JP4935146B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention generally relates to a vehicle control device that restricts the operation of a predetermined vehicle-mounted device when a predetermined condition is established in the vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle control device that has an appropriate operation restriction timing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a vehicle control device that restricts the operation of a predetermined vehicle-mounted device when a predetermined condition is satisfied in the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus that restricts the operation content of an in-vehicle device when it is determined that the driver's consciousness is reduced from the change state of the steering angle.
JP-A-11-227491

  According to the conventional device described in Patent Document 1, when it is determined that the driver's consciousness about the driving operation is reduced from the change state of the steering angle, the operation of the predetermined in-vehicle device is uniformly restricted. It will be.

  However, even if it is determined that the driver's consciousness about the driving operation has been reduced due to the change in the steering angle, the driving operation such as a situation where there is no other vehicle or obstacle around the host vehicle is possible. In a driving situation with a margin, such an operation restriction may give the driver a feeling of strangeness.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is a main object of the present invention to provide a vehicle control device with an appropriate operation restriction timing.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is a vehicle control device for restricting operation of a predetermined vehicle-mounted device when a predetermined condition is satisfied in a vehicle, wherein the lane in the own vehicle travel lane Detection means for detecting a lateral deviation amount of the vehicle position from the center position, and an operation restriction means for restricting the operation of the predetermined in-vehicle device when the lateral deviation amount detected by the detection means exceeds a first predetermined value. The vehicle control device having the following.

  Further, in the above aspect, the in-vehicle device whose operation is restricted by the operation restriction unit is an in-vehicle device including an input unit that can be operated by the driver while the vehicle is running, for example, for route guidance A navigation system, a car audio system for music reproduction, a multimedia system for downloading various information by communicating with a predetermined center, or an air conditioner for air conditioning in a vehicle interior.

  According to the above aspect, the greater the amount of lateral deviation in the lane of the host vehicle, the lower the driver's attention and concentration to the driving operation, and the driver's driving operation is relatively free. Based on the insight that there is no driving situation, the driver's operation of in-vehicle devices is restricted when the amount of lateral deviation of the driving position in the lane of the host vehicle is relatively large. It is possible to appropriately avoid the occurrence of a situation where the operation of the in-vehicle device is restricted in a driving situation having a relatively large margin.

  In the above aspect, when the vehicle control device further includes a measuring unit that measures a distance between a surrounding object of the host vehicle and the host vehicle, the amount of lateral displacement of the traveling position in the lane is relatively large. In addition to the above, from the viewpoint that the operation of the in-vehicle device should be restricted even when the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding object is relatively short so that there is no room for operating the in-vehicle device. Even if the amount of lateral deviation detected by the detecting means is less than or equal to the first predetermined value, if the distance measured by the measuring means is less than or equal to a second predetermined value, It is preferable to be configured to limit the operation of the in-vehicle device.

  Here, the “peripheral object” refers to any object other than the own vehicle, and not only a moving object such as a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, and a parallel vehicle, but also a stationary object such as a road parked vehicle or an obstacle on the road. Including.

  Further, in the above aspect, when the vehicle control apparatus determines that the collision possibility between the host vehicle and a surrounding object is determined, and the determination means determines that the collision possibility is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. If the vehicle further has an alarm means for warning the driver of the own vehicle, the information on the amount of lateral deviation is used to make the vehicle driving state more unstable as the amount of lateral displacement in the lane increases. On the basis of the insight that the attention to the subject may be judged to be reduced or disturbed, the warning means is earlier in timing when the amount of lateral deviation detected by the detection means is larger (for example, It is preferable to warn at an expected time before collision (Time To Collision (TTC)).

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the control apparatus for vehicles which made the operation restriction timing appropriate can be provided.

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

  Hereinafter, the control apparatus for vehicles which concerns on one Example of this invention is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-3.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control device 100 according to the present embodiment.

The vehicle control device 100 uses, for example, an imaging device such as a CMOS camera to detect a white line (or yellow line) drawn on the road as at least the left and right boundary lines of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling. 101. In this embodiment, when the white line detection unit 101 recognizes the width of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling by detecting white lines on both the left and right sides, the white line detection unit 101 detects the lane center position, and the host vehicle position is relative to the lane center position. And how far it is shifted to the center of the road (center line) or to the shoulder of the road (if the road is a single lane, how much it is shifted to the right or left shoulder of the road center position) To do. That is, the lateral deviation direction and the lateral deviation amount with respect to the lane center position of the vehicle position (or the road center position when the road is a single lane) are detected.

The vehicle control device 100 further includes an object detection unit 102 that detects an object around the host vehicle using, for example, a laser radar or a millimeter wave radar. The object detection unit 102 detects both a stationary object and a moving object, and measures a relative distance and a relative speed between the own vehicle and a surrounding object, and collides with an object whose distance from the own vehicle is reduced. It is determined that the object has a possibility, and an allowance time (Time To Collation: TTC) from the time change of the distance of the object to the collision is calculated.

The vehicle control device 100 further includes a warning unit 103 that issues a warning to the driver when the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the surrounding object increases to a predetermined level or higher. In the present embodiment, the alarm unit 103 alerts the driver, for example, by blowing a buzzer having a tone color and volume intended to alert the driver into the passenger compartment.

The vehicle control apparatus 100 further includes, for example, a navigation system for route guidance, an audio system for music playback, a multimedia system for downloading various information by communicating with a predetermined center, or an air conditioner in a vehicle interior. In-vehicle device control for invalidating input operation to one or more in-vehicle devices provided with an input unit that can be operated while the vehicle is running, such as an air conditioner for the vehicle (that is, making the input operation unacceptable) Part 104.

The vehicle control device 100 further includes a main control unit 105 that comprehensively controls each component of the driving support device 100. The main control unit 105 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

  In the present embodiment, the main control unit 105 changes the timing at which the alarm unit 103 outputs an alarm in accordance with the amount of lateral deviation of the host vehicle position from the lane center position in the lane detected by the white line detection unit 101. . An example is shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a graph showing the alarm timing expressed in TTC.

  As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the main control unit 105 travels to the right or left in the lane when the amount of lateral deviation from the lane center position of the host vehicle position in the lane is large. It is determined that the driver's attention to driving is decreasing, and the TTC value becomes larger as the lateral deviation from the center position of the own vehicle position in the lane increases. When there is more time before the collision, an alarm is output early.

  In the present embodiment, the main control unit 105 determines that A) the distance to the surrounding object is equal to or less than the predetermined value TH1, and the driver has no room for operating the in-vehicle device. Or B) When it is determined that the amount of lateral deviation of the traveling position in the lane of the host vehicle exceeds the predetermined value TH2, and the driver's attention and concentration to the driving operation are reduced, the driver Restricts the operation of in-vehicle devices.

  Next, the processing flow of this in-vehicle device operation restriction processing will be described using the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the main control unit 105 determines whether or not the distance between the surrounding object and the host vehicle exceeds a predetermined value TH1 (S301).

  For example, when it is determined that the distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding object is equal to or less than the predetermined value TH1 (eg, “NO” in S301), such as a situation where the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is equal to or less than the predetermined value TH1, the main control unit 105 The driver determines that there is no room for operating the in-vehicle device, and instructs the in-vehicle device control unit 104 to restrict the operation of the in-vehicle device (S303).

  On the other hand, for example, when it is determined that the distance between the vehicle and the surrounding object exceeds the predetermined value TH1, such as a situation in which a sufficient inter-vehicle distance exceeding the predetermined value TH1 is spaced from the preceding vehicle (“YES” in S301). Next, the main control unit 105 determines whether or not the lateral deviation amount from the lane center position in the lane of the host vehicle position exceeds a predetermined value TH2 (S302).

  When the amount of lateral displacement of the traveling position in the lane of the host vehicle is equal to or less than the predetermined value TH2 (“NO” in S302), the main control unit 105 has a relatively large distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding object, and Since the driving position in the lane is not to the right or left, the driver judges that the driver is sufficiently concentrated on driving operation, and terminates one routine of this flow without restricting the operation of in-vehicle devices. To do.

  On the other hand, when the travel position lateral deviation amount in the lane of the host vehicle exceeds the predetermined value TH2 ("YES" in S302), the main control unit 105 has a relatively large distance between the host vehicle and the surrounding object. However, since the driving position in the lane is shifted to the right or left, it is determined that the driver's attention and concentration to the driving operation are reduced, and the in-vehicle device controller 104 controls the in-vehicle device. Is instructed to be restricted (S303).

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the driver's attention to the driving operation and the degree of concentration decrease as the travel position lateral deviation amount in the lane of the host vehicle increases, and the driving operation of the driver is reduced. Based on the insight that the driving situation is relatively free, the driver's operation of the in-vehicle device is restricted when the lateral displacement amount of the driving position in the lane of the own vehicle is larger than a predetermined value (TH2). Therefore, the operation of the in-vehicle device is not restricted in a driving situation where the driver's driving operation has a relatively sufficient margin.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, even when the amount of lateral displacement in the lane is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value (TH2), the distance interval between the host vehicle and the surrounding object is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value (TH1). Sometimes, it is determined that there is no room for operating the in-vehicle device, and the operation of the in-vehicle device is restricted. Therefore, the operation of the in-vehicle device can be restricted at an appropriate timing.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, when the amount of lateral displacement in the lane is larger, the vehicle traveling state becomes more unstable, and the driver's attention and concentration to the driving operation are reduced or disturbed. Based on the insight that it can be judged, the driver is warned about the possibility of collision with surrounding objects at the stage where the TTC value is larger as the travel position lateral deviation amount in the lane is larger. Thus, it is possible to provide a time margin for recovering the stability according to the instability of the vehicle running state, and it is possible to improve the steering stability.

  The present invention can be used for a vehicle control device that restricts operation of a predetermined vehicle-mounted device when a predetermined condition is satisfied. The appearance, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be mounted are not limited.

It is a schematic block diagram of the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a graph which shows an example of the alarm output timing by the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the vehicle equipment operation restriction | limiting process by the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Driving assistance apparatus 101 White line detection part 102 Object detection part 103 Alarm part 104 Car-mounted apparatus control part 105 Main control part

Claims (3)

Index value calculation means for calculating an index value indicating the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and a surrounding object;
Warning means for warning the driver of the vehicle when the index value conflicts with a threshold ;
Detecting means for detecting the amount of lateral deviation of the vehicle position from the center position of the vehicle lane in the vehicle lane ,
The warning means warns at an earlier timing with respect to the increase in the possibility of collision by continuously changing the threshold according to a change in the lateral deviation amount detected by the detection means. To
Vehicle control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 1,
An operation restricting means for restricting an operation of a predetermined in-vehicle device when the lateral deviation detected by the detecting means exceeds a first predetermined value;
A vehicle control device further comprising: The vehicle control device according to claim 2,
And further has a measuring means for measuring a distance between an object around the host vehicle and the host vehicle,
In addition to the case where the amount of lateral deviation detected by the detection unit exceeds the first predetermined value, the operation limiting unit is also operable when the distance measured by the measurement unit is equal to or less than a second predetermined value. The operation of the predetermined vehicle-mounted device is limited,
Vehicle control device.

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