JP5050002B2 - Vehicle object detection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention provides transmission / reception means for transmitting an electromagnetic wave toward a predetermined region set in the traveling direction of the own vehicle and receiving a reflected wave generated by the reflection of the electromagnetic wave by an object, and based on the received reflected wave. An object detection means for acquiring a distance from the vehicle to the object and a detection width in the left-right direction of the object relative to the traveling direction of the own vehicle; a reception intensity determination means for determining the reception intensity of the reflected wave of the object; and The present invention relates to an object detection apparatus for a vehicle including an output and a control target determination unit that determines an object to be controlled based on an output of the reception intensity determination unit .

  In a vehicle control device that automatically brakes or issues a warning to the driver when the distance between the control object such as the preceding vehicle detected by the radar device falls below a predetermined value, there is no possibility that the vehicle will collide Control the threshold of the reception intensity of the reflected wave that detects a stationary object like a preceding vehicle in order to prevent unnecessary vehicle control by misidentifying a short gate that is a stationary object as a controlled object. Patent Document 1 below discloses that a stationary object that cannot be an obstacle is excluded from a controlled object by setting it higher than the threshold value of the reflected wave reception intensity for detecting the object.

JP 2008-40646 A

  However, the above-mentioned conventional one is effective for an object having a relatively low electromagnetic wave reflection intensity such as a short gate, but it is installed on a driving guide plate that is installed above an expressway and displays a destination or the like. As described above, there is a possibility that an object having a high electromagnetic wave reflection intensity may be mistaken for a control target such as a preceding vehicle.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to accurately determine an object on a traveling road where there is no possibility that the own vehicle will collide.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an electromagnetic wave is transmitted toward a predetermined region set in the traveling direction of the host vehicle, and the reflected wave is generated when the electromagnetic wave is reflected by an object. Transmitting / receiving means for receiving the object, object detecting means for obtaining the distance from the own vehicle to the object and the detection width in the left-right direction of the object relative to the traveling direction of the own vehicle based on the received reflected wave, and the reflected wave of the object In a vehicle object detection device comprising: reception intensity determination means for determining reception intensity; and control object determination means for determining an object to be controlled based on an output of the object detection means and an output of the reception intensity determination means the control object determination section, the first and the determination threshold value or more, and the acquired detection width this time the first determination threshold maximum value of has been the detection width obtaining until this time has been set in advance Remote and a smaller second determination threshold value or more, and the reception intensity according to the decrease of the distance of the detection width decreases in accordance with decrease of the distance from the vehicle to the object, and from the vehicle to the object is A vehicle object detection device is proposed in which the object is excluded from the control target when it decreases .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect , the first determination threshold value is set based on a lateral width of an object to be excluded from a control target. An object detection device is proposed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect , the object to be excluded from the control target is a travel guide plate installed above the travel path. An object detection device is proposed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the second aspect , the object to be excluded from the control object is a traffic light casing installed above the traveling road. An object detection device is proposed.

The radar device R of the embodiment corresponds to the transmission / reception means of the present invention, the travel guide plate T and the traffic signal case T of the embodiment correspond to the object of the present invention, and the assumed width W of the embodiment. thr1 corresponds to the first determination threshold value of the present invention, and the minimum width threshold value W thr2 of the embodiment corresponds to the second determination threshold value of the present invention .

According to the configuration of claim 1, when the transmission / reception means transmits an electromagnetic wave toward a predetermined area set in the traveling direction of the own vehicle and receives the reflected wave generated by the reflection of the electromagnetic wave, the object detection means Based on the received reflected wave, the distance from the own vehicle to the object and the detection width in the left-right direction of the object with respect to the traveling direction of the own vehicle are acquired , and the reception intensity determination means determines the reception intensity of the reflected wave of the object , The control object determination unit determines an object to be controlled based on the output of the object detection unit and the output of the reception intensity determination unit . At this time, the control target determination unit is a second unit in which the maximum value of the detection width acquired up to this time is equal to or greater than a first determination threshold value set in advance, and the detection width acquired this time is smaller than the first determination threshold value. Control the object when it is above the judgment threshold, the detection width decreases as the distance from the vehicle to the object decreases, and the reception strength decreases as the distance from the vehicle to the object decreases Since it is excluded from the object, that is, the object above the road is larger in detection width than the left and right width of the object, and the object above the road is reduced as the vehicle approaches , and the object above the road By using the fact that the reflected area of the electromagnetic wave gradually decreases and the received intensity of the reflected wave decreases as the vehicle approaches, it is possible to accurately determine the object above the traveling road and exclude it from the control target .

According to the configuration of the second aspect , since the first determination threshold value for determining the object to be excluded from the control target is set based on the left and right width of the object, it is possible to accurately determine the object to be excluded. it can.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the travel guide plate installed above the travel path is excluded from the control target, unnecessary vehicle control using the travel guide plate as the control target is prevented. Can do.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the traffic signal casing installed above the travel path is excluded from the control target, unnecessary vehicle control with the traffic signal casing as the control target is prevented. Can do.

The block diagram which shows the whole structure of the traveling control apparatus for vehicles. The figure which shows the traveling guide plate above a traveling path. The figure which shows the relationship between the breadth of a beam of a radar apparatus, and detection accuracy. The figure which shows the effect | action of the light leakage part of the beam of a radar apparatus. The figure which shows the relationship between the distance of an object, and the detection width of the left-right direction. The figure which shows the relationship between the distance of an object, and reflection intensity. The flowchart explaining the effect | action of embodiment. The figure which shows the signal apparatus housing | casing of the upper direction of a traveling path.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Figure 1 shows obstacles such as preceding vehicles detected by a radar device, and avoids collisions by performing automatic braking or issuing a warning to the driver when there is a possibility that the vehicle will collide with the obstacles. The structure of the vehicle control apparatus which performs is shown.

  The electronic control unit U of the vehicle control device includes object detection means M1, reception intensity determination means M2, control target determination means M3, and vehicle control means M4. A radar device R that transmits an electromagnetic wave to a predetermined detection area in the traveling direction of the vehicle and receives a reflected wave reflected by the object T is connected to the object detection means M1 and the reception intensity determination means M2. The The vehicle control means M4 includes a brake actuator A1 that automatically brakes the vehicle and a vehicle that may collide with the obstacle in order to avoid collision with the obstacle or to reduce damage caused by the collision. It is connected to alarm means A2 that informs the driver of the possibility by using sound or a lamp and prompts the avoidance operation.

  The object detection means M1 calculates the direction of the detected object, the left-right width of the object, the relative distance, the relative speed, and the like based on the output of the radar device R. The reception intensity determination means M2 determines the reception intensity of the reflected wave from the object based on the output of the radar device R. The control object determination unit M3 determines an object with which the host vehicle may collide as a control object based on the output of the object detection unit M1 and the output of the reception intensity determination unit M2. This control target is assumed to be a preceding vehicle, and processing is performed to exclude an upper object such as a travel guide plate above the travel path where the host vehicle is unlikely to collide with the control target.

  In this way, when the control object determination means M3 determines an obstacle such as the preceding vehicle that may collide with the vehicle, the vehicle control means M4 avoids the collision with the obstacle or In order to reduce the damage caused by this, the operation of the brake actuator A1 and alarm means A2 is controlled.

  Next, the control object determination means M3 identifies an upper object such as a travel guide plate on a travel path where the host vehicle is unlikely to collide with an obstacle such as a preceding vehicle that the host vehicle may collide with. The principle to do is explained.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the highway travel guide plate T as an upper object of the present invention is disposed above the travel path, and its horizontal dimension is a constant value Wt according to the standard.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the radar apparatus R provided at the front end of the host vehicle V detects an object by scanning a front detection area with a beam B having a predetermined angle in the left-right direction. Since the width of each beam B in the left-right direction increases as the distance from the radar device R increases, near-field objects have higher left-right resolution and higher detection accuracy, while far-distance objects The resolution in the left-right direction is lowered and the detection accuracy is lowered.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, since there are light leakage portions that leak electromagnetic waves on both the left and right sides of each beam B, the light leakage portion of the beam B exists on an object that is outside the width of the original beam B and is not detected. , The object may be erroneously detected in the original direction of the beam B. Accordingly, electromagnetic waves that are not originally reflected through the left and right edges of the travel guide plate T are detected by reflecting the leaked light leaked to the outside of the left and right edges of the travel guide plate T, As a result, the detection width W of the travel guide plate T is larger than the actual left-right width Wt of the travel guide plate T. This phenomenon becomes conspicuous because the light leakage part spreads in the left-right direction as the distance of the travel guide plate T from the host vehicle V increases.

  FIG. 5 shows the above phenomenon. The detection width W of the long-distance travel guide plate T is considerably larger than the actual left-right width Wt, and the detection width W of the medium-distance travel guide plate T is greater than the actual left-right width Wt. Is slightly larger, and the detection width W of the short-distance travel guide plate T substantially matches the actual left-right width Wt. Thus, as the travel guide plate T approaches the host vehicle V, the detection width W decreases from a state larger than the actual left-right width Wt toward the actual left-right width Wt.

  The reflection intensity P of the reflected wave decreases as the distance of the travel guide plate T decreases. The reason for this is that, as shown in FIG. 6, when the travel guide plate T is at a long distance, a large area under the travel guide plate T enters the detection region of the radar device R that spreads in the vertical direction as the distance increases. This is because the reflection intensity P is increased, but the smaller the distance of the travel guide plate T is, the smaller the lower area of the travel guide plate T is in the detection area of the radar device R, so the reflection intensity P is weakened.

  According to the present embodiment, the radar device R is based on the phenomenon that the detection width W decreases as the distance of the travel guide plate T decreases and the event that the reflection intensity P decreases as the distance of the travel guide plate T decreases. It can be determined that the object detected by the vehicle is the travel guide plate T, and can be excluded from the target of vehicle control, so that the useless automatic target for the travel guide plate T with no possibility of collision with the host vehicle V It is possible to prevent deceleration and warning from being performed.

  The above operation will be further described based on the flowchart of FIG.

First, when the host vehicle V is traveling in step S1, the detection width W of the object detected by the object detection means M1 in step S2 is set as the detection width maximum value W which is the maximum value in which the object was detected in the past. Compared with Max, the current detection width W is the maximum detection width W. If it is greater than or equal to Max, the detection width maximum value W at the current detection width W in step S3. Update Max. On the other hand, in step S2, the current detection width W is the detection width maximum value W. If not more than Max, that is, the current detection width W is the maximum detection width W If Max is not updated, the process proceeds to step S4.

Here, when the traveling guide plate T of the highway is assumed as an object installed above the traveling path, a value obtained by adding a predetermined width α to the left and right width Wt of the traveling guide plate T is assumed as the assumed width W. The value obtained by subtracting the predetermined width β from the left and right width Wt of the travel guide plate T is set to thr1, and the minimum width threshold W Let thr2.

Maximum past detection width W of the same object continuously detected in step S4 Max is an assumed width W obtained by adding a predetermined width α to the left-right width Wt of the travel guide plate T. thr1 is exceeded and the previous detection width W Z1 exceeds the current detection width W, and the current reflection intensity P is the previous reflection intensity P. If Z1 or less, it is determined that the object may be the travel guide plate T, and the upper object counter is incremented in step S5. If any of the three conditions is not satisfied, the object is travel guide. It is determined that there is no possibility of the plate T, and the upper object counter is decremented in step S6.

Detection width maximum value W as the first condition Max> assumed width W The meaning of thr1 is that if the detected object is the travel guide plate T, the actual left-right width Wt of the travel guide plate T due to the light leakage part of the beam of the radar device R when it is detected far away in the past. This is because it should be detected larger than that.

The previous detection width W as the second condition Z1> This detection width W means that the detection width W of the travel guide plate T gradually decreases as the vehicle V approaches the travel guide plate T and the light leakage portion of the beam decreases. That's why.

Current reflection intensity P, which is the third condition, <previous reflection intensity P Z1 is because as the host vehicle V approaches the travel guide plate T, the area in which the beam is reflected by the travel guide plate T gradually decreases, and the reflection intensity gradually decreases.

In the subsequent step S7, the current detection width W is the minimum width threshold W. If thr2 is exceeded and the upper object counter is greater than or equal to the threshold value CNUPPER, it is determined that the object is the travel guide plate T, and the upper object determination flag fJud = 1 (upper object) is set in step S8.

Detection width W> minimum width threshold value W as the first condition The meaning of thr2 is the minimum width threshold W in which the detected width W is set smaller than the actual left-right width Wt if the detected object is the travel guide plate T. This is because it must be larger than thr2.

  The above-mentioned second condition, upper object counter ≧ threshold CNTUPPER, means that if the detected object is the travel guide plate T, the number of times the upper object counter is incremented is significantly larger than the number of decrements. Because it is a spear.

  If the condition in step S7 is not satisfied, if the upper object counter is 0 or less in step S9, it is determined that the object is not the travel guide plate T, and the upper object determination flag fJud = 0 (non-upper object) is set in step S10. set. If the condition in step S7 is not satisfied, if the upper object counter is 1 or more in step S9, it cannot be determined whether or not the object is the travel guide plate T. Therefore, in step S11, the upper object determination flag fJud is set to the previous value. Hold on.

If the vehicle V is not traveling in step S1, the detection width maximum value W is determined in step S12. Max is set to an initial value 0, and an upper object determination flag fJud = 0 (non-upward object) is set in step S13.

  The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but various design changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment, the travel guide plate T is exemplified as an object above the travel path. However, the object above the travel path may be a traffic light casing T or other objects as shown in FIG.

M1 Object detection means M2 Reception intensity determination means M3 Control object determination means P Reception intensity R of reflected wave R Radar device (transmission / reception means)
T Traveling guide board, traffic light housing (object)
V Own vehicle W Object detection width Wt Object left-right width W thr1 assumed width ( first determination threshold)
W thr2 minimum width threshold (second determination threshold)

Claims (4)

A transmission / reception means (R) for transmitting an electromagnetic wave toward a predetermined region set in the traveling direction of the host vehicle (V) and receiving a reflected wave generated by the reflection of the electromagnetic wave by the object (T);
Object detection means for acquiring the distance from the vehicle (V) to the object (T) and the detection width (W) of the object (T) in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle (V) based on the received reflected wave (M1) and
Reception intensity determination means (M2) for determining the reception intensity (P) of the reflected wave of the object (T);
A vehicle object detection device comprising: a control object determination means (M3) for determining an object (T) to be controlled based on an output of the object detection means (M1) and an output of the reception intensity determination means (M2). In
The control object determining means (M3)
The maximum value (W MAX) of the detection width (W) acquired up to this time is a first determination threshold value (W thr1) or more, and the detection width (W) acquired this time is equal to or greater than a second determination threshold (W thr2) smaller than the first determination threshold (W thr1), and the vehicle (V) The detection width (W) decreases as the distance to the object (T) decreases, and the reception strength (P) decreases as the distance from the vehicle (V) to the object (T) decreases. When doing, the object detection apparatus for vehicles characterized by excluding the said object (T) from a control object . The first determination threshold value (W The vehicle object detection device according to claim 1, wherein thr1) is set based on a left-right width (Wt) of an object (T) to be excluded from a control target. The vehicle object detection device according to claim 2 , wherein the object (T) to be excluded from the control target is a travel guide plate installed above the travel path. The vehicle object detection device according to claim 2 , wherein the object (T) to be excluded from the control target is a traffic light casing installed above the traveling path.

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