JP5163275B2 - Driving guidance device and driving guidance method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving guidance device and a driving guidance method, and in particular, can realize appropriate steering timing notification in consideration of individual differences among drivers in road driving, and can perform appropriate driving guidance particularly for beginner drivers. The present invention relates to a driving guidance device and a driving guidance method.

As a conventional driving guidance device, for example, there is a “vehicle driving support device” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-109999. In this conventional example, the position where the vehicle starts to turn on the ideal route for a predetermined time or a position before a predetermined distance is set as a position to start turning, and the position to start turning is notified to the driver. As a timing, an alarm sound is emitted from the buzzer to make it easy to enter and run on narrow roads.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-109999

  As described above, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 notifies the steering timing when traveling on a narrow road, and the vehicle speed is low and quasi-static such as a narrow road traveling scene or a parking scene. However, it is considered that proper driving guidance can be performed without much consideration of individual differences among drivers, however, the general road driving scene is dynamic, for example, entering a corner There is an individual difference in the steering timing at the time, and therefore, there is a situation that it is not appropriate to notify all drivers of the same steering timing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances, and realizes appropriate steering timing notification in consideration of individual differences of drivers in road driving, particularly appropriate driving guidance for beginner drivers. It is an object of the present invention to provide a driving guidance device and a driving guidance method that can perform the above.

  In order to solve the above-described object, the present invention provides an ideal steering start position at which steering should be started based on the time difference between the driver's head behavior and the vehicle behavior, the curvature of the corner in front of the vehicle, and the vehicle position relative to the corner. Calculating the time difference between the driver's head behavior and the vehicle behavior, and the ideal steering start position, and notifying the driver of the timing to start steering using at least one of tactile, auditory, or visual Features.

  With the driving guidance device and the driving guidance method according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the variation in steering timing, reduce the variation in the travel line, etc., and improve the reproducibility of the driving. Notification of appropriate steering timing in consideration of individual differences can be realized, and appropriate driving guidance can be performed particularly for beginner drivers.

  Before describing embodiments of the driving guidance apparatus and driving guidance method of the present invention, first, a basic experiment leading to the invention will be described.

  One direction of improving the performance of automobiles is to realize “a car that is easy to drive”. For example, a number of suspension types have been devised and characteristics have been tuned, but this not only improves the physical turning limit of the vehicle, but also realizes a car that can be driven as expected. It can be said that it is an effort.

  “Easy to drive” is an expression of subjective evaluation, so it is necessary to replace it with a quantitative index when actually trying to improve the performance of a car. Here, as one means of replacement with a quantitative index, it is considered that “high reproducibility of driving” can be used as an evaluation index.

  The state of high reproducibility of driving here refers to a steering pattern or a human driving behavior represented by a human posture or a vehicle trajectory when traveling a predetermined course multiple times under the same conditions. The vehicle behavior is determined to be substantially the same.

  When actual driving is repeatedly observed, it cannot be said that these driving behavior and vehicle behavior are sufficiently reproducible. As a characteristic for evaluating the reproducibility of driving, FIG. 1 shows an example of a result of an experiment focusing on the posture of the head among human behaviors.

  In this first experiment, the roll angle θH with respect to the vehicle body of the head when turning around a corner having a constant radius and the roll angle θG with respect to the vehicle body of the pendulum attached to the vehicle body (see FIG. 1A) are Measured by running. In such a steady turning state, the driver tends to adjust the posture of the head so that the head angle θH is substantially equal to the direction of the vector sum of gravitational acceleration and turning acceleration (that is, θG). This relationship is shown by a straight line indicated by a dotted line in the graph showing the experimental results in FIG. 1B (θH = θG). However, the results of each trial are plotted at positions that vary widely from this line. That is, it can be seen that the reproducibility of the head posture is not high even under the same turning condition.

  The eyeball, the semicircular canal, and the otolith, which obtain the visual and acceleration information that are particularly necessary for driving, are concentrated on the head, so if the head posture becomes unstable, steering will be disturbed accordingly, This disturbance of the steering promotes the fluctuation of the turning lateral acceleration (that is, the reproducibility of the vehicle motion is reduced), and creates a vicious circle in which the head inclination angle becomes more unstable.

  Further, FIG. 2 schematically shows experimental results related to another operation reproducibility. In this second experiment, the driving behavior when driving a course 210 transitioning from a straight line to a single corner 10 times was examined for advanced driving drivers and driving beginners. Generally, in such a course 210, the steering operation is started in a section 202 slightly before the corner start point 211 (driving behavior 204 in the figure). And the operation | movement which faces the inside of a corner in the area 201 ahead of it is performed (Driving behavior 203 in the figure).

  At this time, when the actual steering start position was observed, it was found that the advanced driver tends to have a distribution 208 and the beginner has a distribution 209. Further, when the average values of the respective distributions were compared, the difference was 206, and it was found that the beginner driver started steering before the corner as compared with the advanced driver. Furthermore, it can be seen that the distribution range 205 for the beginner driving driver is larger than the distribution range 207 for the advanced driving driver for each distribution range (variation). As a result of repeated experiments at several corners, the standard deviation of the steering start position of the beginner driver was about three times that of the advanced driver.

  Although the steering start position differs between the driving beginner and the driving advanced person, it is not so much related to the reproducibility of the driving targeted in the present invention, but the standard deviation of the steering start position distribution is particularly large in the driving beginner. The fact directly represents that the operation reproducibility defined as described above is low.

  In addition, although the steering start position is compared here, the driving beginner group is compared with the driving senior group for the starting position of the operation facing the inside of the corner (driving behavior 203) as well as the steering starting position. It was found that the movement toward the inside of the corner was performed in front, and the distribution range (variation) of the movement start position was larger than that of the advanced driving group.

  Furthermore, when examining the vehicle behavior (during turning) after the corner starting point 211, the driving beginners group has a larger variation in the driving line than the driving expert groups, and accordingly, the correction steering (fine correction of the steering operation). I went a lot.

  The above second experiment, that is, the observation results regarding the driving behavior when entering the corner are summarized as shown in FIG. 3, when the starting point is the position where the steering is actually started, (1) recognition, (2 It may be considered that a series of sequence of determination and (3) operation is performed. That is, the next sequence.

(1) Recognition: Face the inside of the corner at a position before time z [seconds] from the start of steering, recognize the front corner shape, and prepare for steering operation.

(2) Judgment: The current vehicle position (lateral position with respect to the lane) is confirmed at a position before time y [seconds] from the start of steering, and the vehicle position is finely corrected.

(3) Operation: At a position before time x [seconds] before the start of steering, the position where steering is to be started is confirmed, and the steering operation is started.

Here, the times z [seconds], y [seconds], and x [seconds] are determined by the inherent characteristics of the driver and have individual differences.

  From these facts, the driving behavior of the driving beginners can be summarized as follows. As a result, it is considered that the driving reproducibility is low.

-The timing of the inward action when entering the corner cannot be made well (that is, the time z [second] varies).

As a result, a series of sequences of (1) recognition, (2) determination, and (3) operation is disturbed, and the position at which the steering operation is started varies. Note that the minimum unit of human reaction time is about 0.1 to 0.3 [seconds], and once the timing is wrong, the sequence is shifted backward by the reaction time.

-Furthermore, as a result, the traveling line during turning also varies, and the reproducibility of driving decreases.

  Next, the timing of the operation (driving behavior) facing inward in front of the corner was examined by a third experiment. FIG. 4 shows an outline of the course in which the third experiment was conducted. The total length of the course is about 1.1 [km], and the corner turning radius is a mountain road simulation course of about 40 to 100 [m]. In the experiment, this course was run by a plurality of subjects at a vehicle speed of 50 to 70 [km / h]. The measurement was started from the state where the vehicle was stopped at the start point, and after passing from corner C1 to corner C6, the vehicle was stopped again at the goal point and the measurement was completed.

  FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a measurement result for a certain subject. The steering angle, head yaw rate, and vehicle body yaw rate are plotted in time series. Regarding the vertical axis, the scale of the steering angle is added on the left side, and the scale of the yaw rate is added on the right side. As can be seen from the measurement results in the figure, the waveform of the head yaw rate and the waveform of the vehicle body yaw rate are substantially similar, and the waveform of the head yaw rate is ahead of the waveform of the vehicle body yaw rate. This is because the person faces the inside of the corner before starting the steering.

  Here, a cross-correlation function is obtained for the waveforms of the head yaw rate and the vehicle body yaw rate, and the phase difference between the waveforms is obtained. The time that the head yaw rate precedes the vehicle body yaw rate, that is, the phase difference is referred to as the head preceding time. In the case of the test subject shown in FIG. 5, the head leading time was determined as a value of about 1.0 [seconds]. This head leading time corresponds to the time z [seconds] in the consideration of the second experiment described above (see FIG. 3).

  Moreover, as a result of performing the same measurement and analysis with respect to a plurality of subjects, it was found that there is an individual difference in the head leading time and a value of about 0.3 to 1.2 [seconds] is shown. This individual difference in head lead time is considered to vary depending on driving habituation and skills. In the third experiment, measurement was performed in a section including a plurality of corners, but it has been found that the head leading time actually varies slightly depending on the curvature of the corner and the vehicle speed.

  Based on the results and considerations of the first, second, and third experiments described above, for example, when informing the steering timing when entering the corner, the driver who is the starting point of the driving action sequence when entering the corner is By reporting the timing of inward action based on the head preceding time according to the driver, the timing variation is reduced, and as a result, the driving line variation is reduced (the driving reproducibility is improved). ), Has realized the appropriate steering timing in consideration of the individual difference of the driver on the road, and devised a driving guidance device and a driving guidance method that can perform appropriate driving guidance especially for beginner drivers. .

  Next, embodiments of the driving guidance apparatus and driving guidance method of the present invention will be described in detail in the order of [Embodiment 1], [Embodiment 2], and [Modification] with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the driving guidance apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, the driving guidance device of the present embodiment detects a driver's head behavior and vehicle behavior, and calculates a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior. , Imaging device 112, face direction detection device 113 and head / body yaw time difference calculation unit 114, navigation device 115 as road information detection means for detecting the curvature of the corner in front of the vehicle and the vehicle position with respect to the corner, The ideal steering start to start steering based on the detection results of the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, the driver characteristic detecting means, and the road information detecting means as history recording means for recording the road alignment and the history of the steering operation of the driver. A drive timing calculation unit 117 as an ideal steering start position calculation unit for calculating a position, and a driver The vehicle seat 118 is provided as a notification means for notifying the driver of the steering start timing via the tactile sense according to the detection result of the property detection means and the ideal steering start position by the ideal steering start position calculation means. .

  The head / vehicle body yaw time difference calculation unit 114, the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, and the drive timing calculation unit 117 are programs executed on the processor of the processing device 110. The processing device 110 includes, for example, a CPU, an MPU, and the like. (Microprocessor) or a processor such as DSP (digital signal processor) and a memory such as RAM and ROM.

  For example, a CCD camera is used as the imaging device 112 and is installed in front of the driver's seat to acquire an image including the driver's head. Video information captured by the imaging device 112 is output to the face orientation detection device 113.

  The face orientation detection device 113 detects the posture angle of the head, more specifically, the posture angle of the head in the yaw direction, from the image including the driver's head imaged by the imaging device 112. The differential value (ie, head yaw rate) of the head yaw posture angle detected by the face orientation detection device 113 is output to the head / vehicle body yaw time difference calculation unit 114. As a method for detecting the posture angle (head yaw rate) of the head in the yaw direction from the captured image, a known image processing technique may be used. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-196567 “Face Orientation Detection Device” The disclosed technology may be used.

  Further, for example, a gyro sensor is used as the vehicle state detection device 111 to detect the yaw rate of the vehicle. The vehicle body yaw rate detected by the vehicle state detection device 111 is output to the head / vehicle body yaw time difference calculation unit 114.

  Further, the head / body yaw time difference calculation unit 114 calculates a cross-correlation function between the head yaw rate waveform and the vehicle body yaw rate waveform as illustrated in FIG. Detect phase difference of yaw motion. The calculation of the cross correlation function is performed as follows.

Here, the detection result of the head yaw rate and the vehicle body yaw rate is temporally discrete data. In general, the cross-correlation function of the discrete data is represented by the following equation.

  In this embodiment, x is the vehicle body yaw rate, and y is the head yaw rate. In Equation (1), N is the total number of samplings of the target discrete data, and x [k] and y [k] indicate the kth data of the vehicle body yaw rate and the head yaw rate, respectively. Furthermore, τ is a data shift amount.

  If the sampling rate is S [seconds], Equation (1) represents the sum of products of head yaw rate and vehicle body yaw rate data when the waveform of the head yaw rate is shifted by time S × τ [seconds]. It becomes. If the equation (1) is calculated while changing τ within a range of ± N, the cross-correlation function φxy [τ] can be obtained as a function of τ.

  The value of τ when the cross-correlation function φxy [τ] takes a maximum value is the phase advance of the head yaw rate with respect to the vehicle body. If the phase advance when expressed in real time is T [seconds], T = S × τ. The head leading time obtained by this method is output to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116.

  On the other hand, the navigation device 115 may be normally mounted on a vehicle, and it is held inside the device, or from the road information acquired through communication or the like from the outside, the course shape in front of the course of the vehicle (the curvature of the corner, etc.) ) To the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116. In addition, the vehicle position and the vehicle speed that are always acquired from a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and the like (not shown) are also output to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116.

  Based on the head leading time from the head / body yaw time difference calculation unit 114, the course shape from the navigation device 115, the vehicle position, and the vehicle speed, the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 is, for example, a three-dimensional model as shown in FIG. The head preceding time is stored as a map. In FIG. 7, the x axis is the turning radius, the y axis is the vehicle speed, and the z axis is the head preceding time. Further, when the vehicle continues to travel, it is repeated that the vehicle travels at the same curvature corner at the same vehicle speed. For example, the head preceding time for each time may be averaged and stored.

  Similarly, a steering angle is input from a steering angle sensor or the like (not shown), and a history of positions where steering is started is stored. For example, when storing as a three-dimensional map in the same manner as the head preceding time (see FIG. 7), the x-axis is the turning radius, the y-axis is the vehicle speed, and the z-axis is the absolute steering start position. In this case, the absolute position of the steering start position is calculated by calculating the vehicle body yaw angle required to trace the center of the course, and then calculating the steering angle required to generate the yaw angle. The point where it begins to occur. Since the method for calculating the target vehicle body yaw angle and calculating the necessary steering angle in this manner is well known as, for example, the technology of an automatic pilot device, it is omitted here.

  Further, the drive timing calculation unit 117 inputs the course shape (corner curvature, etc.), the vehicle position, and the vehicle speed from the navigation device 115, and calculates the drive start timing with reference to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116.

  Specifically, the driving start timing is calculated as follows, after calculating the vehicle body yaw angle necessary to trace the center of the course, as described above, and calculating the steering angle necessary to generate the yaw angle. Find the absolute coordinates with the origin point as the origin. Based on the curvature of the corner and the vehicle speed from the navigation device 115, the head leading time and the steering start position are determined with reference to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116. Since the steering start position represents the average steering start position of the driver, this is set as an ideal steering start point, and the vehicle head seat 118 is positioned in front of the ideal steering start point by a distance of head preceding time × vehicle speed. Outputs the drive start command.

  Next, a description will be given of the riding seat 118 which is a notification means of the present embodiment with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. Here, FIG. 8A is an explanatory view showing the appearance of the riding seat 118, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the riding seat 118. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view for explaining the movement of the riding seat 118.

  First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the riding seat 118 includes a seat back 11 (seat back) that contacts the driver's back when the driver is seated, and a pair of left and right seats disposed on both sides of the seat back 11. Side support 12 and a headrest 13 disposed above the seat back 11. The side support 12 is inclined toward the driver so as to be along both sides of the driver.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the internal structure of the riding seat 118 includes a seat frame 14 that forms the skeleton of the riding seat 118, a pair of left and right side support frames 15a and 15b that support the side support 12, and a side support frame. A motor 16 that drives 15a and 15b simultaneously, a first link 17 that connects the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b, a second link 18, a third link 19 that connects the second link 18 and the motor 16, and a side support A rotation support portion 20 that supports the rotation of the frames 15 a and 15 b, a headrest attachment portion 21 that attaches the headrest 13 to the seat frame 14, and a cushion support spring 22 are provided.

  The side support frames 15a and 15b are rotatably supported with respect to the seat frame 14 via a pair of upper and lower rotation support portions 20, respectively, and are displaced in the vehicle lateral direction or the yaw direction. The side support frames 15a and 15b are each covered with a cushion to form the side support 12 shown in FIG.

  The rotation shaft of the motor 16 is coupled to the side support frames 15 a and 15 b via the first to third links 17 to 19 and the rotation support portion 20. The first to third links 17 to 19 form a substantially parallel link structure, and the side support frames 15a and 15b are displaced in the vehicle lateral direction or the yaw direction when the motor 16 rotates. That is, the rotation operation of the motor 16 is transmitted as the swing motion of the side support frames 15a and 15b. Accordingly, the side support 12 in FIG. 8A is displaced in the same direction. The motor 16 itself is fixed to the seat frame 14.

  Note that the headrest 13 in FIG. 8A is connected to the seat frame 14 via the headrest attachment portion 21. The seat frame 14 has a square shape, and cushion support springs 22 are arranged inside the seat frame 14 at a predetermined interval.

  Next, the movement of the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b (side support 12) will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the control is off (when a drive command is not output from the drive timing calculation unit 117), as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b (side support 12 ) Is held at a position symmetrical with respect to the lateral direction of the vehicle. At this time, the motor 16 is not rotating, and the first to third links 17 to 19 are not moving.

  On the other hand, for example, when the vehicle enters the corner of a right turn, a drive command is output from the drive timing calculation unit 117. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 9 (c) and 9 (d), The motor 16 is rotated in the direction shown in FIG. The rotation of the motor 16 is transmitted to the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b through the first to third links 17 to 19, and the side support frames 15a and 15b (side support 12) are moved relative to the initial position (see FIG. 9B). And rotate in the yaw direction by an angle α (yaw direction rotation angle). It is desirable that the riding seat 118 is driven so that the angular velocity of the yaw direction rotation angle α is equal to the steering angular velocity when traveling in a corner.

  Since the driving guidance device of the present embodiment provides a technique for notifying the driver of the timing by driving the riding seat 118 in front of the corner, the side support 12 when shifting to a steady turn is provided. However, when the apparatus is actually applied to the vehicle, the side support 12 may be slowly returned to the original position when the vehicle makes a steady turn.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-151549, for example, discloses a conventional technique for operating a side support by a mechanism similar to the riding seat 118 in this embodiment and supporting the body by dealing with the lateral G during turning. In this prior art, the side support is yaw-rotated in the direction of tightening the driver's state (that is, the left and right side supports are respectively reverse directions). On the other hand, this embodiment rotates the left and right side supports in the same direction. It is different in letting you.

  Next, a driving guidance method by the driving guidance apparatus of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram for explaining learning by the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram for explaining calculation of the drive start timing by the drive timing calculation unit 117.

  From the results and considerations of the first, second, and third experiments described in detail above, when notifying the steering timing when entering the corner, the driver who becomes the starting point of the driving action sequence when entering the corner The following conditions are required to notify the timing of the behavior of facing inward according to the individual differences of the driver.

(I) The starting point for calculating the timing is the average steering start position of the driver. That is, it becomes a different point for each driver.

(B) The notification timing is set to be closer to the driver's head preceding time from the average steering start position.

  In the present embodiment, in order to satisfy the above conditions, the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 learns the driving course history and the driver action history, and the drive timing calculation unit 117 refers to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116. The drive start timing is calculated, and a drive start command is output to the riding seat 118.

  More specifically, in the learning by the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, the history of the driving course and the behavior history of the driver are stored with the time starting from the absolute position. That is, as shown in FIG. 10A, after calculating the vehicle body yaw angle necessary to trace the center of the traveling course, the steering angle required to generate the yaw angle is calculated, and the steering is performed. The point where the corner starts to be generated is set as the starting point of the absolute position (601 in the figure) (step S101).

  Next, the position where the driver actually starts the steering operation is stored in the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 as a three-dimensional map corresponding to the corner turning radius and the vehicle speed, and the steering timing of the steering is learned (step S102). . In this case, since the same corner curvature is repeatedly traveled at the same vehicle speed, the steering start position is stored as an average value (602 in the figure).

  Further, the head leading time for the steering operation is stored in the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 as a three-dimensional map (see FIG. 7) according to the corner turning radius and the vehicle speed, and the head leading time is learned (step S102). . Also in this case, since the same corner curvature is repeatedly run at the same vehicle speed, it is stored as an average value (603 in the figure).

  Next, the calculation of the drive start timing by the drive timing calculation unit 117 determines the head preceding time and the steering start position with reference to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 based on the curvature of the corner and the vehicle speed. That is, as shown in FIG. 10B, the steering start position (average steering start position 602) is an ideal steering start point, and the head preceding time (average head leading time 603) × vehicle speed from the ideal steering start point. A drive start command is output to the riding seat 118 just before the distance. In response to the driving start command, driving toward the inside of the corner of the side support 12 of the riding seat 118 is started.

  By driving the riding seat 118, the following operation is obtained. First, when preparing to enter a turn, when trying to look inside the corner at an early stage, the side support 12 is in a position that inhibits the rotation of the state compared to when looking at the inside at an appropriate timing. The behavior of watching is suppressed. Secondly, when the timing of looking at the inside of the corner is delayed during the preparation action for entering the turn, the side support 12 is driven toward the inside, so that the rotation of the state is promoted, and as a result, the action of looking at the inside of the corner is Promoted.

  In the above description of the driving guidance method, the learning by the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 and the calculation of the drive start timing by the drive timing calculation unit 117 have been described as a series of flows. However, both operations are performed simultaneously. . That is, at the same time as the drive start timing is calculated by the drive timing calculation unit 117, the driver's head preceding time and the steering start position at that time are input to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116 as a history, and the stored contents are stored. Will be updated.

  Next, FIG. 11 shows experimental results in which the driving guidance apparatus and driving guidance method of this example were actually applied. In this experiment, FIG. 11A shows the variation in head leading time when the course having the linear shape shown in FIG. 2 is run 10 times for each specification, and FIG. 11B shows the stability of the running line ( Lane traceability) was measured.

  Here, measurement is performed under experimental conditions of four types of specifications. First, the normal specification is a normal vehicle to which this embodiment is not applied. Further, the specification 701 starts driving the riding seat 118 at a point 602 in FIG. The specification 702 is an example in which the present embodiment is applied (the driving of the riding seat 118 is started from the point 602 in FIG. 10 by an average head preceding time of 603 minutes). The specification 703 starts driving the riding seat 118 from the point 602 in FIG. 10 by 1.5 times the average head leading time 603, and the riding seat 118 is further ahead of the present embodiment. Is started. Specifications 701 and 703 were prepared as comparative examples for verifying the effects of this embodiment.

  As can be seen from the result of the variation in head leading time in FIG. 11 (a), when this embodiment is actually applied, the variation in head leading time is substantially halved compared to a normal vehicle. I understand. This indicates that a series of rhythms of “turning inward and starting steering” at the time of entering the corner are prepared every time. Further, when it is seen that such an effect does not appear in the specification 703, it is understood that the notification timing of the present embodiment is optimal.

  FIG. 11B shows the result of analysis of the stability of the traveling line during a turn. The lane trace performance on the vertical axis represents the correlation coefficient of the traveling line every time. Indicates that the line stability is stable. As shown in FIG. 11B, it can be seen that the stability of the travel line is improved by this embodiment (specification 702).

  From the above, the rhythm of the turning sequence is maintained correctly by notifying the driver of the timing of looking at the inside of the turn, which is the starting point of the sequence at the start of turning, and as a result, the driving reproducibility during turning is improved. Proven to increase.

  As described above, in the driving guidance device and driving guidance method of this embodiment, the driver characteristic detection means (driver characteristic detection step; vehicle state detection device 111, imaging device 112, face orientation detection device 113, and head / vehicle body yaw). A time difference calculation unit 114) detects a driver's head behavior and vehicle behavior, calculates a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior, and road information detection means (road information detection step; navigation device 115) Curvature of a corner in front of the course of the vehicle and a vehicle position with respect to the corner are detected, and driver characteristic detection means and road information detection are performed by ideal steering start position calculation means (ideal steering start position calculation step; drive timing calculation unit 117). Based on the detection result of the means, the ideal steering start position where steering should be started is calculated, and the driver characteristic detection Detection result of means, and in accordance with the ideal steering start position by the ideal steering start position calculating means, for notifying the timing for starting the steering to the driver through the informing means tactile (riding sheet 118a).

  In this way, the system is configured so that the steering timing can be notified according to the driver's unique characteristics (that is, individual differences), thereby reducing the variation in the steering timing and the variation in the travel line, etc. As a result, it is possible to improve the driving reproducibility and, as a result, realize appropriate steering timing notification that takes into account the individual differences of the driver when driving on the road, and perform appropriate driving guidance especially for beginner drivers. It becomes possible.

  Further, in the driving guidance device and driving guidance method of the present embodiment, the notification means (the riding seat 118) causes the time difference between the driver's head behavior and the vehicle behavior (head preceding time) to be in front of the ideal steering start position. The steering start timing is notified at the timing.

  In this way, by reporting the timing of the behavior that the driver, who is the starting point of a series of behavior sequences during turning, faces inward based on the head preceding time according to the driver, variation in timing is reduced. The rhythm of the sequence is kept constant every time, and as a result, the variation of the driving line is reduced (improves driving reproducibility), and the appropriate steering timing is reported in consideration of the individual difference of the driver on road driving In particular, it is possible to provide appropriate driving guidance to the beginner driver.

  Further, in the driving guidance apparatus of the present embodiment, an image including the driver's head is acquired, and a differential value of a posture angle in the yaw direction of the driver's head based on the image (hereinafter referred to as a head yaw rate). And at least a vehicle state detection device 111 for detecting the yaw rate of the vehicle, and calculates a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior based on the cross-correlation function between the head yaw rate and the vehicle yaw rate. It is desirable.

  Further, the driving guidance device of the present embodiment includes a history recording unit (driver specific characteristic storage unit 116) that records the road alignment that has traveled in the past and the steering operation history of the driver, and the drive timing calculation unit 117 includes: Based on the detection result of the navigation device 115 and the history information of the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, an ideal steering start position at which steering should be started is calculated.

  For example, by updating the head preceding time and the steering start position to values that are sequentially averaged according to the turning radius and the vehicle speed, it is possible to realize steering timing notification that more reflects individual differences, and to further reduce the variation in steering timing. It is possible to further reduce driving line variations and improve driving reproducibility.

  In addition, the driving guidance apparatus of the present embodiment includes a riding seat 118 that is attached to the vehicle and that is supported so as to be displaceable at least in the yaw direction or the lateral direction of the vehicle body as notification means. The timing to start steering is notified to the driver by the sense of touch.

  For example, by moving the riding seat 118 in the yaw direction at the time of steering timing notification, the driver naturally faces the inside of the corner, and the operation to be performed with the notification (the operation toward the inside) like the conventional sound notification. ) Need not be taught to the driver in advance.

  Further, in the driving guidance apparatus of the present embodiment, the movable part of the riding seat 118 is a pair of left and right side support parts of the seat, and the left and right side supports are in the yaw direction or the other part of the seat. A mechanism is provided for supporting the vehicle body so that it can be displaced laterally. Thus, since the side support portion of the passenger seat is made movable and the displacement of this portion is controlled, it is possible to expect improvement in driving reproducibility with a low-cost mechanism.

[Example 2]
Next, a driving guidance apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment (see FIG. 6) only in the mechanism of the riding seat 118 which is a notification means. Hereinafter, the riding seat 118 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. . Here, FIG. 12A is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the riding seat 118, and FIG. 12B is an explanatory view showing the movement of the side support 12.

  In the riding seat 118 of the first embodiment, the side support frames 15a and 15b have been shown to rotate and displace in the yaw direction with respect to the seat frame 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the side support frames 15a and 15b may be displaced in parallel to the seat frame 14 in the vehicle lateral direction.

  Here, in the specific internal structure of the riding seat 118 shown in FIG. 12A, different points from the internal structure shown in FIG. 8B will be described, and description of the same parts will be omitted.

  By connecting both ends of the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b to the slide rails 36a and 36b, the relative positions of the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b are fixed. The slide rails 36 a and 36 b also serve as a slide rail portion of the linear guide, and portions corresponding to the sliders 37 a to 37 d of the linear guide are fixed to the seat frame 14. As a result, the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b are integrally supported with respect to the seat frame 14 so as to be displaced in the vehicle lateral direction.

  Further, rack teeth are provided on the rear surfaces of the slide rails 36a and 36b, and a pinion gear meshing with the rack teeth is driven by a motor 16 fixed to the seat frame 14. Thereby, the side support frames 15a and 15b can be moved left and right.

  Next, the movement of the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b (side support 12) will be described. First, when the control is off (when no drive command is output from the drive timing calculation unit 117), the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b (side support 12) are arranged in the lateral direction of the vehicle as shown in FIG. It is held at a symmetrical position. At this time, the motor 16 is not rotating and the slide rails 36a and 36b are not moving.

  On the other hand, for example, when the vehicle enters the corner of a right turn, a drive command is output from the drive timing calculation unit 117. In this case, as shown in FIG. Rotate in the direction shown. The rotation of the motor 16 is transmitted to the left and right side support frames 15a and 15b through the slide rails 36a and 36b, and the side support frames 15a and 15b (side support 12) are transverse to the initial position (see FIG. 12B). Translate to.

  In addition, as a mechanism of the riding seat 118 which is a notification means, even if it is a mechanism other than that shown in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 8 and 9) and the present embodiment (FIG. 12), a part of the seat is a vehicle body. For example, a seat including a mechanism for supporting displacement in the yaw direction or the lateral direction of the vehicle body may be used. For example, a seat structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-315088 may be used. good.

  As described above, in the driving guidance apparatus of the present embodiment, the movable part of the riding seat 118 is the back surface of the seat or the entire seat, and a part or the whole of the back surface of the seat is yaw direction with respect to the vehicle Alternatively, a mechanism that supports displacement in the lateral direction of the vehicle body or a mechanism that supports the entire seat so as to be rotatable in the yaw direction with respect to the vehicle body is provided. For example, since a part of the rear surface of the passenger seat is movable and the displacement of this part is controlled, an improvement in driving reproducibility can be expected with a low-cost mechanism.

[Modification]
The driving guidance apparatus and driving guidance method of the present invention are not limited to the configurations and operations of the first and second embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible.

  For example, in the first embodiment, the steering angle, the corner curvature, and the vehicle speed are input to the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, the history of the position where the steering is started is stored, and the steering start position is set as the ideal steering start point. This is because general road alignment has a relaxation curve between a straight line and a corner portion. However, the ideal steering start point may be obtained by other methods.

  When the relaxation curve runs on the road alignment part at a speed that is not very high, there is not much individual difference at the steering start point of the driver. In this case, from the connection part of the straight line and the curve (corner) A point before the vehicle yaw response delay may be virtually set as the ideal steering start point.

  Even if there is a relaxation curve, if the vehicle speed is not very high, there is no significant individual difference in the driver's steering start point, so the vehicle body yaw necessary for tracing the center of the course is not necessary. After calculating the angle, a steering angle necessary for generating the yaw angle is calculated, and a point where the steering angle starts to be generated may be set as an ideal steering start point.

  Even when the ideal steering start point is set by either of these two methods, the drive timing calculation unit 117 is based on the head preceding time that reflects the individual difference of the driver in the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116. Since the drive start timing of the boarding seat 118 is obtained, the notification of the steering timing reflecting individual differences is sufficiently realized.

  In the first embodiment, the navigation device 115 is used as the road information detection unit, and the absolute position of the vehicle is measured by the navigation device 115 to obtain the course information. However, it is not always necessary to measure the absolute position of the vehicle. For example, a method using a stereo camera such as that used in a known lane keeping assist device is used to estimate the road curvature ahead and control the vehicle relative to the front corner. Also good.

  Further, in the first and second embodiments, the riding seat 118 that uses tactile sensation is used as the notification means, but in addition to this, a notification means using auditory or visual information such as a buzzer or a lamp may be used. In this case, it is necessary to tell the driver in advance that the timing when the buzzer or the lamp should turn inward, but by reflecting the storage result of the head preceding time in the notification start timing. The timing notification according to the individual difference is sufficiently realized, and more effective notification than the prior art can be performed.

  As described above, in the driving guidance apparatus according to the modified example, the ideal steering start position by the ideal steering start position calculation unit may be calculated based on road alignment, vehicle speed, and vehicle characteristics, and may be a single point that does not depend on the driver. In particular, when the driving condition is not so high, a simple control logic can be realized by setting the ideal steering start position to be common to all the drivers. Even in this case, the notification of the steering timing according to the individual difference of the driver is performed.

  In the driving guidance device according to the modified example, the drive timing calculation unit 117 ideally sets a point before the yaw response delay time with respect to the steering of the vehicle when there is no relaxation curve in the portion from the straight line portion of the road line to the curved portion. Steering start position. When the road alignment is configured in a simple shape, the ideal steering start position can be calculated by simple means, so that the calculation load required for control is reduced.

  Further, in the driving guidance device of the modified example, the drive timing calculation unit 117 calculates a target yaw rate for the vehicle to travel in the center of the lane and a steering angle necessary to generate the target yaw rate, and before the corner, A point where the steering angle occurs is set as an ideal steering start position. Even when the road alignment includes, for example, a relaxation curve, the ideal steering start position can be obtained appropriately. Further, the calculation load of the system can be reduced by obtaining the ideal steering start position by simplified calculation.

  In addition, the driving guidance device according to the modified example includes visual stimulus presentation means including a lamp or a display, and the notification means notifies the driver of the timing for starting steering by vision via the visual stimulus presentation means. The correspondence between the notification and the action to be performed needs to be taught to the driver in advance as in the conventional case, but by performing visual notification reflecting individual differences of the driver, Even if it is not a typical driving condition, the effect of informing the action timing can be obtained.

  Further, the driving guidance apparatus according to the modified example includes an auditory stimulus presenting means that emits an electrical or mechanical sound, and the notifying means informs the driver of the timing for starting steering by hearing through the auditory stimulus presenting means. To do. The correspondence between the notification and the action to be performed needs to be taught to the driver in advance, as in the past, but by providing a sound notification that reflects the individual differences of the driver, Even if the driving condition is not appropriate, the effect of informing the action timing can be obtained.

It is explanatory drawing explaining 1st experiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining a 2nd experiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the sequence of the driving action at the time of invading a corner. It is a schematic explanatory drawing of the course in a 3rd experiment. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the experimental result of 3rd experiment. It is a block diagram of the driving | operation guidance apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the three-dimensional map of the head preceding time memorize | stored in a driver intrinsic | native characteristic memory | storage part. FIG. 8A is an explanatory view showing the appearance of the riding seat 118, and FIG. 8B is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the riding seat 118. It is explanatory drawing explaining the motion of the board | substrate 118 for riding, (a) And (b) The time of control OFF and (c) and (d) The time of motor drive are each shown. FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram for explaining learning by the driver specific characteristic storage unit 116, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram for explaining calculation of the drive start timing by the drive timing calculation unit 117. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the experimental result to which the driving | operation guidance apparatus and driving | operation guidance method of an Example are applied. FIG. 12A is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the riding seat 118, and FIG. 12B is an explanatory view showing the movement of the side support 12.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Processing apparatus 111 Vehicle state detection apparatus 112 Imaging apparatus 113 Face direction detection apparatus 114 Head / body-body yaw time difference calculation part 115 Navigation apparatus 116 Driver intrinsic | native characteristic memory | storage part 117 Drive timing calculation part 118 Riding seat

Claims (15)

Driver characteristic detection means for detecting a driver's head behavior and vehicle behavior and calculating a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior;
Road information detection means for detecting the curvature of a corner in front of the course of the vehicle and the vehicle position relative to the corner;
Ideal steering start position calculating means for calculating an ideal steering start position to start steering based on detection results of the driver characteristic detecting means and the road information detecting means;
Notification that informs the driver of the timing to start steering using at least one of tactile sensation, auditory sensation, and vision according to the detection result of the driver characteristic detection means and the ideal steering start position by the ideal steering start position calculation means Means,
A driving guidance device comprising:   2. The driving guidance device according to claim 1, wherein the notifying unit notifies at a timing before the time difference detected by the driver characteristic detecting unit from the ideal steering start position by the ideal steering start position calculating unit. The driver characteristic detecting means includes
A face direction detecting means for acquiring an image including a driver's head and detecting a differential value of a posture angle in a yaw direction of the driver's head based on the image (hereinafter referred to as a head yaw rate);
A vehicle state detection device for detecting the yaw rate of the vehicle,
3. The driving guidance device according to claim 1, wherein a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior is calculated based on a cross-correlation function between the head yaw rate and the vehicle yaw rate. 4. .   The ideal steering start position by the ideal steering start position calculating means is calculated based on road alignment, vehicle speed, and vehicle characteristics, and is a single point not depending on the driver. The driving guidance device according to claim 1.   The ideal steering start position calculation means sets the point before the yaw response delay time for the steering of the vehicle as the ideal steering start position when there is no relaxation curve in the portion from the straight line portion to the curved portion of the road alignment. The driving | operation guidance apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The ideal steering start position calculating means calculates a target yaw rate for the vehicle to travel in the center of the lane and a steering angle necessary to generate the target yaw rate, and ideally determines a point where the steering angle is generated before the corner. It is set as a steering start position, The driving | operation guidance apparatus of any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. It has a history recording means for recording the history of road alignment in the past and the steering operation of the driver,
The ideal steering start position calculating means calculates an ideal steering start position at which steering should be started based on a detection result of the road information detecting means and history information of the history recording means. 4. The driving guidance device according to any one of 3 above. It has a riding seat that is attached to a vehicle and that is partly supported so as to be displaceable at least in the yaw direction or the lateral direction of the vehicle body,
The driving guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the notifying unit notifies a driver of timing to start steering by a tactile sense via the riding seat.   The movable portion of the riding seat is a pair of left and right side support portions of the seat, and a mechanism that supports the left and right side supports so that they can be displaced in the yaw direction or the lateral direction of the vehicle body with respect to other portions of the seat. The driving guidance device according to claim 8, comprising:   The movable part of the riding seat is a back surface of the seat or the whole seat, and a mechanism for supporting a part or the whole of the back of the seat so that it can be displaced in the yaw direction or the lateral direction of the vehicle body, or 9. The driving guidance apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a mechanism that supports the entire seat so as to be rotatable in a yaw direction with respect to the vehicle body. A visual stimulus presentation means with a lamp or display;
The driving guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the notifying unit notifies a driver of timing for starting steering by vision via the visual stimulus presenting unit. An auditory stimulus presentation means that emits an electrical or mechanical sound;
The driving guidance device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the notification unit notifies a driver of timing to start steering by hearing through the auditory stimulus presentation unit. A driver characteristic detection step of detecting a driver's head behavior and vehicle behavior and calculating a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior;
A road information detection step for detecting a curvature of a corner in front of the vehicle path and a vehicle position with respect to the corner;
An ideal steering start position calculating step for calculating an ideal steering start position to start steering based on detection results of the driver characteristic detection step and the road information detection step;
Notification that informs the driver of the timing to start steering using at least one of tactile, auditory, and visual according to the detection result of the driver characteristic detection step and the ideal steering start position in the ideal steering start position calculation step Steps,
A driving guidance method characterized by comprising:   14. The driving guidance method according to claim 13, wherein the notifying step notifies at a timing before the time difference detected in the driver characteristic detecting step from the ideal steering start position in the ideal steering start position calculating step. The driver characteristic detection step includes
A face direction detection step of acquiring an image including a driver's head and detecting a differential value of a posture angle in a yaw direction of the driver's head based on the image (hereinafter referred to as a head yaw rate);
A vehicle state detection step for detecting the yaw rate of the vehicle,
The driving guidance method according to any one of claims 13 and 14, wherein a time difference between the head behavior and the vehicle behavior is calculated based on a cross-correlation function between the head yaw rate and the vehicle yaw rate. .

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