JP5007554B2 - Speed limiter for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle speed limiting device, and more particularly, to a vehicle speed limiting device that can reduce the possibility of an accident due to an overtaking action of a succeeding vehicle and increase the traveling safety of the vehicle.

  When driving a vehicle, we often encounter situations where our vehicle is overtaken by a following vehicle. At this time, the risk of an accident occurring for the own vehicle that is overtaken is greatly increased. For example, if braking suddenly without noticing the presence of a subsequent vehicle to be overtaken, there is a risk of a rear-end collision with the subsequent vehicle. In addition, the risk of contact increases because the vehicles approach each other during parallel running. In addition, if the parallel running distance and running time between vehicles become longer, the road that avoids danger to the side will be cut accordingly, and the car running in parallel may be deprived of consciousness and become careless ahead. The risk of occurrence increases. On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a rear monitoring device that captures the back of the host vehicle with a television camera and detects overtaking of the following vehicle based on the captured image. The purpose of this rear monitoring device is to detect overtaking of the following vehicle and issue an alarm to the driver. In relation to the situation of overtaking, for example, Patent Document 2 proposes a driving support device that provides information on whether or not overtaking can be performed and whether or not the overtaking is appropriate.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-278541 JP-A-2005-149402

  In the rear monitoring apparatus proposed by Patent Document 1, the alarm may be extinguished by music in the vehicle interior or noise around the vehicle and may not reach the driver's ear. Even when an alarm is noticed, the driving safety of the vehicle is left to the driving skill and judgment of the driver. In other words, in this rear monitoring device, no consideration has been given to technically enhancing the driving safety of the vehicle other than issuing an alarm.

  On the other hand, the driving support device proposed in Patent Document 2 is a device for supporting a driver of a succeeding vehicle to be overtaken. From this, according to the driving support device proposed in Patent Document 2, it can be expected that smooth overtaking is performed even for the host vehicle that is overtaken. However, regarding an accident that occurs in the situation of overtaking, the cause itself is an overtaking action, but the behavior of the host vehicle greatly affects whether or not the accident actually occurs at this time. For this reason, even with the driving support device proposed in Patent Document 2, it can be said that there is still a high risk of an accident occurring when the driver is unaware of the presence of the following vehicle or when the vehicles are running side by side.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a vehicle speed limiting device that can reduce the possibility of an accident due to an overtaking action of a succeeding vehicle and improve the traveling safety of the vehicle. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a vehicle speed limiting device for limiting the speed of a vehicle, wherein the overtaking intention determining means for determining an overtaking intention of a succeeding vehicle and the overtaking intention determining means are the following If the intent of overtaking a vehicle, it is determined that, a certain speed limit means for limiting the speed of the vehicle, the specific speed limiting means when the relative speed between the following vehicle is a predetermined value or more The overtaking intention determining means limits the speed of the vehicle to a first speed that is the speed of the vehicle when the succeeding vehicle determines that the following vehicle has an intention of overtaking, and the relative speed with respect to the following vehicle is If the speed is smaller than the predetermined value, the speed of the vehicle is limited to a second speed that is smaller than the first speed . According to the present invention, since the speed of the own vehicle is limited when the succeeding vehicle has overtaken, it is possible to shorten the parallel running time and the parallel running distance between the vehicles that occur in the situation of overtaking. For this reason, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility of an accident due to the overtaking action of the following vehicle, and to improve the traveling safety of the vehicle. In addition, for example, when the succeeding vehicle is about to pass at a considerably high speed, there is an increased risk that the subsequent vehicle will collide with the subsequent vehicle if the host vehicle decelerates. It is possible to avoid such a concern.

In the present invention, the second speed may be smaller than the first speed and 90% or more of the first speed.

The present invention may further include means for releasing the restriction of the vehicle speed by the specific speed restriction means based on an accelerator operation by the driver of the vehicle.

  The present invention may further include an inter-vehicle communication unit, and the overtaking intention determination unit may determine the overtaking intention of the subsequent vehicle based on the information on the subsequent vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication unit. In determining the overtaking of the following vehicle, specifically, for example, it is preferable to determine based on information obtained by inter-vehicle communication as in the present invention from the viewpoint of determination accuracy.

  Further, according to the present invention, the following vehicle information includes acceleration state information of the following vehicle and steering operation information or winker operation state information, and the overtaking intention determination means includes at least the acceleration state information, Based on the steering operation information or the blinker operation state information, the intention of overtaking the succeeding vehicle may be determined. When overtaking here, the following vehicle accelerates. When overtaking, the following vehicle normally operates a winker. Even if the winker is not operated, steering operation is always required when overtaking. According to the present invention focusing on this point, it is possible to appropriately determine the intention of overtaking the succeeding vehicle. In addition, the overtaking intention determination means may further determine the overtaking intention of the following vehicle based on travel lane information or the like.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the speed limit apparatus of the vehicle which can reduce the possibility that the accident resulting from the overtaking action of a following vehicle will generate | occur | produce and can improve the driving safety of a vehicle can be provided.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a vehicle speed limiting device according to this embodiment realized by an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 1 together with other related components. The ECU 1 is mounted on the host vehicle (not shown). The ECU 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an input / output circuit, and the like (not shown). The ECU 1 controls the electric throttle 5 and the brake device 6. For example, an ECU 1 that mainly controls an engine (not shown) can be applied. The electric throttle 5 is configured to adjust the amount of intake air supplied to the engine. Moreover, the brake device 6 is a structure for braking a wheel and decelerating the speed of the own vehicle. In addition to the electric throttle 5 and the brake device 6, various control objects are connected to the ECU 1 via a drive circuit (not shown). The ECU 1 is connected to various sensors such as an accelerator opening sensor 2 for detecting the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal (accelerator opening) and a vehicle speed sensor 3 for detecting the speed of the vehicle.

  The information acquisition device 4 is mounted on the host vehicle. The information acquisition device 4 is also connected to the ECU 1. The information acquisition device 4 is a configuration for acquiring various types of information that can be used for traveling of the host vehicle. In this embodiment, the information acquisition device 4 includes a communication device 4a and a navigation device 4b that uses a GPS (Global Positioning System). Has been. The communication device 4a is a configuration for acquiring infrastructure information, and acquires information on road conditions (for example, traffic jam information, accident information, and speed regulation information) that is currently running from communication devices installed along the road as infrastructure information. Or transmitting / receiving mutual position information to / from communication devices owned by pedestrians. Further, the communication device 4a performs inter-vehicle communication with the following vehicle, and acquires information on the following vehicle as infrastructure information. In the present embodiment, an inter-vehicle communication means is realized by the communication device 4a. The navigation device 4b calculates current position information of the host vehicle using GPS and an autonomous sensor, and acquires information around the host vehicle such as navigation information (hereinafter referred to as navigation information) based on the current position information. Specifically, for example, based on the current position information of the host vehicle, whether the currently running road is a straight line or a curve, or the currently running lane is acquired. The ECU 1 further acquires these pieces of information from the information acquisition device 4.

  The ROM is configured to store programs in which various processes executed by the CPU are described. In the present embodiment, the overtaking intention determination program for determining the overtaking intention of the following vehicle and the conversion map M are referred to. Target throttle opening for limiter control so that the current speed Vn does not exceed the limiter speed VL by intervening in the throttle opening calculation program for calculating the throttle opening from the accelerator opening and the throttle opening calculation processing A limiter control program for calculating TAmL and controlling the electric throttle 5, a deceleration program for controlling the brake device 6 and decelerating when the current speed Vn exceeds the limiter speed VL, etc. Storing. Note that these programs may be combined together. When the limiter control is not executed, the accelerator opening is converted into a throttle opening based on the conversion map M as indicated by a broken line, and the electric throttle 5 is controlled based on the throttle opening.

  Specifically, the overtaking intention determination program is created so as to determine the overtaking intention of the subsequent vehicle based on the information of the subsequent vehicle acquired by the information acquisition device 4. In the present embodiment, the information acquisition device 4 acquires acceleration state information (for example, accelerator opening), steering operation information, and blinker operation state information of the subsequent vehicle as information on the subsequent vehicle. The overtaking intention determination program is created so as to determine the overtaking intention of the following vehicle based on the acceleration state information, the steering operation information, and the blinker operation state information. Specifically, when the overtaking intention determination program determines that the following vehicle is accelerating based on the acceleration state information, the steering is operated more than a predetermined steering angle based on the steering operation information, or If the winker is operated based on the winker operation information, it is created so as to determine that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the overtaking intention determination program may be created so as to determine the overtaking intention of the following vehicle by various methods.

  The limiter control program includes a specific speed limiting program for limiting the speed of the vehicle when it is determined that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking. Specifically, the specific speed limiting program is created so as to limit the speed of the vehicle to a speed equal to or lower than the speed when it is determined that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking. For this reason, the specific speed limiting program is created so as to set the “speed below the speed at the time of determination” to the limiter speed VL. On the other hand, when the relative speed Vr with respect to the following vehicle (formula: Vr = speed Vo of the following vehicle−current speed Vn) is equal to or higher than the set relative speed value (predetermined value), the specific speed limiting program It is created so as to limit the speed of the vehicle to the speed at which it is determined that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking. For this reason, the specific speed limiting program is created so as to set the “speed when judged” to the limiter speed VL when the relative speed Vr is equal to or greater than the set relative speed value.

  Note that the limiter control program is created so as to appropriately set the limiter speed VL based on various information acquired from the information acquisition device 4 except when it is determined that the following vehicle has an intention to pass. In this embodiment, various control means, detection means, determination means, etc. are realized by the CPU, ROM, RAM (hereinafter also referred to as CPU, etc.) and the above-mentioned various programs. The overtaking intention determining means is realized by the program, and the specific speed limiting means is realized by the CPU and the specific speed limiting program.

  Next, the limiter control will be described in detail. In this embodiment, in order to limit the vehicle speed with the electric throttle 5, the limiter control target throttle opening degree TAmL is calculated by the calculation formula shown in the following equation (1).

(Equation 1)
TAmL = TAm × Kta
Here, TAm is the target throttle opening and is calculated based on the conversion map M. Kta is a limiter control coefficient, and is set based on the following equations 2 to 4 in this embodiment.

(Equation 2)
Kta = 1 (when VnL ≦ VnL1 <0)

(Equation 3)
Kta = (VnL / VnL1) ² (when VnL1 <VnL <0)

(Equation 4)
Kta = 0 (when 0 ≦ VnL)
Here, VnL is a difference (formula: VnL = Vn−VL) between the current speed Vn and the limiter speed VL. The predetermined value VnL1 is set in advance as a point when the limiter function is activated, and the limiter function is activated when VnL becomes larger than the predetermined value VnL1. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing Kta set based on the equations shown in Equations 2 to 4 above. The region I on the left side from VnL1 is a region that satisfies VnL ≦ VnL1 <0. For this reason, Kta is set to 1 in the region I based on the formula shown in Equation 2. This area I corresponds to the case where the current speed Vn is smaller than the limiter speed VL, and VnL is smaller than the predetermined value VnL1, and therefore the limiter function does not operate in the area I. Therefore, the accelerator opening is converted into the target throttle opening TAm calculated based on the conversion map M.

  Region II is a region corresponding to a state where the current speed Vn is about to reach the limiter speed VL. In this region II, VnL becomes larger than the predetermined value VnL1, so that the limiter function operates. Further, since the region II is a region satisfying VnL1 <VnL <0, Kta is set by a quadratic curve shown in the curve A based on the equation shown in Equation 3. When Kta is set before the current speed Vn reaches the limiter speed VL, in other words, until VnL becomes zero from VnL1, for example, when Kta is set as shown by the straight line B As compared with, the area where Kta is close to 0 (zero) can be increased. Thus, when the limiter function is activated, the vehicle speed easily converges to the limiter speed VL, and the time required for adaptation at this time can be shortened. At the same time, the occurrence of a state (hunting) in which the engine speed fluctuates up and down due to a rapid speed limit can be suppressed. This makes it possible to limit the speed without causing the driver to feel uncomfortable.

  Since the region III is a region that satisfies 0 ≦ VnL, Kta is set to 0 (zero) based on the equation shown in Equation 4. This area III is an area corresponding to the case where the current speed Vn is higher than the limiter speed VL. For example, when the information acquisition device 4 acquires accident information that occurred in front of the host vehicle, Based on this, the ECU 1 corresponds to a case where the limiter speed VL is set to be small. In this embodiment, when the current speed Vn is higher than the limiter speed VL, the ECU 1 controls the brake device 6 so that the current speed Vn is quickly less than the limiter speed VL. To do.

  Next, the process performed by the ECU 1 when the succeeding vehicle is overtaken will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The CPU executes processing for determining whether or not the limiter control switch is ON (step 11). This limiter control switch indicates that a vehicle failure has occurred when the limiter function is activated if the driver does not fully recognize that the vehicle speed is limited or decelerated when the succeeding vehicle is overtaken. This is provided because of the possibility of misunderstanding. As a result, the driver can effectively use the limiter function after fully understanding the function. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the limiter control may be activated when the ignition SW is turned on. If the determination in step 11 is negative, there is no need to execute the processing shown in step 11 and the subsequent steps, so the CPU continues to execute the processing shown in step 11 until a positive determination is made in step 11.

On the other hand, if the determination in step 11 is affirmative, the CPU executes processing for reading various data (step 12). Specifically, in this embodiment, the limiter speed VL, the current speed Vn, and the infrastructure information are read. Subsequently, the CPU executes a process of determining whether there is information on the following vehicle (step 13). Information about the following vehicle is read in step 12 as part of the infrastructure information. If an affirmative determination is made in step 13, the CPU executes a process of determining the intention of overtaking the following vehicle (step 14). If it is determined in this step that there is an intention to overtake, the CPU executes a process of calculating the relative speed Vr (step 15). Subsequently, the CPU executes a process of determining whether or not the relative speed Vr is equal to or higher than the set relative speed value (step 16).

  If an affirmative determination is made in step 16, the CPU executes a process of replacing the limiter speed VL with the current speed Vn (step 17). That is, in this step, since the relative speed Vr is considerably large, a setting for limiting the speed of the vehicle to the speed when it is determined that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking is performed. This avoids the possibility of a rear-end vehicle crashing. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 16, the CPU executes a process of replacing the limiter speed VL with a value obtained by multiplying the current speed Vn by the coefficient kb (step 18). That is, in this step, since the relative speed Vr is not so high, a setting for limiting the speed of the vehicle to a speed equal to or lower than the speed when it is determined that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking is performed. As a result, since deceleration is performed, it is possible to notify the driver of the fact that the following vehicle is about to pass.

The coefficient kb is preferably a value (for example, 0.9 ≦ kb <1 ) such that the limiter speed VL is about 10% less than the current speed Vn. While this makes it possible to inform the driver of the overtaking action of the following vehicle by deceleration, it cannot be said that there is no possibility of a collision with the following vehicle even if the relative speed Vr is not so high. by.

  Subsequently, the CPU executes a process of determining whether or not the current speed Vn is equal to or higher than the limiter speed VL (step 19). If the process shown in step 19 is performed following step 18, a negative determination is made in this step, and the CPU executes a process for decelerating with the brake device 6 (step 20), and an affirmative determination is made in step 19 In the meantime, the process shown in step 20 is repeatedly executed. As a result, the current speed Vn is quickly suppressed below the limiter speed VL. At this time, the brake lamp may be turned on. On the other hand, if the determination in step 19 is affirmative, the CPU executes a process of calculating Kta, and also executes a process of calculating the limiter control target throttle opening degree TAmL based on the equation shown in Equation 1 (step 21). Based on the calculated target throttle opening TAmL for limiter control, processing for performing throttle control is executed (step 22).

  As a result, the speed of the vehicle is limited to a speed at which it is determined that the succeeding vehicle has an intention of overtaking, or a speed equal to or less than the speed at which it is determined. That is, even if the driver tries to accelerate at this time, the speed of the vehicle does not exceed the limiter speed VL, so that the parallel running time and the parallel running distance with the following vehicle can be shortened. If the determination in step 13 or 14 is negative, the limiter speed VL is not replaced in step 17 or step 18, so that the vehicle is set under conditions other than when the subsequent vehicle has an intention to pass. Based on the limiter speed VL, that is, the limiter control is performed as usual. Further, the ECU 1 may incorporate a function for releasing the limiter control based on the specific speed limiting program (for example, an accelerator override function for releasing the limiter control based on a predetermined accelerator operation). As a result, when the driver senses a risk other than the overtaking action of the following vehicle, the driver can steer the vehicle to avoid the danger. As described above, it is possible to realize the ECU 1 that can reduce the possibility of an accident due to the overtaking action of the following vehicle and can improve the traveling safety of the vehicle.

  The embodiment described above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a figure which shows ECU1 typically with the other structure which concerns. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting of Kta typically. It is a figure which shows the process performed by ECU1 with a flowchart.

Explanation of symbols

1 ECU
2 accelerator opening sensor 3 vehicle speed sensor 4 information acquisition device 4a communication device 4b navigation device 5 electric throttle 6 brake device

Claims (5)

A vehicle speed limiting device for limiting the speed of a vehicle,
And overtaking intention determining means for determining overtaking intent of the following vehicle, the overtaking intention determining means, when the there is intention of overtaking the following vehicle, it is determined that, a certain speed limit means for limiting the speed of the vehicle Prepared ,
The specific speed limiting means is a speed of the vehicle when the overtaking intention judging means judges that the following vehicle has an intention of overtaking when the relative speed with the following vehicle is a predetermined value or more. When the speed of the vehicle is limited to a first speed and the relative speed with the following vehicle is smaller than the predetermined value, the speed of the vehicle is set to a second speed that is smaller than the first speed. speed limit limiting device for a vehicle, characterized by. 2. The vehicle speed limiting device according to claim 1, wherein the second speed is smaller than the first speed and 90% or more of the first speed. The vehicle speed limiting device according to claim 1, further comprising means for releasing the speed limit of the vehicle by the specific speed limiting means based on an accelerator operation by a driver of the vehicle.   4. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit is provided, and the overtaking intention determining unit determines the overtaking intention of the following vehicle based on the information on the subsequent vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication unit. The vehicle speed limiting device according to any one of the preceding claims.   The information of the following vehicle includes acceleration state information of the following vehicle and steering operation information or winker operation state information, and the overtaking intention determination means includes the acceleration state information and at least the steering operation information or winker. 5. The vehicle speed limiting device according to claim 4, wherein an intention to pass the succeeding vehicle is determined based on the operation state information.

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