JP5287441B2 - Travel control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a travel control device that performs travel control related to lateral movement of a host vehicle based on position information of a preceding vehicle.

  As a conventional traveling control device, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1 is known. In such a travel control device, when the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is short, steering control of the host vehicle is performed based on the position information of the preceding vehicle, not the information obtained from the traveling road image.

JP 2005-332192 A

  Here, in the travel control device as described above, in order to perform appropriate travel control, for example, it is preferable to consider the state of the preceding vehicle in response to the travel control and the content of the control. It is desired to perform the corresponding traveling control.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the traveling control apparatus which can perform appropriately the traveling control regarding the horizontal movement of the own vehicle according to the state of a preceding vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, a travel control device according to the present invention is a travel control device that performs travel control related to lateral movement of the host vehicle based on position information of the preceding vehicle, and detects the state of the preceding vehicle. And a traveling control means for calculating a control amount of the traveling control based on the position information of the preceding vehicle and executing the traveling control with the calculated control amount. The control amount is changed according to the state.

  In this travel control device, the control amount of travel control related to the lateral movement of the host vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “travel control”) is changed according to the state of the preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate travel control according to the state of the preceding vehicle.

  Here, as a configuration that preferably exhibits the above-described effects, a configuration in which steering control is performed as travel control can be given.

  The preceding vehicle state detecting means detects the inter-vehicle distance of the preceding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle as the state of the preceding vehicle, and the traveling control means calculates the control amount so that the responsiveness of the traveling control becomes higher as the inter-vehicle distance is shorter. It is preferable to do. In this case, it is possible to perform appropriate travel control according to the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle.

  The travel control device according to the present invention is a travel control device that performs travel control related to the lateral movement of the host vehicle on the basis of the position information of the preceding vehicle, and that detects the state of the preceding vehicle. And a travel control means for calculating a control amount of the travel control based on the position information of the preceding vehicle and executing the travel control with the calculated control amount, and the preceding vehicle state detecting means detects whether the preceding vehicle is wobbling. Detecting the state of the preceding vehicle, the travel control means calculates a control amount according to the presence or absence of wobbling.

  In this travel control device, the preceding vehicle state detecting means detects the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle as the state of the preceding vehicle, and the traveling control means calculates a control amount corresponding to the presence or absence of the fluctuation. Therefore, for example, when the host vehicle travels following the preceding vehicle, it is possible to prevent the host vehicle from swinging following the staggering preceding vehicle.

  At this time, it is preferable that the travel control means estimates the fluctuation factor when the fluctuation is detected, and calculates a control amount corresponding to the estimated fluctuation factor. As a result, it is possible to perform appropriate traveling control according to the cause of the wobbling. As a result, for example, when the fluctuation of the preceding vehicle is a traveling control necessary for traveling (for example, obstacle avoidance or the like), it is possible to perform the traveling control that follows the leading vehicle that fluctuates.

  The travel control means preferably calculates a control amount for the vehicle to maintain the lane. In this case, traveling control for so-called lane keeping can be performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to perform appropriately the travel control regarding the horizontal movement of the own vehicle according to the state of a preceding vehicle.

It is a block diagram which shows the steering control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the steering control apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the wobble determination of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or equivalent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a steering control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a steering control device (travel control device) 1 according to the present embodiment performs steering control (travel control) so as to maintain a lane (lane keep) with respect to a host vehicle C such as an automobile. Based on the position information of the preceding vehicle with respect to the own vehicle C (hereinafter referred to as “preceding vehicle position information”), steering control (running control) of the own vehicle is performed. The steering control device 1 includes a yaw rate sensor 2, a vehicle speed sensor 3, a car navigation terminal 4, an inter-vehicle communication device 5, and a millimeter wave radar 6.

  The yaw rate sensor 2 detects the yaw rate of the host vehicle C. The vehicle speed sensor 3 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle C. The car navigation terminal 4 is a terminal that detects the current position of the host vehicle C using, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System). Here, the road shape of the host vehicle C is determined from the stored road map information. To detect.

  The inter-vehicle communication device 5 transmits / receives information to / from the preceding vehicle. Here, the driver awakening level information on the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle, and the preceding vehicle is an LKA (Lane Keeping Assist system: registration). When the trademark is being set, at least LKA information related to the LKA is received. The LKA means a lane keeping assist system (lane keeping assist system) that recognizes a white line with a white line recognition camera or the like while driving and performs steering control so as not to deviate from the lane. The millimeter wave radar 6 is for acquiring preceding vehicle position information. Here, the right end position Yr and the left end position Yl of the preceding vehicle are detected and acquired as preceding vehicle position information.

  Further, the steering control device 1 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 7 constituted by, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The ECU 7 is connected to the yaw rate sensor 2, the vehicle speed sensor 3, the car navigation terminal 4, the inter-vehicle communication device 5, and the millimeter wave radar 6, and calculates the control amount of the steering control based on the input from these. The steering actuator 8 is controlled by the control amount, and the control amount is changed according to the state of the preceding vehicle (details will be described later).

  The ECU 7 includes a curve radius calculation unit 7a that calculates the curve radius of the current position of the host vehicle C, a yaw angle calculation unit 7b that calculates the yaw angle of the host vehicle C, an offset calculation unit 7c that calculates an offset of the host vehicle C, A gain amount calculation unit 7d that calculates a gain amount (a parameter amount related to responsiveness) in a control amount of steering control and a target control amount calculation unit 7e that calculates a target control amount (also referred to as a target G) are configured. .

  In the steering control device 1 configured as described above, for example, when the LKA is operated and the lane is maintained (lane keeping) is performed in the host vehicle C, the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is reduced. When camera information from the mounted white line recognition camera can no longer be obtained, the ECU 7 repeatedly executes the following processing to follow the preceding vehicle.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, first, based on the LKA information acquired by the inter-vehicle communication device 5, it is determined whether or not the preceding vehicle is LKA-set (it is an LKA-set vehicle and is using LKA). (S1). If LKA is not being set, it is determined whether or not a later-described stagger flag is ON (S2).

  When the wobbling flag is OFF, the preceding vehicle position information acquired by the millimeter wave radar 6 is set as the current preceding vehicle position information (that is, the current preceding vehicle position information is updated: S3). On the other hand, when the wobbling flag is ON, the current preceding vehicle position information is not updated, and the vehicle position information when the previous wobbling flag is OFF is set as the current preceding vehicle amount position information (S4). In the initial state, the wobbling flag is set to OFF. Therefore, in the initial S2, the wobbling flag is always determined to be OFF, and the current preceding vehicle position information is always updated in S3.

Subsequently, each of the curve radius R, the yaw angle θ, and the offset D is estimated according to the current preceding vehicle position information (S5). Specifically, when the traveling position of the host vehicle C is recognized as a curve section from the road shape detected by the car navigation terminal 4, it is detected by the sensors 2 and 3 as shown in the following equation (1). The curve radius R is estimated from the yaw rate ω and the vehicle speed V of the host vehicle C.
R = V / ω (1)
(R: curve radius, V: vehicle speed, ω: yaw rate)

Further, the intermediate position Yc is calculated from the right end position Yr and the left end position Yl of the preceding vehicle detected by the millimeter wave radar 6. Then, as shown in the following equation (2), the yaw angle θ is estimated from the amount of time change of the intermediate position Yc.
θ = dYc / dt (2)
(Θ: Yaw angle, Yc: Intermediate position, t: Time)

Further, the intermediate position Yc is estimated as the offset D as shown in the following equation (3).
D = Yc (3)
(D: Offset)

  Subsequently, the gain values k1 to K3 of the target control amount are set according to the inter-vehicle distance of the preceding vehicle detected by the millimeter wave radar 6 (S6). When the inter-vehicle distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance αm, the gain values k1 to K3 are small, and here, the gain values are k1min to K3min. When the inter-vehicle distance is equal to or less than the predetermined distance βm, the gain values k1 to K3 are larger than the gain values k1min to K3min. Here, the gain values are k1max to K3max. When the inter-vehicle distance is smaller than the predetermined distance αm and larger than the predetermined distance βm, the gain values k1 to K3 are values obtained by linearly complementing the gain values k1min to K3min and the gain values k1max to K3max, respectively. ing.

Subsequently, the wobbling determination for determining the wobbling of the preceding vehicle (swing of the lateral displacement) is performed (details will be described later: S7). Thereafter, a target control amount G for steering control for lane keeping is calculated according to the following equation (4) (S8). If it is determined in S1 that the LKA is being set, the target control amount G is calculated in accordance with the LKA information (that is, information on the curve radius, yaw angle, and offset acquired by the preceding vehicle) ( S1 → S8). Thereby, the steering actuator 8 is controlled by the calculated target control amount, and the steering control (steering support) is executed.
G = Gy1 + Gy2 + Gy3 (4)
Gy1 = k1 · V ² / R
Gy2 = k2 · θ
Gy3 = k3 · D
(G: target control amount, Gy1: feed forward operator, Gy2: feedback operator, Gy3: feedback operator)

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the following processing is executed in the above-described wobble determination (S7 above). First, the data relating to the wobbling determination up to the determination time t0 seconds is reset (S11). Subsequently, based on the driver awakening level information of the preceding vehicle amount acquired by the inter-vehicle communication device 5, it is determined whether or not the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value (S12).

  If the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle is smaller than the threshold, whether or not the deviation (so-called peak-to-peak) ΔYc from the maximum value to the minimum value of the intermediate position Yc is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance A during the determination time t0 seconds. It is determined (S13).

  If the deviation ΔYc is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance, it is determined whether or not the deviation ΔYc is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance A during the determination time t0 seconds is detected B or more (S14). If the deviation ΔYc is detected to be equal to or greater than the predetermined distance A for a predetermined number of times B or more, the wobble flag is turned on and then the wobble determination is terminated (S15).

  On the other hand, when the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle is greater than or equal to the threshold (Yes in S12), the deviation ΔYc is smaller than the predetermined distance (No in S13), and the deviation ΔYc is greater than or equal to the predetermined distance A. Is not detected a predetermined number of times B or more (No in S13), the wobbling flag is turned off, and then the wobbling determination is terminated (S16).

  As described above, in the steering control device 1 of the present embodiment, the target control amount G of the steering control is changed according to the state of the preceding vehicle (the inter-vehicle distance of the preceding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle C, the wobbling of the preceding vehicle, etc.). Thus, it is possible to perform appropriate steering control according to the state of the preceding vehicle.

  In S6 of the present embodiment, as described above, when the inter-vehicle distance is between the predetermined distances α and βm, each of the gain values k1 to K3 is linear between the gain values k1min to K3min and the gain values k1max to K3max. It is set as each complemented value. That is, the control amount is calculated so that the responsiveness of the steering control becomes higher as the distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle C is shorter. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate steering control according to the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle.

  In S2 and 4 of the present embodiment, as described above, when the wobble flag is ON, the current preceding vehicle position information is not updated, and the curve radius is calculated from the vehicle position information when the previous wobble flag is OFF. Each of R, yaw angle θ, and offset D is estimated, and a target control amount G is calculated. That is, when the fluctuation of the preceding vehicle is detected, the target control amount G is calculated using the vehicle position information of the preceding vehicle before the fluctuation detection. As a result, the target control amount G according to the presence or absence of the wobbling can be calculated, and the own vehicle C can be prevented from wobbling following the wobbling preceding vehicle.

  In S12 and 16 of the present embodiment, when the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle is greater than or equal to the threshold value, it is estimated that the wobbling of the preceding vehicle is steering necessary for traveling (for example, obstacle avoidance). The wobbling flag is turned off, and appropriate steering control is performed so as to follow the preceding vehicle. That is, even when the fluctuation of the preceding vehicle is detected, the factor of the fluctuation (whether or not the intentional steering is necessary for traveling) is estimated, and the control amount corresponding to the factor is calculated. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate steering control according to the cause of the wobbling.

  In a normal steering control device, if the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is shorter than the recognizable range (for example, 7 m to 27 m) of the white line recognition camera mounted on the host vehicle C, the white line recognition camera cannot recognize the white line. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the target control amount G necessary for maintaining the lane can be calculated using the preceding vehicle position information, and the target control amount can be calculated. Since G is changed according to the state of the preceding vehicle, this embodiment can be said to be particularly effective.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described, the travel control apparatus which concerns on this invention is not restricted to the said steering control apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment, The range which does not change the summary described in each claim It may be modified by or applied to others.

  For example, in the above embodiment, when the fluctuation of the preceding vehicle is detected (when the fluctuation flag is ON), the target control amount G is used using the vehicle position information of the preceding vehicle before the detection of the fluctuation (when the fluctuation flag is OFF). However, the steering control may be stopped or suppressed when the fluctuation of the preceding vehicle is detected.

  In the above embodiment, the wobbling factor is estimated using the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle, but obstacle information or the like may be used. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although steering control is performed as traveling control, traveling control is not limited to this, What is necessary is just traveling control regarding the movement of a vehicle in the horizontal direction. For example, the travel control may be executed by controlling the difference in driving force and braking force between the left and right wheels.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when calculating the target control amount G, the preceding vehicle position information is updated according to ON / OFF of the wobbling flag to estimate the curve radius R and the like, and according to the inter-vehicle distance of the preceding vehicle. Although the gain values k1 to K3 are set, only one of these processes may be executed.

  In the above, the inter-vehicle communication device 5 and the millimeter wave radar 6 constitute the preceding vehicle state detection means, and the ECU 7 constitutes the steering control means.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Steering control apparatus, 5 ... Inter-vehicle communication device (preceding vehicle state detection means), 6 ... Millimeter wave radar (preceding vehicle state detection means), 7 ... ECU (steering control means), C ... Own vehicle.

Claims (2)

A travel control device that performs travel control on lateral movement of the host vehicle based on position information of a preceding vehicle,
Preceding vehicle state detection means for detecting the state of the preceding vehicle;
Travel control means for calculating a control amount of the travel control based on the position information of the preceding vehicle, and performing steering control as the travel control with the calculated control amount;
The preceding vehicle state detecting means is
Detecting the inter-vehicle distance of the preceding vehicle relative to the host vehicle as the state of the preceding vehicle, and detecting the wobbling of the preceding vehicle as the state of the preceding vehicle;
The travel control means includes
The control amount according to the presence or absence of the wobbling is calculated so that the responsiveness of the traveling control becomes higher as the inter-vehicle distance is shorter,
In the travel control means,
It is determined whether or not the awakening level of the driver of the preceding vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold value. A travel control device characterized by that. The travel control unit, the vehicle lane claim 1 Symbol placement of the travel control device, and calculates the control amount for maintaining.

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