JP4483589B2 - Vehicle information providing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular information providing apparatus that provides driving assistance to a driver in accordance with a driving situation of a surrounding vehicle.

Conventionally, it is possible to detect a driving situation of a surrounding vehicle of the own vehicle and provide information to the driver of the own vehicle, and the driver performs a driving operation in consideration of the driving situation of the other vehicle so that safe driving can be achieved. A proposed system has been proposed.
For example, by communicating between vehicles equipped with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication function for performing two-way communication, by exchanging position information of each vehicle and information of other vehicles around each vehicle held by each vehicle A road traffic system has been proposed in which traffic conditions around the host vehicle are acquired. At this time, the distance measuring means also detects surrounding vehicles, grasps the existence of a vehicle not equipped with the inter-vehicle communication function, and transmits / receives information about the vehicle not equipped with the inter-vehicle communication function. Therefore, even if a vehicle equipped with an inter-vehicle communication function and a non-equipped vehicle not equipped with an inter-vehicle communication function are mixed, the position and travel of each vehicle around the own vehicle A system that can grasp the state has also been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In addition, the position and speed of the traveling vehicle on the priority road are acquired from the infrastructure equipment arranged on the road side, and the acquired information is notified to the driver of the vehicle on the non-priority road side, from the road shape and positional relationship. Also proposed a system to prevent encounter collision when entering a priority road from a non-priority road by acquiring vehicle information of useful surrounding vehicles that cannot be detected by the own vehicle alone from infrastructure facilities (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
JP 11-265497 A JP 2002-163789 A

By the way, in general, in order to support safe driving, it is possible to detect a vehicle that is an obstacle for the host vehicle, display or sound the driver of the host vehicle, and perform a braking operation regardless of the driver's intention. It is necessary to communicate that there are obstacles in the form.
As a method for detecting a vehicle that is an obstacle to the host vehicle for realizing such information transmission, for example, an autonomous detection method that detects by an obstacle sensor such as a laser radar or an imaging unit mounted on the host vehicle. An infrastructure-coordinated detection method that detects surrounding vehicles by sensors arranged on the road, and transmits the traveling information of the surrounding vehicles to the traveling vehicle by road-to-vehicle communication using wireless or the like, or GPS, etc. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication type detection method is proposed in which the position of the own vehicle is detected using the vehicle, and information on the vehicle position, vehicle speed, driver operation information of the own vehicle, etc. is exchanged between vehicles using wireless communication. ing.

  However, in the autonomous detection method, there may be a vehicle that cannot be detected depending on the detection performance of the obstacle sensor or the detectable range of the obstacle sensor. In the infrastructure-coordinated detection method, there may be a vehicle that cannot be detected depending on the detection performance of the sensor arranged on the road side, the detectable range, and the like. There may be a vehicle that cannot be detected due to a problem on the infrastructure facility side, or radio waves may be interrupted due to shadowing or the like. Similarly, in the inter-vehicle communication type detection method, there is a possibility that there are vehicles that cannot be detected because the surrounding vehicles do not have the inter-vehicle communication function, and radio waves may be interrupted due to shadowing or the like.

For this reason, operation support such as applying braking force regardless of the driver's operation using information on surrounding vehicles detected by each single detection method, judgment support such as issuing an alarm prompting prohibition of entry, etc. In order to carry out in a complicated traffic environment such as an intersection or a T-junction, the reliability of detection information is insufficient, and it is difficult to raise the support level for drivers to operation support and judgment support. It was.
Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned conventional unsolved problems, and can provide a higher level of driving assistance even in a complicated traffic environment such as an intersection or a T-junction. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular information providing apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, an information providing device for a vehicle according to the present invention detects a running situation of a surrounding vehicle of the own vehicle by a plurality of different detection methods, and based on the detection situation of the surrounding vehicle by the different detection methods Is calculated, and driving assistance at a support level corresponding to the calculated existence rate is performed. At this time, the existence ratio with respect to one neighboring vehicle is grasped by the number of means for grasping the existence of the one neighboring vehicle among the autonomous detection means and the neighboring vehicle information obtaining means, and the existence of the one neighboring vehicle. Calculated based on the reliability set in advance for the existing means, and the presence rate increases as the number of means for grasping the existence of the one surrounding vehicle increases. When the number of means grasping the presence of surrounding vehicles is the same, the existence ratio becomes higher as the sum of the reliability set in advance for the means grasping the existence of the one surrounding vehicle is larger. Calculate as follows.

According to the vehicle information providing apparatus of the present invention, the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle of the host vehicle is detected by a plurality of different detection methods, and the presence rate of the surrounding vehicle is calculated based on the detection status of the surrounding vehicle by the different detection method However, in order to provide driving support at a support level according to this presence rate, even if each detection method alone cannot provide advanced driving support due to its reliability, a plurality of different detection methods If the presence rate is predicted to be high based on the detection status of surrounding vehicles detected in step (b), by providing relatively advanced driving assistance according to the presence rate, for example, in a complicated traffic environment such as an intersection or a T-junction. However, when it is predicted that the presence rate of surrounding vehicles is high, relatively advanced driving assistance can be performed.
In addition, when the number of means for grasping the presence of one surrounding vehicle increases, the presence rate increases, and when the number of means for grasping the presence of one surrounding vehicle is the same, The number of means for grasping the presence of one neighboring vehicle is calculated so that the presence rate increases as the sum of the reliability set in advance for the means for grasping the presence of the vehicle increases. The presence rate can be calculated easily and accurately based on the reliability.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
First, a first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle information providing apparatus 100 to which the present invention is applied.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a host vehicle state measuring unit for detecting the driving state of the host vehicle and the operation state of the driver. For example, a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the driving speed of the host vehicle and a brake fluid pressure are detected. A brake fluid pressure sensor for detecting the accelerator opening, an accelerator opening sensor for detecting the accelerator opening, and the like.

Reference numeral 2 in the figure denotes a navigation system having a self-vehicle position detecting function for detecting the current position of the own vehicle using GPS, and having map information around the current position of the own vehicle, which is detected by GPS. From the map information around the current position of the host vehicle, the road shape in front of the host vehicle and the vicinity of the host vehicle and the presence or absence of an intersection are detected.
In the figure, reference numeral 3 denotes an obstacle sensor that detects a vehicle or an obstacle in front of or on the side of the host vehicle, and detects a distance to the detected object and a relative speed of the detected object with respect to the host vehicle.

The vehicle information providing apparatus 100 further includes a road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 and a vehicle-to-vehicle wireless device 5, and the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 receives radio waves from an infrastructure facility arranged on the traveling road side, which will be described later. For example, if the type of service is related to a right turn at an intersection, information useful when the host vehicle makes a right turn at the intersection, such as the speed of the oncoming vehicle on the opposite lane ahead of the host vehicle or the distance from the center of the intersection. Receive. Further, the inter-vehicle radio 5 performs inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles by wireless communication or the like, data relating to the traveling state of the own vehicle detected by the own vehicle state measuring unit 1, driving operation data of the driver, navigation system The own vehicle position obtained from 2 is exchanged between vehicles.
Various information detected or acquired by these various measuring units, sensors, wireless devices, etc. is input to the information providing controller 10.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of infrastructure equipment arranged on the traveling road side, which forms a road-vehicle cooperative system together with the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 and provides information to the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4.
In FIG. 2, 31 is a base point beacon, and the base point beacon 31 is a reception frequency of an information beacon (information beacon 32 in the case of FIG. 2) received next by the service target vehicle (vehicle A in FIG. 2). And information such as the type of service is transmitted to the service target vehicle. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 33 denotes a vehicle detection sensor, which is composed of, for example, a laser radar and detects the position of a vehicle traveling in the opposite lane of the service target vehicle A. The detection information detected by the vehicle detection sensor 33 is input to the data processing device 34. The data processing device 34 determines the traveling speed of the vehicle approaching the intersection on the opposite lane, the distance from the center of the intersection, for example, the first lane. (The driving lane), the second lane (passing lane), and the lane position where the vehicle exists is detected, along with these information, information on the number of lanes of the driving path, the road width, the distance from the base beacon 31 to the intersection center, Road alignment data from the base point beacon 31 to the vicinity of the intersection is generated as approaching vehicle information and transmitted at a specified frequency.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing controller 10 generates a transmission signal generation unit 11 that generates data to be transmitted to another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication based on information detected by the own vehicle state measurement unit 1 and the navigation system 2. And a support level determination unit 12 that determines a support level for a driver based on various information detected or acquired by various sensors, measurement units, and wireless devices 1 to 5, and a support level determined by the support level determination unit 12 A driver support execution unit 13 is provided to support the driver according to the above.

  This driver support execution unit 13 is based on information about other vehicles detected or acquired by the obstacle sensor 3, road-to-vehicle radio 4 and inter-vehicle radio 5, road shape information around the own vehicle detected by the navigation system 2, and the like. In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a process for displaying on the information presentation unit 21 configured by a display device or the like the movement direction and the position of a surrounding vehicle of the own vehicle with reference to the own vehicle, Warning when it is determined that the driver of the vehicle has released the brake pedal and depressed the accelerator pedal based on the detection status of the brake fluid pressure sensor and the accelerator position sensor while an obstacle or other vehicle is approaching to some extent. The process of issuing an alarm to the driver by operating the buzzer 22 and the brake control unit 2 when an obstacle or another vehicle is close to the host vehicle to some extent Actuating the driver controls the brake actuator 24 as is the braking force as releasing the brake pedal is not released, a breaking operation is executed processing such like to stop the vehicle. The brake actuator includes, for example, a known negative pressure control booster.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of arithmetic processing executed by the information providing controller 10. This calculation process is executed at a predetermined cycle set in advance.
First, the information providing controller 10 reads detection information of various sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor, a brake fluid pressure sensor, and an accelerator opening sensor detected by the host vehicle state measurement unit 1 in the process of step S1.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S2, the position information of the host vehicle detected by the navigation system 2 is read, and the position coordinates Ph (Pxh, Pyh) are acquired. Further, road shape data representing the road shape ahead of the host vehicle is read. As the road shape data, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, each node number Nn assigned in order from the current position of the host vehicle to the current position, the position coordinates NDn (xrn, yrn) of each node, the nth The distance L between the node Nn and the next node, the angle θ formed by the road formed by the straight lines connecting this node and the nodes before and after it, and the number of branch roads are included. Yes. In FIG. 5, the numbers added to the distance L between the nodes and the angle θ formed by the road represent the node numbers of the nth node and the next node, and the distance between the nodes is represented by these numbers. L and which node the angle θ is between.

Next, the process proceeds to step S3, and detection information from the obstacle sensor 3 is read. The detection information includes, for example, an obstacle number m for identifying an obstacle such as an oncoming vehicle, a distance LNRm from the own vehicle to the obstacle m, a relative speed VrNRm between the own vehicle and the obstacle m, and the own vehicle. The angle θLRm of the host vehicle with respect to the obstacle m, which is the direction of the obstacle m viewed from, is included.
Next, the process proceeds to step S4, and the infrastructure information acquired by the road-to-vehicle radio 4 is read.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the host vehicle is going to turn right at an intersection, the host vehicle A as a service target vehicle enters a state of waiting to receive information from the base point beacon 31 when it reaches the vicinity of the intersection. The information from the base point beacon 31 is received when the information reception area of the base point beacon 31 is reached. This reception signal includes the reception frequency of information from the information beacon 32 to be received next, the type of service provided in the road-vehicle coordination system, and the like. The service type is determined by using, for example, a header identifier indicating the type of information service added to the received data. Here, it is assumed that a right turn collision prevention service is provided by the road-vehicle cooperative system to notify the vehicle running on the right at the intersection of the on-coming vehicle and realize a smooth right turn.

After receiving data from the base beacon 31, the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 sets the frequency notified as the reception frequency corresponding to the information beacon 32, and enters a state of waiting to receive information from the information beacon 32.
Next, when the own vehicle A enters the intersection and reaches the area where the information from the information beacon 32 can be received, the approaching vehicle information is received from the information beacon 32. As described above, the approaching vehicle information includes the approaching vehicle number s for identifying the vehicle on the opposite lane, that is, the approaching vehicle, the traveling speed VIs, the distance LIs from the intersection center to the approaching vehicle s, the approaching vehicle The existing lanes DIs, the number of opposite lanes NI, the road width WI, and the like are included. The travel lane DIs is 1, 2,... From the sidewalk side.

Next, the process proceeds to step S5, and the inter-vehicle communication data acquired by the inter-vehicle radio 5 is read. As the inter-vehicle communication data, for example, for each vehicle number u, the current position coordinates Ptu (Pxtu, Pytu) of the vehicle that is the inter-vehicle communication destination and its traveling speed Vtu are acquired.
Next, the process proceeds to step S6, where the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio device 4 and the vehicle-to-vehicle radio device 5 are detected information or acquired information about the obstacle, the approaching vehicle, or the vehicle of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination, the obstacle sensor 3, the road The support level is set based on the reliability set in advance for each of the detection means for detecting the traveling information of the surrounding vehicles such as the inter-vehicle radio 4 and the inter-vehicle radio 5. The reliability set for the detection means is set according to the reliability of the travel information detected by each detection means. The support level is set, for example, in three stages. Then, depending on the support level, one or more of perception / cognition support, determination support, and operation support is performed.

The determination of the support level is performed, for example, according to the procedure shown in FIG.
First, in step S11, the position information of the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 is converted into position coordinates in the same coordinate system as the current host vehicle position Ph (Pxh, Pyh). In addition, let the coordinate system showing the present own vehicle position Ph be an XY coordinate. That is, the navigation system 2 detects the current position of the host vehicle as position coordinates on the XY coordinate system.

  Specifically, first, the obstacle number m for identifying the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 is set to “1”, the distance from the own vehicle to the obstacle m (= 1) is LNR1, and the own vehicle An angle with respect to the obstacle m (= 1) is defined as θLR1. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the V axis passes through the center of the host vehicle in the vehicle width direction, the U axis is taken in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the host vehicle, and the installation position of the obstacle sensor 3 is the coordinate center Consider the -V coordinate system.

Here, if the position coordinates of the obstacle m (= 1) on the UV coordinate system are PLR (PLR1u, PLR1v), PLR1u and PLR1v can be expressed by the following equations (1) and (2), respectively. .
PLR1u = −LNR1 · sin (θLR1) (1)
PLR1v = LNR1 · cos (θLR1) (2)

Next, the position coordinates (PLR1u, PLR1v) of the obstacle 1 on the U-V coordinate system are converted into position coordinates (PLR1x, PLR1y) on the XY coordinate system using the following equations (3) and (4). To do.
PLR1x
= PLR1u · cos (θuxr) −PLR1v · sin (θuxr) + OFSTRX (3)
PLR1y
= PLR1u · sin (θuxr) + PLR1v · cos (θuxr) + OFSTRY (4)

Note that θuxr in the equations (3) and (4) is an angle formed by the U axis and the X axis, and is calculated by the following procedure, for example.
If the current position of the host vehicle is Ph (Pxh (k), Pyh (k)) and the past value is Ph (Pxh (k-1), Pyh (k-1)), it represents the traveling direction of the host vehicle. The formula can be expressed by the following formula (5).
Y = Ah (k) · X + Bh (k) (5)
Ah (k)
= [Pyh (k) -Pyh (k-1)] / [Pxh (k) -Pxh (k-1)]
Bh (k) = Pyh (k) −Ah (k) · Pxh (k)

Since the straight line orthogonal to the equation (5), that is, the inclination of the U axis can be expressed by -1 / Ah (k), the angle θuxr of the X axis with respect to the U axis can be expressed by the following equation (6). .
θuxr = tan ⁻¹ (−1 / Ah (k)) (6)
In addition, OFSTRX and OFSTRY in the equations (3) and (4) represent an offset between the origin of the XY coordinate system and the origin of the U-V coordinate at the center of the current position of the host vehicle, so these OFSTRX and OFSTRY Can be expressed by the following equation (7).
OFSTRX = Pxh
OFSTRY = Pyh (7)

The above processing is similarly performed for obstacles whose obstacle number m is m = 2 or later, and the position coordinates of all the obstacles detected by the obstacle sensor 3 are the positions on the XY coordinates. Convert to coordinates.
Next, the process proceeds to step S12, and the position information of the approaching vehicle held by the infrastructure equipment received by the road-to-vehicle radio 4 is the same position on the XY coordinate system as the own vehicle position Ph (Pxh, Pyh). Convert to coordinates.

Specifically, first, an approaching vehicle number s for identifying an approaching vehicle received by the road-to-vehicle radio 4 is s = 1, a distance from the intersection center to the approaching vehicle s (= 1) is LI1, and an approaching vehicle Let DI1 be the travel lane where Here, as shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that the approaching vehicle s (= 1) is traveling on the sidewalk side.
Here, in FIG. 8, a straight line passing through the node N04 at the center of the intersection and the node N05 located next to the node N04 at the center of the intersection on the traveling path on which the approaching vehicle s travels is represented by the V ′ axis, Assume a U'-V 'coordinate system in which an orthogonal straight line is the U' axis and the center of the intersection is the coordinate center.

Assuming that the approaching vehicle travels substantially in the center of the lane, the position coordinates PI1 (PI1u, PI1v) in the U′-V ′ coordinate system of the approaching vehicle s (= 1) are expressed by the following equations (8) and (9). Can be represented.
PI1u = Wlane · (NI−DI1) + (Wlane / 2) (8)
PI1v = LI1 (9)
In equation (8), Wlane is the width of one lane and is calculated as Wlane = WI / NI. Note that WI is the road width and NI is the number of lanes. DI1 is the travel lane of the approaching vehicle s (= 1).

Next, the position coordinates (PI1u, PI1v) on the U′-V ′ coordinate system of the approaching vehicle s (= 1) are converted into the position coordinates on the XY coordinate system using the following equations (10) and (11). Convert to (PI1x, PI1y).
PI1x
= PI1u · cos (θuxi) −PI1v · sin (θuxi) + OFSTIX
(10)
PI1y
= PI1u · sin (θuxi) + PI1v · cos (θuxi) + OFSTY
...... (11)
Note that θuxi in the equations (10) and (11) is an angle formed by the U ′ axis and the X axis, and is calculated by the following procedure, for example.

In FIG. 8, from the position coordinates (x04, y04) of the node N04 at the center of the intersection and the position coordinates (x05, y05) of the subsequent node N05, the road of the road detected by the vehicle detection sensor 33 arranged on the traveling road side is detected. A straight line representing a direction can be expressed by the following equation (12) in the XY coordinate system.
Y = AI · X + BI (12)
AI = (y04−y05) / (x04−x05)
BI = y04−AI · x04

Since the straight line orthogonal to the above equation (12), that is, the inclination of the U ′ axis can be expressed by −1 / AI, the angle θuxi of the X axis with respect to the U ′ axis can be expressed by the following equation (13). .
θuxi = tan ⁻¹ (−1 / AI) (13)
Further, OFSTIX and OFSTY in the expressions (10) and (11) are offsets between the origin of the XY coordinate system and the origin of the U′-V ′ coordinate system with the center of the intersection as the origin. OFSTY can be expressed by the following equation (14).
OFSETIX = x04
OFSETIY = y04 (14)

The above processing is similarly performed for approaching vehicles whose approaching vehicle number s is s = 2 or later, and the position coordinates of all the approaching vehicles notified are converted into position coordinates on the XY coordinate system.
In addition, the position coordinates of the vehicle of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication acquired by the inter-vehicle wireless device 5 are the position coordinates detected by the navigation system 2 and are represented by the position coordinates on the XY coordinate system like the own vehicle. Therefore, it is not necessary to convert the position coordinates. In the case where it is represented by position coordinates in a coordinate system different from that of the host vehicle, coordinate conversion is performed in the same manner as in the above procedure, and the position coordinates on the same XY coordinate system as the position coordinates of the host vehicle are converted. Convert it.

Next, the process proceeds to step S13, and detected objects such as an obstacle, an approaching vehicle, and a vehicle for communication between vehicles detected by various detection means such as the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4, and the vehicle-to-vehicle wireless device 5 It is determined whether the detection means has also detected, and the sum of the multiple levels and the reliability is calculated accordingly.
Here, since there are three detection means such as the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4, and the vehicle-to-vehicle wireless device 5 as detection means for detecting the surrounding vehicle of the own vehicle, each detection means has one or more objects. 8 patterns can be assumed depending on whether or not the detection is detected, and these patterns are as follows, assuming that detection by each detection means is possible = 1 and not = 0. .

Pattern 1 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (1, 1, 1)
Pattern 2 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (1, 1, 0)
Pattern 3 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (1, 0, 1)
Pattern 4 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (1, 0, 0)
Pattern 5 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (0,1,1)
Pattern 6 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (0, 1, 0)
Pattern 7 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-car radio) = (0, 0, 1)
Pattern 8 (obstacle sensor, road-to-vehicle radio, car-to-vehicle radio) = (0, 0, 0)
Here, as the reliability of each detecting means, for example, the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is “3”, the reliability of the information acquired by the road-to-vehicle radio 4, that is, the road-to-vehicle radio 4, is “2”, The reliability of the information acquired by the inter-vehicle radio 5, that is, the inter-vehicle radio 5, is set to “1”.

Of the above patterns, the pattern 8 does not detect an object in any detection means. Therefore, the multiplex level is set to “0”. The sum of the reliability is also set to “0”.
Next, among the patterns, the patterns 4, 6 and 7 are detected by only one detecting means. In this case, the multiplexing level is “1”. Further, the sum of the reliability is the reliability set in the detection means detecting the object. Then, the position coordinates of the detected object detected by any of the detection means in the XY coordinate system, the sum of the multiple levels, and the reliability are stored in a predetermined storage area.

For example, in the case of the pattern 4, if there is one obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3, the reliability with respect to the obstacle sensor 3 is "3", so the XY coordinates of the obstacle are (PLRx, PLRy). ), P1 = (PLRx, PLRy, 1, 3) is stored.
In the case of Pattern 6, when there are two approaching vehicles acquired by the road-to-vehicle communication device 4, the reliability of the detection information of the road-to-vehicle communication device 4 is “2”. If the XY coordinates are (PI1x, PI1y) and (PI2x, PI2y), the data is stored as P1 = (PI1x, PI1y, 1, 2), P2 = (PI2x, PI2y, 1, 2).

In the case of the pattern 7, when there is one vehicle as a vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination acquired by the vehicle-to-vehicle wireless device 5, the reliability of the detection information of the vehicle-to-vehicle wireless device 5 is “1”. If the XY coordinates of the vehicle are (Pxtu, Pytu), P1 = (Pxtu, Pytu, 1, 1) is stored.
Next, among the patterns, patterns 2, 3 and 5 have two detection means detecting objects. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the detection objects by the respective detection means are the same.

  For example, in the case of pattern 2, an object is detected by the obstacle sensor 3 and the road-to-vehicle radio 4. Here, the position coordinates of the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 are (PLR1x, PLR1y), (PLR2x, PLR2y), ..., (PLRmx, PLRmy), and the position of the approaching vehicle acquired by the road-to-vehicle radio 4 If the coordinates are (PI1x, PI1y), (PI2x, PI2y), ..., (PIsx, PIsy), the position coordinates of the approaching vehicles acquired by the road-to-vehicle radio 4 are detected by the obstacle sensor 3. It is determined whether there is an approaching vehicle located near the position coordinates of the obstacle (PLRmx ± PLTHX, PLRmy ± PLTHY). Then, if there is a corresponding vehicle among the approaching vehicles acquired by the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4, it is determined that the same object has been detected by the obstacle sensor 3 and the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4. This process is performed for all obstacles detected by the obstacle sensor 3.

  When the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 is included in the approaching vehicle acquired by the road-to-vehicle radio device 4, that is, when the same object is detected by both the obstacle sensor 3 and the infrastructure equipment. The multiplexing level for this detected object is “2”. On the other hand, when only one of the obstacle sensor 3 and the infrastructure equipment is detected, the multiplex level for this detected object is “1”.

  Then, the detected XY coordinates of the obstacle or approaching vehicle, the multilevel, and the sum of the reliability are set as P1 = (XY coordinate, multilevel, sum of the reliability) in the same manner as described above. Stored in the storage area. It should be noted that the sum of the reliability is the reliability “3” of the obstacle sensor 3 and the reliability “of the road-to-vehicle radio 4” when one object is detected by both the obstacle sensor 3 and the infrastructure equipment. 2 ", that is," 5 ".

Further, in the case of a detected object that is detected by only one of the obstacle sensor 3 and the infrastructure equipment, the reliability is set to the detection means that has detected this object. That is, the sum of reliability is “3” when detected only by the obstacle sensor 3, and the sum of reliability is “2” when detected only by the infrastructure equipment.
Similar calculations are performed for pattern 3 and pattern 5.

Next, among the above patterns, pattern 1 has three detection means detecting objects. Also in this case, it is determined whether or not the same object is detected by each detecting means in the same procedure as when the two detecting means detect the object.
That is, whether there is an approaching vehicle detected by the infrastructure equipment in the vicinity of the position coordinates of the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 (PLRmx ± PLTHX, PLRMY ± PLTHX), or whether there is a vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination The position coordinates of all obstacles, approaching vehicles, and vehicles that are the communication destinations of vehicles are compared, and it is determined whether or not the same object is detected.

  As a result, if one object is detected by three detection means, the multiplexing level of this detected object is set to “3”. In addition, when one object is detected only by any two detection means, that is, when it is detected only by the obstacle sensor 3 and the infrastructure equipment, or this object is a vehicle that is a vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination and When this is detected by only one of the obstacle sensor 3 and the infrastructure equipment, the multiplex level for this detected object is “2”.

When one object is detected only by any one of the detection means, that is, when only the obstacle sensor 3 or only the infrastructure equipment is detected, or this object is a vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination. If this object is not detected by either the obstacle sensor 3 or the infrastructure equipment, the multiplex level for this object is “1”.
Then, for each detected object, its XY position coordinates, multiple levels, and the sum of reliability are associated with each other in the same manner as described above and stored in a predetermined storage area. When one obstacle is detected by three detection means, the sum of the reliability is the sum of the reliability of each detection means, that is, the reliability “3” of the obstacle sensor 3 and the road. The sum of the reliability “2” for the inter-vehicle radio 4 and the reliability “1” for the inter-vehicle radio 5 is “6”.

In this way, when the detection pattern is determined and the sum of the multiplexing level and the reliability corresponding to the detection pattern is set, the process proceeds to step S14, and the total reliability is calculated.
The total reliability is calculated from the map shown in FIG. 9 based on the multiplex level and the sum of the reliability.
In FIG. 9, the total reliability is highest when the multiplexing level is “3”, that is, when one object is detected by three detection means. The reliability increases as the multiplexing level increases. Here, when the multiplexing level is “2”, there are three possible combinations of the two detection means, but the total reliability is higher as the sum of the reliability is higher. Similarly, when the multiplexing level is “1”, the higher the sum of the reliability, the higher the total reliability.

When the total reliability is set in this way, the process proceeds to step S15, and the support level is determined.
Specifically, when the total reliability is “5 to 7”, it is determined that the reliability is low. When the reliability is “2-4”, the reliability is determined to be medium. When the reliability is “1”, it is determined that the reliability is high. If the total reliability is “0”, it is determined that no support is provided.

If the support level is determined in this way, the process returns to FIG. 4 and proceeds to step S7 to perform driving support according to the support level.
Specifically, when it is determined that the reliability is low, as shown in FIG. 3, the perception / display of the driving situation such as the position and the driving direction of the surrounding vehicle based on the own vehicle on the information presentation unit 21. Provide cognitive support.

Further, when the reliability is determined to be medium, in addition to the perception / recognition support, the driver of the own vehicle releases the depression of the brake pedal, and when the accelerator pedal is depressed, the alarm buzzer is activated to provide the determination support.
When it is judged that the reliability is high, in addition to the perception / recognition support and judgment support, the brake actuator is operated so that the braking force is not released even if the driver of the vehicle releases the brake pedal. The operation support such as stopping the host vehicle is performed.

Note that the operation of the alarm buzzer or the brake actuator is determined by, for example, reaching time TTC for each detected object until the detected object reaches the host vehicle (= distance of the detected object to the host vehicle / moving speed of the detected object). When the arrival time TTC until the detected object reaches the host vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined time and the driver releases the brake pedal for the detected object with the shortest arrival time until reaching the host vehicle Operate.
If the driving support is performed in this way, the process proceeds to step S8, where the driving information of the host vehicle including the position information of the host vehicle, the driving speed, the operating status of the brake pedal, the operating status of the accelerator pedal, and the like is generated. This is transmitted to other vehicles via the inter-vehicle radio 5.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
In the vehicle A provided with the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, the obstacle sensor 3 detects an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle and detects its position information and the like. In addition, when the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 reaches an area where it can communicate with an infrastructure facility arranged on the roadside, such as an intersection, as shown in FIG. 2, the information from the information beacon 32 from the reference beacon 31 is displayed. The frequency is changed according to the frequency information for acquisition, etc., and the travel information of the approaching vehicle that travels on the opposite lane of the vehicle A detected by the infrastructure equipment from the information beacon 32 and approaches the intersection is acquired.

In addition, the inter-vehicle wireless device 5 performs inter-vehicle communication with surrounding vehicles having a vehicle-to-vehicle communication function around the own vehicle, and provides traveling information such as the position and traveling speed of the surrounding vehicles and the operation status of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal. Give and receive.
Then, the information providing controller 10 executes the arithmetic processing shown in FIG. 4 at a predetermined cycle, obtains the traveling speed, brake fluid pressure, accelerator opening, etc. of the host vehicle from the host vehicle state measuring unit 1 and travels the host vehicle. While grasping the state (step S1), the current position of the host vehicle is acquired from the navigation system 2 and map information around the current position is acquired (step S2). Then, the driving state of other vehicles around the own vehicle detected or acquired by the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4, and the vehicle-to-vehicle radio 5 is grasped (step S3 to step S5), and the support level for the driver based on these. Is determined (step S6), and driving assistance corresponding to this is performed (step S7). Further, a transmission signal to be transmitted by inter-vehicle communication is generated and transmitted to another vehicle by the inter-vehicle radio 5 (step S8).

  Here, for example, when only the obstacle sensor 3 detects an obstacle, the information received by the road-to-vehicle radio 4 does not include information on the approaching vehicle, and the inter-vehicle communication is not established, the multilevel 1 and the reliability is set as “3” corresponding to the obstacle sensor 3 (step S13 in FIG. 6), and the total reliability is set as “5” from the map in FIG. 9, so the reliability is low. The support level is determined as perceptual and cognitive support (step S15).

  For this reason, the information presentation part 21 is operated and the information provision which shows the driving state of the surrounding vehicle on the basis of the own vehicle A is performed as shown in FIG. At this time, for example, when the obstacle sensor 3 of the own vehicle A detects three vehicles traveling in the opposite lane, the vehicle travels in the opposite lane with the own vehicle A as a reference, as shown in FIG. The information indicating that there are three vehicles to be displayed is displayed as a symbol together with the road shape around the host vehicle. Thereby, the driver of the own vehicle A can recognize the presence of the vehicle on the oncoming lane that is about to enter the intersection.

  Here, in the case of the obstacle sensor 3 constituted by a laser radar or the like, since there may be an obstacle that cannot be detected in terms of its detectable range or detection performance, in particular, an intersection or a T-junction may be used. When traveling, the reliability of obstacle detection is insufficient. Therefore, when the reliability of obstacle detection is low in this way, the presence rate of the obstacle is considered to be low, and even if driving assistance to the driver is performed in a state where the presence rate of the obstacle is low, it affects the driver. Is provided only to the perceived and cognitive support that can provide effective information to the driver and provides information within the possible range based on information with low reliability. Thus, by providing information to the driver based on information with low reliability in this way, it is possible to avoid affecting the driver, and to judge obstacles with a low presence rate. High-level driving assistance such as assistance and operation assistance is performed, and unnecessary information provision can be avoided.

  On the other hand, when the inter-vehicle communication is established with any vehicle on the opposite lane from this state, the position coordinates acquired by the inter-vehicle communication and the position coordinates detected by the obstacle sensor 3 are respectively grasped by the GPS. Based on the value converted into the same XY coordinate system as the position coordinate of the own vehicle, the vehicle of the communication destination between vehicles located around the own vehicle detected by the inter-vehicle communication and the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 are It is determined whether or not they are the same object, and when they are determined to be the same, the multiplexing level is “2” and the sum of the reliability is “4” (step S11 to step S13 in FIG. 6). The total reliability is “3” from the map of FIG. For this reason, the support level is determined to be medium, and perception / recognition support is performed and further determination support is performed for a vehicle in which inter-vehicle communication is established and detected by the obstacle sensor 3.

  For this reason, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the driver of the host vehicle is in the state of waiting for a right turn at the center of the intersection, and there is a vehicle on the opposite lane approaching the intersection. Is released and the accelerator pedal is switched to start the vehicle, the alarm buzzer 22 is activated when the arrival time TTC until the approaching vehicle reaches the host vehicle is less than or equal to the threshold value, and an alarm is generated. Judgment support is provided for. As a result, the information presenting unit 21 can provide information about the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle to the driver, and according to the driving speed of the approaching vehicle, the degree of approach, etc. It is possible to accurately determine whether or not it is possible to enter, and to notify the driver that a right turn is impossible when turning right.

  Here, when an obstacle is detected only by the obstacle sensor 3 as described above, the total reliability is relatively low, and the presence rate of the obstacle can be regarded as small. However, when the presence is detected not only by the obstacle sensor 3 but also by inter-vehicle communication, the reliability of the detection information for the detected obstacle becomes higher, and the obstacle detected by the obstacle sensor 3 is increased. That is, it can be predicted that the probability that there is a vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination is higher than when the vehicle is detected only by the obstacle sensor 3.

  Therefore, when the reliability is moderate and the probability that there is a vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination presence rate is medium, the range corresponding to the reliability, that is, not only the perception / recognition support but also the judgment Provide high-level information while avoiding unnecessary information provision by providing support within the scope of not providing unnecessary information according to the presence rate. it can.

  Further, road-to-vehicle communication is established with the infrastructure equipment that is provided on the road side and provides the right turn driving support service, and the three detections of the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4, and the vehicle-to-vehicle radio 5 are detected. When the same object is detected by the means, since the multiplexing level is set to “3” and the total reliability is set to “1”, the reliability of the information related to the detected object is high, that is, it affects the host vehicle. In addition to the perception / recognition support and the determination support, the driving support is performed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, in the state where the host vehicle is waiting for a right turn at the center of the intersection, the brake pedal is released and the accelerator pedal is switched to a vehicle on the opposite lane approaching the intersection. When the vehicle is about to start, the alarm buzzer 22 is activated when the collision time until the approaching vehicle reaches the host vehicle is below the threshold value, an alarm is generated, and the brake actuator 24 is activated. A braking force is generated and the host vehicle is controlled while stopped. For this reason, information about the surrounding vehicle is provided to the driver by the information presenting unit 21 and whether the vehicle can be entered according to the traveling speed of the approaching vehicle, the degree of approach, etc. If it is impossible to turn right, a warning is given to the driver that the vehicle cannot turn right, and the host vehicle can be stopped by the brake actuator 24. Can provide support.

That is, since the reliability of the detection information of each of the detection means of the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4 and the car-to-vehicle radio 5 is low, even if an object is detected, its presence rate is relatively low. When the same object is detected by all these detection means, the presence rate of the detected object can be regarded as high.
Therefore, when the presence rate of detected objects is high in this way, a higher level of driving assistance can be provided to the driver by providing not only perception / recognition assistance and judgment assistance but also operation assistance. More effective driving assistance can be performed.

  Thus, the detection information alone of the detection means of the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4, and the vehicle-to-vehicle radio 5 has low reliability and cannot be regarded as having a high presence rate of the detected object. Although it is difficult to provide high-level driving assistance based on the detection information of the detection means, when the same object is detected by a plurality of detection means, the presence rate can be considered to be large. Therefore, the reliability of the detection information, that is, the presence rate of the detected object is determined according to the number of detection means detecting the same object and the type of detection means detecting this object, Since driving support at the appropriate level is performed and driving support is performed within the possible range based on the presence rate of the detected object, it exists without affecting the driver by driving support. Accurate driving support according to the rate can be provided.

  At this time, as shown in the map of FIG. 9, among the detection means of the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4, and the car-to-vehicle radio 5, the same object as the reliability of the detection means that detected the object The total reliability is calculated in consideration of the number of detection means that detect the object, so the total reliability is considered in consideration of the reliability of each detection means and the detection status for the same object. The degree can be set.

In the first embodiment, the case where the reliability and the total reliability are set as shown in the map of FIG. 9 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the obstacle sensor 3 that is mounted. May be set arbitrarily according to the detection performance of the vehicle, the communication performance of the road-to-vehicle radio 4 or the inter-vehicle radio 5 and the like.
In the first embodiment, the case where the service for the right turn vehicle at the intersection is performed as the road-to-vehicle cooperation system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to other services such as an encounter start support service that provides information to vehicles entering the priority road from the priority road.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the alarm buzzer is issued as the determination support to alert the driver as the determination support has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A means for vibrating the wheel, a means for pulling the seat belt, etc. may be provided, and instead of issuing an alarm, the steering wheel may be vibrated or the seat belt may be pulled to alert the driver. .

  Similarly, the operation support is not limited to a means for stopping the host vehicle by generating a braking force. For example, an automatic brake means for generating a braking force for reducing a collision, a brake response, Brake preload application means for applying a brake preload for improvement may be provided, and operation assistance may be performed by operating these instead of stopping the host vehicle.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the total reliability is set using the detection information of the three detection means of the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4 and the car-to-vehicle radio 5, and driving assistance is performed accordingly. Although the case where it did in this way was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this, Any two or more detection means may be sufficient. In addition, other detection means may be mounted as detection means for detecting surrounding vehicles, and the total reliability may be set according to the detection status of four or more detection means. For example, when the obstacle sensor 3 is equipped with an imaging means such as a camera in addition to the laser radar, detection by four detection means of the laser radar, the imaging means, the road-to-vehicle radio 4 and the inter-vehicle radio 5 The total reliability may be set according to the situation, and driving assistance may be performed accordingly.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the position information, the traveling state, and the like are exchanged by the inter-vehicle communication is described only for the vehicle equipped with the inter-vehicle communication function by the inter-vehicle communication. Information on the position information, running conditions, and the like may be transmitted for the surrounding vehicles held in the vehicle equipped with the function.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the processing procedure of the support level determination process in step S6 of FIG. 4 is different, and thus detailed description of the same part is omitted. To do.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of support level determination processing according to the second embodiment.
In the support level determination process in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, after the coordinate conversion of the obstacle sensor data and the road-vehicle communication data is performed, the process proceeds from step S12 to step S13a. Then, the multilevel and reliability are set in the same manner as in step S13 of FIG. 6 in the first embodiment. At this time, the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is set according to the road shape.

  That is, for example, when the data related to the road shape ahead of the host vehicle obtained from the navigation system 2 is a T-shaped intersection as shown in FIG. 11 and the host vehicle is located on a non-priority road, In the cooperative system, when the service type obtained from the base point beacon is encounter start support, the detectable range of the obstacle sensor 3 mounted on the host vehicle A is a range as shown by hatching in FIG. In this obstacle sensor 3, it is difficult to detect the presence of vehicles B and C approaching from the right side.

Therefore, a road shape that can be dealt with from the detectable range of the obstacle sensor 3 is set in advance, the road shape is determined based on information from the navigation system 2, and the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is changed according to the road shape. To do.
For example, when the road shape in front of the host vehicle is a T-shaped road and the other vehicle approaches from the left and right directions instead of from the front, and it is difficult to detect the approaching vehicle with the obstacle sensor 3, That is, when the reliability of the detection information at the obstacle sensor 3 is low, the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is changed from “3” to “0”. For example, the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is set in advance according to the road shape, and in the case of an intersection or the like where it is necessary to detect a vehicle approaching from the front as shown in FIG. The reliability of the object sensor 3 is set to “3”, and in the case of a T-junction, the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is set to “0”. Thereafter, processing is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Thus, by changing the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 according to the road shape that affects the reliability of the detection information of the obstacle sensor 3, the total reliability can be set more accurately, It is possible to provide accurate information according to changes in reliability due to road shapes.
In the second embodiment, the case where the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is changed according to the road shape has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, at the intersection, the angle of the own vehicle with respect to the oncoming lane varies, and the detection range of the obstacle sensor 3 depends on the degree of inclination of the own vehicle with respect to the oncoming lane. May be different. Therefore, based on the angle of the host vehicle with respect to the oncoming lane, it is determined whether or not the obstacle sensor 3 of the own vehicle is in a state where the vehicle on the oncoming lane can be detected, and the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 is changed accordingly. You may make it do.

The angle of the host vehicle with respect to the oncoming lane is calculated according to the following procedure.
First, the equation of the straight line L1 that connects between the node N04 at the center of the intersection and the node N05 on the opposite lane side positioned next to the node N04 in the same procedure as that described with reference to the equation (12) in FIG. Y = Aroad · X + Broad is calculated.
Next, an equation Y = Avhcl · X + Bvhcl of the straight line L2 representing the traveling direction of the host vehicle is obtained using the equation (5).

Since the inclination of the straight line L1 with respect to the X axis is Aroad, the angle θload with respect to the X axis can be represented by tan ⁻¹ (Aroad). Further, since the inclination of the straight line L2 with respect to the X axis is Avhcl, the angle θvhcl with the X axis is tan ⁻¹ (Avhcl), so the angle θvh formed by the straight line L1 and the straight line L2 is expressed by the following equation (15). be able to.
θvh = tan ⁻¹ (Aroad) −tan ⁻¹ (Avhcl) (15)

  Depending on the value of the angle θvh formed by the straight line L1 and the straight line L2, that is, the angle θvh with respect to the oncoming lane of the host vehicle, as shown in FIG. There is a possibility of removal. Therefore, when the angle θvh is larger than the detection angle θLR of the obstacle sensor 3 based on the traveling direction of the host vehicle, the reliability decreases as the difference between the angle θvh and the detection angle θLR increases. By doing so, it can be set as the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 suitable for the traveling state of the own vehicle.

Moreover, in the said 2nd Embodiment, although the case where the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 was changed was demonstrated, you may make it also change the reliability also about vehicle-to-vehicle communication and road-to-vehicle communication. .
For example, if the inter-vehicle communication, since it is possible to expect that the vehicle equipped with the inter-vehicle communication function increases year by year, over time, i.e., according to an increase of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication function, high reliability It may be made to become. Moreover, you may make it change according to the encounter degree with the vehicle carrying the inter-vehicle communication function in the usual driving | running | working scene. In this case, for example, when the number of vehicles with which the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performed while the vehicle is traveling a predetermined distance (for example, 1 [km]) and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication function encountered is large The higher the reliability, the better.

Further, for example, in a road-to-vehicle cooperation system, when the vehicle detection sensor 23 arranged on the traveling road side is configured by a laser radar, or when a laser radar is used as the obstacle sensor 3, Since the detection accuracy of the laser radar changes in fine weather, the reliability of the road-to-vehicle communication and the obstacle sensor 3 may be changed according to the weather. In this case, for example, when the wiper signal of the host vehicle is detected and the wiper is operating, it is rainy and the detection accuracy of the laser radar may be reduced. It is good also as a structure which reduces the reliability of the sensor 3. FIG.
Further, for example, when an imaging unit such as a camera is used as the obstacle sensor 3, the obstacle detection accuracy by the imaging unit is reduced at night, so the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 at night is increased. It is good also as a structure to reduce.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
Since the third embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the processing procedure of the arithmetic processing in FIG. 4 is different, detailed description of the same part is omitted.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of arithmetic processing executed by the information providing controller 10 in the third embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 13, the processing from step S1 to step S5 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and is detected by the traveling state and current position of the host vehicle, the obstacle sensor 3, road-to-vehicle communication, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Read information. Then, the process proceeds to step S5a.

In step S5a, an interpolation process is performed.
Here, as other vehicle information obtained by inter-vehicle communication, operation information such as a driver's brake pedal or accelerator pedal can be acquired in addition to high-accuracy traveling speed.
For this reason, once the inter-vehicle communication with the other vehicle is established and then interrupted, the acceleration is estimated based on the driver's operation information and high-accuracy travel speed information, and the current travel speed is calculated from this and the travel speed. By estimating the speed, it is possible to interpolate other vehicles for a longer time than other detection means.

  Therefore, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is established and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is interrupted after that, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination position information, travel speed information, etc. detected by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication for a predetermined interpolation time Tivc set in advance thereafter. And interpolating the information, using the positional information related to the vehicle of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination obtained by the interpolation, and providing the information, even if the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is not established, the interpolation does not lower the multiplex level Therefore, the robustness of the vehicle information providing apparatus 100 can be improved.

  Specifically, in the step S5a, first, it is determined whether or not the vehicle-to-vehicle communication has been normally performed based on the detection information by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication read in step S5. Are stored in a predetermined storage area. On the other hand, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is not normally performed, such as when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is interrupted by something, the detection information stored in the storage area when the communication is normally performed, that is, the position information or Based on the traveling speed information and the like, the position and traveling speed of the vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination are interpolated and set as detection information by the current vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

In addition, the elapsed time from the start of interpolation (interpolation time) is measured, and when the elapsed time from the start of interpolation exceeds a preset threshold value, no interpolation processing is performed thereafter. Processing is performed on the assumption that the inter-vehicle communication has ended.
If the interpolation process is performed in this way, the process proceeds from step S5a to step S6, the detection information detected by the obstacle sensor 3, the detection information acquired by the inter-vehicle communication, or the interpolation information interpolated in step S5a, Thereafter, processing is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment using approaching vehicle information acquired by road-to-vehicle communication.

  Here, although the case where the interpolation time Tivc is set to a predetermined time has been described, for example, the operation amount of a brake pedal or an accelerator pedal obtained by inter-vehicle communication, and the acceleration / deceleration obtained from travel speed information is small. As the vehicle travels at a constant speed and the future vehicle state is easy to predict, the interpolation time Tivc may be set longer as these values are smaller. By doing in this way, driving support with a high level for a longer period can be performed, and robustness can be improved.

  Further, in the third embodiment, the case has been described where interpolation is performed only on the information regarding the vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the road-to-vehicle communication and the obstacle sensor 3 are also included. When the reception state changes to the non-reception state or the detection state changes to the non-detection state, the position information may be interpolated with the speed information in the same manner as described above. By doing so, the robustness can be further improved.

  At this time, since the accuracy of the information about the obstacle and the approaching vehicle by the obstacle sensor 3 and the road-to-vehicle communication is lower than the information about the vehicle of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination, the interpolation for these detection information is performed. The time may be shorter than the interpolation time for the vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination. Thereby, it is possible to avoid that the total reliability is determined based on the information with low accuracy and the driving assistance is performed according to the long time interpolation based on the information with relatively low accuracy. .

In addition, the interpolation time for the inter-vehicle communication, the road-to-vehicle communication, and the detection information of the obstacle sensor 3 is set to be longer as the driving support level is smaller, and even if information is provided based on the interpolated information. The smaller the possibility of giving the information, the longer the information provision may be continued. In this case, the robustness can be improved.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the travel information of the vehicle that is the vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination is acquired by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication has been described. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the case where communication is directly performed with another vehicle. For example, the information on the other vehicle may be relayed by a relay unit provided on the road side, and the information on the other vehicle may be acquired via the relay unit.

  Here, the obstacle sensor 3 corresponds to the autonomous detection means, the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 corresponds to the road-to-vehicle communication means, the vehicle-to-vehicle wireless device 5 corresponds to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means, the road-to-vehicle wireless device 4 and the vehicle-to-vehicle wireless. The machine 5 corresponds to the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means, the processing in step S13 and step S14 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the existence rate calculation means, the processing in step S15 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the support level setting means, The process of step S7 corresponds to the driving support means.

  In addition, in the process of step S7 in FIG. 4, the process of providing information on the running status of the surrounding vehicles of the own vehicle using the information presenting unit 21 corresponds to the perception / recognition support means, and there is an obstacle or other vehicle on the own vehicle. When it is determined that the driver of the vehicle releases the brake pedal and depresses the accelerator pedal from the detection status of the brake fluid pressure sensor and the accelerator opening sensor, the alarm buzzer 22 is activated to Even if the brake control unit 23 is operated and the driver releases the brake pedal while the obstacle or other vehicle is close to the vehicle to some extent, A brake control process for controlling the brake actuator 24 so as not to release the power and stopping the host vehicle corresponds to the operation support means.

Further, in the process of step S13a in FIG. 10, the process of setting the reliability of the obstacle sensor 3 according to the road shape corresponds to the detection performance estimating means and the reliability setting means.
Further, when the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is normally performed in the process of step S5a of FIG. 13, the process of storing the detection information by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication in a predetermined storage area corresponds to the surrounding vehicle information holding means, and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication is performed. If not normally performed, a process for interpolating the position of the vehicle to be communicated between vehicles and the traveling speed based on the detection information stored in the storage area corresponds to the traveling state interpolation means.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the vehicle information provision apparatus 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the infrastructure installation arrange | positioned at the road side. It is an example of the information provision content in perception and recognition support. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the arithmetic processing performed with the information provision controller of FIG. It is an example of the road shape data acquired from a navigation system. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the assistance level determination process of FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the coordinate transformation method of obstruction sensor data. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the coordinate conversion method of road-to-vehicle radio | wireless machine data. It is an example of the map for setting a total reliability. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the assistance level determination process in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the setting method of the reliability of an obstacle sensor. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the other setting method of the reliability of an obstruction sensor. In 3rd Embodiment, it is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the arithmetic processing performed with an information provision controller.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Own vehicle state measurement part 2 Navigation system 3 Obstacle sensor 4 Road-to-vehicle radio 5 Inter-vehicle radio 10 Information providing controller 21 Information presentation part 22 Alarm buzzer 23 Brake control part 24 Brake actuator 100 Vehicle table information provision apparatus

Claims (11)

1. Autonomous detection means that is mounted on the host vehicle and detects the running conditions of the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle;
   Surrounding vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring the running status of surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle from the outside via communication means;
   An abundance ratio calculating means for calculating an abundance ratio of the surrounding vehicles based on a driving situation of the surrounding vehicles acquired by the autonomous detection means and the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means;
   A support level setting means for setting a support level when performing driving support for the driver of the host vehicle according to the presence ratio calculated by the presence ratio calculation means;
   Driving support means for performing driving support according to the support level set by the support level setting means ,
   The existence ratio calculating means is configured to determine the existence ratio for one neighboring vehicle, the number of means for grasping the existence of the one neighboring vehicle among the autonomous detection means and the neighboring vehicle information obtaining means, and the one Based on the reliability set in advance for the means for grasping the existence of the surrounding vehicle of
   The presence rate is higher as the number of means grasping the presence of the one surrounding vehicle is higher, and when the number of means grasping the existence of the one surrounding vehicle is the same, An information providing device for a vehicle, characterized in that it is calculated so as to increase as the sum of the reliability set in advance with respect to the means for grasping the presence of a surrounding vehicle increases .
2. The support level setting unit sets the support level such that the higher the support rate of the surrounding vehicle calculated by the presence rate calculation unit, the higher the support level for performing higher support. 1 vehicle information providing device as claimed.
3. The driving support means includes at least two of perception / recognition support means for supporting driver perception and recognition, determination support means for supporting driver judgment, and operation support means for supporting driver operation,
   The perception and recognition support means, decision support means, in the order of the operation support unit, vehicle information providing device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein that the support level is high.
4. At least one of the autonomous detection means and the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means, at present, detection performance estimation means for estimating the detection performance of the surrounding vehicle;
   The reliability is set based on the detection performance estimated by the detection performance estimation means for at least one of the autonomous detection means and the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means whose detection performance is estimated by the detection performance estimation means The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising: a reliability setting unit configured to perform the reliability setting.
5. The detection performance estimation means detects at least one of a detectable range of the autonomous detection means, a road shape of the traveling road of the own vehicle, a direction of the own vehicle with respect to a forward traveling road, weather, and ambient brightness. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the detection performance of the autonomous detection means is estimated based on this .
6. The detection performance estimation means detects the degree of encounter with an information provider that provides information to the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means, and the higher the encounter degree is, the higher the detection performance of the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means is 6. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5 , wherein the information providing apparatus is estimated.
7. The surrounding vehicle information acquisition means performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication between the road-to-vehicle communication means for acquiring approaching vehicle information including at least position information detected by the vehicle detection means installed on the traveling road side, and the surrounding vehicle. vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 6 and the car-to-car communication means, for in that it comprises at least one of claims 1, wherein to acquire vehicle status information including at least positional information.
8. Surrounding vehicle information holding means for holding at least one of the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle detected by the autonomous detection means and the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means;
   The surrounding vehicle information holding means when the autonomous detecting means holding the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle by the surrounding vehicle information holding means or the detection or acquisition of the driving situation becomes impossible by the surrounding vehicle information holding means. Just before the detection or acquisition of the traveling condition of holding becomes impossible in the current driving situation around the vehicle based on the traveling situation surrounding the vehicle detected or acquired by the autonomous detection means or the peripheral vehicle information acquiring means , Interpolated for a preset interpolation time, and this is used as a driving situation interpolation of the surrounding vehicle detected or acquired by the autonomous detection means or the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means that cannot detect or acquire the driving situation vehicle information providing device according to claim 1 to any one of claims 7, characterized in that it comprises a means.
9. The surrounding vehicle information acquisition means includes interpolation time setting means for setting the interpolation time,
   9. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the interpolation time setting means sets the interpolation time so that the interpolation time becomes longer as the support level is lower.
10. Autonomous detection means that is mounted on the host vehicle and detects the running conditions of the surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle;
    Surrounding vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring the running status of surrounding vehicles of the host vehicle from the outside via communication means;
    An abundance ratio calculating means for calculating an abundance ratio of the surrounding vehicles based on a driving situation of the surrounding vehicles acquired by the autonomous detection means and the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means;
    A support level setting means for setting a support level when performing driving support for the driver of the host vehicle according to the presence ratio calculated by the presence ratio calculation means;
    Driving support means for performing driving support according to the support level set by the support level setting means;
    Surrounding vehicle information holding means for holding at least one of the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle detected by the autonomous detection means and the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means;
    The surrounding vehicle information holding means when the autonomous detecting means holding the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle by the surrounding vehicle information holding means or the detection or acquisition of the driving situation becomes impossible by the surrounding vehicle information holding means. Immediately before the detection or acquisition of the driving situation held by the vehicle becomes impossible, the current driving situation of the surrounding vehicle based on the driving situation of the surrounding vehicle detected or acquired by the autonomous detection means or the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means Interpolated during the set interpolation time, and this is a travel situation interpolation means for making the travel situation of the surrounding vehicle detected or acquired by the autonomous detection means or the surrounding vehicle information acquisition means in which detection or acquisition of the travel situation is impossible With
    The surrounding vehicle information acquisition means includes interpolation time setting means for setting the interpolation time,
    The vehicle information providing apparatus, wherein the interpolation time setting means sets the interpolation time so that the interpolation time becomes longer as the support level is lower.
11. The surrounding vehicle information acquisition means is detected by an inter-vehicle communication means for performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication with a surrounding vehicle and acquiring vehicle state information including at least position information of the surrounding vehicle, and a vehicle detection means installed on the traveling road side. Road-to-vehicle communication means for acquiring approaching vehicle information including at least position information,
    The interpolation time setting means performs the interpolation based on the acquisition information obtained by the road-to-vehicle communication means or the detection information obtained by the autonomous detection means, based on the information obtained by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means. 11. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the time is set to be longer than the interpolation time.

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