JP5616732B2 - Collision damage reduction device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a collision damage reducing apparatus that reduces damage caused by a collision when a vehicle may collide with an obstacle ahead.

  Conventionally, the distance to an obstacle ahead is measured by a radar mounted on the vehicle to calculate the possibility of collision with the obstacle, and the brake is activated when the vehicle is likely to collide with the obstacle. A collision damage mitigation device that reduces damage caused by a collision is known.

  Patent Document 1 calculates the collision time until the vehicle collides with the obstacle based on the distance to the obstacle ahead measured by the inter-vehicle distance radar and the relative speed between the vehicle and the obstacle, A collision damage alleviating device is disclosed in which when a collision time becomes a predetermined value or less, it is determined that the vehicle collides with an obstacle and the brake is automatically operated.

JP 2009-101756 A

  However, in the collision damage alleviating device of Patent Document 1, for example, when the vehicle overtakes another vehicle traveling ahead, it is determined that the vehicle collides with an obstacle due to a reduction in the distance between the other vehicles. There was a risk that the brake would automatically operate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to improve the operation accuracy of the collision damage reducing device.

The present invention is a collision damage reduction device that automatically activates a brake of a vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle may collide with an obstacle in the traveling direction, and an image of the traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed. An imaging unit that captures an image, a lane departure determination unit that recognizes a white line on a road surface from an image captured by the imaging unit and determines whether the vehicle departs from a traveling lane, the vehicle, and the obstacle A relative distance measuring unit that measures a relative distance of the vehicle, a relative speed measuring unit that measures a relative speed between the vehicle and the obstacle, and the vehicle based on the relative speed and the relative distance. A collision time calculation unit that calculates a collision time until a collision, and a brake operation unit that automatically activates the brake when the collision time is less than or equal to a predetermined collision time threshold, The judgment part The vehicle calculates a departure time until the vehicle departs from the traveling lane, and the vehicle departs from the traveling lane when the departure time is smaller than a predetermined departure time threshold that is set larger than the collision time threshold. If the vehicle lane departure determining unit determines that the vehicle departs from the traveling lane, the automatic operation of the brake is stopped.

  In the present invention, when the lane departure determination unit determines that the vehicle departs from the traveling lane based on the image in the traveling direction of the vehicle imaged by the imaging unit, the automatic operation of the brake is stopped. Therefore, when the vehicle deviates from the driving lane, that is, when the vehicle overtakes the vehicle ahead, the automatic operation of the brake is stopped. Therefore, the operation accuracy of the collision damage reducing device can be improved.

It is a block diagram of the collision damage reduction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A)-(c) is a figure explaining lane departure determination control. It is a flowchart figure explaining the effect | action of the collision damage reduction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure explaining the example of the misjudgment in the conventional collision damage reduction apparatus.

  Hereinafter, a collision damage reducing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the configuration of the collision damage reducing apparatus 100 mounted on the vehicle 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

  The vehicle 1 includes an engine control device 3a that controls an engine 3 that generates driving force, and a brake control device 2a that controls a brake 2 that generates braking force. The engine control device 3a and the brake control device 2a are connected to a vehicle network 7 such as CAN communication so as to be able to perform data communication with each other together with other electronic devices such as a meter 5 that displays various information.

  When the collision damage reducing device 100 determines that the vehicle 1 may collide with an obstacle in the traveling direction, even if the driver does not operate the brake 2, the brake 2 of the vehicle 1 is applied. It is automatically activated. By automatically operating the brake 2, the speed of the vehicle 1 is reduced, the collision energy when the vehicle 1 collides with an obstacle is suppressed, and damage caused by the collision is reduced. In the collision damage alleviating apparatus 100, it is possible to stop the vehicle 1 before the vehicle 1 collides with the obstacle by changing various threshold values used for control, and to prevent the collision between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle. .

  The collision damage alleviating apparatus 100 includes a camera 10 as an imaging unit that captures an image in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 and a radar 20 as a relative distance measuring unit that measures a relative distance between the vehicle 1 and an obstacle. .

  The camera 10 is a small imaging device that is installed on the upper part of the front window of the vehicle 1 in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1. The camera 10 is connected to a lane departure determination control device 40, which will be described later, and transmits a captured image. The camera 10 may be connected to the vehicle network 7 instead of being connected to the lane departure determination control device 40.

  The radar 20 detects an obstacle such as another preceding vehicle. The radar 20 is, for example, a radio wave radar that receives that the emitted radio wave is reflected back from the obstacle and measures the relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle. The radar 20 is connected to the vehicle network 7 and transmits the measured relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle.

  The collision damage reducing apparatus 100 includes an alarm display unit 44 that is provided in the meter of the vehicle 1 and displays an alarm message toward the driver, and an alarm buzzer 45 that is provided in the vehicle 1 and sounds an alarm sound toward the driver. With. The driver is notified that the brake 2 is automatically operated by the alarm display unit 44 and the alarm buzzer 45.

  The warning display unit 44 displays a warning message toward the driver of the vehicle 1 when the brake 2 is automatically operated. The alarm message is, for example, display of characters “EMERGENCY”, lighting of an alarm indicator, or the like.

  The alarm buzzer 45 sounds an alarm sound toward the driver of the vehicle 1 when the brake 2 is automatically operated or immediately before the operation. The warning sound is, for example, a sound “Emergency brake is activated” or an electronic sound.

  The collision damage reducing apparatus 100 includes a collision damage reducing brake control apparatus 30 that executes control for reducing damage in a collision, and lane departure determination control that determines whether or not the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane. A lane departure determination control device 40 to be executed. The collision damage reduction brake control device 30 and the lane departure determination control device 40 are connected to the vehicle network 7. Instead of providing the collision damage reducing brake control device 30 and the lane departure determination control device 40 individually, each control may be executed using a single control device.

  The collision damage reduction brake control device 30 and the lane departure determination control device 40 include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an I / O interface (input / output interface). Each is composed of a microcomputer. The RAM stores data in the processing of the CPU, the ROM stores a control program of the CPU in advance, and the I / O interface is used for input / output of information with the connected device. Control of the collision damage alleviating apparatus 100 is realized by operating a CPU, RAM, and the like according to a program stored in the ROM.

  The collision damage reduction brake control device 30 includes a relative speed measurement unit 31 that measures a relative speed between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle, a collision time calculation unit 32 that calculates a collision time until the vehicle 1 collides with the obstacle, And a brake operating unit 33 that automatically operates the brake 2 when the collision time is smaller than a predetermined collision time threshold value.

  The relative speed measurement unit 31 measures the relative speed between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle based on the change in the relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle measured by the radar 20. Rather than providing the relative velocity measuring unit 31 in the collision damage reduction brake control device 30, the radar 20 and the vehicle 1 are based on the frequency difference caused by the Doppler effect between the emitted radio wave and the reflected radio wave. The relative speed with the obstacle may be measured.

  The collision time calculation unit 32 calculates the collision time based on the relative speed and the relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle. The collision time is a time obtained by dividing the relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle by the relative speed. That is, the collision time is a time until the vehicle 1 collides with the obstacle when the vehicle 1 and the obstacle maintain the current speed.

  The brake operating unit 33 automatically operates the brake 2 when the collision time calculated by the collision time calculating unit 32 is smaller than a predetermined collision time threshold value. Thereby, before the vehicle 1 collides with the obstacle, the brake 2 operates and the speed can be reduced, so that the collision energy between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle can be suppressed. Therefore, damage to the vehicle 1 due to the collision can be reduced.

  Note that if the collision time threshold is set to a time longer than the time required for the vehicle 1 to stop after the brake 2 is automatically operated, the vehicle 1 stops before the obstacle. Therefore, it is possible not only to reduce the damage caused by the collision when the vehicle 1 collides with the obstacle, but also to stop the vehicle 1 before colliding with the obstacle.

  The brake operation unit 33 stops the automatic operation of the brake 2 when the lane departure determination control device 40 determines that the vehicle 1 departs from the traveling lane. The control for stopping the automatic operation of the brake 2 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

  The lane departure determination control device 40 receives and recognizes an image captured by the camera 10 and a lane for determining whether the vehicle 1 deviates from the traveling lane from the image captured by the camera 10. And a departure determination unit 42. The lane departure determination control device 40 includes a lane departure warning unit 43 that issues a lane departure warning to the driver of the vehicle 1.

  The image recognition unit 41 recognizes the left and right white lines 51 (see FIG. 2) on the road surface 50 (see FIG. 2) from the image captured by the camera 10. The image recognition unit 41 outputs the position and angle of the white line 51 in the image to the lane departure determination unit 42.

  The lane departure determination unit 42 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane based on the position and angle of the white line 51 recognized by the image recognition unit 41. The lane departure determination unit 42 calculates a departure time until the vehicle 1 departs from the traveling lane, and determines whether this departure time is smaller than a predetermined departure time threshold.

  The lane departure determination unit 42 determines that the vehicle 1 may depart from the traveling lane when the calculated departure time is smaller than the departure time threshold, and the vehicle 1 when the departure time is larger than the departure time threshold. It is determined that there is no possibility of deviating from the driving lane. When the driver intentionally changes the lane, such as when the driver operates the blinker lever, it is forcibly determined that the vehicle 1 may deviate from the driving lane. Also good.

  Here, the departure time threshold is a value set according to the angle of the white line 51 with respect to the vehicle 1 and the speed of the vehicle 1. The departure time threshold value is set to be smaller as the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes higher when compared with the case where the angle of the vehicle 1 with respect to the white line 51 is the same.

  The departure time threshold is set larger than the above-described collision time threshold. For example, it is assumed that the departure time threshold is set to 0.5 seconds and the collision time threshold is set to 0.3 seconds. In this state, the case where the vehicle 1 overtakes after approaching another vehicle ahead is examined.

  When the vehicle 1 tries to overtake another vehicle, first, the automatic deviation of the brake 2 is performed by making the calculated departure time smaller than the departure time threshold 0.5 seconds before the vehicle 1 leaves the driving lane. Operation is stopped. Therefore, even if the vehicle 1 approaches another vehicle and approaches a point 0.3 seconds before colliding with the other vehicle, the brake 2 does not automatically operate. Therefore, the brake 2 does not automatically operate when the vehicle 1 passes other vehicles ahead.

  On the contrary, the case where the departure time threshold is set smaller than the collision time threshold is considered. For example, assume that the departure time threshold is set to 0.5 seconds and the collision time threshold is set to 0.8 seconds. In this state, the case where the vehicle 1 overtakes after approaching another vehicle ahead is examined.

  When the vehicle 1 tries to overtake another vehicle and approaches a point 0.8 seconds before the vehicle 1 collides with another vehicle, the brake 2 is automatically activated because the calculated collision time becomes smaller than the collision time threshold. It works automatically. Therefore, even when the vehicle 1 overtakes other vehicles ahead, the brake 2 automatically operates. Then, when 0.5 seconds before the vehicle 1 deviates from the traveling lane, the calculated departure time becomes smaller than the departure time threshold, whereby the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped.

  As described above, by setting the departure time threshold value to be larger than the collision time threshold value, the automatic operation of the brake 2 can be surely stopped before the brake 2 is automatically operated. Therefore, after the brake 2 is automatically operated, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped and the operation of the vehicle 1 is prevented from becoming jerky.

  The lane departure determination unit 42 outputs a command for issuing a lane departure warning to the lane departure warning unit 43 when it is determined that the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane.

  The lane departure warning unit 43 issues a lane departure warning to the driver of the vehicle 1 when the calculated departure time is smaller than the departure time threshold. When the lane departure warning is issued, the driver of the vehicle 1 is notified that the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane.

  When the vehicle 1 may deviate from the driving lane, an alarm message is displayed on the alarm display unit 44 toward the driver of the vehicle 1, and from the alarm buzzer 45 toward the driver of the vehicle 1. An audible alarm sounds.

  Thereby, when there is a possibility that the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane due to a driving mistake or the like by the driver, it is possible to prevent the vehicle 1 from deviating from the traveling lane by issuing a lane departure warning to the driver.

  When the lane departure warning is issued, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is also stopped at the same time. Therefore, an alarm indicating that the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped is displayed as an alarm display unit 44 and an alarm buzzer 45. You may leave from. As a result, the driver of the vehicle 1 is notified that the automatic operation of the brake 2 has stopped, and can be alerted.

  The collision damage reducing device 100 includes a switch 6 connected to the collision damage reducing brake control device 30 and the lane departure determination control device 40. The switch 6 is provided at a position where it can be operated by the driver of the vehicle 1. By operating this switch 6, the collision damage alleviating apparatus 100 is switched on or off.

  Hereinafter, the lane departure determination control will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2A is an image captured by the camera 10 and is a case where the vehicle 1 is not likely to deviate from the traveling lane. The image shows the hood 1a of the vehicle 1 and the road surface 50 in the traveling direction.

  In this state, since the vehicle 1 is traveling in parallel with the white line 51, there is no possibility that the vehicle 1 deviates from the traveling lane. Therefore, the departure time is infinite. At this time, since the calculated departure time is larger than the departure time threshold, the lane departure determination unit 42 determines that there is no possibility that the vehicle 1 will depart from the traveling lane.

  FIG. 2B is an image captured by the camera 10 and is a case where the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane across the white line 51. This is a case where the vehicle 1 is changing the lane from the left lane to the right lane, as shown in FIG. The white line 51 on the left side of the vehicle 1 shown in the image is closer to the vertical than the white line 51 on the right side.

  In this state, since the vehicle 1 is not parallel to the white line 51, the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane. The lane departure determination unit 42 calculates a departure time until the vehicle 1 deviates from the traveling lane when the vehicle 1 continues traveling at the same angle and speed. When the calculated departure time is equal to or less than the departure time threshold, the lane departure determination unit 42 determines that the vehicle 1 may depart from the traveling lane.

  Next, with reference to FIG.3 and FIG.4, the effect | action of the collision damage reduction apparatus 100 is demonstrated.

  When an ignition switch (not shown) of the vehicle 1 is turned on, the control shown in FIG. 3 is executed.

  In step 301, the collision damage alleviating apparatus 100 is activated.

  In step 302, the radar 20 detects the relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle, and calculates the relative speed based on the change in the relative distance. Thereby, information such as the position of the obstacle with respect to the vehicle 1 and the speed of the obstacle can be obtained.

  In step 303, the collision time until the vehicle 1 collides with an obstacle is calculated by dividing the relative distance detected in step 302 by the calculated relative speed. Thereby, when the speed of the vehicle 1 and the obstacle does not change, it is calculated how long the vehicle 1 will collide with the obstacle.

  In step 304, it is determined whether or not the collision time is equal to or less than the collision time threshold value. If it is determined in step 304 that the collision time is equal to or less than the collision time threshold, the process proceeds to step 305 on the assumption that the vehicle 1 may collide with an obstacle. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 304 that the collision time is greater than the collision time threshold, it is determined that there is no possibility that the vehicle 1 will collide with an obstacle, and the process returns to step 302 without automatically operating the brake 2. .

  In subsequent steps 305 to 309, a lane departure determination for determining whether or not the vehicle 1 departs from the traveling lane is executed.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the vehicle 1 overtakes another vehicle ahead, the vehicle 1 changes the lane after the vehicle 1 approaches another vehicle. There is a possibility that the brake 2 is automatically operated by determining that the vehicle 1 may collide with another vehicle. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4B, the vehicle 1 also collides with another vehicle when the vehicle 1 travels at a position offset from the other vehicle ahead and overtakes from there. There is a possibility that the brake 2 is automatically operated because it is erroneously determined that there is a fear.

  In step 305, the camera 10 captures an image in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1.

  In step 306, it is determined whether the white line 51 can be recognized from the image captured in step 305. If it is determined in step 306 that the white line 51 can be recognized, the process proceeds to step 307.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the white line 51 cannot be recognized, it is impossible to determine whether or not the vehicle 1 departs from the traveling lane. To operate. Thereby, for example, when the white line 51 cannot be recognized due to disturbances such as the condition of the road surface 50, the weather, and the sunlight on the camera 10, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is not stopped.

  In step 307, the positional relationship such as the position and angle of the white line 51 with respect to the vehicle 1 is calculated from the image captured in step 305.

  In step 308, the departure time until the vehicle 1 deviates from the travel lane is calculated based on the positional relationship between the vehicle 1 and the white line 51 calculated in step 307, the speed of the vehicle 1, and the like.

  In step 309, it is determined whether or not the departure time calculated in step 308 is less than or equal to the departure time threshold. If it is determined in step 309 that the departure time is not less than or equal to the departure time threshold value, there is no possibility that the vehicle 1 will depart from the traveling lane, so the routine proceeds to step 310 and the brake 2 is automatically activated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 309 that the departure time is less than or equal to the departure time threshold, the vehicle 1 may deviate from the traveling lane, and therefore the brake 2 is automatically activated as the lane is being changed. Return to step 302 without.

  That is, when the vehicle 1 is changing lanes, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 overtakes other vehicles ahead as shown in FIG. 4 (a), or the vehicle 1 travels at a position offset from the other vehicles ahead as shown in FIG. 4 (b). In some cases, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped when the lane departure determination unit 42 determines that the vehicle 1 departs from the traveling lane. Therefore, the operation accuracy of the collision damage reducing apparatus 100 can be improved.

  When the operation accuracy of the collision damage reducing device 100 is improved, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle 1 may collide with the obstacle at a position further away from the obstacle. Therefore, the automatic operation of the brake 2 can be further accelerated. Thereby, the vehicle 1 can be stopped before the vehicle 1 collides with an obstacle.

  In step 310, the brake 2 is automatically activated. Thereby, since the speed of the vehicle 1 when the vehicle 1 collides with an obstacle can be reduced, the collision energy between the vehicle 1 and the obstacle is suppressed. Therefore, damage to the vehicle 1 due to the collision can be reduced.

  At the same time, an alarm message is displayed on the alarm display unit 44, and an alarm sound is emitted from the alarm buzzer 45, thereby notifying the driver that the brake 2 is automatically operating. In addition to the automatic operation of the brake 2, an engine brake and other auxiliary brakes may be operated.

  According to the above embodiment, the following effects are produced.

  When the lane departure determination unit 42 determines that the vehicle 1 departs from the traveling lane based on the image of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 captured by the camera 10, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 deviates from the traveling lane, such as when the vehicle 1 passes another vehicle ahead, the automatic operation of the brake 2 is stopped. Therefore, the operation accuracy of the collision damage reducing apparatus 100 can be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is obvious that various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

  The collision damage reducing device of the present invention is not only a device that reduces damage when a traveling vehicle collides with an obstacle in the traveling direction, but also a device that prevents the vehicle from colliding with an obstacle, It can also be used as a device that maintains the inter-vehicle distance from other vehicles.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Collision damage reduction apparatus 1 Vehicle 2 Brake 10 Camera 20 Radar 30 Collision damage reduction brake control apparatus 31 Relative speed measurement part 32 Collision time calculation part 33 Brake operation part 40 Lane departure warning control apparatus 41 Image recognition part 42 Lane departure determination part 43 Lane departure warning section

Claims (3)

A collision damage reducing device that automatically activates a brake of a vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle may collide with an obstacle in the traveling direction,
An imaging unit that captures an image of the traveling direction of the vehicle;
A lane departure determination unit that recognizes a white line on a road surface from an image captured by the imaging unit and determines whether the vehicle departs from a traveling lane;
A relative distance measuring unit for measuring a relative distance between the vehicle and the obstacle;
A relative speed measuring unit for measuring a relative speed between the vehicle and the obstacle;
A collision time calculation unit that calculates a collision time until the vehicle collides with the obstacle based on the relative speed and the relative distance;
A brake operating unit that automatically operates the brake when the collision time is equal to or less than a predetermined collision time threshold,
The lane departure determination unit calculates a departure time until the vehicle departs from the driving lane, and the departure time is smaller than a predetermined departure time threshold that is set larger than the collision time threshold. Determine that the vehicle deviates from the driving lane,
The collision damage alleviating apparatus characterized in that, when the lane departure determining unit determines that the vehicle departs from a traveling lane, the automatic operation of the brake is stopped.   The collision damage reducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lane departure warning unit that issues a lane departure warning to a driver of the vehicle when the departure time is smaller than the departure time threshold.   The collision damage alleviating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the lane departure warning is issued, a warning for stopping the automatic operation of the brake is further issued.