JP3145740B2 - Traveling state determination device for mobile vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for judging the traveling state of a mobile vehicle, and more particularly to an apparatus for judging the traveling state of a mobile vehicle capable of judging some danger factors in consideration of the degree of urgency.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to allow a mobile vehicle to travel safely, it is necessary to always recognize the current traveling state and to avoid any danger factors (for example, lane departure or rear-end collision). Action needs to be taken. In general, for each danger factor, the degree of danger (defined as the product of the likelihood of the cause and the magnitude of the damage if it occurs) is calculated, and if the degree of danger exceeds a predetermined value, " It is determined to be "dangerous", and measures such as issuing a warning to the driving car or performing a compulsory driving operation (for example, a brake operation) to avoid the danger are taken. For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 63-288390 discloses a device that detects an operation state based on a sensor output, compares the detected operation state with a preset operation index, and determines the operation state.

[0003]

However, in the conventional traveling state determination device for a moving vehicle, as described above, the determination of "danger" is made only when the degree of danger exceeds a predetermined set value. In the case where the degree of danger suddenly increases, a situation may occur in which the processing for avoiding danger cannot be performed in time. In addition, since comprehensive judgments are made on multiple risk factors and measures are taken so as to head in a safe direction as a whole, it is not possible to focus on avoiding emergency risk factors. Was.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for determining the traveling state of a mobile vehicle, which can perform a priority process promptly for a more urgent risk factor.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems (1) In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for judging a traveling state of a mobile vehicle according to a first invention of the present application includes: an environmental state recognizing means for recognizing an external environmental state; State recognition means having operation state recognition means for recognizing the driving operation state of the vehicle, and traveling state recognition means for recognizing the traveling state of the moving vehicle, and a predetermined risk factor based on the recognition result of the state recognition means. A risk evaluation means for determining the degree of danger, and an urgency evaluation means for obtaining an urgency indicating a time until the degree of danger reaches a preset limit value based on a rate of change of the degree of danger with respect to time,
Prioritize multiple risk factors in order of urgency
"The key to avoiding all risk factors up to the nth rank is
Time exceeds the urgency of the first risk factor
Integer n that satisfies the condition that there is no
To avoid danger only for danger factors
And danger coping means .

(2) The traveling state determining apparatus for a mobile vehicle according to the second invention of the present application, in order to attain the above-mentioned object, has an outer ring.
Environmental state recognition means for recognizing environmental conditions
Operation state recognition means for recognizing the operation state of the vehicle;
Running state recognizing means for recognizing the running state.
Based on the recognition means and the recognition result of the state recognition means,
Risk assessment method to find the risk for a given risk factor
Based on the steps and the rate of change of this risk over time,
Indicates the time until the steepness reaches a preset limit
Urgency evaluation means for determining the degree of urgency ,
Danger notification means for giving danger notification in consideration of both urgency
And are provided. (3) The third invention of the present application is the movement according to the second invention described above.
In the vehicle running state determination device, the danger notification means
Different types of danger reports depending on the degree of urgency even if the degree is the same
It is intended to perform knowledge. (4) The fourth invention of the present application is a moving device according to the second invention.
In the vehicle traveling state judgment device, the danger notification means
Even though the degree is the same, different types of danger reports according to the degree of danger
It is intended to perform knowledge. (5) A traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle according to the fifth invention of the present application.
Recognizes external environmental conditions to achieve the above objectives
Environmental state recognition means to perform and the driving operation state by the driver
Operation state recognition means for recognizing
Running state recognizing means, and state recognizing means having
Based on the recognition result of this state recognition means, multiple risk
Risk evaluation means for determining the risk for each factor
And the rate of change of each of these risks over time,
The risk level for each risk factor reaches a preset limit.
The degree of urgency that indicates the time to reach
And the urgency evaluation means for obtaining Re respectively, with multiple risk factors
Priorities in descending order of urgency.
Perform processing to avoid danger only for certain danger factors
And danger coping means .

[0007]

According to the traveling state judging device for a mobile vehicle according to the present invention , a temporal change rate is obtained for the degree of danger of each danger factor. Then, when the degree of risk continues to increase at this rate of change, the time until the degree of risk reaches a predetermined limit value is defined as the degree of urgency. High urgency (other words
Then, it is possible to judge that a quick danger avoidance process is required for a danger factor in which the value of the urgency is small and the time required to reach the limit value is short. Thus, not only the risk, since this makes it possible to perform a risk assessment plus urgency, can be performed preferentially rapid processing for higher urgency hazards, determined Risk
Various danger alerts, taking into account both
Can be.

[0008] Further, according to the traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle according to the present invention, the avoidance processing for a risk factor having a high degree of urgency is preferentially performed. Specifically, for example, the first
Assuming that the urgency of the danger factor in the rank is T, the danger coping unit selects danger factors for completing the avoidance processing within the time T based on the priority order, and avoids danger for the selected danger factor. Only process. For this reason, danger avoidance processing for a plurality of danger factors can be performed accurately.

[0009]

[Examples] 1. Overall structure of the apparatus will be described below with reference to examples illustrating the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention. The main components of this device are state recognition means 10, risk evaluation means 20,
The urgency evaluation means 30 and the danger coping means 40. The state recognizing means 10 includes an environmental state recognizing means 11 for recognizing an external environmental state based on detection signals from sensors 1 and 2 (for example, a video camera, an inter-vehicle distance sensor, etc.), and sensors 3 and 4 (for example, a steering angle). Operation state recognizing means 12 for recognizing an operation state of driving by the driver based on a detection signal of a sensor, an accelerator opening sensor, and the like;
(E.g., a vehicle speed sensor, an RPM sensor, etc.) based on a detection signal of the traveling vehicle. That is, each recognizing means has a function of recognizing each state based on detection signals from various sensors 1 to 6 attached to the moving vehicle. The recognition result obtained in this way is
It is provided from the state recognition means 10 to the risk evaluation means 20.

The risk evaluation means 20 includes the state recognition means 10
The risk is calculated for each risk factor from the recognition result by. As individual danger factors, for example, phenomena such as “lane departure”, “preceding vehicle collision”, “skid”, and “overrun on curve” are set in advance. In short, the method of calculating the degree of danger may be any type of calculation based on the amount of information provided from the state recognition unit 10. Usually, the risk is defined as the product of the probability of occurrence of the risk factor and the magnitude of the damage if it actually occurs.
For example, the risk of the risk factor of “preceding vehicle collision” can be given as a function of the following distance to the preceding vehicle. Japanese Patent Application No. 3-69681 discloses a risk calculation method based on the so-called risk potential method.

Subsequently, the urgency evaluation means 30 calculates the urgency for each risk factor. Here, the urgency is an expected value of "the time required from the present time until the risk reaches a predetermined limit value". This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a graph showing a change in the degree of risk P with respect to time. Now, at the current time t, the risk level P (t) for a certain risk factor is calculated by the risk level evaluation unit 20.
Shall be calculated by Urgency evaluation means 30
At this point, the risk P in the future after time Δt
Predict (t + Δt). This prediction is made by the state recognition means 1
This is performed based on the recognition result given from 0. For example, the future danger degree for the danger factor of “preceding vehicle collision” can be predicted from parameters such as the following distance, vehicle speed, acceleration / deceleration state, steering angle, movement of the preceding vehicle, road condition, and the like at the current time. . Therefore, the urgency evaluation means 30
Is the rate of change of the risk level P (t) with respect to time, that is,
The risk gradient α can be calculated by using a first-order differential equation of α = (P (t + Δt) −P (t)) / Δt (a second-order differential equation may be used). The dashed line in FIG. 2 indicates the prediction when the risk P increases with the risk gradient α. However, the actual value of the risk level P does not always completely match this prediction as shown by the solid line.

In the urgency evaluation means 30, a predetermined limit value Dmax is defined for each risk factor. The limit value Dmax corresponds to the degree of danger when the moving vehicle is fatally damaged. For example, the limit value Dmax for the risk factor of “preceding vehicle collision” is such that the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle is zero. Can be defined as the value when Thus, the limit value D
If max is defined, the urgency T can be obtained from the equation T = (Dmax-P (t)) / α. As shown in FIG. 2, this urgency T corresponds to the time required to reach the limit value Dmax when the risk P increases with the gradient α. Therefore, the smaller the urgency T is, the more urgent the risk factor is, and the faster the process is required. In this specification, when T is small, the urgency is high, and when T is large, the urgency is low. However, as the method of defining the urgency, in addition to this, 1 / T is defined as the urgency, and C-T
It is also possible to define (C: constant) as the urgency. In short, it suffices if the degree of urgency can be defined as an amount related to the margin time T required to reach the limit value Dmax.

The risk coping means 40 performs a process for each risk factor based on both the degree of danger and the degree of urgency. As a specific processing method, there are two types of a danger notification to the driver and a driving operation amount output to the mobile vehicle. The former is a processing method that informs the driver of the existence of danger and leaves the driver to avoid danger, and the latter is a processing method that automatically performs a driving operation (for example, a brake operation) to avoid danger. is there.

In the conventional apparatus, processing is performed based only on the degree of danger. That is, when the degree of danger is high (when it is larger than a predetermined set value), some danger notification or driving operation amount output is performed, and when the degree of danger is low (when it is smaller than a predetermined set value), nothing is performed. Absent. On the other hand, in the apparatus according to the present invention, both the degree of danger and the degree of urgency are considered, so that more accurate processing can be performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, all situations are classified into four situations according to the degree of danger and the degree of urgency, and in the situation A (high danger, high urgency), “○ danger! "!" In the situation B (high danger, low urgency), and the warning display "XX attention!", And in the situation C (low danger, high urgency), "XX emergency" ! ”Is displayed (the content of the relevant danger factors is displayed in XX), and no warning is given in situation D (low risk, low emergency). Warning can be given to the driver.

In addition, in the above four situations, the following information can be given to the driver. (a) Situation A: Both danger and urgency are high,
This is the most dangerous situation. Then, "Step on the brakes!
! ”,“ Step on the accelerator !! ”,“ Right handle !! ”,
Only the method of avoiding danger factors such as "Left steering wheel !!" is notified, and the driver is urged to perform an instant danger avoidance operation. (b) Situation B: The situation does not immediately fall into a fatal danger state, but indicates that the danger level is constantly high. This situation can be interpreted as an error in the driver's judgment, such as an error in safe inter-vehicle distance judgment or an error in safe speed judgment. Therefore, the danger content such as “back-end collision”, “side collision”, “right lane departure”, “left lane departure”, “curve over” and “slip” is notified, and the driver is made aware of the danger. (c) Situation C: The current danger level is low, but the danger level rapidly increases. In many cases, it is caused by sudden braking of the preceding vehicle, interruption, and the like, and it is necessary to promptly notify the driver of the danger target. Therefore, it informs the danger target such as “preceding car”, “rear car”, “right car”, “left car”, “guardrail”, “pole”, “separation zone”, etc. prevent. (d) Situation D: It is safe because both danger and urgency are low. There is no notification.

[0016] 2. Processing for a plurality of risk factors As described above, the risk processing method considering the degree of danger and the degree of urgency has been described for each danger factor. However, in actual traveling, a plurality of danger factors are often generated simultaneously. In this case, if all the risk factors are processed, a situation may occur in which the time cannot be reached. For example, if the risk factor of “preceding vehicle collision” and the risk factor of “lane departure” occur at the same time, it is necessary to operate the steering wheel together with the brake operation, and the time required to avoid the danger (hereinafter, the planned time) Is called) longer. In general, as shown in the graph of FIG. 4, it is considered that the planned time monotonously increases with the increase in the number of factors to be avoided. Therefore, in the present invention, a priority based on the degree of urgency is defined for each risk factor, and only a factor having a higher priority is selected as a processing target within a time-permitted range.

The specific procedure of this process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S1, state recognition is performed by the state recognition means 10, and in step S2
In step S3, the risk evaluation is performed by the risk evaluation unit 20, and in step S3, the emergency evaluation is performed by the emergency evaluation unit 30. Subsequent processing from step S4 is processing performed by the danger coping unit 40. First, a priority based on the degree of urgency is defined for each risk factor. That is, the higher the urgency, the higher the priority. Then, in step S5, the variable n is set to an initial value 0, and in step S6, the (n + 1) th
The planned time τ for the risk factors up to the rank is estimated. First, when n = 0, that is, the estimated time τ for the risk factor of the first rank is estimated. Then, in step S7, the estimated planned time τ is equal to the first
It is determined whether or not the urgency T of the risk factor of the ranking has been exceeded. If not, n is increased by 1 in step S8, and the process returns to step S6. This time, the planned time τ for avoiding both the first-order risk factor and the second-order risk factor is estimated. Thus, if the planned time τ exceeds the urgency T for the first-ranked danger factor in step S7, the n-th
The danger factors up to the rank are selected as processing targets, and danger avoidance processing (danger notification or driving operation amount output) is performed for them. The risk avoidance process is not performed for the risk factors after the (n + 1) th rank.

The above processing will be described below with reference to the graph of FIG. Now, consider a case where the planned time τ adopts a monotonically increasing function as shown in the graph of FIG. 4 as the number of risk factors increases. That is, the time required to avoid two, three,... Risk factors is longer than the time required to avoid one risk factor. Here, the number of factors x corresponding to the degree of urgency T1 of the first-order danger factor is obtained from the graph of FIG. 4, the largest natural number n satisfying n ≦ x is obtained, and the first-order danger factor to the n-th order The purpose of the above-described processing is to perform the risk avoidance processing up to the risk factor. In the specific example shown in FIG.
When n = 3, the risk avoidance process is performed for the risk factors up to the third rank, and the risk factors at the fourth rank and below are ignored. Since the planned time τ of the danger avoidance process for the danger factors up to the third rank does not become larger than the urgency T1 of the danger factors of the first rank, the danger factors of the first rank can always be avoided. As described above, when there are a plurality of risk factors, a priority order based on the degree of urgency is defined for each risk factor, and only a factor having a higher priority is selected as a processing target within a time-permissible range. This is a reasonable process.

[0019] 3. Identification of Driver Model As described above, in the present invention, processing for danger is performed in consideration of the degree of danger and the degree of urgency of each danger factor.
More specifically, when the degree of danger or the degree of urgency exceeds a predetermined set value, danger notification and driving operation amount output are performed. In the above-described embodiment, the predetermined set value is treated as a fixed value that is defined in advance. However, in order to more accurately evaluate the actual degree of danger and the degree of emergency, it is preferable to consider the driving ability of the driver. For example, even if the danger and urgency obtained as numerical values are exactly the same, the evaluation of the degree of danger and urgency should be different between a driver who is a novice and a driver who is an expert. is there. More specifically, in the table shown in FIG. 3, the boundary value that determines the level of danger and the level of urgency should be set low for beginners and high for experienced users. For example, when the degree of danger is calculated from parameters such as the distance between vehicles for the risk factor of "collision with the preceding vehicle", a certain distance d may be dangerous for beginners, but there is no problem for experts. Maybe. In the embodiment described here, the traveling state of the mobile vehicle is determined in consideration of the driving ability of the driver.

The driving ability of the driver can be evaluated based on the following theory. Now, as shown in FIG. 6, the driver is considered as one black box. This driver can be considered as an element having a function of taking in the external environmental state and the traveling state of the moving vehicle as inputs and outputting some driving operation, and a transfer function G for converting the input I into the output O.
Can be defined. This transfer function G can be considered to indicate the driving ability of the driver. For example,
If the transfer functions G1 to G9 of the expert are defined in nine steps from the transfer function G1 of the skilled person to the transfer function G9 of the beginner, the same input I (the external environment state and the traveling state of the mobile vehicle) is given. However, although the driving operation O1 of the skilled person is O1 = G1 (I), the driving operation O9 of the beginner is different as O9 = G9 (I). Therefore, nine types of driver models having transfer functions G1 to G9 are determined in advance, and the output Ox for a certain input I is observed. You can recognize which one is closest. That is, the driver model can be identified.

The specific identification can be performed by, for example, an operation of identifying the time-series data using the least squares method. Now, let us define the error function E (X) as E (X) = M (X, S) -O. Where X is the driver's forward gaze distance,
Identification parameters such as a preview time, a steering control gain, and a speed control gain, and S is an observed value such as a forward lateral deviation, an attitude angle, and a road curvature. Then, this identification parameter X
The manipulated variable determination model M can be defined as a function of the measurement value S and the observation value S. On the other hand, the driving operation output O is an operation amount such as a steering amount and an accelerator opening actually operated by the driver,
The identification parameter X may be determined so that the error function E (X) defined as the difference between the manipulated variable determination model M and the actual manipulated variable O is minimized. In order to obtain X such that the error function (X) is minimized, X in which the first derivative becomes 0
Should be obtained.

When the transfer function of the driver currently driving the vehicle is identified as one of the models G1 to G9, the contents of the processing by the danger handling means 40 are changed according to the model. Just change it. For example,
In the case of the driver model having the transfer function G1, the criterion value for risk management is set high because the driver is an expert, and in the case of the driver model having the transfer function G9, risk management is performed because he is a beginner. The reference value can be set low.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment having a function of identifying such a driver model. As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the risk evaluation unit 20 evaluates the risk based on the recognition result by the state recognition unit 10, and the emergency evaluation unit 30 evaluates the urgency.
Then, danger notification or driving operation amount output is performed by the danger handling means 40. In the apparatus of this embodiment, a model identification unit 50 and a dip diagnosis unit 60 are further provided. The model identification unit 50 is a device that identifies a driver model based on the recognition result by the state recognition unit 10. That is, during traveling of the mobile vehicle, the environment state and the traveling state and the operation state corresponding thereto are constantly monitored to identify which model the driver fits. The identification result by the model identification means 50 is given to the risk coping means 40. The danger coping unit 40 performs a danger process based on the danger, the urgency, and the identification result of the driver model. Alternatively, the result of model identification is
The emergency level evaluation means 30 may be provided to calculate the risk level and the emergency level in consideration of the driver model.

The dizziness diagnosis means 60 has a function of diagnosing a dizziness state (a state in which the driver's arousal level is reduced). In the above-described example, the transfer functions of the driver are divided into nine types of G1 to G9, and the skilled to beginners are classified into nine levels of driving ability. Therefore, when a transfer function other than these nine types is obtained, it can be determined that the state is low. For example, taking the parameter of the gaze distance as an example, the gaze distance is smaller for a beginner and larger for a skilled person. In other words, beginners tend to drive while staring closer, while more skilled operators tend to stare farther and drive. However, when the gaze distance is greater than the value of the skilled person, that is, when a state occurs in which the driver is looking farther than the skilled person, the driver can be considered to be in a dizzy state. . Alternatively, when the gaze distance is greater than or equal to the value of the expert and the gaze distance is increasing, it may be determined that the sense is low. In short, the transfer function G that exceeds the transfer function G1 of the expert
If 0 is obtained, it can be determined that the sense of dizziness is low. More specifically, the diastolic diagnosis means 60
Has an identification parameter of a skilled person inside, and if the identification parameter obtained from the model identification means 50 exceeds the identification parameter of the skilled person, it is determined to be in a dizzy state. The danger coping unit 40 performs processing such as issuing a warning sound to the driver when the judgment of the low-level state is given.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to several embodiments illustrating the present invention, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but may be implemented in various other forms. It is. For example, the method of calculating the degree of danger is based on the current traveling state of the moving vehicle such as speed and steering angle, the environmental state such as the road structure extending from near to far, and the driving ability of the driver, Predict the position of the car,
A method of using a value obtained by integrating the potential of the risk over time in the future can also be used.

[0026]

As described above, according to the traveling state judging device for a mobile vehicle according to the present invention, not only the risk but also the urgency is added to the risk evaluation, so that the more urgent danger is determined. Rapid processing can be performed with priority to the factors, and various kinds of danger notification can be performed. For multiple risk factors, the highest priority
The risk avoidance process for the cause can be given priority.
You. More specifically, for example, the risk factors corresponding to the completion of the avoidance process within the time corresponding to the urgency of the first-level risk factor are selected based on the priority, and the risk avoidance for the selected risk factor is selected. Since only the processing is performed, the risk avoidance processing for a plurality of risk factors can be performed accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the principle of calculating the degree of urgency according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a table illustrating risk management in consideration of both the risk level and the emergency level.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating a method of coping with a plurality of risk factors.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of coping with a plurality of risk factors.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a method for identifying a driver model.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle that incorporates the identification of a driver model.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-6 Sensor 10 State recognition means 11 Environmental state recognition means 12 Operation state recognition means 13 Running state recognition means 20 Risk evaluation means 30 Urgency evaluation means 40 Risk management means 50 Model identification means 60 ... Symptom diagnosis

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01D 21/00 G01P 1/07 G08G 1/16

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An operating state recognizing means for recognizing a driving operation state of a driver, and a running state recognizing means for recognizing a running state of a mobile vehicle. A state recognizing unit, a risk evaluating unit that obtains a risk for a predetermined risk factor based on a recognition result of the state recognizing unit, and a risk set in advance based on a rate of change of the risk with respect to time. An urgency evaluation means for obtaining an urgency indicating the time required to reach the limit value, and a priority order for a plurality of risk factors in descending order of urgency.
"The key to avoiding all risk factors up to the nth rank is
Time exceeds the urgency of the first risk factor
Integer n that satisfies the condition that there is no
To avoid danger only for danger factors
A danger coping means, comprising: a traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle. 2. Environmental condition recognition for recognizing an external environmental condition.
Means and operation state for recognizing the operation state of driving by the driver
State recognition means for recognizing the running state of the mobile vehicle
State recognition means, comprising: Based on the recognition result of the state recognition means, a predetermined risk
Risk assessment means for determining the risk of the cause; Based on the rate of change of this risk over time,
Urgency indicating the time to reach a preset limit
Urgency evaluation means for Considering both the obtained danger level and the urgency level
Danger notification means for performing danger notification, A traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle, comprising: 3. The traveling state determination device according to claim 2,
And The danger notification means responds to the urgency level even if the danger levels are the same.
Vehicle that performs different types of danger notification
Traveling state determination device. 4. The traveling state determination device according to claim 2,
And The danger notification means responds to the degree of danger even if the urgency is the same.
Vehicle that performs different types of danger notification
Traveling state determination device. 5. Environmental state recognition for recognizing an external environmental state.
Means and operation state for recognizing the operation state of driving by the driver
State recognition means for recognizing the running state of the mobile vehicle
State recognition means, comprising: Based on the recognition result of the state recognition means, a plurality of dangerous
Risk evaluation means for determining the risk for each factor
When, Based on the rate of change of each of these risks over time,
The risk of the risk factor reaches a preset limit
The urgency indicating the time until the
Urgency evaluation means required; Prioritize multiple risk factors in order of urgency
Risk only for a given risk factor with a high priority.
Danger coping means for performing evacuation processing; A traveling state determination device for a mobile vehicle, comprising: