JP4849245B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a vehicle control device in which an obstacle detection means and a navigation unit are combined.

  In recent years, various obstacle detection devices that detect an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle have been proposed for vehicle collision prediction. In these obstacle detection apparatuses, for example, millimeter wave radar radio waves are emitted toward the front of the vehicle, and obstacles are detected based on the reception intensity of the reflected waves (Patent Document 1).

  Furthermore, when a collision between a detected obstacle and the host vehicle is predicted, various operating devices of the vehicle are operated to protect the occupant. For example, an alarm device is activated to alert the driver, a seat belt pretensioner is activated to wind up a predetermined amount of the seat belt so as to restrain the occupant with a predetermined tension, and automatic braking The vehicle is decelerated or stopped by operating the vehicle to protect the occupant from the impact caused by the collision.

JP 2001-33550 A

  By the way, in the vicinity of facilities used by an unspecified number of vehicles such as convenience stores and gas stations, vehicles entering these facilities often turn right or left. Such a vehicle may suddenly decelerate or stop on the roadway to turn left or right. In that case, there is a possibility that the following vehicle may collide with the vehicle that has decelerated or stopped.

  In this way, if the preceding vehicle is likely to decelerate or stop unexpectedly, and as a result, an obstacle is detected from the viewpoint of improving safety in a place where a collision accident is likely to occur It is desirable to operate the operating device at an earlier operating timing.

  However, the conventional operating device generally operates at a constant operation timing regardless of the possibility of occurrence of a collision accident. Further, it is considered that safety is improved if the operation timing is always set early. However, if the operation timing is always set early, although there is a low possibility of actual collision, unnecessary operation of the operating device occurs frequently, which may hinder smooth operation.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that can change the operation timing of an operating device in accordance with the traveling position of the host vehicle.

In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle control apparatus according to the present invention corresponds to an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle, and an inter-vehicle time to the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit. An operation control means for operating the operation device of the host vehicle at a predetermined operation timing, a navigation unit having map information and determining the position of the host vehicle on the map information, and the map information determined by the navigation unit Timing change means for changing the operation timing of the operating device by the operation control means for the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle according to the traveling position of the vehicle, and the predetermined operation timing is in the vicinity of the front center of the host vehicle The central operation timing corresponding to the time to the front obstacle corresponds to the time to the front obstacle near both ends in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle. Is set to be earlier than the end operation timing, the timing changing means, without changing the operation timing corresponding to the inter-vehicle time to the preceding obstacle in the vehicle width direction of both ends of the vehicle, to change the central operation timing It is characterized by that.

  According to the vehicle control apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the operation timing of the operating device can be changed according to the traveling position of the host vehicle by combining the obstacle detection means and the navigation unit. it can.

Preferably, in the present invention, the timing changing means changes the predetermined operation timing to the first operation timing when the traveling position of the host vehicle obtained by the navigation unit is outside a specific section on the map information, In addition, when the travel position of the host vehicle is within a specific section on the map information, the predetermined operation timing is changed to a second operation timing that is earlier than the first operation timing.
Thus, for example, in a specific section where the preceding vehicle is likely to decelerate or stop unexpectedly, the operation timing of the operating device such as an alarm or an automatic brake can be advanced to improve safety. .

In the present invention, preferably, the specific section is a section of a predetermined distance before the facility set as a facility used by an unspecified number of vehicles.
Thereby, the vicinity of the facility where the preceding vehicle is likely to decelerate or stop unexpectedly can be set as the specific section.

Preferably, in the present invention, the operation control means compares the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle with the reference inter-vehicle time, and operates the operating device when the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle is equal to or less than the reference inter-vehicle time. The timing changing means changes the predetermined operation timing by changing the reference inter-vehicle time.
Thus, the operation timing can be easily changed by changing the reference inter-vehicle time. If the reference inter-vehicle time is lengthened, the operation timing is advanced, and if the reference inter-vehicle time is shortened, the operation timing is delayed.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the timing changing unit operates when the obstacle detecting unit detects a preceding vehicle.
When there is no preceding vehicle, the risk of rear-end collision is low, and an unnecessary increase in operation of the working device due to earlier operation timing can be prevented.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the operating device is an alarm unit that warns a passenger of the own vehicle of the danger of a collision.
Thereby, the operation timing of the warning means can be changed according to the traveling position of the host vehicle.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the operating device is a seat belt pretensioner that winds up the seat belt so as to restrain an occupant of the host vehicle.
Thereby, the operation timing of the seat belt pretensioner means can be changed according to the traveling position of the host vehicle.

In the present invention, preferably, the operating device is an automatic brake means for reducing the vehicle speed of the host vehicle.
Thereby, the operation timing of the automatic brake means can be changed according to the traveling position of the host vehicle.

  Thus, according to the vehicle control apparatus of the present invention, the operation timing of the operating device can be changed according to the traveling position of the host vehicle.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a control device for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, the configuration of the vehicle control apparatus of the embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control apparatus according to the embodiment corresponds to an obstacle detection unit 1 that detects an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle, and an inter-vehicle time to the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection unit 1. The operation control means 3 for operating the operation device 2 of the own vehicle at the predetermined operation timing, the navigation unit 4 having map information and determining the traveling position of the own vehicle on the map information, and the navigation unit 4 And a timing changing means 5 for changing the operation timing of the operating device by the operation control means 2 with respect to the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle according to the travel position of the host vehicle on the map information.

  The actuating device 2 reduces the vehicle speed of the own vehicle, alarm means 21 that warns the occupant of the own vehicle of the danger of collision, seat belt pretensioner means 22 that winds up the seat belt so as to restrain the occupant of the own vehicle. And automatic brake means 23. Examples of the warning by the warning means 21 include a horn and a buzzer, a warning lamp on the instrument panel, a warning display on the display screen of the navigation unit, and the like. As the seat belt pretensioner means 22 and the automatic brake means 23, any conventionally known means may be used.

The obstacle detection means 1 is composed of a millimeter wave radar device. The millimeter wave radar device emits radio waves toward the front of the host vehicle, and detects an obstacle when the intensity of the reflected wave is equal to or greater than a threshold value. From the time difference between the transmitted wave and the received wave, the distance from the vehicle to the target is obtained. Further, the relative speed between the host vehicle and the target is obtained from the wavelength shift of the received wave with respect to the transmitted wave.
Note that any suitable device other than the millimeter wave radar can be used. For example, the obstacle detection means may be constituted by an infrared laser device.

  The processing functions of the operation control means 3 and the timing changing means 5 are executed by executing a predetermined program in a computer such as an ECU (electric control unit) mounted on the host vehicle, or by an IC chip. Etc.

The operation control means 3 normally performs control based on the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle. The inter-vehicle time corresponds to, for example, the time required for the host vehicle to reach the current position of the detected obstacle. In this case, the distance to the obstacle and the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle are represented by the following relational expression (1).
(Distance to obstacle) = (Vehicle speed of own vehicle) × (Time between vehicles) (1)

  Furthermore, the operation control means 3 compares the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle with the reference inter-vehicle time. Then, when the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle is equal to or less than the reference inter-vehicle time, the operating device is operated. The timing for operating the operating device is determined by the reference inter-vehicle time. If the reference inter-vehicle time as the threshold is lengthened, the operation timing is advanced, and if the reference inter-vehicle time is shortened, the operation timing is delayed.

  Here, FIG. 2A shows a conceptual diagram of the operation timing according to the inter-vehicle time. 2A represents the distance in the width direction of the host vehicle, and the vertical axis represents the inter-vehicle time. Therefore, the vertical axis also corresponds to the distance from the host vehicle ahead of the host vehicle from the above-described equation (1).

  FIG. 2A shows an alarm operating area 210 surrounded by a line I, a pretensioner operating area 220 surrounded by a line II, and a brake operating area 230 surrounded by a line III. The upper edge of each operating region corresponds to the reference inter-vehicle time.

  Note that the obstacle ahead of both ends of the host vehicle is easier to avoid by the steering operation than the obstacle ahead of the front center of the host vehicle. For this reason, in each of the operation regions 210, 220, and 230 shown in FIG. 2A, the reference inter-vehicle time near both ends of the host vehicle is shorter than the reference inter-vehicle time near the front center of the host vehicle. In the following description, the inter-vehicle time for an obstacle in front of the front center of the host vehicle will be described as a representative.

  When an obstacle is detected in front of the front center of the host vehicle, the alarm means 21 is activated when the inter-vehicle time (t) to the obstacle is equal to or less than the first reference inter-vehicle time (T1). This alerts the passenger of the vehicle of the danger of a collision. Further, when the obstacle approaching the host vehicle and the inter-vehicle time (t) until the obstacle becomes equal to or shorter than the second reference inter-vehicle time (T2) shorter than the first reference inter-vehicle time (T1), the warning means 21 In addition, the seat belt pretensioner means 22 is activated. As a result, the seat belt is wound up by a predetermined amount so as to restrain the vehicle occupant with a predetermined tension. Further, when the obstacle approaches and the inter-vehicle time (t) to the obstacle becomes equal to or shorter than the third reference inter-vehicle time (T3) shorter than the second reference inter-vehicle time (T2), the automatic brake means 23 further Operate. Thereby, the own vehicle decelerates and stops.

  Thus, according to the inter-vehicle time (t) to an obstacle, each operating device 21-23 operates, and the improvement of safety is achieved.

  The navigation unit 4 has map information and obtains the traveling position of the host vehicle on the map information. The traveling position of the host vehicle is obtained using, for example, a global positioning system (GPS).

  Here, a display example of map information is shown in FIG. The map information includes not only roads but also the locations of convenience stores C and gas stations G. In FIG. 3, the travel position S of the host vehicle is shown superimposed on the map information with black triangle marks. The traveling direction of the host vehicle is indicated by the direction of the vertex of the black triangle mark. Therefore, in the display example shown in FIG. 3, the host vehicle S is traveling from the lower left to the upper right of the drawing on the road overlapping the black triangle mark.

  The timing changing means 5 changes the operation timing of the operating device 2 by the operation control means 3 with respect to the time between vehicles to the obstacle, according to the travel position S of the host vehicle on the map information obtained by the navigation unit 4. For this purpose, the timing changing means 5 changes the predetermined operation timing to the first operation timing when the travel position S of the host vehicle obtained by the navigation unit 4 is outside the specific section on the map information, and When the travel position of the host vehicle is within a specific section on the map information, the predetermined operation timing is changed to a second operation timing that is earlier than the first operation timing. Here, the specific section is a section of a predetermined distance before the facility set in the map information as a facility used by an unspecified number of vehicles.

  In FIG. 3, a convenience store C and a gasoline stunt G are displayed as facilities used by an unspecified number of vehicles. In addition to these facilities, for example, a bank or a supermarket may be set.

  Further, in the display example of the map information shown in FIG. 3, the section of the predetermined distance L before the convenience store C on the left front side of the traveling position S of the host vehicle indicated by the black triangle mark is set as the specific section R. The specific section R may always be provided based on the set facility, or may be provided depending on the positional relationship between the set facility and the host vehicle. In the latter case, if the traveling direction of the host vehicle S is opposite to that shown in FIG. 3, the convenience store C is located behind the host vehicle S, so that the periphery of the convenience store C is not a specific section.

Further, the predetermined distance L of the specific section is, for example, about 100 m. The predetermined distance L may be set in consideration of various circumstances such as the speed limit of the road, the traffic volume, the number of lanes, or whether the facility is on the left side or the right side with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle.
In FIG. 3, for convenience of explanation, the road of the specific section R is hatched, but the specific section is not necessarily displayed on the display screen.

  And the timing change means 5 selects and changes either the 1st or 2nd action | operation timing by whether the driving | running | working position of the own vehicle S is in a specific area. Here, the first operation timing is an operation timing set during normal traveling. The second operation timing is an operation timing that is earlier than the first operation timing.

  The operation timing is changed by changing the reference inter-vehicle time. Here, the conceptual diagram of the 2nd operation timing which advanced the operation timing to FIG.2 (b) is shown. The horizontal axis in FIG. 2B represents the distance in the vehicle width direction, and the vertical axis represents the inter-vehicle time.

  FIG. 2B shows an alarm operating area 210a surrounded by a line IV, a pretensioner operating area 220a surrounded by a line V, and a brake operating area 230a surrounded by a line VI. The upper edge of each operating region corresponds to the reference inter-vehicle time. As shown by line IV, the second operation timing of the warning means 21 for the obstacle in front of the front center of the host vehicle is earlier than the first operation timing indicated by the broken line I in FIG. . That is, the first reference time (T1) for activating the alarm means 21 is increased by (α) and becomes (T1 + α).

  As indicated by line V, the operation timing of the seat belt pretensioner means 22 is also earlier than the first operation timing indicated by the broken line II in FIG. In other words, the second reference time (T2) for operating the seat belt pretensioner means 22 is increased by (α) and becomes (T2 + α). Further, as shown by the line VI, the operation timing of the automatic brake means 23 is also earlier than the first operation timing shown by the broken line III in FIG. That is, the third reference time (T3) for operating the automatic brake means 23 is increased by (α) to (T3 + α).

As described above, the first to third reference inter-vehicle times (T1 to T3) for determining the timing for operating each of the operating devices 21 to 23 are increased by (α), respectively. Safety is improved.
Note that the amount of change (α) in the reference inter-vehicle time takes into account various matters such as the speed limit of the road, the traffic volume, the number of lanes, and whether the facility is on the left or right side of the traveling direction of the host vehicle. To set.

  When the reference vehicle times T1 to T3 are, for example, about 1 to 2 seconds, the change amount α of the reference inter-vehicle time may be, for example, about 0.1 to 0.2 seconds. Even in just 0.1 seconds, a vehicle traveling at a speed of 36 km / h travels about 1 m, and a vehicle traveling at a speed of 72 km / h travels about 2 m. And the difference of this distance can avoid generation | occurrence | production of a rear-end collision accident, for example as a braking distance. Therefore, even if the operation timing is slightly advanced, safety is greatly improved.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2 (b), the operation timings of a plurality of operating devices are uniformly advanced. However, among the plurality of operating devices, only the operating timings of some operating devices may be selectively advanced. . For example, only the warning means 21, only the seat belt pretensioner means 22, or only the operation timing of the automatic brake means 23 may be selectively advanced. Further, the amount of change in the operation timing may be different for each operation device. For example, the reference inter-vehicle time of the alarm means 21 is changed from (T1) to (T1 + 2α) by (2α), and the reference inter-vehicle time of the seat belt pretensioner means 22 and the automatic brake means 23 is changed from (T2) to (T2 + α) and You may change from (T3) to (T3 + α) by (α).

Next, an operation example of the vehicle control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
First, the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle is detected by the obstacle detection means 1 (step S1). When there is no preceding vehicle, the possibility of a rear-end collision due to a sudden stop of the preceding vehicle is low. On the other hand, the earlier the operation timing, the longer the reference inter-vehicle distance. For this reason, there is a high possibility that the operating device will operate even when it is unnecessary. Therefore, in order to make the host vehicle run smoothly, when there is no preceding vehicle, the process for accelerating the operation timing is not performed.

  If the preceding vehicle is detected (“Yes” in step S1), the timing changing means 5 determines whether the host vehicle S is within the specific section R based on the map information of the navigation unit 4 and the travel position of the host vehicle S. It is determined whether or not (step S2).

  When the host vehicle is traveling outside the specific section R (in the case of “No” in Step S2), the normal reference inter-vehicle time is set by the timing changing means 5. That is, if the already set reference inter-vehicle time is a normal reference inter-vehicle time, the normal reference inter-vehicle time is maintained as it is. On the other hand, if the reference inter-vehicle time that has already been set is a long reference inter-vehicle time for an early operation timing, it is changed to a normal reference inter-vehicle time.

Subsequently, the operation control means 3 determines whether or not the inter-vehicle time (t) to the obstacle such as the preceding vehicle is within the normal reference inter-vehicle time (T) (step S4).
When the inter-vehicle time (t) to the obstacle such as the preceding vehicle is within the reference inter-vehicle time (T), the operation control unit 3 operates the operation device 2 at the normal operation timing (first operation timing). (Step S5).

  On the other hand, when the host vehicle is traveling in the specific section R (“Yes” in step S2), the timing changing means 5 sets a long reference inter-vehicle time in order to realize an early operation timing. That is, if the already set reference inter-vehicle time is a normal reference inter-vehicle time, it is changed to a long reference inter-vehicle time. On the other hand, if the reference inter-vehicle time that has already been set is a long reference inter-vehicle time for an early operation timing, the long reference inter-vehicle time is maintained as it is.

Subsequently, the operation control means 3 determines whether the inter-vehicle time (t) to the obstacle such as the preceding vehicle is within a long reference inter-vehicle time (T + α) (step S4).
When the inter-vehicle time (t) to the obstacle such as the preceding vehicle is within the reference inter-vehicle time (T + α), the operation control means 3 causes the operation device 2 to operate at an early operation timing (second operation timing). .

  In this way, by changing the operation timing of the operating device according to the traveling position of the host vehicle, in a place where there is a high risk of collision such that the preceding vehicle is likely to decelerate unexpectedly or stop, Safety can be improved by advancing the operation timing of operating devices such as alarms and automatic brakes.

  In each embodiment mentioned above, although the example which constituted the present invention on specific conditions was explained, the present invention can perform various change and combination, and is not limited to this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which two operation timings are switched depending on the inside and outside of a specific section has been described. However, three or more operation timings may be switched according to the travel position of the host vehicle. Further, when changing the operation timing, the reference inter-vehicle distance may be switched stepwise or may be changed continuously.

It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the control apparatus of the vehicle of embodiment of this invention. (A) is a conceptual diagram of the operation timing by the time between vehicles, (b) is a conceptual diagram of the changed operation timing. It is an example of a display of the map information of the navigation unit of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining the action | operation of the control apparatus of the vehicle of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Obstacle detection means 2 Actuation apparatus 3 Operation control means 4 Navigation unit 5 Timing change means 21 Alarm means 22 Seat belt pretensioner means 23 Automatic brake means

Claims (8)

Obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles ahead of the host vehicle;
An operation control means for operating the operation device of the host vehicle at a predetermined operation timing corresponding to the time between vehicles detected by the obstacle detection means;
A navigation unit having map information and determining the traveling position of the vehicle on the map information;
Timing changing means for changing the operation timing of the operating device by the operation control means for the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle according to the travel position of the host vehicle on the map information obtained by the navigation unit;
Equipped with a,
The predetermined operation timing corresponds to the inter-vehicle time to the front obstacle near the front center of the host vehicle, and corresponds to the inter-vehicle time to the front obstacle near both ends in the vehicle width direction of the host vehicle. Set to be earlier than the operation timing
The timing changing means, without changing the operation timing corresponding to the inter-vehicle time to the preceding obstacle in the vehicle width direction of both ends of the vehicle, the vehicle control apparatus characterized that you change the central operation timing . The timing changing means changes the predetermined operation timing to a first operation timing when the traveling position of the own vehicle obtained by the navigation unit is outside a specific section on the map information, and the own vehicle 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation timing is changed to a second operation timing earlier than the first operation timing when the travel position of the vehicle is within a specific section on the map information. Control device. 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the specific section is a section of a predetermined distance before a facility set in map information as a facility used by an unspecified number of vehicles. The operation control means compares the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle and the reference inter-vehicle time, and activates the operating device when the inter-vehicle time to the obstacle is equal to or less than the reference inter-vehicle time.
4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the timing changing unit changes the predetermined operation timing by changing the reference inter-vehicle time. 5. 5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the timing changing unit operates when the obstacle detecting unit detects a preceding vehicle. 6. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the operating device is a warning unit that warns a passenger of the host vehicle of the danger of a collision. 7. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the operating device is a seat belt pretensioner unit that winds up a seat belt so as to restrain an occupant of the host vehicle. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the operating device is an automatic brake unit that reduces a vehicle speed of the host vehicle.

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