it is important for the autonomous driving vehicle to recognize a small electric vehicle having a high probability of being driven by an elderly person, pay attention, take evasive action as needed, and take preventive safety.

  There has been proposed an object recognition apparatus which recognizes the movement of an object such as a vehicle by photographing an object with a television camera and processing an image of the television camera (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 describes a method of recognizing a vehicle that shoots a road with a television camera and travels on the road.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 5-298591 gazette

  However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is no mention of identifying the type of vehicle, in particular, identifying a small electric vehicle such as a senior car. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish a small electric vehicle, which is likely to be driven by an elderly person, from other vehicles and to notify the driver of its presence or to cause an autonomous driving vehicle to take evasive action for preventive safety. Not considered.

  This invention is made in view of this point, and makes it an object to provide the driving assistance device which can recognize a small-sized driving vehicle and can improve prevention safety.

  One aspect of the driving support device of the present invention includes an imaging unit that images another vehicle from the host vehicle, an inter-vehicle distance determination unit that determines whether the other vehicle is traveling within a predetermined distance, and the imaging unit The other vehicle has (a) three or more wheels, and (b) a seat arrangement in which the seats are arranged in the front-rear direction of the vehicle for single seat or two-seater based on the image captured by If the vehicle satisfies the above condition, the vehicle is characterized by comprising: a vehicle determination means for determining the other vehicle as a small-sized motorized vehicle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to recognize a small-sized driving vehicle and improve preventive safety.

It is a side view showing an example of a senior car concerning this embodiment. It is a front view showing an example of a senior car concerning this embodiment. It is a rear view showing an example of a senior car concerning this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between the own vehicle and a senior car in an intersection. It is a schematic block diagram of the driving assistance device concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the control flow of the driving assistance device which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between the front condition of the own vehicle, and a front image in this Embodiment.

<Overview>
Since the small electric vehicle is likely to be driven by the elderly, the inventor distinguishes the small electric vehicle from a general vehicle by means of the driving support device, and pays the driver's attention to the small electric vehicle around the own vehicle. We conducted ambitious investigations to evoke, and, if necessary, make our own vehicle take evasive action to improve preventive safety.

  It is conceivable to use image recognition technology in order to recognize a small motorized vehicle. For example, the image taken by the image pickup means is processed using image recognition technology to grasp the outline (silhouette) of the vehicle, and if it is similar to the outline of a known small electric vehicle, it is determined as a small electric vehicle It is possible to do.

  However, there are agricultural machines (tractors, rice transplanters, combine etc.), small construction machines (mini shovels etc.), or three-wheeled or four-wheeled scouts that have similar contours to small-sized electric vehicles. For this reason, it is difficult to determine the small-sized electric vehicle only by the outline of the vehicle.

  Accordingly, the present inventors have completed the present invention by finding that a small-sized motorized vehicle, particularly a senior car, can be distinguished based on the characteristics such as the number of wheels, the structure and the arrangement of seats, and the like.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In addition, although the example which applied the driving assistance device which concerns on this invention to a four-wheeled vehicle below is demonstrated, an application object can be changed, without being limited to this. For example, the drive assist device according to the present invention may be applied to other types of vehicles (for example, straddle-type vehicles such as motorcycles and three-wheeled vehicles). In the following description, a motorcycle will be described as a representative example of a straddle-type vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, a vehicle that satisfies both (a) three or more wheels and (b) a seat arrangement in which the seats are aligned in the front-rear direction for single seat or two-seater use is provided. , As a small motorized vehicle.

  This small electric vehicle includes a senior car. A senior car is also called an electric wheelchair with a steering wheel or an electric cart, and is a three- or four-wheeled single-seater electric vehicle. Handled.

  The senior car has a low top speed, for example, 6 km / h, but is not particularly limited.

  The vehicle size of the senior car is, for example, 1190 mm in total length, 650 mm in width, and 1080 m in total height, but is not particularly limited.

  Even if it is a vehicle other than a senior car, the probability of being driven by an elderly person is high, so in the present embodiment, if it meets the conditions of (a) and (b), it corresponds to a small electric vehicle.

  Small electric vehicles other than senior cars are not applicable to wheelchairs for disabled persons under the Road Traffic Act of Japan, and may be treated as automobiles or motor bikes.

  For example, a single seat (one seater) vehicle corresponds to the condition (b). That is, the case where only one seat can be seated by one person is applicable.

  In addition, a two-seater (two-seater) vehicle equipped with a seat on which one person can sit in front and rear also corresponds to the condition (b).

  Furthermore, whether or not the condition (b) is satisfied can be determined based on, for example, whether or not the distance between the pair of rearview mirrors (b ') is equivalent to one person. Here, “one person's worth” can be obtained, for example, by calculating from the average height of Japanese people announced by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. In addition, “equivalent to one person” means that the distance between the centers of the pair of rearview mirrors does not have to be exactly the same as one person, but for a predetermined length of “one person”. , Plus cm cm, minus △ cm means that it may be in any range.

  Here, the pair of rearview mirrors is provided on the vehicle as a left-right pair and includes a door mirror, a fender mirror, a side mirror, a steering wheel end mirror, and the like.

  Further, when the vehicle is provided with (b ′ ′) a windshield (canopy etc.), it can be judged based on whether the width of the windshield is equivalent to one person or not.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a senior car of the small-sized motorized vehicles may be recognized. When recognizing a senior car, in addition to (a) and (b), (c) the seat is covered with bare or windshield (canopy etc.), but it can be recognized from the outside of the vehicle, and the seat is seatback It is possible to recognize a senior car by adding (backrest) as a condition.

  Further, (d) the seat may be provided with a pair of arm rests (elbow rests). In particular, it may be added that (d ') the armrest is arranged to extend substantially horizontally from the seat back toward the front of the body.

  In the driving support apparatus according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the small-sized electric vehicle exists around the host vehicle and influences the traveling of the host vehicle, the driver assists or warns the driver. Is preferred.

  Hereinafter, in the driving support device according to the present embodiment, a case where a senior car is recognized as a target vehicle will be described as an example.

<Senior Car Configuration>
A specific example of a senior car, which is an example of a small electric vehicle to be recognized, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a senior car according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a senior car according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing an example of the senior car according to the present embodiment.

  The senior car 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a configuration necessary for a small electric vehicle, for example, a drive system (electric motor etc.), a transmission system (gear etc.), a steering system (handle etc.), a braking system (brake etc.) Those skilled in the art will easily understand that the illumination system (headlights, blinkers, etc.) is provided. In the following description, only configurations necessary to understand the present invention will be described.

  The senior car 1 is a four-wheeled vehicle provided with two tires 3a to 3d, which are examples of wheels, at the front and rear of the body (body) 2. In the senior car 1, a seat unit 4, which is an example of a seat, is disposed closer to the rear of the body 2. The seat unit 4 is attached to the rear of the body 2 and above the positions of the fenders 2a and 2b.

  The seat unit 4 is provided on a seat cushion (seating surface) 4a on which the driver A is seated, a seat back (backrest) 4b provided at a rear end of the seat cushion 4a, and both side surfaces of the seatback 4b. It comprises a pair of arm rests (elbow rests) 4c and 4d.

  The arm rests 4 c and 4 d are disposed to extend substantially horizontally from the seat back 4 b to the front of the body 2.

  Further, the steering wheel 5 of the senior car 1 is provided with a pair of rearview mirrors 6a and 6b.

<Senior Car Behavior at an Intersection>
Next, with reference to FIG. 4, a problem at an intersection of a senior car to which the driving assistance device according to the present embodiment is applied will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a relationship between a host vehicle and a senior car at an intersection. As shown in FIG. 4, at the intersection X, a minor road R2 having a narrow road width intersects with a main road R1 in two lanes (one lane on one side) in the upper and lower lanes.

  Vehicles (hereinafter, referred to as own vehicle) 10, 20, and 30 illustrated in FIG. 4 mount the driving assistance device according to the present embodiment. The host vehicles 10 and 20 are four-wheeled vehicles, and the host vehicle 30 is a two-wheeled vehicle.

  First, the case where the senior car 1 is present in front of the host vehicle 10 traveling on the sub road R2 will be described as an example.

  The senior car 1 traveling in front of the host vehicle 10 is going to join the main road R1 from the sub road R2.

Among the actions of the senior car 1, the following actions can be considered as affecting the traveling of the vehicle 10.
(1) The senior car 1 enters the intersection X without stopping.
(2) The senior car 1 travels toward the center of the sub road R2, and then, enter the intersection X to join the main road R1, and (3) the senior car 1 changes its course toward the center of the sub road R2. Then enter the intersection X and join the main road R1.

  However, for the driver of the host vehicle 10, the senior car 1 is small and the body 2 is low, and it is difficult to predict the direction in which the senior car 1 travels from the directions of the tires 3a to 3d and the direction of the body 2.

  In addition, when an elderly person drives the senior car 1, it is difficult to predict the behavior of the senior car 1 because the driver forgets to take out the turn signal or the awareness of traffic regulation compliance is low. The driving support apparatus of the present embodiment has an object to improve the preventive safety for the behavior of the senior car 1 as described in (1) to (3).

<Driving support device>
Hereinafter, the configuration of driving support apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a driving support device according to the present embodiment. In addition, in the own vehicle 10 to which the driving assistance device 100 is applied, it is assumed that the configuration (engine, tire, etc.) that the four-wheeled vehicle normally includes is included, and the description is omitted. When the vehicle 10 is simply described as the vehicle 10 in the following description, the vehicle 10 includes the vehicle 20 which is also a four-wheeled vehicle and the vehicle 30 which is a two-wheeled vehicle.

  The driving support apparatus 100 (see FIG. 1) according to the present embodiment includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 101 that is an example of a processing unit. The ECU 101 is configured by, for example, a processor that executes various processes.

  The ECU 101 is configured to be able to realize an inter-vehicle distance determination unit 102, a vehicle determination unit 103, another vehicle monitoring unit 104, and a drive control unit 105 by executing a program as a processing unit.

  In addition, the driving support device 100 includes a front camera 106 as an example of an imaging unit that images the front of the host vehicle 10, and is electrically connected such that an output thereof is input to the ECU 101.

  The inter-vehicle distance determination means 102 has a distance between the vehicle 10 and a vehicle traveling in the front (hereinafter referred to as another vehicle) within a predetermined distance based on the front image of the vehicle 10 captured by the front camera 106 It is comprised so that determination may be performed.

  The vehicle determination means 103 is configured to determine whether the other vehicle included in the front image is a senior car, as described later.

  The other vehicle monitoring unit 104 is configured to determine whether the other vehicle, ie, the senior car 1, affects the traveling of the host vehicle 10 based on the front image captured by the front camera 106, as described later. It is done.

  The operation control means 105 is configured to cause the alarm means 107 to issue an alarm according to the output from the other vehicle monitoring means 104 or to cause the decelerating means 108 to decelerate the own vehicle 10.

  The alarm means 107 warns the driver of the host vehicle 10. The alarm means 107 may be constituted by, for example, an alarm sound generator and a speaker, or may be constituted by a display for displaying information on an alarm, such as a display of a speedometer or a display of a navigation system.

  Further, the alarm means 107 may be configured by, for example, a steering vibration means (not shown) which is an example of a vibration generation means. The steering vibration means causes the steering (not shown) to vibrate. The steering vibration means is constituted of, for example, a vibration device such as a vibration motor incorporated in the steering wheel, and an instruction device for giving a vibration instruction to the vibration device.

  The decelerating means 108 decelerates the speed of the vehicle 10 as an example of the evasive action performed by the vehicle 10. As an example of the speed reduction means 108, a brake device etc. which brakes rotation of a wheel are mentioned. The deceleration means 108 is not limited to a brake device that operates with the direct operation of the driver, and is automatically controlled by an ECU such as a regenerative brake in a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, an engine brake accompanying a shift, etc. Shall also be included.

  It is sufficient for the host vehicle 10 to include an imaging unit (front camera 106) for recognition of another vehicle for the implementation of the present invention, but it may also include a radar or the like. For example, the inter-vehicle distance determination means 102 may measure the inter-vehicle distance using a radar.

  The driving support device 100 mounted on the four-wheeled vehicle as the host vehicle 10 has been described above with reference to FIG. It is also possible to mount the driving support device 100 on the host vehicle 30, which is a motorcycle (an example of a straddle-type vehicle). The difference between the four-wheeled motor vehicle and the two-wheeled motor vehicle is that instead of displaying the information on the display, for example, the external communication device (not shown) built in the helmet uses the communication means (not shown) for information. For example, the information is transmitted to the driver by voice. Of course, as in the case of a four-wheeled motor vehicle, an on-vehicle device mounted on a motorcycle may be used.

  In addition, as an external communication device, it is also possible to display information using a head mounted display such as a smart glass.

  However, it goes without saying that the driving support device 100 may have the same configuration for the four-wheeled motor vehicle and the two-wheeled motor vehicle.

  Next, a control flow of the driving support apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a control flow of the driving support apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

<Inter-vehicle distance determination processing>
First, the inter-vehicle distance determination means 102 (see FIG. 5) determines whether there is another vehicle within a predetermined distance ahead of the host vehicle 10 (ST101).

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the relationship between the front situation of the vehicle 10 and the front image in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, a senior car 1 which is an example of another vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle 10 (see FIG. 4) comes within the range of the front image 201 captured by the front camera 106. The inter-vehicle distance determination means 102 (see FIG. 5) sets a coordinate system having an origin O at the lower left corner of the front image 201. Then, based on the value in the y direction (vertical direction in FIG. 7) in the coordinate system and the measured value of the distance from the front end of the vehicle 10, the value Y in the y direction corresponding to the predetermined distance is determined. And a determination line A parallel to the x direction (the left and right direction in FIG. 7) is set. Then, the inter-vehicle distance determining means 102, when y-direction value y ₁ of the virtual line B (shown in FIG. 7 the dashed line) passing through the lowermost end of the mobility scooter 1 is smaller than the value Y in the y-direction determination line A, In other words, when the virtual line B is closer to the origin O than the determination line A, it is determined that the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 10 and the senior car 1 is less than a predetermined distance.

  Here, for the predetermined distance, the distance at which the vehicle 10 can safely stop is a rule of thumb. Under conditions where asphalt and the road surface are dry, if the speed of the host vehicle 10 is 17 m if the speed is 40 km / hr and 32 m if the speed is 60 km / h, it can be safely stopped if the host vehicle 10 can be safely stopped. The predetermined distance can be 40 m.

<Vehicle judgment processing>
If the determination is NO at ST101, the process returns to ST101. In ST101, if the determination is YES, the vehicle determination means (see FIG. 5) 103 performs image recognition processing on the forward image, and does not satisfy the condition indicating that the other vehicle is the senior car 1 (see FIG. 1) It is determined (ST102).

An example of the condition indicating that the car is a senior car is as follows.
(A-1) Three or more tires
(B-1) single seat type,
(C-1) The seat unit can be recognized from the rear of another vehicle, and the seat unit includes a seat back, and (d-1) the seat unit is provided with a pair of arm rests, from the back seat to the front of the body It is arranged to extend substantially horizontally.

  The vehicle discriminating means 103 discriminates that the other vehicle is the senior car 1 when all of the conditions (a-1) to (d-1) listed above are satisfied.

  Whether the conditions (a-1) to (d-1) are satisfied can be performed using an image recognition technique. The image recognition technology may directly recognize a characteristic part (tire, seat unit, etc.) from the front image, may apply pattern matching (template matching), and can be appropriately selected and used by those skilled in the art. .

  With regard to the condition (b-1), it may be determined whether or not the single-seat type is determined based on whether the distance between a pair of rearview mirrors of another vehicle is equivalent to one person. If the other vehicle is a senior car with a canopy (windshield), it may be determined whether the width of the canopy is equivalent to one person.

  Next, in ST103, the operation control means 105 determines whether the vehicle determination means 103 determines that the other vehicle is a senior car. In ST103, if the determination is YES, the operation control means 105 proceeds to ST104 and starts driving support processing for a senior car. On the other hand, if the determination is NO in ST103, normal driving support processing for general vehicles other than senior cars is performed (ST105). If the normal driving support process is completed, the process returns to ST101.

<Other vehicle monitoring process>
Next, the other vehicle monitoring means 104 analyzes the image of the above-mentioned forward image, for example, and determines that the senior car 1 affects the traveling of the vehicle 10 if any one of the following conditions is met. To do (ST104).
(A) The senior car 1 has begun to enter the intersection X (see FIG. 4) without stopping.
(B) The senior car 1 is traveling toward the center of the sub road R2 (see FIG. 4), or (C) the senior car 1 has begun to change the course toward the center of the sub road R2 (see FIG. 4) .

  In addition to the conditions (A) to (C) listed here, various conditions considered to possibly affect the traveling of the host vehicle 10 by the senior car 1 may be applied.

<Caution and deceleration control>
Next, based on the determination by the other vehicle monitoring means 104, the operation control unit 105 determines whether the senior car 1 affects the traveling of the host vehicle 10 (ST106). In ST106, if the determination is YES, the driving control means 105 causes the driver of the own vehicle 10 to display an alarm sound and an alarm by the alarm means 107, and causes an alert to occur (ST107). If the determination is NO at ST106, the process returns to ST101.

  Next, the operation control means 105 determines whether or not the situation affected by the senior car 1 is continued (ST108).

  Although the determination in ST108 is not particularly limited, the operation control means 105 determines whether the senior car 1 is within a predetermined distance ahead of the host vehicle 10 based on the output from the inter-vehicle distance determination means 102. You may go.

  If the determination is NO at ST108, the process returns to ST101. If the determination is YES, the operation control unit 105 causes the decelerating unit 108 to decelerate, for example, to the slowest speed (ST109), and ends the processing.

  In ST109, one or both of an alarm and a deceleration may be performed.

  The order of each process shown in the control flow in the driving support device 100 described above is an example, and it can be easily understood by those skilled in the art that changes can be made.

  As mentioned above, although self-vehicles 10 were mentioned as an example and explained, when self-vehicles 20 shown in Drawing 4 is provided with driving support device 100, senior car 1 is main road R1 from secondary road R2 in intersection X shown in FIG. Whether the other car is the senior car 1 based on the forward image obtained by imaging the side of the senior car 1 with the forward camera 106, and whether the senior car 1 affects the host vehicle 20 or not Can be determined to cause the vehicle 20 to perform an alarm or an avoidance action.

  Similarly, the driving assistance device 100 is provided for the vehicle 30 which is a motorcycle, and the side surface side of the senior car 1 is a front camera when the senior car 1 joins the main road R1 from the sub road R2 at the intersection X shown in FIG. Based on the forward image captured in 106, it is determined that the other vehicle is the senior car 1, it is determined whether the senior car 1 affects the host vehicle 30, and the warning or avoidance action is performed on the host vehicle 30. It can be made to

  As described above, according to the driving assistance apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the senior car 1 which is an example of the small-sized motorized vehicle can be distinguished from a general vehicle using the image recognition process. Although the senior car 1 has a high probability of being driven by the elderly and the body is small, it is difficult to predict the behavior, but the driver is alerted and the avoidance action necessary for the own vehicle 10, 20, 30 is required. Can be implemented properly. As a result, the preventive safety for the senior car 1 can be improved, and the driving burden on the driver of the host vehicle 10, 20, 30 can be reduced.

  In particular, in areas where there is relatively little traffic volume where it is predicted that the introduction of autonomous driving vehicles will advance in advance, agricultural machines etc. often travel on the road, so the outline of agricultural machines etc. approximates senior car 1 Also, according to the driving support device 100 in accordance with the present embodiment, it is particularly useful because it is possible to distinguish between agricultural machines and the like and the senior car 1.

  In addition, in areas where traffic is relatively low, there is concern that elderly people tend to be less aware of traffic regulations. Furthermore, in areas where traffic is relatively low, there are many roads with narrow vehicles, which are not planned roads by city planning, and preventive safety is more important than in urban areas. Therefore, it is particularly useful that the driving assistance apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can improve the preventive safety for the senior car 1 driven by the elderly.

  Further, the driving assistance apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can be realized easily and inexpensively because the imaging means (the front camera 106) and the image recognition process (the inter-vehicle distance determination process and the vehicle determination process) are used.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications. In the above embodiment, the size, shape, and the like illustrated in the attached drawings are not limited thereto, and can be appropriately changed within the range in which the effects of the present invention are exhibited. In addition, without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately change and implement.

  For example, in the above embodiment, a senior car 1 (see FIGS. 1 to 3) is targeted as a small-sized motorized vehicle. However, the small electric vehicle is not limited to the senior car 1. For example, small-sized electric vehicles other than the senior car 1 adopting a similar structure to a single-seat or two-seater small-sized electric vehicle may be targeted.

  In the above-mentioned embodiment, although decelerating was mentioned as an example and explained as evasive action of self-vehicles 10, 20, and 30, an evasive action other than that may be performed. For example, the driving support device 100 may control the steering means of the host vehicles 10, 20, 30 to cause the host vehicles 10, 20, 30 to change the direction to avoid the senior car 1.

  As described above, the present invention has the effect of recognizing a small-sized driving vehicle and improving the preventive safety, and is particularly useful for a driving support device such as an automobile four-wheeled vehicle or a straddle-type vehicle.

1 Senior car (other vehicles, small electric vehicles)
2 body 3a to 3d tire 4 seat unit (seat)
4a Seat cushion 4b Seat back 4c, 4d Armrest 6a, 6b Rearview mirror 10, 20, 30 Own vehicle 100 Driving support device 101 ECU
102 Vehicle-to-vehicle distance determination means 103 Vehicle determination means 104 Other vehicle monitoring means 105 Driving control means 106 Front camera (imaging means)
107 alarm means 108 deceleration means

Claims (8)

Imaging means for imaging another vehicle from the host vehicle;
An inter-vehicle distance determination unit that determines whether the other vehicle is traveling within a predetermined distance;
Based on the image captured by the imaging means, the other vehicle (a) has three or more wheels, and (b) arranges the seats in the front-rear direction of the other vehicle for single seat or two-seater use. And a vehicle determining unit configured to determine the other vehicle as a small-sized motorized vehicle when the seat arrangement is satisfied.   The vehicle discrimination means determines whether or not the condition of (b) is satisfied based on whether or not the distance between the pair of rearview mirrors of the other vehicle is equivalent to one person. The driving support device according to 1.   The vehicle discrimination means (c) discriminates the other vehicle as a small-sized motorized vehicle when the seat is recognizable from the outside of the other vehicle and the seat further includes a seat back. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:   4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle discrimination unit discriminates the other vehicle as a small-sized motorized vehicle when (d) further satisfying that the seat is provided with a pair of arm rests. The driving support device according to any of the above.   Another vehicle monitoring means for determining whether or not the small-sized electric vehicle has an influence on the host vehicle based on the image when the vehicle determination means determines the other vehicle as the small-sized electric vehicle The driving assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:   The small-sized electric vehicle further comprises a driving control means for controlling a warning means to give a warning to a driver of the own vehicle when it is judged that the small-sized electric vehicle affects the traveling of the own vehicle. The driving support device according to claim 5,   The driving control means is further configured to control the deceleration means to cause the own vehicle to perform the evasive action of the small electric vehicle when it is determined that the small electric vehicle affects the traveling of the own vehicle. The driving assistance device according to claim 5 or 6, comprising.   The driving support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the predetermined distance is a distance at which the host vehicle can safely stop.

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