JP4899493B2 - Vehicle information providing device and lane keeping control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle information providing device and a lane keeping control device.

Conventionally, a map display device that sets a recommended route to a destination including a recommended lane and issues an alarm when the vehicle deviates from the recommended route is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). . This device allows lane changes that do not violate the traffic classification on roads with multiple lanes on one side. Controls such as warning are performed.
JP 2000-266560 A

  However, the conventional apparatus does not take into consideration a case where the vehicle travels on a road whose traffic classification is changed in accordance with the change of the center line. In actual traffic, there are roads whose center line is changed according to time zones, and roads whose lanes are restricted or changed due to accidents or road construction. However, the above-mentioned device does not properly detect roads whose traffic classification has been changed. Therefore, even if the vehicle is traveling against the traffic classification, no warning is given or unnecessary. A warning may occur.

  The present invention is for solving such a problem, and provides an information providing device for a vehicle capable of appropriately detecting a road whose traffic classification has been changed in accordance with a change in the center line and providing information. The main object of the present invention is to provide a lane keeping control device capable of performing lane keeping control by appropriately detecting a road whose traffic classification has been changed due to a change in the center line.

A first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a vehicular information providing apparatus mounted on a vehicle, comprising a change information acquiring means for acquiring information relating to a change in the center line, and a change information acquiring means. An information providing device for a vehicle, which provides information based on information on the change of the center line acquired by the above. Here, the center line may be changed depending on the time zone, or may be due to an accident or construction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes a change information acquisition unit that acquires information about a change in the center line, and provides information based on the information about the change in the center line acquired by the change information acquisition unit. Thus, it is possible to provide information by appropriately detecting the road whose traffic classification has been changed in accordance with the change of the center line.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the change information acquisition means is means for acquiring information related to the change of the center line based on, for example, information stored in the map database.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the change information acquisition means includes, for example, communication means for performing road-to-vehicle communication with the base station, and is based on information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication performed by the communication means. Thus, it is a means for acquiring information related to the change of the center line.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, the change information acquisition means includes, for example, an image pickup means for picking up an image of the periphery of the host vehicle, and based on the image picked up by the image pickup means, information on the change of the centerline It is a means to acquire. In this case, the change information acquisition unit detects, for example, a sign indicating the center line in front of the host vehicle or a light emitter indicating the center line disposed on the road based on the image captured by the image capturing unit. It is a means for acquiring information relating to line changes.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the change information acquisition means includes, for example, a magnetic marker detection means for detecting the position of the magnetic marker embedded in the road, and the magnetic marker detected by the magnetic marker detection means. It is means for acquiring information related to the change of the center line based on the position.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, the change information acquisition means includes, for example, a radar device that detects a moving body around the own vehicle, and the moving direction of the moving body around the own vehicle detected by the radar device. Is a means for acquiring information relating to the change of the center line.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, a travel lane detecting means for detecting the travel lane of the host vehicle is provided, and the traffic classification is changed in a direction opposite to the travel direction of the host vehicle with the change of the center line. Information may be provided when the lane detecting means detects that the host vehicle is traveling in the lane.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, a lane having travel lane detecting means for detecting the travel lane of the host vehicle, the traffic classification being changed in the same direction as the travel direction of the host vehicle with the change of the center line. Alternatively, information may be provided when the lane detecting means detects that the host vehicle is traveling.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicle includes a traveling lane detecting unit that detects a traveling lane of the host vehicle and a lane change predicting unit that predicts a lane change of the host vehicle. Information may be provided when the lane change predicting means predicts that the own vehicle will change lanes to the lane in which the traffic classification is changed in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the own vehicle.

  Further, in the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicle includes a traveling lane detecting unit that detects a traveling lane of the host vehicle and a lane change predicting unit that predicts a lane change of the host vehicle. Information may be provided when the lane change predicting means predicts that the own vehicle will change to a lane whose traffic classification has been changed in the same direction as the traveling direction of the own vehicle.

A second aspect of the present invention is a lane keeping control device mounted on a vehicle, including a change information acquisition unit that acquires information related to a change in the center line, and the change of the center line acquired by the change information acquisition unit A lane keeping control device that performs lane keeping control based on the information on the lane keeping.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the information processing apparatus includes a change information acquisition unit that acquires information about a change in the center line, and performs lane keeping control based on the information about the change in the center line acquired by the change information acquisition unit. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately detect the road in which the traffic classification is changed in accordance with the change of the center line and perform the lane keeping control.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, providing the information provision apparatus for vehicles which can detect appropriately the road by which the traffic division was changed with the change of a centerline, and can provide information, and the change of a centerline Accordingly, it is possible to provide a lane keeping control device capable of appropriately detecting a road whose traffic classification has been changed and performing lane keeping control.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle information providing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a vehicle information providing apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicular information providing apparatus 1 includes, as main components, a front camera 10, a front image processing apparatus 15, a rear camera 20, a rear image processing apparatus 25, a vehicle speed sensor 30, and a steering angle sensor 40. And a communication device 50 and a navigation device 60. Note that communication between devices in the vehicle in the following description is performed using an appropriate serial communication protocol such as CAN (Controller Area Network).

  The front camera 10 and the front image processing device 15 are disposed, for example, at the upper center of the windshield. The front camera 10 is, for example, a CMOS camera, has an optical axis directed obliquely downward in front of the vehicle, and images a road over a range of approximately several tens [m] in front of the vehicle. The front image processing device 15 is, for example, a computer centered on a CPU, and includes storage means such as a ROM and a RAM. The front image processing device 15 inputs an image captured by the front camera 10 through communication, and processes this to define the lane and the position of the host vehicle on the lane (for example, the deviation of the center of the vehicle from the lane center, etc.) At the same time, and the position of the center line that is changed according to the time zone and the traffic classification (direction to travel) of each lane. The front camera 10 and the front image processing device 15 may be shared with a known lane recognition camera device used for lane keeping assist control (lane keeping assist) or lane departure warning control (lane departure warning).

  FIG. 2 is an example of an image captured by the front camera 10. As shown in the figure, the host vehicle is traveling on a three-lane road, and the traveling direction of the host vehicle is two lanes at the current time.

  Lane recognition is considered to correspond to road lane markings (white lines, yellow lines, broken lines, botsdots, etc.) on the road by performing binarization processing and feature point extraction processing based on the image captured by the front camera 10. The selected pixels (road lane line candidate points) are selected, and the straight line among the selected road lane line candidate points is recognized as a road lane line. Then, the area defined by the road lane marking is recognized as a lane. In addition to this, it is possible to recognize road marking lines and lanes by various methods. For example, a road shoulder or a median strip may be detected by a method such as pattern matching, and this may be taken into account. Further, in a region where there is no road lane marking ahead (such as before an intersection), it is complemented by the lane recognized by the rear image processing device from the image captured by the rear camera 20.

  Recognition of the position of the host vehicle on the lane is obtained by obtaining offsets x1 and x2 from the center M at the forefront of the image from the front camera 10 to the left and right road lane markings and multiplying these ratios by a predetermined coefficient, etc. Can be calculated.

  The recognition of the position of the center line that is changed according to the time zone is a sign (refer to FIG. 2) indicating a center line (center line) provided above the road, or a light emitter that is embedded in the road and indicates the position of the center line ( (See FIG. 2). Specifically, it is already grasped in the process of recognizing road lane lines (traveling lanes) existing on a line drawn vertically downward with respect to the road from a sign indicating the center line detected by a method such as pattern matching. 2) is recognized as a center line, or when a luminous body is embedded as shown in FIG. 2, a change in luminance with the surrounding (road) is detected and recognized as a center line. In addition, these recognitions may be performed twice for more accuracy. Thus, when it is recognized whether or not it is changed depending on the position of the center line and the time zone, the traffic division of each lane is recognized accordingly.

  Information such as the lane and traffic classification, the position of the host vehicle on the lane, the position of the center line, whether the center line is changed according to the time zone, etc. is obtained by navigation through communication. It is transmitted to a navigation device electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as navigation device ECU) 68 that controls the device 60.

  The rear camera 20 is disposed, for example, in the vicinity of a bumper, a grill, a license plate, and the like at the rear of the vehicle body, and has an optical axis directed obliquely downward at the rear of the vehicle, and images the rear of the vehicle. The rear image processing apparatus has a hardware configuration similar to that of the front image processing apparatus 15, for example, and recognizes a lane from an image behind the host vehicle by a method similar to that of the front image processing apparatus 15. The presence of the rear camera 20 prevents the traveling lane recognition accuracy from deteriorating even when the optical axis of the front camera 10 is directed obliquely upward so as to detect a sign indicating the center line from a further distance. Can do. Information on the lane recognized from the image of the rear camera 20 is also transmitted to the navigation device ECU 68 by communication.

  The vehicle speed sensor 30 is attached to, for example, a transmission unit and transmits a pulse signal corresponding to the vehicle speed. The steering angle sensor 40 is, for example, a rotation angle sensor attached to the assist motor of the electric power steering apparatus, and transmits a signal corresponding to the rotation angle of the assist motor. Sensor output values from the vehicle speed sensor 30 and the steering angle sensor 40 are transmitted to the navigation device ECU 68 by communication.

  The communication device 50 is a device for performing road-to-vehicle communication, and includes, for example, a communication antenna and a communication module that can transmit and receive using a radio network of a mobile phone. Therefore, road-related information is transmitted to the vehicle including the vehicle information providing apparatus 1 via the mobile phone base station, and the communication apparatus 50 receives the information. Various methods for road-to-vehicle communication are already known and are not limited to the above-described methods. For example, a method of receiving a radio beacon or an optical beacon from an infrastructure provided at a road end may be used, or a method of receiving FM multiplex broadcasting may be used.

  The communication device 50 receives information related to a road whose center line has been changed due to an accident or road construction. It is also possible to receive the position of the center line that is changed according to the time zone as described above. Information received by the communication device 50 is transmitted to the navigation device ECU 68 by communication.

  The navigation device 60 includes a GPS receiver 62, a map database 64 that holds map data on a storage medium such as a hard disk, a DVD, or a CD-ROM, and a display such as a liquid crystal display that outputs a map display or route guidance display as a video. A control unit (not shown), a speaker 66, an operation unit (not shown) such as a touch panel serving as a user interface, and a navigation device ECU 68 that controls the entire navigation device 60.

  The map database 64 stores the position of the center line changed according to the time zone together with the map data. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the front camera 10 and the map database 64 can recognize the position of the center line changed according to the time zone (and may be received by the communication device 50). Of course, the position of the center line that is changed according to the time zone may be acquired by any one of these. However, depending on the update frequency of the map database, it may be impossible to cope with a change in the time zone itself, and depending on the imaging conditions, it may be possible that the front camera 10 cannot properly detect a sign or a light emitter. . Therefore, it is more preferable in terms of accuracy to have both.

  The navigation device ECU 68 is a computer centered on a CPU, for example, and includes storage means such as a RAM and a ROM and a communication port. The navigation device ECU 68 functions as a general navigation device function based on the input data from the GPS receiver 62, the vehicle speed sensor 30, the steering angle sensor 40, and the like on the map data stored in the map database 64. The navigation device 60 is controlled so as to identify and display the current position and to provide route guidance to the input destination.

  Further, the navigation device ECU 68, as a characteristic function of the present invention, (1) when the vehicle approaches the road where the center line is changed, notifies the speaker 66 of that fact. Further, (2) when the host vehicle is traveling in the opposite lane, and when it is predicted that the lane will be changed to the opposite lane based on input signals from the vehicle speed sensor 30 and the steering angle sensor 40, an alarm is given by the speaker 66. Do. In this case, as described above, the opposite lane includes a lane that has become an opposite lane as a result of the center line being changed according to the time of day or due to an accident or road construction. Note that only one of the above (1) and (2) may be performed.

  Therefore, in the vehicle information providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately detect a road whose traffic classification is changed in accordance with the change of the center line and to provide information including a warning. It is.

  Hereinafter, the operation when the vehicle information providing apparatus 1 provides information related to the change of the center line will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of characteristic processing executed by the navigation device ECU 68.

  First, as described above, from the front image processing device 15, the rear image processing device 25, the communication device 50, and the map database 64, the lane and the traffic classification, the position of the own vehicle in the lane, and the center line are changed. Whether or not is entered (S100).

  If the center line is a changed road, the speaker 66 notifies that fact (S110, S120). This notification may be performed, for example, every predetermined time (for example, several [sec] to several tens [min], etc.) while detecting a road where the center line is changed, or the center line is changed. This may be done only when the first road is detected.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in the opposite lane (S130). If the host vehicle is traveling in the opposite lane, an alarm is given by the speaker 66 (S160).

  Subsequently, sensor output values from the vehicle speed sensor 30 and the steering angle sensor 40 are input (S140), and the own vehicle changes its lane to the opposite lane based on the sensor output value and the position of the own vehicle in the lane described above. Then, it is determined whether or not it is predicted (S150). This prediction is based on, for example, estimating the movement distance after a minute time Δt in the lane width direction (the distance in the opposite lane direction is positive, the same applies hereinafter) based on the sensor output value. When the deviation from the center of the lane at the center of the vehicle exceeds the threshold, it can be predicted that the host vehicle will change to the opposite lane.

  Even when it is predicted that the host vehicle will change to the opposite lane, a warning is given by the speaker 66 as in the case where it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in the opposite lane (S160).

  Thus, in the vehicle information providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the center line is based on the image from the front camera 10, the information from the communication device 50, and the information stored in the map database 64. It is possible to appropriately detect the changed road. As a result, it is possible to provide the passenger with appropriate information regarding the road whose center line has been changed.

  Also, if you are driving in a lane that has become an opposite lane due to a change in the center line, or if a course change to the lane is predicted, a warning will be given to the driver, so a more appropriate warning will be given It is possible. That is, even when the host vehicle is traveling against the traffic classification, it is possible to prevent the alarm from being performed or the unnecessary warning from being performed. As a result, it can contribute to safe driving.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the lane keeping control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of the lane keeping control device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the drawing, the lane keeping control device 2 is replaced with a steering device 70 and a lane keeping control electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as a lane keeping control ECU) instead of the navigation device 60 in the vehicle information providing device 1 of the first embodiment. 80). Accordingly, the same reference numerals are given to the overlapping portions, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The steering device 70 is configured as an electric power steering device including an assist motor, for example.

  The lane keeping control ECU 80 has, for example, the same hardware configuration as the navigation device ECU 68, recognizes the position of the lane and the host vehicle based on the front camera 10 and the rear camera 20, and detects the vehicle speed sensor 30 and the steering angle sensor 40. When it is predicted that the vehicle will deviate from the lane based on the sensor output value from the steering wheel 70, the well-known lane keeping control for outputting the auxiliary steering force from the steering device 70 is performed. However, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform lane keeping control in consideration of this for the road whose center line has been changed.

  That is, if the lane that is going to change lanes is the lane that has become the opposite lane with the change of the center line, the auxiliary steering force is output so as to suppress the lane change, and the lane that is going to change the lane, In the case of a lane that has become a correct travel lane (with a traffic classification along the traveling direction of the host vehicle) in accordance with the change of the center line, no auxiliary steering force is output.

  In addition, about the method which concerns on acquisition of the information regarding the road where the center line was changed, it is the same as that of what was demonstrated in the vehicle information provision apparatus 1 of 1st Example.

  Thus, according to the lane keeping control device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to more appropriately output the auxiliary steering force according to the change of the center line.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Modifications and substitutions can be made.

  For example, in the vehicle information providing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, when the vehicle is traveling in a lane that has become a correct travel lane (of a traffic classification along the traveling direction of the host vehicle) as a result of the change of the center line. Alternatively, notification by the speaker 66 may be performed. In this way, the driver can feel more secure.

  Moreover, it is good also as what is equipped with the apparatus which detects the magnetic marker which is embed | buried in the road and outputs magnetism according to the change of a center line, and detects the change of a center line by this.

  It is also conceivable to provide a radar device that detects other vehicles and determine the traffic classification based on the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling on the lane.

  The present invention can be used at least for an on-vehicle information providing apparatus. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the vehicle information provision apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the image which the front camera 10 images. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the characteristic process which ECU68 for navigation apparatuses performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the whole structure of the lane keeping control apparatus 2 which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle information provision apparatus 2 Lane maintenance control apparatus 10 Front camera 15 Front image recognition apparatus 20 Rear camera 25 Rear image recognition apparatus 30 Vehicle speed sensor 40 Steering angle sensor 50 Communication apparatus 60 Navigation apparatus 62 GPS receiver 64 Map database 66 Speaker 68 Electronic control unit for navigation device 70 Steering device 80 Electronic control unit for lane keeping control

Claims (13)

An information providing device for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
A change having an image pickup means for picking up an image of the periphery of the host vehicle , and detecting a light emitter representing the centerline arranged on the road based on an image picked up by the image pickup means and acquiring information related to the change in the centerline With information acquisition means,
An information providing apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that information is provided based on information on a change in the center line acquired by the change information acquiring means. An information providing device for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
A change information acquisition unit that includes a magnetic marker detection unit that detects a position of a magnetic marker embedded in a road, and acquires information related to a change in the center line based on the position of the magnetic marker detected by the magnetic marker detection unit; Prepared,
An information providing apparatus for a vehicle, characterized in that information is provided based on information on a change in the center line acquired by the change information acquiring means. An information providing device for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
A change information acquisition means for acquiring information about a change in the center line;
Traveling lane detection means for detecting the traveling lane of the host vehicle,
Information is provided when the lane detecting means detects that the host vehicle is traveling in a lane in which the traffic classification is changed in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the host vehicle due to the change of the center line. An information providing device for a vehicle, characterized in that. An information providing device for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
A change information acquisition means for acquiring information about a change in the center line;
Traveling lane detection means for detecting the traveling lane of the host vehicle,
Providing information when the lane detecting means detects that the vehicle is traveling in a lane in which the traffic classification is changed in the same direction as the traveling direction of the host vehicle due to the change of the center line. A vehicle information providing apparatus characterized by the above. An information providing device for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
A change information acquisition means for acquiring information about a change in the center line;
Traveling lane detecting means for detecting the traveling lane of the host vehicle;
Lane change prediction means for predicting lane change of the host vehicle,
Provide information when the lane change predicting means predicts that the vehicle will change to a lane whose traffic classification has been changed in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the host vehicle due to the change of the center line. An information providing device for a vehicle, characterized in that. An information providing device for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle,
A change information acquisition means for acquiring information about a change in the center line;
Traveling lane detecting means for detecting the traveling lane of the host vehicle;
Lane change prediction means for predicting lane change of the host vehicle,
Providing information when the lane change predicting means predicts that the vehicle will change to a lane whose traffic classification has been changed in the same direction as the traveling direction of the host vehicle due to the change of the center line. A vehicle information providing apparatus characterized by the above. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means is means for acquiring information related to the change of the center line in the road where the center line is changed according to the time zone.
Vehicle information providing device. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means is means for acquiring information related to a change in the center line based on information stored in a map database.
Vehicle information providing device. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means includes communication means for performing road-to-vehicle communication with a base station, and acquires information related to a change in the center line based on information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication performed by the communication means. is there,
Vehicle information providing device. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means has an image pickup means for picking up an image of the periphery of the host vehicle, and is means for acquiring information related to a change in the center line based on an image picked up by the image pickup means.
Vehicle information providing device. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means has a radar device that detects a moving body around the host vehicle, and acquires information related to the change of the center line based on the moving direction of the moving body around the host vehicle detected by the radar device. Means,
Vehicle information providing device. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means has an imaging means for imaging the periphery of the host vehicle, and based on the image captured by the imaging means, a sign indicating a center line in front of the host vehicle and / or a center disposed on the road It is a means for detecting a light emitter representing a line and acquiring information about a change in the center line.
Vehicle information providing device. The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
The change information acquisition means includes magnetic marker detection means for detecting the position of a magnetic marker embedded in the road, and information on the change of the center line is obtained based on the position of the magnetic marker detected by the magnetic marker detection means. Is a means of obtaining,
Vehicle information providing device.

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