JP4946702B2 - Travel control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel control device, and more particularly to a travel control device that automatically controls the travel of an automobile in order to assist the driver in driving the automobile.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a traveling control device that automatically controls traveling of a vehicle has been developed in order to assist a driver in driving the vehicle. For example, in Patent Document 1, in a vehicular travel control device including an inter-vehicle control type constant speed traveling system and a lane keeping system, the lane keeping system is operated and activated only in an operating state of the inter-vehicle control type constant speed traveling system. Set the release conditions for each system according to vehicle speed reduction conditions, brake operation conditions, ACC cancel switch operation conditions, etc., so that both forward and backward control and lateral control are not handed over to the driver at the same time. Thus, a travel control device has been proposed that prevents a situation in which the driver must simultaneously handle both front and rear and lateral control, and reduces the driving load on the driver.
JP 2000-168395 A

  However, the travel control device as described above is designed assuming that the road surface is dry when the road surface is dry during fine weather, and the road surface is wet during rainy weather. It is not designed for wet driving. Therefore, there is a demand for a traveling control device that prevents hydroplaning phenomenon and slip even in wet traveling and enables safer wet traveling.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a travel control device that enables safer wet travel.

  The present invention relates to dry travel data acquisition means for acquiring dry travel data relating to travel of the host vehicle when the road surface is dry, and wet travel data for acquiring wet travel data relating to travel of the host vehicle when the road surface is wet. From the difference between the acquisition means and the dry travel data acquired by the dry travel data acquisition means and the wet travel data acquired by the wet travel data acquisition means, the vehicle water is the degree to which the host vehicle decelerates due to water resistance on the road surface Based on the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means for calculating the resistance deceleration and the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means when the road surface is wet. And a travel plan generating means for generating a travel control device.

  According to this configuration, the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means calculates the water resistance on the road surface from the difference between the dry travel data acquired by the dry travel data acquisition means and the wet travel data acquired by the wet travel data acquisition means. The vehicle water resistance deceleration, which is the degree to which the vehicle decelerates, is calculated, and the travel plan generation means calculates the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means when the road surface is wet. Since the travel plan of the host vehicle is generated based on the above, the host vehicle can be wet-traveled more safely based on the state of water on the road surface.

  In this case, it is preferable that the travel plan generation unit generates a travel plan for causing the host vehicle to travel in a direction in which the host vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit calculated by the host vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit becomes smaller than the current time on the road surface. It is.

  According to this configuration, the travel plan generation unit causes the vehicle to travel in a direction in which the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit becomes smaller than the current time on the road surface. Thus, the vehicle can travel while avoiding a place where water accumulates and the vehicle water resistance deceleration increases, and a dangerous situation that can occur when the road surface is wet, such as a hydroplaning phenomenon or a slip, can be avoided.

  On the other hand, obtain the ground load per unit area between the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means for acquiring the other vehicle water resistance deceleration, which is the degree to which the other vehicle decelerates due to the resistance of water on the road surface, and the road surface of the host vehicle. A vehicle ground load acquisition means for acquiring the vehicle ground load per unit area of the road surface of the other vehicle, and a travel plan generating means for calculating the vehicle water resistance deceleration deceleration. The own vehicle ground load acquisition means and the other vehicle ground contact for the own vehicle and the other vehicle whose own vehicle water resistance deceleration and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration obtained by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by It is preferable to generate a travel plan that forms a platoon in order from the host vehicle and the other vehicle having a large ground load acquired by the load acquisition means.

  According to this configuration, the travel plan generation means uses the threshold values of the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration obtained by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means. For the above-mentioned own vehicle and other vehicles, the hydroplaning phenomenon is generated in order to generate a travel plan that forms a row in order from the own vehicle and the other vehicles having the largest ground load acquired by the own vehicle contact load acquisition means and the other vehicle contact load acquisition means. A vehicle with a small grounding load travels after a vehicle with a large grounding load, which is unlikely to occur, repels water on the road surface, and a hydroplaning phenomenon in a vehicle with a small grounding load can be prevented.

  Also, the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means for acquiring the other vehicle water resistance deceleration, which is the degree to which the other vehicle decelerates due to the water resistance on the road surface, and the contact load per unit area with the road surface of the other vehicle are acquired. Other vehicle ground load acquisition means, Other vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the speed of the other vehicle, Other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means, and Other vehicle ground load acquisition means And a vehicle splashing degree estimation means for estimating the degree of occurrence of splashing by the traveling of the other vehicle based on the ground contact load of the other vehicle and the speed of the other vehicle acquired by the other vehicle speed acquisition means. The travel plan generating means preferably generates the travel plan of the host vehicle based on the degree of occurrence of splashing due to the traveling of the other vehicle estimated by the other vehicle splash occurrence estimating means.

  According to this configuration, the other vehicle water splash occurrence estimation means includes the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means, the ground load of the other vehicle acquired by the other vehicle ground load acquisition means, Based on the speed of the other vehicle acquired by the other vehicle speed acquisition means, the degree of occurrence of splashing due to the traveling of the other vehicle is estimated, and the travel plan generation means is configured for the other vehicle estimated by the other vehicle splashing degree estimation means. Since the traveling plan of the host vehicle is generated based on the degree of splashing caused by traveling, for example, it is possible to prevent the field of view of the own vehicle from being obstructed due to splashing due to traveling of other vehicles Become.

  Alternatively, the vehicle contact load acquisition means for acquiring the contact load per unit area with the road surface of the vehicle, the vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the speed of the vehicle, and the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means are acquired. Based on the vehicle water resistance deceleration, the vehicle ground contact load acquired by the vehicle ground load acquisition means, and the speed of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle speed acquisition means, splashing occurs due to the traveling of the vehicle. Vehicle travel splash generation degree estimation means for estimating the degree to which the vehicle travels, and the travel plan generation means is based on the degree of occurrence of splashing due to the travel of the host vehicle estimated by the vehicle splashing degree estimation means. It is preferable to generate a travel plan.

  According to this configuration, the vehicle water splash occurrence estimation means includes the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means, and the ground load of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle ground load acquisition means. Based on the speed of the host vehicle acquired by the host vehicle speed acquisition unit, the degree of occurrence of splashing by the traveling of the host vehicle is estimated, and the travel plan generation unit is estimated by the host vehicle splashing degree estimation unit. Since the travel plan of the host vehicle is generated based on the degree of occurrence of splashing by traveling, it is possible to prevent splashing other vehicles passing the pedestrians, bicycles and oncoming lanes on the sidewalk, for example.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the dry travel data acquisition unit and the wet travel data acquisition unit acquire the dry travel data and the wet travel data, respectively, during the neutral travel when the engine of the host vehicle is not connected to the drive wheels.

  According to this configuration, the dry travel data acquisition unit and the wet travel data acquisition unit acquire the dry travel data and the wet travel data, respectively, during the neutral travel when the engine of the host vehicle is not connected to the drive wheels. It is possible to improve the accuracy of the estimation of the vehicle water resistance deceleration by eliminating the influence of the driving force error such as the error of the engine output that causes the estimation error of the resistance deceleration and the change of the transmission efficiency of the gear etc. .

  In this case, it is preferable that the travel plan generation unit generates a travel plan that causes the host vehicle to perform neutral travel.

  According to this configuration, since the travel plan generation unit generates a travel plan that causes the host vehicle to perform neutral travel, it is possible to reduce the burden on the driver during neutral travel.

  According to the traveling control device of the present invention, safer wet traveling is possible.

  Hereinafter, a travel control device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a travel control device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the travel control device 1 of this embodiment includes a raindrop sensor 11, a wiper 12, a vehicle speed sensor 21, a yaw rate sensor 22, an installation load sensor 23, a radar 31 and a camera 32, sensors 41, a GPS 41, a vehicle The communication devices of the inter-vehicle communication unit 42 and the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43 and the display devices and actuators of the display 51, the accelerator actuator 52, the brake actuator 53, the transmission actuator 54, and the steering actuator 55 are connected to the travel control ECU 100. . The travel control device 1 according to the present embodiment is mounted on the host vehicle or another vehicle, and is configured to support driving by the driver during wet travel such as rainy weather and to perform travel control that ensures safety. ing.

  The raindrop sensor 11 is for detecting the amount of rain outside the host vehicle. The wiper 12 is for detecting the presence or absence of rain outside the host vehicle based on whether or not the wiper is operated by the driver.

  The vehicle speed sensor 21 is for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from the rotational speed of the axle of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 21 functions as own vehicle speed acquisition means described in the claims. The yaw rate sensor 22 detects the yaw rate in which the direction of the vehicle body of the host vehicle is expressed by the angular velocity using the Coriolis force, and any of a tuning fork type, a triangular prism type, a cylindrical type, and the like can be applied. . The ground load sensor 23 is for detecting the ground load per unit area of the host vehicle from the load related to the suspension of the host vehicle. The ground load sensor 23 functions as a vehicle ground load acquisition means described in the claims.

  As the radar 31, a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, or the like can be applied. The radar 31 emits an electromagnetic wave toward an object such as another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a roadside object, and measures the reflected wave, thereby measuring the distance and shape to the object. It is for detecting. As the camera 32, a monocular camera, a stereo camera, an infrared camera, or the like can be applied. The camera 32 is for acquiring a situation around the automobile by imaging an object such as another vehicle, a pedestrian, or a roadside object. The radar 31 and the camera 32 function as other vehicle speed acquisition means described in the claims.

  The GPS 41 is used to acquire information related to the road such as the slope of the road and the quality of the road surface in addition to measuring the position of the host vehicle using an artificial satellite. The inter-vehicle communication unit 42 communicates with other vehicles, and acquires information on other vehicles such as travel characteristics of other vehicles, water resistance deceleration of other vehicles, and ground load per unit area of other vehicles. . The road-to-vehicle communication unit 43 is for obtaining information such as weather from road facilities such as beacons.

  The travel control ECU 100 includes a dry travel data acquisition unit 111, a wet travel data acquisition unit 112, an own vehicle specification storage unit 121, an other vehicle specification storage unit 122, an own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131, and an other vehicle water resistance reduction. The vehicle includes a speed calculation unit 132, a vehicle splashing degree estimation unit 141, a vehicle splashing degree estimation unit 142, and a travel plan generation unit 150.

  The dry travel data acquisition unit 111 automatically detects when the road surface is dry based on information from the raindrop sensor 11, the wiper 12, the vehicle speed sensor 21, the yaw rate sensor 22, the ground load sensor 23, the GPS 41, and the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43. This is for obtaining dry travel data relating to vehicle travel. The dry travel data acquisition unit 111 functions as dry travel data acquisition means described in the claims.

  The wet running data acquisition unit 112 automatically detects when the road surface is wet based on information from the raindrop sensor 11, the wiper 12, the vehicle speed sensor 21, the yaw rate sensor 22, the ground load sensor 23, the GPS 41, and the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43. This is for obtaining wet running data relating to running of the vehicle. The wet travel data acquisition unit 112 functions as wet travel data acquisition means described in the claims.

  The own vehicle specification storage unit 121 records the information on the own vehicle such as the dry running data obtained by the dry running data obtaining unit 111, the running characteristics of the own vehicle, and the ground load per unit area of the own vehicle. Is. The other vehicle specification storage unit 122 records other vehicle information such as the traveling characteristics of other vehicles, the other vehicle water resistance deceleration, and the ground load per unit area of the other vehicles acquired by the inter-vehicle communication unit 42. belongs to. The inter-vehicle communication unit 42 and the other vehicle specification storage unit 122 function as other vehicle ground load acquisition means described in the claims.

  The own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 determines the water resistance on the road surface from the difference between the dry travel data acquired by the dry travel data acquisition unit 111 and the wet travel data acquired by the wet travel data acquisition unit 112. This is to calculate the own vehicle water resistance deceleration, which is the degree to which the own vehicle decelerates. The own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 functions as the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means described in the claims.

  The other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132 is acquired by the radar 31 and the camera 32, information on the other vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication unit 42, information on the other vehicle recorded in the other vehicle specification storage unit 122, and the like. The other vehicle water resistance deceleration, which is the degree to which the other vehicle decelerates due to the water resistance on the road surface, is obtained based on the information of the other vehicle that has been made. The other vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 132 functions as other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means described in the claims.

  The vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 141 acquires the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 131, the ground load of the host vehicle detected by the ground load sensor 23, and the vehicle speed sensor 21. Based on the speed of the host vehicle, the range of splashing and the amount of splashing, which are the degree of occurrence of splashing by traveling of the host vehicle, are estimated. The own vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit 141 functions as the own vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit described in the claims.

  The other vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 142 includes the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132, the ground load of the other vehicle recorded in the other vehicle specification storage unit 122, and the laser 31. In addition, on the basis of the speed of the other vehicle acquired by the camera 32, the range of splashing and the amount of splashing, which is the degree to which splashing occurs due to the traveling of the other vehicle, are estimated. The other vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit 142 functions as other vehicle splash occurrence estimation means described in the claims.

  The travel plan generation unit 150 includes a lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151, a platoon travel plan generation unit 152, and an N travel plan generation unit 153. When the road surface is wet, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 is configured to decrease the vehicle water resistance deceleration based on the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131. This is for generating a travel plan for traveling the host vehicle. Further, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 determines whether the splash generated by the traveling of the host vehicle is caused by the traveling of the host vehicle based on the degree of occurrence of the splash by the traveling of the host vehicle estimated by the own vehicle splashing degree estimation unit 141. It is for producing | generating the travel plan which reduces the quantity concerning a person. Further, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 determines the amount of splashing generated by the traveling of the other vehicle on the own vehicle based on the degree of occurrence of the splashing by the traveling of the other vehicle estimated by the other vehicle splashing degree estimation unit 142. This is for generating a travel plan that reduces the amount of travel.

  The convoy travel plan generation unit 152 determines that the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132 are equal to or greater than a threshold value. For generating a travel plan for the host vehicle and other vehicles in the descending order of the ground load of the host vehicle acquired by the ground load sensor 23 and the ground load of the other vehicle recorded in the other vehicle specification storage unit 122 It is.

  The N travel plan generation unit 153 is for generating a travel plan for causing the host vehicle to perform a neutral travel in which the engine is not connected to the drive wheels.

  The travel plan generation unit 150 displays a display for guiding the driver to travel along the travel plan on the display 51 according to the generated travel plan. In addition, the travel plan generation unit 150 drives the accelerator actuator 52, the brake actuator 53, the transmission actuator 54, and the steering actuator 55 according to the generated travel plan, and causes the host vehicle to travel according to the travel plan. The travel plan generation unit 150 functions as a travel plan generation unit described in the claims.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the travel control device of the present embodiment will be described.

(Processing procedure 1-Lane keeping control)
Hereinafter, the operation of the lane keeping control in the travel control device of the present embodiment will be described. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation of the lane keeping control according to the embodiment. Note that the following processing is continuously performed at a cycle of 10 to 100 ms from when the automobile engine is started to when it is stopped.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the travel control device 1 acquires the propulsive force of the host vehicle in dry travel before performing wet travel according to the following procedure. The dry travel data acquisition unit 111 acquires the characteristics values of the host vehicle such as the engine characteristics, gear characteristics, and travel resistance values recorded in the host vehicle specification storage unit 121, and the speed, throttle opening, gear stage, and the like. When a road gradient or the like is designated, preparation is made for estimating the propulsive force of the host vehicle (S101). In a situation where it is estimated that the road surface is in a dry state from the detected value of the raindrop sensor 11, the operation of the wiper 12, or the weather information acquired by the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43, the dry travel data acquisition unit 111 is performed in step S <b> 101. The numerical value estimated from the acquired characteristic value of the own vehicle and the numerical value actually detected from the vehicle speed sensor 21, the yaw rate sensor 22, etc. are compared by a general mechanical method, and each characteristic value of the own vehicle is corrected. Implement (S102).

  The travel control device 1 calculates the water resistance deceleration of the host vehicle during wet travel according to the following procedure. The state in which the wiper 12 is not operated continues for a long time of, for example, 10 minutes or more (S103), and the state in which the water resistance deceleration calculated by the method described later is 0 also continues for a long time of, for example, 10 minutes or more. If so, the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 sets the water resistance deceleration to 0 (S105) and does not perform the following processing. When it is determined from the information from the GPS 41, the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43, etc. that the road is a drainage pavement section (S104), the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 calculates the water depth on the road surface. Is 0, the water resistance deceleration is set to 0 (S105), and the following processing is not performed.

  There is another vehicle ahead of the host vehicle. For example, TTC (Time to Collision) which is the time until the other vehicle and the host vehicle collide with each other as they are is close to within 2 seconds. When the water resistance deceleration of the other vehicle can be acquired from the preceding other vehicle by the inter-vehicle communication unit 42 (S106), the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculating unit 131 determines the water resistance of the preceding other vehicle. The deceleration is set as the water resistance source speed of the host vehicle (S107).

The own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 calculates the road surface on which the own vehicle currently acquired by the GPS 41 or the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43 from the characteristic values of the own vehicle acquired by the dry travel data acquisition unit 111 in step S102. The acceleration in the dry running of the own vehicle is calculated in consideration of the gradient information (S108). The acceleration of the host vehicle in dry travel is calculated by the following equation, for example.
Acceleration = engine expected torque x gear ratio x (1-each loss) x (1-longitudinal gradient ratio)
Thereby, the acceleration D in the dry travel of the host vehicle 200 as shown in FIG. 4 is calculated.

  The own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 compares the acceleration D in the dry running of the own vehicle 200 calculated in step S108 with the acceleration in the wet running of the own vehicle actually detected by the wet running data acquisition unit 112. Then, a value obtained by subtracting the acceleration in the wet travel from the acceleration in the dry travel is calculated as the water resistance deceleration R of the host vehicle 200 as shown in FIG. 5 (S109).

  As shown in FIG. 3, it is found from the information acquired by the GPS 41 and the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43 that the road on which the host vehicle 200 is traveling is a straight road (S110), and the steering wheel is held straight. However, when the yaw rate sensor 22 detects the yaw rate, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 thinks that one of the left and right wheels is on a heel T as shown in FIG. The yaw rate is set as a water resistance yaw rate (S111).

  The travel control device 1 performs safe automatic operation in consideration of the water depth of the road surface during wet travel according to the following procedure. First, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 does not set the target of the lane keeping control for the lane as the center of the lane, but sets a target to which a lateral deviation that is shifted to the left and right in increments of 1 cm within a range of ± 30 cm, for example (S112). . The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 performs lane keeping control for each target set by adding the lateral deviation (S113).

  The own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 calculates the own vehicle water resistance deceleration according to the procedure of steps S103 to S109 for each target to which the lateral deviation set in step S112 is added (S114). It has been found from the information acquired by the GPS 41 and the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43 that the road on which the host vehicle 200 is traveling is a straight road (S115), and the steering wheel is held in a straight traveling state. When the yaw rate sensor 22 detects the yaw rate, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 sets the yaw rate as the water resistance yaw rate (S116).

  The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 includes a portion of the lateral deviation with the highest vehicle water resistance source speed calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 among the targets to which the lateral deviation set in step S112 is added. It is determined that it is 、 T, and the target of the lateral deviation where the vehicle water resistance source speed calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 is the lowest among the targets to which the lateral deviation set in step S112 is added. Lane holding control is performed (S117).

  If the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 is larger than 0.1 G, which is a specified value, for example (S118), the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 sets the vehicle speed to 1 km / A travel plan to be decreased in increments of h is generated, and the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 calculates the vehicle water resistance deceleration so as to be equal to or less than a specified value (S119).

  When the estimated water resistance yaw rate is not 0 (S120), the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 calculates a corrected steering angle that cancels the yaw rate from the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 21, and performs steering control. Implement (S121).

(Procedure 2-During platooning control)
Hereinafter, the operation | movement at the time of row | line | column traveling control in the traveling control apparatus of this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of platooning control of the traveling control device according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132 calculate the own vehicle water resistance deceleration and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration according to the processing procedure 1 described above. (S201). When the own vehicle water resistance deceleration and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration by the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the other vehicle water resistance acquisition unit 132 are, for example, 0.1 G or less, which is a predetermined value (S202), The following processing is not performed.

  The travel control device 1 estimates the average contact load per unit area of each other vehicle around the host vehicle according to the following procedure. First, using the radar 31 and the camera 32, the convoy travel plan generating unit 152 detects the size and vehicle type of each other vehicle around the host vehicle (S203). The convoy travel plan generation unit 152 detects each other vehicle detected by the radar 31 and the camera 32 from the information of the other vehicle recorded in the other vehicle specification storage unit 122 or the information of the other vehicle acquired from the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43. The total of the tire ground contact areas corresponding to is derived (S204).

  The convoy travel plan generation unit 152 actually detects the weight of the other vehicle recorded in the other vehicle specification storage unit 122 or the weight of the other vehicle acquired from the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43 by the radar 31 and the camera 32. Correction is performed in consideration of the operation of each other vehicle, and the actual weight of each other vehicle is estimated (S205). The convoy travel plan generation unit 152 calculates a contact average load per unit area of each other vehicle based on the tire contact area derived in step S204 with respect to the weight of each other vehicle estimated in step S205 (S206). .

  The convoy travel plan generation unit 152 is also the same as steps S203 to S206 for the host vehicle based on the information on the host vehicle recorded in the host vehicle specification storage unit 121 and the detected value from the ground load sensor 23. Then, the average contact load per unit area of each other vehicle of the host vehicle is calculated (S207).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the convoy travel plan generation unit 152, when the other vehicle 202 of the ground load W larger than the ground load W of the own vehicle 201 exists in the other vehicle 202 in the vicinity (S208). A travel plan for following the other vehicle is generated (S209). On the other hand, if the other vehicle 202 in the vicinity has a ground load W smaller than the ground load W of the host vehicle 201 in the other vehicle 202 in the vicinity (S210), the platoon travel plan generation unit 152 precedes the other vehicle. A travel plan for performing is generated (S211).

  When all the vehicles in the vehicle group are equipped with the travel control device 1 of the present embodiment, all the vehicles in the vehicle group perform the processes in steps S201 to S210, and the grounding is performed from the vehicle having a large grounding load. A formation is formed that travels in order of increasing load (S212).

(Procedure 3-Action to avoid splashing other vehicles)
Hereinafter, the operation | movement which avoids the splash of the other vehicle in the traveling control apparatus of this embodiment is demonstrated. FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts illustrating an operation of avoiding splashing of the other vehicle of the travel control device according to the embodiment. First, as shown in FIG. 9, the travel control device 1 estimates the degree of occurrence of other vehicle splashes generated by the preceding vehicle according to the following procedure.

  The other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132 and the other vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 142 acquire the other vehicle water resistance deceleration of the preceding vehicle according to the above-described processing procedure 1 (S301). The other-vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 142 obtains the contact load per unit area of the preceding vehicle in the same manner as in the above-described processing procedure 2 (S302). The other vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit 142 measures the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle using the radar 31 and the camera 32 (S303). Note that the process of step S303 may be included in the process of step S301 or S302.

The other vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit 142 calculates the splash occurrence degree of the preceding vehicle from the results of the above steps S301 to S303, for example, by the following formula (S304).
Occurrence of water splash on other vehicles = Other vehicle water resistance deceleration × speed × ground load

Alternatively, the other vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit 142 may calculate the other vehicle splash occurrence degree as the reach distance of the splash according to the following expression. In the following formula, wheel ground load = (estimated weight of other vehicle) / (number of wheels of other vehicle), and k is a predetermined coefficient.
Splashing distance = k x Other vehicle water resistance deceleration x Wheel contact load x (Speed) ²

  The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 sets the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle that is not affected by the splashing generated by the preceding vehicle according to the following procedure. The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 recognizes that the vehicle is traveling through a tunnel based on information from the GPS 41, recognizes that the weather is not rainy based on information from the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43, or When the wiper 12 recognizes that the wiper 12 has not been operated for 10 minutes or more, for example, it is determined that the road surface is dry (S305), and a travel plan for performing general follow-up travel on the preceding vehicle is generated (S306). ).

When the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 determines that the road surface is in a wet state (S305), the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 calculates an inter-vehicle time corresponding to the inter-vehicle distance according to the other vehicle water splash occurrence degree estimated by the other vehicle water splash occurrence degree estimation unit 142. A travel plan for performing follow-up travel with the target inter-vehicle time is generated (S306). This target inter-vehicle time is calculated by the following formula, for example. In the following equation, the coefficient l is determined by an actual running test. The coefficient l is a value greater than zero. As described above, as shown in FIG. 11, the own vehicle 201 performs a follow-up traveling with respect to the preceding other vehicle 202 by taking the inter-vehicle distance d in consideration of the splashing generated by the other vehicle.
Target inter-vehicle time = normal TTC + other vehicle splash rate x coefficient l

  When overtaking the preceding vehicle, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 determines an overtaking time that is not affected by the splashing of the preceding vehicle according to the following procedure. The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 recognizes that the vehicle is traveling through a tunnel based on information from the GPS 41, recognizes that the weather is not rainy based on information from the road-to-vehicle communication unit 43, or If it is recognized that the wiper 12 has not been operated for 10 minutes or more, for example, it is determined that the road surface is dry (S308), and a travel plan for quickly overtaking the preceding vehicle is generated (S309).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, 300 m ahead of the road that is scheduled to be overtaken, the other vehicle equipped with the travel control device 1 of the present embodiment has the water resistance deceleration as in the above-described processing procedure 1. It calculated and fulfilled the role as a probe car, and the lane keeping travel plan generating unit 151 obtained information from the other vehicle that the water resistance deceleration was higher than 0.3 G, for example, via the inter-vehicle communication unit 42. In this case (S310), as shown in FIG. 11, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 travels in the section S1 where the own vehicle water resistance deceleration is high, and the lane change at the time of overtaking is The vehicle is judged to be dangerous in terms of stability, and the other vehicle 202 preceding is not overtaken, and the following processing is not performed (S315).

  The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 generates a travel plan after predicting the travel pattern of the preceding vehicle based on information from the radar 31 and the camera 32 when generating a travel plan for overtaking (S311).

  The other vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 142 calculates the other vehicle water splash occurrence degree generated by the preceding vehicle in the same manner as the process of step S304 (S313). When the estimated other vehicle water splash occurrence is within the specified value, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 travels in the section S2 where the own vehicle water resistance deceleration is low, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is determined that there is little possibility that the field of view is blocked by the splash of water, and a travel plan for overtaking is generated (S314). On the other hand, when the estimated degree of occurrence of other vehicle water splashes exceeds the specified value, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 stops overtaking (S315). The specified value in this case is determined by an actual running test.

(Processing procedure 4-Action to avoid damage to the surrounding area due to splashing of the vehicle)
Hereafter, the operation | movement which avoids the damage to the circumference | surroundings by the spray of the own vehicle in the traveling control apparatus of this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traveling control apparatus according to the embodiment to avoid damage to the surroundings due to the splashing of the own vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 generates a travel control plan for the host vehicle (S401). The own vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit 141 performs, for example, a specified time from the present time of the own vehicle by performing the same process as the step S304 of the procedure 3 on the own vehicle based on the travel control plan generated in step S401. For example, the degree of occurrence of splashing of the own vehicle until 10 seconds later is predicted every 100 ms (S402).

  The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 detects the pedestrian M present on the sidewalk in the front as shown in FIG. 13 with the laser 31 and the camera 32, and observes the movement (S403). The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 predicts the movement of the pedestrian M for 10 seconds, which is a specified time, based on the movement information of the pedestrian M acquired by the laser 31 and the camera 32 (S404). If the position of the host vehicle 200 at each time in the travel control plan generated in step S401 and the position of each time of the pedestrian M predicted in step S404 are not within a specified range, for example, within 10 m (S405), the lane The holding travel plan generation unit 151 adopts the travel control plan generated in step S401 and does not perform the following processing (S407).

  In the travel control plan generated in step S401, at the time when the vehicle passes near the pedestrian M, if the vehicle splashing degree at the time is within a specified value set by a test or the like (S406), the lane keeping travel plan The generation unit 151 adopts the travel control plan generated in step S401 and does not perform the following processing (S407).

  As shown in FIG. 13, when a travel plan that avoids the side where the pedestrian M exists can be generated by the avoidance trajectory R such as moving 10 cm to the center line side, the lane holding travel plan generation unit 151 is generated. Regenerates the travel control plan from step S401 (S408). When there is no remaining freedom to generate a travel plan that avoids splashing the pedestrian M, the travel speed is gradually decreased, for example, in increments of 1 km / h in the most avoided target trajectory, The degree of vehicle splashing is set to a specified value or less (S409).

(Processing procedure 5-Operation during neutral driving)
Hereinafter, the operation at the time of neutral traveling in the traveling control device of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traveling control device according to the embodiment during neutral traveling. In the following processing, a travel plan intentionally including an N (neutral gear) travel section in which the engine is not connected to the drive wheel before calculating the vehicle water resistance deceleration in the above-described processing procedure 1, The N travel plan generation unit 153 generates the time during advance dry travel and during wet travel in actual rainy weather or the like (S501).

  Since the value of the own vehicle water resistance deceleration obtained by the N traveling is high in accuracy, the N traveling plan generating unit 153 determines that the other vehicle on which the traveling control device 1 of the present embodiment is mounted is N as in the above step S501. When the water resistance deceleration due to traveling is calculated to play the role of a probe car, the information is collected for each section of the road (S502). In this case, such information may be collected via a mobile phone or the like, and the information may be collected at an information center having the function of the travel control device of the present embodiment. The vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the information center preferentially collect the information obtained by N driving, and the prediction accuracy is low in the normal driving / braking section for the section having no value by N driving. (S503 to S505).

  The own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the information center obtain the average of the water resistance deceleration in each section, create a distribution map (map) of the water resistance deceleration in the area, and distribute it to each vehicle ( S506, S507). The vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the information center obtain an increase rate due to rainfall or the like in the distribution map of the water resistance deceleration, and distribute information related to an increase prediction, for example, assuming a constant increase to each vehicle ( S508, S509).

In the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the information center, there is a difference in the average water resistance deceleration (excluding the influence of the gradient) due to the difference in the traveling direction of the same road, and the weather information is also strong. If wind is observed, it is determined that the error is due to wind, and information to that effect is distributed to each vehicle (S510). The wind acceleration due to the wind force in this case can be estimated by the following equation.
Wind acceleration = | Outward water resistance deceleration-Inbound water resistance deceleration | / 2

  The travel plan generation unit 150 of the host vehicle and the other vehicle that has received the information performs correction of the travel plan based on the information (S511), and in the information acquired in steps S506 to S509, the region where the water resistance deceleration is low. A travel plan is generated so as to preferentially pass through at each time (S512).

  According to the present embodiment, the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 calculates the difference between the dry travel data acquired by the dry travel data acquisition unit 111 and the wet travel data acquired by the wet travel data acquisition unit 112 on the road surface. The vehicle water resistance deceleration, which is the degree to which the host vehicle decelerates due to the water resistance, is calculated. When the road surface is wet, the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 Since the travel plan of the host vehicle is generated based on the calculated host vehicle water resistance deceleration, the host vehicle can be wet-traveled more safely based on the state of water on the road surface.

  In addition, the lane holding travel plan generation unit 151 causes the vehicle to travel in a direction in which the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 is smaller than the current time on the road surface. Thus, the vehicle can travel while avoiding a place where water accumulates and the vehicle water resistance deceleration increases, and a dangerous situation that can occur when the road surface is wet, such as a hydroplaning phenomenon or a slip, can be avoided.

  On the other hand, the convoy travel plan generation unit 152 uses the threshold values of the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit 131 and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132 as threshold values. For the above vehicle and other vehicles, in order to generate a travel plan that forms a row in order from the own vehicle and other vehicles having the largest contact load, after the vehicle having a large contact load that hardly causes hydroplaning phenomenon repels water on the road surface Thus, a vehicle with a small ground load travels, and a hydroplaning phenomenon in a vehicle with a small ground load can be prevented. In particular, when all the vehicles in the platoon are equipped with the travel control device 1 of the present embodiment, the number of vehicles that perform the above-described processing increases, and as a result, the vehicle with the largest ground load becomes the head and the ground load It is possible to form a rear row with a small vehicle and avoid problems such as hydroplaning throughout the entire row.

  Further, the other vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 142 determines whether the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 132 acquires the other vehicle water resistance deceleration, the ground load of the other vehicle, and the speed of the other vehicle. The lane keeping travel plan generation unit 151 estimates the degree of occurrence of splashing by the traveling of the vehicle, and the lane keeping traveling plan generation unit 151 travels the own vehicle based on the degree of occurrence of splashing by the traveling of the other vehicle estimated by the other vehicle splashing generation degree estimation unit 142. Since the plan is generated, for example, it is possible to prevent the field of view of the host vehicle from being obstructed due to the splashing of the traveling of another vehicle and the field of view from being deteriorated.

  Alternatively, the vehicle water splash occurrence estimation unit 141 may determine whether the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit 131 has acquired the vehicle water resistance deceleration, the ground load of the vehicle, and the speed of the vehicle. The degree to which splashing occurs due to the traveling of the vehicle is estimated, and the lane keeping traveling plan generation unit 151 travels based on the degree to which splashing occurs due to the traveling of the own vehicle estimated by the own vehicle splashing degree estimation unit 141. Since the plan is generated, for example, it is possible to prevent the pedestrians on the sidewalk, bicycles, and other vehicles passing the opposite lane from being splashed.

  Further, the N travel plan generation unit 153 generates a travel plan for causing the host vehicle to perform neutral travel, and the dry travel data acquisition unit 111 and the wet travel data acquisition unit 112 do not have the engine of the host vehicle connected to the drive wheels. Since the dry travel data and wet travel data are acquired during neutral travel, the driver's burden in neutral travel is reduced, while errors in engine output that cause errors in the estimation of the vehicle water resistance deceleration, gears, etc. The influence of the driving force error such as a change in the transmission efficiency of the vehicle is eliminated, and the accuracy of the estimation of the vehicle water resistance deceleration can be improved.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of lane holding | maintenance control of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of lane holding | maintenance control of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the force concerning a vehicle at the time of dry travel. It is a figure which shows the force concerning a vehicle at the time of wet driving | running | working. It is a top view which shows the vehicle at the time of lane keeping control. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of row | line | column running control of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the vehicle with a large unit ground load and a small vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which avoids the spray of the other vehicle of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which avoids the spray of the other vehicle of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement which performs overtaking, avoiding the splash of another vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which avoids the damage to the periphery by the spray of the own vehicle of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement which prevents a pedestrian from being splashed. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of neutral driving | running | working of the traveling control apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Traveling control apparatus, 11 ... Raindrop sensor, 12 ... Wiper, 21 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 22 ... Yaw rate sensor, 23 ... Installation load sensor, 31 ... Radar, 32 ... Camera, 41 ... GPS, 42 ... Inter-vehicle communication part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 43 ... Road-to-vehicle communication part, 51 ... Display, 52 ... Accelerator actuator, 53 ... Brake actuator, 54 ... Transmission actuator, 55 ... Steering actuator, 100 ... Travel control ECU, 111 ... Dry travel data acquisition part, 112 ... Wet travel data Acquiring unit, 121 ... Own vehicle specification storage unit, 122 ... Other vehicle specification storage unit, 131 ... Own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit, 132 ... Other vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit, 141 ... Degree of occurrence of own vehicle water splash Estimating unit, 142 ... Other vehicle splashing degree estimating unit, 150 ... Travel plan generating unit, 151 ... Lane holding mileage meter Generator, 152 ... convoy travel plan producing section, 153 ... N travel plan producing section, 200, 201 ... vehicle, 202 ... other vehicles.

Claims (6)

Dry travel data acquisition means for acquiring dry travel data relating to the travel of the host vehicle when the road surface is dry;
Wet travel data acquisition means for acquiring wet travel data related to the travel of the host vehicle when the road surface is wet;
The own vehicle is the degree to which the own vehicle decelerates due to the resistance of water on the road surface from the difference between the dry travel data acquired by the dry travel data acquisition means and the wet travel data acquired by the wet travel data acquisition means Own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculating means for calculating water resistance deceleration;
Travel plan generating means for generating a travel plan for the host vehicle based on the host vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the host vehicle water resistance deceleration calculating unit when the road surface is wet;
The travel plan generation means generates a travel control for generating the travel plan for causing the host vehicle to travel in a direction in which the host vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation calculated by the host vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation unit becomes smaller than the present time on the road surface. apparatus. Other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means for acquiring another vehicle water resistance deceleration that is the degree to which the other vehicle decelerates due to water resistance on the road surface;
Own vehicle contact load acquisition means for acquiring a contact load per unit area with the road surface of the host vehicle;
Other vehicle contact load acquisition means for acquiring a contact load per unit area with the road surface of the other vehicle,
The travel plan generation means is configured such that the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculated by the own vehicle water resistance deceleration calculation means and the other vehicle water resistance deceleration obtained by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means are equal to or greater than a threshold value. For the host vehicle and the other vehicle, a travel plan that forms a platoon in order from the host vehicle and the other vehicle having a large ground load acquired by the host vehicle ground load acquiring unit and the other vehicle ground load acquiring unit is generated. Item 2. The travel control device according to Item 1 . Other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means for acquiring another vehicle water resistance deceleration that is the degree to which the other vehicle decelerates due to water resistance on the road surface;
Other vehicle ground load acquisition means for acquiring a ground load per unit area with the road surface of the other vehicle;
Other vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the speed of the other vehicle;
The other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means, the ground load of the other vehicle acquired by the other vehicle ground load acquisition means, and the other vehicle speed acquisition means acquired by the other vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition means Another vehicle splash occurrence estimation means for estimating the degree of occurrence of splash due to travel of the other vehicle based on the speed of the other vehicle;
2. The travel control according to claim 1, wherein the travel plan generation unit generates the travel plan of the host vehicle based on a degree of occurrence of splashing due to travel of the other vehicle estimated by the other vehicle splash occurrence estimation unit. apparatus. Own vehicle contact load acquisition means for acquiring a contact load per unit area with the road surface of the host vehicle;
Own vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring the speed of the own vehicle;
The vehicle water resistance deceleration obtained by the vehicle water resistance deceleration acquisition unit, the ground load of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle ground load acquisition unit, and the vehicle speed acquisition unit acquired by the vehicle speed acquisition unit. A vehicle splashing degree estimation means for estimating the degree of occurrence of splashing due to the traveling of the host vehicle based on the speed of the host vehicle;
2. The travel control according to claim 1, wherein the travel plan generation unit generates the travel plan of the host vehicle based on a degree of occurrence of splashing due to the travel of the host vehicle estimated by the host vehicle splashing degree estimation unit. apparatus. The dry running data acquisition means and the wet running data acquisition means, the engine of the vehicle to acquire each of the dry running data and wet running data at neutral travel that is not connected to the drive wheels, according to claim 1-4 The travel control device according to any one of claims. The travel control device according to claim 5 , wherein the travel plan generation unit generates a travel plan for causing the host vehicle to perform the neutral travel.

Images