JP6152673B2 - Lane change support device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a lane change support device that supports, for example, automatic lane change control in a vehicle.

  As this type of device, for example, a device that realizes lane change control of a vehicle that is not operated by a driver by automatically executing steering control and acceleration / deceleration control of the vehicle is known. In the lane change control, for example, a white line on the road and other vehicles traveling around the host vehicle are recognized by an in-vehicle camera or various radars mounted on the vehicle, and the lane change is realized so as to avoid the other vehicles.

  More specifically, for example, in Patent Document 1, the lane change is preferably realized by performing acceleration control according to the speed of the host vehicle before the lane change and the speeds of the front vehicle and the rear vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane. This technique is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 2, when a lane change is made by interrupting between two other vehicles traveling in an adjacent lane, the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is controlled based on a vehicle having a higher vehicle speed among the two other vehicles. Has been proposed.

  In addition, there is Patent Document 3 as a document related to the present invention.

JP 2012-001042 A JP 2006-076568 A JP 2009-146289 A

  As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when executing lane change control, it is required to sufficiently check the status of the adjacent lane as the destination in order to avoid collision with other vehicles. It is done. However, for example, a recognition area of a camera or various radars for recognizing another vehicle may be blocked by an obstacle such as a vehicle traveling in front of or behind the host vehicle and become small. Specifically, for example, when the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is reduced, the preceding vehicle is greatly projected on the in-vehicle camera, and a situation may occur in which another vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane is hidden behind the preceding vehicle in the captured image. . In such a case, even if there is no other vehicle and the lane change control is possible, the lane change control must be prohibited because the situation of the adjacent lane cannot be sufficiently recognized. Technical problems arise.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, for example, and even when the surrounding situation cannot be sufficiently recognized due to the presence of an obstacle, a lane change support device that can suitably execute lane change control. It is an issue to provide.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the lane change support device of the present invention is a lane change support device that supports lane change control of a vehicle, and includes obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle existing around the vehicle,
The lane change control is performed based on a white line detection means for detecting a white line of a lane in which the vehicle travels and a collision margin time between the detected white line and another vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane of the lane in which the vehicle travels. A request detection area calculation means for calculating a request detection area which is a detection area of the obstacle detection means required when executing, and a detection area of the obstacle detection means are generated after calculating the request detection area. Shielding determination means for determining whether or not the obstacle detection means is smaller than the required detection area due to shielding by the obstacle, and when the detection area of the obstacle detection means is smaller than the required detection area, the obstacle detection means Control amount calculation means for calculating a control amount of the vehicle for setting the detection region to be equal to or greater than the required detection region, and vehicle control for controlling the vehicle based on the calculated control amount. And means.

  According to the lane change assisting apparatus of the present invention, during the operation, obstacles (for example, other vehicles) existing around the vehicle are detected by obstacle detection means configured as, for example, an in-vehicle camera or a millimeter wave radar. The Here, “around the vehicle” is an area where the presence or absence of an obstacle should be detected in order to make the vehicle travel appropriately (especially when lane change control is performed). This is to include not only the front-rear direction of the lane in which the vehicle is located but also the adjacent lane. The obstacle detection means detects not only the presence / absence of an obstacle, but also the direction in which the obstacle exists, the distance to the obstacle, the relative speed of the obstacle, and the like as seen from the host vehicle.

  In the lane change assisting device of the present invention, a white line (for example, a roadway outer line or a roadway boundary line) in which the vehicle travels is detected by a white line detection unit configured as, for example, an in-vehicle camera or a millimeter wave radar. In the white line detection means, for example, an image in front of the vehicle (that is, an image in the traveling direction as viewed from the traveling vehicle) is captured, and the captured image is scanned in the horizontal direction, and an edge whose brightness (luminance) changes greatly. Based on the white line is detected. The white line information detected here may be used for, for example, LKA (Lane Keeping Assist) control realized by automatic steering control.

  When the white line is detected, the request detection area calculation means calculates a request detection area required when the lane change control is executed based on the detected white line. The request detection area is a detection area required for the obstacle detection means in order to execute appropriate lane change control, and is calculated in consideration of a time margin for collision (TTC: Time To Collision) and the like. At this time, the detected white line is used to specify the lane width, the position of the host vehicle in the lane, and the like. The request detection area may be calculated not only as an area of an area where an obstacle can be detected, but also as a detectable angle or the like. That is, any parameter may be used as long as the size of the detection area can be recognized.

  When the request detection area is calculated, the shielding determination unit determines whether or not the current detection area of the obstacle detection unit is smaller than the request detection area due to the blocking by the obstacle. Here, “shielding by an obstacle” refers to a state in which an obstacle present at a relatively distant position cannot be detected by an obstacle present at a relatively close position from the host vehicle. Specifically, for example, a case where the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle becomes small and the situation of the adjacent lane is hidden behind the preceding vehicle and cannot be detected is assumed.

  Here, particularly in the present invention, when it is determined that the detection area of the obstacle detection means is smaller than the required detection area, the control amount calculation means determines that the detection area of the obstacle detection means is greater than or equal to the required detection area. A control amount is calculated. Here, the control amount of the vehicle is typically calculated as the amount of movement of the vehicle with respect to an obstacle that shields the detection area of the obstacle detection means (hereinafter referred to as “shielding obstacle” as appropriate). There is no particular limitation as long as it is an amount related to control that can increase the detection area of the detection means.

  The control amount of the vehicle is calculated based on information about the shielding obstacle such as the size and shape of the shielding obstacle and the relative distance from the shielding obstacle. Such information may be acquired from the obstacle detection means or may be acquired through another route. Further, the control amount of the vehicle may be calculated using road information such as a curve curvature and a gradient. By using a plurality of pieces of information in this way, the control amount of the vehicle can be calculated more appropriately than in the case based on only the information related to the shielding obstacle.

  When the control amount of the vehicle is calculated, the vehicle control means executes control of the vehicle based on the calculated control amount. For example, the vehicle is moved with respect to the shielding obstacle, and the portion shielded by the shielding obstacle in the detection area of the obstacle detection means is reduced. As a result, the detection area of the obstacle detection means is set to be equal to or greater than the required detection area, and a state in which appropriate lane change control can be executed is established. The above-described control by the vehicle control means may be executed only at the time of lane change, but is executed periodically (that is, when lane change control is not performed) so that lane change control may be executed at any time. It does not matter.

  Incidentally, it is assumed that the vehicle movement control by the vehicle control means described above is typically executed during automatic operation control such as LKA control. However, even when the movement control is executed when the normal driving is performed by the driver's operation, the above-described effects can be obtained accordingly.

  Further, when the obstacle detection means has a moving function in the vehicle, the detection area can be appropriately changed by moving the obstacle detection means without moving the vehicle itself, so that the request detection area This can be done. In this case, although the configuration of the obstacle detection means is somewhat complicated, the vehicle movement control is not executed, so that the behavior of the vehicle can be stabilized. Further, if the movement control of the vehicle and the movement control of the obstacle detection means are used in combination, the movement amount with respect to the obstacle being shielded increases, so that the detection area can be effectively expanded. Furthermore, since the amount of movement of the vehicle can be covered by the amount of movement of the obstacle detection means, the amount of movement of the vehicle can be kept small.

  As described above, according to the lane change support device of the present invention, it is possible to suitably execute lane change control even when the surrounding situation cannot be sufficiently recognized due to the presence of an obstacle.

  In one aspect of the lane change assist device of the present invention, the control amount calculation means calculates a movement amount in a lateral direction intersecting a traveling direction of the vehicle as the control amount of the vehicle.

  According to this aspect, when the detection area of the obstacle detection means is smaller than the required detection area, the vehicle is moved in the lateral direction intersecting the traveling direction. For example, the vehicle is moved to the adjacent lane side where the obstacle is to be detected (that is, the adjacent lane side to which the lane is changed). Therefore, for example, even in a situation where the situation of the adjacent lane cannot be detected behind the preceding vehicle or the following vehicle, the detection area can be surely expanded by the movement of the vehicle. Therefore, a suitable lane change can be realized.

  In another aspect of the lane change assist device of the present invention, the control amount calculation means calculates a movement amount in a direction along the traveling direction of the vehicle as the control amount of the vehicle.

  According to this aspect, when the detection area of the obstacle detection means is smaller than the request detection area, the vehicle is moved in the direction along the traveling direction. For example, when the preceding vehicle is a blocking obstacle, the vehicle performs control such that the vehicle speed is reduced and the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is increased. When the following vehicle is a blocking obstacle, control is performed such that the vehicle speed is increased to increase the inter-vehicle distance from the following vehicle. In this way, for example, even in a situation where the situation of the adjacent lane cannot be detected behind the preceding vehicle or the succeeding vehicle, the detection area can be reliably expanded by the movement of the vehicle. Therefore, a suitable lane change can be realized.

  The vehicle control means may execute both the lateral movement intersecting the traveling direction and the movement along the traveling direction at the same time. In this case, the process is somewhat complicated, but the effect of expanding the detection area of the obstacle detection means can be improved.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing invention demonstrated below.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the lane change assistance apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the obstruction detection area | region and white line detection area | region of the own vehicle. It is a top view which shows the state in which the obstacle detection area | region of the own vehicle is shielded by the succeeding vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the lane change assistance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the calculation of a horizontal direction control amount, and the vehicle movement control to a horizontal direction. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the lane change assistance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows calculation of the advancing direction control amount, and vehicle movement control to a advancing direction.

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

<Device configuration>
First, the configuration of the lane change support device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the lane change support device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, only members deeply related to the present embodiment among the members for controlling the vehicle are illustrated, and the other members are not illustrated.

  In FIG. 1, the lane change assist device 10 includes, as main components, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 100, an in-vehicle camera 110, a millimeter wave radar 120, an automatic operation switch 130, a display 140, an electric accelerator 210, an electric brake 220, and An electric power steering 230 is provided.

  The ECU 100 is an electronic control unit that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, and is configured to be able to control the operation of each part of the vehicle. The ECU 100 is configured to be able to execute various controls in the vehicle according to a control program stored in a ROM or the like, for example.

  The in-vehicle camera 110 mainly captures an image in front of the vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 110 may be configured to be able to image the rear and side of the vehicle. A signal indicating an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 110 is transmitted to the ECU 100.

  The millimeter wave radar 120 emits a millimeter wave and receives a radio wave reflected by an object (for example, another vehicle). Based on a propagation time, a frequency generated due to the Doppler effect, and the like, Measure position and relative speed with vehicle. The measurement result in the millimeter wave radar 120 is transmitted to the ECU 100.

  The automatic operation switch 130 is provided at a position where the driver in the vehicle can operate, and the normal operation and the automatic operation can be switched to each other by operating the switch.

  The display 140 is, for example, a display such as (Human Machine Interface), HUD (Head Up Display), or car navigation, and is provided at a position that can be viewed by the driver or the passenger. Alternatively, it may be a display such as a portable terminal (for example, a smartphone) possessed by the driver of the vehicle. The display 140 is configured to perform display according to various signals transmitted from the ECU 100.

  The electric accelerator 210 is configured to execute vehicle acceleration control during automatic driving. Further, the electric brake 220 is configured to be able to execute deceleration control of the vehicle during automatic driving. According to the electric accelerator 210 and the electric brake 220, for example, ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) control can be executed based on information on a preceding vehicle obtained from the in-vehicle camera 110 or the millimeter wave radar 120.

  The electric power steering 230 is configured to be able to execute steering control of the vehicle during automatic driving. According to the electric power steering 230, lane change control and LKA control can be executed based on, for example, white line information obtained from the in-vehicle camera 110 and the millimeter wave radar 120.

  The ECU 100 according to the present embodiment particularly includes an obstacle detection unit 101, a white line detection unit 102, a request detection region calculation unit 103, a shielding determination unit 104, a control amount calculation unit 105, and a vehicle control unit 106.

  The obstacle detection unit 101 is an example of the “obstacle detection unit” according to the present invention. Based on the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 110 or the measurement result of the millimeter wave radar 120, the obstacle detection unit 101 detects the presence of an obstacle such as another vehicle. To detect. In other words, the presence of an object that can be an obstacle to the running of the vehicle is detected.

  The white line detection unit 102 is an example of the “white line detection unit” according to the present invention, and detects a white line on a road on which the vehicle travels from an image captured by the in-vehicle camera 110. For example, the white line detection unit 102 scans the captured image a plurality of times in the horizontal direction, and detects an edge portion where the luminance greatly changes as a white line.

  The request detection area calculation unit 103 is an example of the “request detection area calculation unit” of the present invention, and calculates a request detection area required when executing lane change control. The request detection area is a detection area required for the obstacle detection unit 101 to execute appropriate lane change control, and is calculated in consideration of, for example, a collision margin time. A specific method for calculating the request detection area will be described in detail later.

  The shielding determination unit 104 is an example of the “shielding determination unit” of the present invention, and determines whether or not the current detection area of the obstacle detection unit 101 is smaller than the request detection area due to the blocking by the obstacle. The detection area of the obstacle detection unit is smaller than the request detection area when, for example, the distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle becomes small and the situation of the adjacent lane is hidden behind the preceding vehicle and cannot be detected. Can be. The determination result of the shielding determination unit 104 is output to the control amount calculation unit 105.

  The control amount calculation unit 105 is an example of the “control amount calculation unit” of the present invention, and when it is determined that the detection region of the obstacle detection unit 101 is smaller than the request detection region, the detection region of the obstacle detection unit 101 The control amount of the vehicle is calculated so as to be greater than or equal to the request detection area. Here, the control amount of the vehicle is calculated as, for example, the movement amount of the vehicle with respect to the obstacle that blocks the detection area of the obstacle detection unit 101. The control amount of the vehicle is calculated based on information related to the shielding obstacle such as the size and shape of the shielding obstacle and the relative distance. These pieces of information may be acquired from the obstacle detection date 101 or may be acquired through another route. Further, the control amount of the vehicle may be calculated using road information such as a curve curvature and a gradient. In this case, the control amount of the vehicle can be calculated more appropriately than in the case based on only the information regarding the shielding obstacle. The calculated vehicle control amount is output to the vehicle control unit 106.

  The vehicle control unit 106 is an example of the “vehicle control unit” in the present invention, and executes vehicle control based on the control amount calculated by the control amount calculation unit 105. The vehicle control unit 106 appropriately controls, for example, each of the electric accelerator 210, the electric brake 220, and the electric power steering 230 to reduce the portion shielded by the obstacle in the detection area of the obstacle detection unit 101. Specific movement control by the vehicle control unit 106 will be described in detail later. The vehicle control unit 106 can also execute vehicle lane change control.

  The ECU 100 configured to include each part described above is an electronic control unit configured integrally, and all the operations related to each part are configured to be executed by the ECU 100. However, the physical, mechanical, and electrical configurations of the above-described parts according to the present invention are not limited thereto. For example, each of these parts includes various ECUs, various processing units, various controllers, microcomputer devices, and the like. It may be configured as a computer system or the like.

<Obstacle detection control and white line detection control>
Next, the disabled person detection control and the white line detection control by the lane change support device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a top view showing the obstacle detection area and the white line detection area of the host vehicle. FIG. 3 is a top view showing a state where the obstacle detection area of the host vehicle is shielded by the following vehicle.

  In FIG. 2, a white line 400 on the roadway is detected by the in-vehicle camera 110 when the vehicle 310 on which the lane change assisting device according to the present embodiment is mounted is traveling. That is, the white line 400 existing in the white line detection area in the figure is detected. Also, the millimeter wave radar 120 detects obstacles existing in front of and behind the adjacent lane. That is, obstacles existing in the front obstacle detection area and the rear obstacle detection area in the figure are detected.

  The millimeter wave radar 120 is configured not only to detect an obstacle on the right adjacent lane as shown in the figure, but also to detect an obstacle on the lane in which the vehicle 310 travels or an obstacle on the left adjacent lane. May be. In addition, the obstacle detection may be realized using a captured image of the in-vehicle camera 110.

  In FIG. 3, the front obstacle detection area and the rear obstacle detection area may be limited to a small size due to the presence of obstacles such as a preceding vehicle and a subsequent vehicle. Specifically, for example, as shown in the drawing, when the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 310 and the following vehicle 320 becomes small, the rear obstacle detection region is limited by the following vehicle 320.

More specifically, as will be described later, the obstacle detection area includes a request detection area (that is, a straight line extending behind the vehicle 310 and a boundary line of the detection area) in order to perform lane change control to an adjacent lane. It is required that the angle be equal to or larger than a detection region where an angle (hereinafter, referred to as “region angle” as appropriate) is θ _L. However, in the example shown in the figure, the detection area is blocked by the following vehicle 320, and the rear obstacle detection area is limited to an area smaller than the requested detection area (that is, a detection area where the area angle is θ _C ). Yes. For this reason, for example, the presence of the vehicle 330 traveling in the adjacent lane cannot be detected.

  Thus, if the obstacle detection area of the adjacent lane is limited, the situation of the adjacent lane cannot be sufficiently recognized, and as a result, a situation in which appropriate lane change control cannot be performed occurs. On the other hand, the lane change assisting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment suitably expands the obstacle detection area by executing vehicle movement control even if the obstacle detection area is limited. It is possible.

<Vehicle movement control>
Below, operation | movement of the lane change assistance apparatus 10 which concerns on this embodiment is given and mentioned with several embodiment. In the following, for convenience of explanation, among various types of control that can be executed by the lane change assist device 10, in particular, vehicle movement control during lane change control that is closely related to the present embodiment will be described in detail. Description of the general control will be omitted as appropriate.

  In the following, only the case where the rear obstacle detection area is limited due to the presence of the following vehicle 320 as shown in FIG. 3 will be described, but the front obstacle detection area is limited due to the presence of the preceding vehicle. Even in this case, it is possible to cope with the same control. Furthermore, in the following, only the lane change control to the right adjacent lane will be described, but when executing the lane change control to the left adjacent lane, the sign of various parameters relating to vehicle movement control described later is reversed. This can be done.

<First Embodiment>
First, the operation of the lane change support device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 in addition to FIG. 3 described above. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the lane change support device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the calculation of the lateral control amount and the vehicle movement control in the lateral direction.

In FIG. 4, when the lane change assisting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment operates, first, as described above, using the information output from the millimeter wave radar 120 or the like, the obstacle detection unit 101 detects obstacles (steps). S101) is executed, and the white line 400 is detected by the white line detection unit 102 using the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 110 (step S102). When the white line 400 is detected, the request detection area calculation unit 103 calculates a request detection area (step S103). Request detection area, as described above, the area angle is detected as the detection region such that theta _L. Below, the calculation method of area | region angle (theta) _L is demonstrated concretely.

In Figure 3, when calculating the required detection region, first on the basis of the detected position of the white line 400, the distance W _L from the center line of the vehicle 310 to the white line 400 is calculated. Further, the required inter-vehicle distance d required for the lane change control is calculated. The required inter-vehicle distance d can be calculated using the following formula (1), where T _T is the collision allowance time, T _{L is the} lane change time, and V _r is the relative speed with the other vehicle 330 traveling in the adjacent lane. .

d = (T _T + T _L ) V _r (1)
As described above, when the distance W _L to the white line 400 and the required inter-vehicle distance d are calculated, the region angle θ _L can be calculated using these values. Specifically, areas angle theta _L can be calculated using equation (2) below.

θ _L = Tan ⁻¹ (W _L / d) (2)
Incidentally, the request detection region, not represented in polar coordinate system as the region the angle theta _L described above, but may be one that is represented by an orthogonal coordinate system.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the request detection area is calculated, the shielding determination unit 104 determines whether or not the current detection area is smaller than the request detection area (step S104). Note that the current detection area can be calculated in consideration of the relative distance and size of the shielding obstacle (the following vehicle 320 in the example of FIG. 3) detected by the obstacle detection unit 101. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the current detection area is calculated as a detection area whose area angle is θ _C. Therefore, the shielding determination unit 104 may determine whether or not | θ _C |> | θ _L |.

Here, when the current detection area is not smaller than the request detection area (step S104: NO), each process of step S105 and step S106 described below is omitted. On the other hand, when the current detection area is smaller than the request detection area as in the example shown in FIG. 3 (step S104: YES), the control amount calculation unit 105 sets the current detection area to be greater than or equal to the request detection area. lateral control amount _{W T} for a is calculated (step S105). The lateral control amount W _T is calculated based on the difference between the current detection area angle θ _C and the required detection area angle θ _L. Further, it may be calculated in consideration of road information such as curve curvature and gradient. Note that the lateral control amount W _T, lateral upper limit so that the vehicle 310 is not entirely beyond the white line by moving (e.g., "lane width - car width / 2") that is set preferable. When lateral control amount _{W T} is calculated, the vehicle control unit 106, is moved laterally in response to the vehicle 310 is lateral control amount _{W T} (step S106).

5, the vehicle 310 when it is controlled to move according to laterally control amount W _T, to relative position changes between the following vehicle 320 that is the shielding obstacle, also changes the size of the obstacle detection area . Specifically, as shown in the figure, the current detection area angle θ _C is equal to the required detection area angle θ _L. Therefore, for example, the adjacent lane traveling vehicle 330 existing within the required inter-vehicle distance d can be reliably detected as an obstacle. Therefore, it is possible to suitably determine whether or not the lane change control can be performed. The current detection area angle θ _C may be made larger than the required detection area angle θ _L by lateral movement control.

  If the current detection area is greater than or equal to the request detection area, it is subsequently determined whether or not lane change control can be performed (step S107). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when there is an obstacle such as the adjacent lane traveling vehicle 330 within the required inter-vehicle distance d, it is determined that the lane change control cannot be performed (step S107: NO). On the other hand, when there is no obstacle within the required inter-vehicle distance d, it is determined that the lane change control can be performed (step S107: YES), and the lane change control is performed.

  When the lane change control is performed, a lane change control amount is first calculated (step S108). The lane change control amount includes, for example, parameters such as the amount of lateral movement of the vehicle and the amount of change in acceleration, and the timing and period when these parameters are changed. When the lane change control amount is calculated, lane change control is executed based on the calculated control amount (step S109). Specifically, the electric accelerator 210, the electric brake, and the electric power steering 230 of the vehicle 310 are controlled based on the lane change control amount, and the lane change of the vehicle 310 is realized.

  Note that the lane change control may not be automatically performed as described above. For example, the determination result of whether or not the lane change is possible (that is, the determination result in step S107) is notified to the driver of the vehicle 310 by the display 140 or the like, and the lane change is performed by the driver's operation. It may be.

  As described above, according to the lane change assist device 10 according to the present embodiment, even when the obstacle detection area is shielded by the obstacle, it is suitably detected by the lateral movement control with respect to the vehicle 310. The area can be expanded. Therefore, it is possible to suitably perform the lane change control.

Second Embodiment
Next, the operation of the lane change support device 10 according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 in addition to FIG. 3 described above. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the lane change support device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing calculation of the traveling direction control amount and vehicle movement control in the traveling direction.

  Note that the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above only in some operations, and the other operations are substantially the same. For this reason, below, a different part from 1st Embodiment is demonstrated in detail, and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably about the overlapping part.

  In FIG. 6, during operation of the lane change support device 10 according to the second embodiment, the obstacle detection unit 101 performs obstacle detection using information output from the millimeter wave radar 120 or the like, as in the first embodiment. Detection (step S201) is executed, and the white line 400 is detected (step S202) by the white line detection unit 102 using the captured image of the in-vehicle camera 110. When the white line 400 is detected, the request detection area calculation unit 103 calculates a request detection area (step S203).

When the request detection area is calculated, the shielding determination unit 104 determines whether or not the current detection area is smaller than the request detection area (step S204). Then, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 3, when the current detection area is smaller than the request detection area (step S <b> 204: YES), the control amount calculation unit 105 sets the current detection area to be greater than or equal to the request detection area. A traveling lateral control amount _DT is calculated for this purpose (step S205). Direction control amount D _T is the distance from the center line of the vehicle 310 to the end portion of the following vehicle 320 When W _C, can be calculated using the following equation (3).

D _T = W _C / tan θ _L (3)
The traveling direction control amount _DT may be calculated in consideration of road information such as a curve curvature and a gradient. The traveling direction control amount _DT is preferably set to an upper limit value (for example, a relative distance from the preceding vehicle) so that the vehicle 310 does not collide with another vehicle due to movement in the traveling direction. . When the traveling direction control amount _DT is calculated, the vehicle control unit 106 moves the vehicle 310 in the traveling direction according to the traveling direction control amount _DT (step S206).

In FIG. 7, when the movement of the vehicle 310 is controlled according to the traveling direction control amount _DT , the relative position with respect to the following vehicle 320 that is a blocking obstacle changes, so the size of the obstacle detection area also changes. . Specifically, as shown in the figure, the current detection area angle θ _C is equal to the required detection area angle θ _L. Therefore, for example, the adjacent lane traveling vehicle 330 existing within the required inter-vehicle distance d can be reliably detected as an obstacle. Therefore, it is possible to suitably determine whether or not the lane change control can be performed. The current detection area angle θ _C may be made larger than the required detection area angle θ _L by movement control in the traveling direction.

  If the current detection area is greater than or equal to the required detection area, it is subsequently determined whether or not lane change control can be performed (step S207). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when there is an obstacle such as the adjacent lane traveling vehicle 330 within the required inter-vehicle distance d, it is determined that the lane change control cannot be performed (step S207: NO). On the other hand, when there is no obstacle within the required inter-vehicle distance d, it is determined that the lane change control can be performed (step S207: YES), and the lane change control is performed.

  When the lane change control is performed, first, the lane change control amount is calculated (step S208). When the lane change control amount is calculated, lane change control is executed based on the calculated control amount (step S209).

  As described above, according to the lane change support device 10 according to the second embodiment, even when the obstacle detection area is shielded by the obstacle, the movement control in the traveling direction with respect to the vehicle 310 is preferably performed. The detection area can be expanded. Therefore, it is possible to suitably perform the lane change control.

  Note that the lateral movement control according to the first embodiment described above and the movement control in the traveling direction according to the second embodiment may be performed simultaneously.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and lane change support accompanying such changes The apparatus is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

10 Lane Change Support Device 100 ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Obstacle detection part 102 White line detection part 103 Request | requirement detection area | region calculation part 104 Occlusion determination part 105 Control amount calculation part 106 Vehicle control part 110 Car-mounted camera 120 Millimeter wave radar 130 Automatic driving switch 140 Display 210 Electric accelerator 220 Electric brake 230 Electric power Steering 310 Own vehicle 320 Subsequent vehicle 330 Adjacent lane traveling vehicle 400 White line d Required inter-vehicle distance θ _C Current detection area angle θ _L Required detection area angle W _L Inter-vehicle white line distance W _T Lateral control amount D _T Travel direction control amount

Claims (3)

A lane change support device for supporting lane change control of a vehicle,
Obstacle detection means for detecting obstacles existing around the vehicle;
White line detecting means for detecting a white line of a lane in which the vehicle travels;
In the detection area of the obstacle detection means required when the lane change control is executed based on the detected white line and a collision margin time with another vehicle traveling in the lane adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. Request detection area calculation means for calculating a certain request detection area;
Shielding determination means for determining whether or not the detection area of the obstacle detection means is smaller than the request detection area due to shielding by the obstacle generated after calculating the request detection area;
A control amount calculation means for calculating a control amount of the vehicle for making the detection area of the obstacle detection means equal to or greater than the request detection area when a detection area of the obstacle detection means is smaller than the request detection area;
A lane change assisting device comprising: vehicle control means for controlling the vehicle based on the calculated control amount.   The lane change assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the control amount calculation unit calculates a movement amount in a lateral direction intersecting a traveling direction of the vehicle as the control amount of the vehicle.   The lane change assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the control amount calculation unit calculates a movement amount in a direction along a traveling direction of the vehicle as the control amount of the vehicle.

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