JP6223143B2 - Driving support device and driving support method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device and a driving support method that support driving of a vehicle.

Patent Documents 1 to 3 disclose a device that visually displays the lane departure of the host vehicle and alerts the driver of the lane departure tactilely by changing the shape of the driving seat.
For example, when the host vehicle is traveling to the left side of the lane, the left side portion of the driving seat is pressed against the driver, and the driver can recognize that the host vehicle is biased to the left side.

JP 2005-346372 A JP 2005-145292 A JP 2006-264635 A

In the conventional techniques represented by Patent Documents 1 to 3, the warning content is determined according to the current vehicle state. For example, if the vehicle deviates from the lane to the right, a warning is given with the content corresponding to the vehicle state. In other words, the conventional approach does not consider how the degree of lane departure of the vehicle will change in the future. The same warning will be given when driving without noticing.
Therefore, in the former case, an unnecessary warning is given even though the driver fully recognizes the departure from the lane, so that bothersomeness and discomfort are given more than necessary.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and obtains a driving support apparatus and a driving support method capable of giving a warning in accordance with the driving situation when the vehicle deviates from the lane. For the purpose.

The driving support device according to the present invention is based on a lane departure amount calculation unit that calculates a lane departure amount with respect to the traveling lane of the host vehicle, and a time lane deviation amount that is sequentially calculated by the lane departure amount calculation unit, based on a time lane deviation amount. A determination unit that determines whether the vehicle that deviates from the vehicle tends to return to the travel lane, and the determination unit determines that the vehicle has a tendency to return to the travel lane. And a control unit that determines a warning level for the departure from the lane to a level lower than a case where it is determined that the own vehicle does not tend to return to the traveling lane, and performs a warning of contents corresponding to the warning level.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that a warning can be given with the contents corresponding to the driving situation when the vehicle departs from the lane.

It is a figure which shows the vehicle carrying the driving assistance device which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving support device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the aspect of lane departure. 3 is a flowchart showing warning level determination processing in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the warning display of a lane departure. It is a figure which shows the seat inclination apparatus of a driving | running seat. It is a figure which shows the seat vibration apparatus of a driving | running seat. It is a figure which shows the other example of the seat vibration apparatus of a driving | running seat. It is a figure which shows the vehicle carrying the driving assistance device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving support device according to a second embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the driving support apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the calculation process of the collision time of a rear side vehicle and the own vehicle. 10 is a flowchart illustrating warning content determination processing according to the second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the vehicle carrying the driving assistance device which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving support apparatus according to a third embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the driving support apparatus according to the third embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating warning content determination processing according to the third embodiment.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle equipped with a driving support apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. A vehicle A shown in FIG. 1 includes a front camera 1, a vehicle information acquisition device 2, an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as an ECU) 3, a display device 4, a seat tilting device 5, and a seat vibration device 6. . The ECU 3 functions as a driving support device according to the first embodiment.

  The front camera 1 is a camera attached to the upper part of the front window of the vehicle A, and images the road situation in front of the vehicle A and outputs it to the ECU 3. For example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera is used as the front camera 1. The shooting area of the front camera 1 is about ± 30 degrees in the horizontal direction with respect to the center line in the front-rear direction of the vehicle A, and the road scenery in the front included in this area is captured as a shot image.

The vehicle information acquisition device 2 is a device that acquires vehicle information such as the vehicle speed, steering angle, and brake information of the vehicle A. For example, vehicle information is acquired from the drive mechanism of the vehicle A through the controller area network (CAN) in the vehicle, and is output to the ECU 3.
The ECU 3 includes CPU peripheral components such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and has a function of controlling the operation of an electronic device mounted on the vehicle A. As one of these functions, the driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment is realized.

  The display device 4 includes a left display unit 4a installed in the lower left part of the front window of the vehicle A and a right display unit 4b installed in the lower right part of the front window. The left and right display units 4a and 4b display warning information of a warning level determined by the ECU 3, for example. The left and right display units 4a and 4b are arranged at positions that do not obstruct the driver's front view as much as possible.

The seat tilting device 5 is a device that tilts the seat in response to an instruction from the ECU 3.
For example, by tilting the driving seat in the rolling direction, the center of gravity of the driver is tilted, so that the driving operation direction can be transmitted to the driver. That is, when the vehicle A deviates from the right end of the traveling lane, the driver is informed that the steering wheel should be operated to the left side by tilting the driving seat to the left side.

The seat vibration device 6 is a device that vibrates the seat in response to an instruction from the ECU 3.
For example, when the vehicle A deviates from the right end of the driving lane, the vibrator on the right side portion of the seating surface is vibrated among the vibrator groups embedded in the seating surface of the driving seat. Thus, the driver can recognize that the vehicle A has deviated from the side where the vibration is felt, that is, the right end of the lane.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 2, an ECU 3 is an ECU that functions as a driving support device according to the first embodiment, and includes a front camera 1, a vehicle information acquisition device 2, a display device 4, a seat tilting device 5, a seat vibration device 6, and a voice. A notification speaker 7 is connected. The voice notification speaker 7 is composed of a plurality of speakers installed in the vehicle. These speakers output a warning at a warning level determined by the ECU 3 and transmit the warning content to the driver as auditory information. The ECU 3 includes a lane departure amount calculation unit 30, a determination unit 31, and a control unit 32 as functional blocks of the driving support device.

  The lane departure amount calculation unit 30 has a function of calculating the lane departure amount with respect to the travel lane of the vehicle. For example, a lane marker is recognized by performing image processing on a front image of the vehicle photographed by the front camera 1, and a lane departure amount with respect to the traveling lane of the own vehicle is calculated from the distance between the lane marker and the left and right side surfaces of the own vehicle. The determination unit 31 determines whether or not the vehicle A deviating from the traveling lane tends to return to the traveling lane based on the lane departure amount sequentially calculated by the lane departure amount calculating unit 30. The control part 32 is a control part which determines the warning level with respect to the lane departure of the own vehicle according to the determination result of the determination part 31, and performs the warning of the content according to the warning level. For example, the display device 4, the seat tilting device 5, the seat vibration device 6, and the voice notification speaker 7 are used to issue a warning according to the warning level.

  Note that the lane departure amount calculation unit 30, the determination unit 31, and the control unit 32 cooperate with each other in software and hardware, for example, by the CPU of the ECU 3 executing a program describing processing unique to the first embodiment. It can be realized as a means.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving support apparatus according to the first embodiment, and shows the details of the processing for giving a warning for the lane departure of the host vehicle. Note that the series of processing in FIG. 3 is continuously performed at regular intervals, for example, every 50 msec.
First, the lane departure amount calculation unit 30 calculates a lane departure amount with respect to the traveling lane of the host vehicle (step ST1). More specifically, the lane departure amount calculation unit 30 performs image processing on the image signal of the front area of the host vehicle captured by the front camera 1 and recognizes the lane marker of the traveling lane of the host vehicle. The lane departure amount calculation unit 30 calculates the lane departure amount based on the lane marker.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an aspect of lane departure. In FIG. 4, the lane is defined between the left lane marker L1 and the right lane marker L2. The lane departure amount d of the host vehicle is a difference amount obtained by subtracting the left departure amount dl from the right departure amount dr. Here, the right side deviation amount dr is a distance between the lane marker L2 and the right side surface of the host vehicle when the lane outer side is a positive direction and the lane inner side is a negative direction with reference to the lane marker L2. Similarly, the deviation dl on the left side is the distance between the lane marker L1 and the left side surface of the host vehicle when the lane outside is a positive direction and the lane inside is a negative direction with reference to the lane marker L1.

When traveling in the lane, if the center line of the front and rear direction of the host vehicle and the center line of the traveling lane overlap, the deviation amount dr on the right side and the deviation amount dl on the left side are substantially equal, and the lane departure amount d of the own vehicle. Is almost zero. That is, if the lane departure amount d is near 0, the own vehicle remains in the lane.
On the other hand, when the lane departure amount d becomes sufficiently large in the positive direction, the own vehicle deviates from the right side of the traveling lane as shown in the center of FIG. Further, when the lane departure amount d becomes sufficiently large in the negative direction, as shown at the right end of FIG. 4, it indicates that the own vehicle has deviated from the left side of the traveling lane.

For example, the determination unit 31 calculates the time change amount Δd of the lane departure amount d sequentially calculated by the lane departure amount calculation unit 30 according to the following equation (1), and the own vehicle deviates from the traveling lane based on Δd It is determined whether or not the vehicle tends to return to the traveling lane. However, d0 is the lane departure amount d calculated last time, and d1 is the lane departure amount d calculated this time. Δt is a time interval between the previous time and the current time. For example, when the series of processes shown in FIG. 3 is performed every 50 msec, Δt is 50 msec.
Δd = | d1-d0 | / Δt (1)

  When Δd expressed by the above equation (1) is equal to or greater than the threshold Th1, it indicates that the lane departure amount d is gradually increased, and when Δd is less than the threshold Th1, the lane departure amount d. Indicates a gradual decrease. That is, this Δd can be a reference for determining the tendency of the own vehicle deviating from the travel lane to return to the travel lane. For example, if Δd is a value greater than or equal to the threshold Th1 when the host vehicle deviates from the traveling lane, it indicates that the vehicle has not departed to the traveling lane and has deviated further. Further, if Δd is less than the threshold Th1 in a state where the host vehicle deviates from the traveling lane, it can be understood that the driver is driving to return the host vehicle to the traveling lane.

Returning to the description of FIG.
In step ST <b> 2, the determination unit 31 acquires vehicle information such as the vehicle speed and the winker operation direction from the vehicle information acquisition device 2.
Next, the determination part 31 adjusts various threshold values based on vehicle information (step ST3).
For example, if the vehicle speed is within the high speed range, it is necessary to promptly notify the driver of the departure of the vehicle lane from the safety point of view. The threshold value Th0 of the absolute value of the deviation amount d is adjusted from the initial value to a low value.
Further, when the host vehicle is traveling on a highway of a plurality of lanes at high speed, it is desired to quickly determine that the host vehicle deviating from the traveling lane tends to return to the traveling lane. Therefore, the threshold value Th1 of the absolute value of Δd, which serves as a reference for determining that the vehicle tends to return to the travel lane, is adjusted from the initial value to a higher value (a value that tends to satisfy Δd <Th1).
Furthermore, from the image taken by the front camera 1, it is the timing when the vehicle enters a curve that is difficult for the oncoming vehicle to recognize, and the vehicle is in a weather condition (fog, snow, etc.) that causes poor visibility around the vehicle. Similarly, when these are detected and acquired as vehicle information, the thresholds Th0 and Th1, which are the criteria for determining lane departure and return tendency, are adjusted.

  Next, the determination unit 31 determines the lane departure of the host vehicle based on the comparison result between the lane departure amount d and the threshold Th0. Here, when it is determined that the host vehicle departs from the lane, the determination unit 31 tends to return the host vehicle deviating from the travel lane to the travel lane based on the comparison result between Δd and the threshold Th1. It is determined whether or not there is. In accordance with the determination result of the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines a warning level for lane departure of the host vehicle, and determines a warning method having contents corresponding to the warning level. The process so far corresponds to step ST4.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the warning level determination process in the first embodiment, and shows details of the process in step ST4 of FIG.
First, the determination unit 31 compares the absolute value of the lane departure amount d sequentially input from the lane departure amount calculation unit 30 with a threshold Th0, and determines whether or not the host vehicle has deviated from the lane based on the comparison result. (Step ST1a). Here, when the absolute value | d | <threshold Th0, the determination unit 31 determines that the vehicle does not depart from the lane. When receiving the determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines “no warning”. If the absolute value | d | ≧ threshold Th0, the determination unit 31 determines that the host vehicle deviates from the lane.

  Next, the determination unit 31 compares the amount of time change Δd of the lane departure amount with the threshold value Th1, and based on the comparison result, does the own vehicle deviating from the traveling lane tend to return to the traveling lane? It is determined whether or not (step ST2a). When Δd <threshold Th1, the determination unit 31 performs a driving operation for returning to the driving lane and the lane departure amount d is decreasing, that is, the own vehicle tends to return to the driving lane. judge. Upon receiving this determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (weak)”. “Warning (weak)” indicates that “high”, “medium”, and “weak” are set in advance as warning levels, and “weak” is indicated.

The control unit 32 is preset with warning content (warning technique) for each warning level regarding lane departure, and the control unit 32 selects warning content of the warning level corresponding to the determination result of the determination unit 31. Become.
The warning level corresponds to the degree of urgency to be notified to the driver. For this reason, when the warning level is “strong”, in order to prompt the driver to quickly deal with the lane departure, the warning is notified in a visually or audibly emphasized content. On the other hand, when the warning level is “weak”, the driver is not required to promptly deal with it, but is simply notified visually or audibly for the purpose of simply notifying the driver of the lane departure.

On the other hand, in the case of Δd ≧ threshold Th1, the determination unit 31 determines that the driver does not return the vehicle to the traveling lane and is greatly deviated.
Therefore, the determination unit 31 determines whether or not this lane departure is an action intended by the driver using the vehicle information acquired in step ST2 (step ST3a). For example, from the winker information acquired as the vehicle information, when the departure direction and the direction of the winker are the same, it is determined that the driver's intentional action. Upon receiving this determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (weak)”.
In addition, when the departure direction and the direction of the winker do not match or when the winker operation is not performed, the determination unit 31 determines that it is not an intentional action of the driver.
Upon receiving this determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (strong)”. “Warning (strong)” indicates that the warning level is “strong”.

Returning to the description of FIG.
In step ST5, the control unit 32 displays a warning with the content of the warning level determined in step ST4. For example, the control unit 32 controls the display device 4 to display the position of the vehicle and the lane on each of the display units 4a and 4b at the lower left and right sides of the front window 9 of the vehicle as shown in FIG. . Further, the background screen of this display is blinked to warn the driver of danger due to lane departure. At this time, if the warning level is “warning (weak)”, the blinking interval is lengthened, and if the warning level is “warning (strong)”, the blinking interval is shortened.
By displaying the light pattern corresponding to the warning level on the display device 4 in this way, it is possible to issue a warning with the content corresponding to the driving situation when the host vehicle deviates from the lane.

  As the light pattern, in addition to the blinking of the background screen described above, for example, the lane marker of the own vehicle or the lane is highlighted with a thick frame or a thick line, the thick frame or the thick line is blinked, This includes changing the bold line according to the warning level (red when the warning level is high, red as a caution color, blue when it is low, etc.), changing the color outside the lane marker according to the warning level, and the like.

Further, the control unit 32 causes the sound notification speaker 7 to output a warning sound at the warning level determined in step ST4 (step ST6). For example, a single sound is generated at a time interval proportional to the lane departure amount d. At this time, the position of the virtual sound source is moved in the direction in which the host vehicle deviates from the lane by using the two speakers constituting the voice notification speaker 7. In this way, only the driver can hear a warning sound.
If the warning level is “warning (weak)”, the volume of the warning sound is reduced, and if the warning level is “warning (strong)”, the volume of the warning sound is increased. By doing in this way, a warning can be given with the contents according to the driving situation when the own vehicle deviates from the lane.

Further, the control unit 32 tilts the seat at the warning level determined in step ST4 (step ST7). For example, the control unit 32 controls the seat tilting device 5 to tilt the operation seat. At this time, the driver's center of gravity moves due to the inclination of the driving seat, and the direction in which the host vehicle deviates from the lane and the lane departure amount d are transmitted to the driver.
As shown in FIG. 7, the seat tilting device 5 is tiltable to the first pedestal portion 5a installed on the floor of the vehicle, the tilt mechanism 5b installed on the first pedestal portion 5a, and the tilt mechanism 5b. A second pedestal portion 5c to be attached is provided. The driving seat 8 is attached to the second pedestal portion 5c, and when the second pedestal portion 5c is tilted by the tilt mechanism 5b, the driving seat 8 is tilted accordingly.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, the seating surface is kept horizontal during normal traveling. When the own vehicle deviates from the right end of the traveling lane, the driving seat 8 is tilted so as to descend in the rolling direction, that is, the left side as shown in FIG. Further, when the own vehicle deviates from the left end of the traveling lane, the driving seat 8 is tilted to the right as shown in FIG.

The height h for raising the side portion of the second pedestal portion 5c to tilt the operation seat 8 can be calculated from a sigmoid function expressed by the following equation (2). When the vehicle deviates from the right side of the lane (d> 0), the right side of the second pedestal portion 5c is raised, and when the own vehicle deviates from the left side of the lane (d <0), the second pedestal portion 5c Raise the left side. Here, α1 is a coefficient of the sigmoid function, and a is a sensitivity coefficient of the lane departure amount d.
h = α1 (1 / (1 + e− ^{(| d | + a)} )) (2)

  If the warning level is “warning (weak)”, the height h at which the side portion of the second pedestal 5c is raised is lowered by reducing the coefficient α1 of the sigmoid function. On the other hand, when the warning level is “warning (strong)”, the coefficient α1 is increased to increase the height h at which the side portion of the second pedestal portion 5c is raised. By doing so, when the warning level is high, the inclination of the driving seat 8 becomes steep, and it is possible to prompt the driver to immediately perform the driving operation corresponding to the lane departure.

In FIG. 3, the control unit 32 vibrates the seat at the warning level determined in step ST4 (step ST8). For example, the control unit 32 controls the seat vibration device 6 to vibrate the seat surface of the driving seat. As shown in FIG. 8, the seat vibration device 6 includes vibrator groups 6R-1 to 6R3 and 6L-1 to 6L-3 embedded in the seating surface 8a of the operation seat 8.
When the own vehicle deviates from the right end of the traveling lane, the transducer groups 6R-1 to 6R3 on the right side of the seating surface 8a of the driving seat 8 are vibrated. Further, when the own vehicle deviates from the left end of the traveling lane, the vibrator groups 6L-1 to 6L-3 on the left side of the seating surface 8a are vibrated. At this time, all the vibrators of the vibrator group may be vibrated simultaneously, but may be vibrated in order. For example, when vibrating the vibrator groups 6R-1 to 6R3, the vibrator group 6R-2 and the vibrator group 6R-3 are vibrated sequentially from the rightmost vibrator group 6R-1.

When the warning level is “warning (weak)”, the vibration is performed at a low frequency by reducing the value of α from the initial value of the frequency f = αd.
If the warning level is “warning (strong)”, the value of α is changed to be larger than the initial value, and vibration is performed at a high frequency. By doing in this way, when the warning level is high, the vibration of the seating surface 8a becomes a high frequency, and the driver can promptly perform the driving operation corresponding to the lane departure.

  The seat tilting device 5 and the seat vibration device 6 may be integrally configured as a cushion-type device as shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the vibrator group of the seat vibration device 6 is directly embedded in the seating surface 8 a of the driving seat 8. However, in the configuration of FIG. 9, the vibrator is placed on the seating surface portion 5 d of the cushion provided separately from the driving seat 8. Groups 6R and 6L are embedded. Further, the seat surface portion 5d is attached to the tilt mechanism 5b so as to be tiltable. The cushion-type seat tilting device 5 and the seat vibration device 6 are placed on the seating surface 8a of the operation seat 8 and operated in the same manner as in step ST7 and step ST8. Also by doing in this way, it is possible to warn the driver of lane departure with an accurate content corresponding to the driving situation.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the lane departure amount calculation unit 30 that calculates the lane departure amount with respect to the traveling lane of the host vehicle and the lane departure amount that the lane departure amount calculation unit 30 sequentially calculates are based on the lane departure amount. The determination unit 31 determines whether the vehicle deviating from the traveling lane tends to return to the traveling lane, and the determination unit 31 determines that the own vehicle tends to return to the traveling lane. A control unit 32 that determines a warning level for the departure from the lane of the host vehicle to a level lower than the case where it is determined that the host vehicle does not tend to return to the traveling lane, and performs warning of contents corresponding to the warning level; Prepare. By comprising in this way, a warning can be given with the content according to the driving | running condition when the vehicle has deviated from the lane. For example, even if the vehicle deviates from the driving lane, if the vehicle tends to return to the driving lane, the warning level is lowered and a simple warning is issued for the driver's awareness. No annoyance or discomfort to the person.

Further, according to the first embodiment, when the determination unit 31 determines that the own vehicle does not tend to return to the traveling lane, the lane departure intended by the driver is based on the vehicle information of the own vehicle. When the control unit 32 determines that the lane departure is not intended by the driver by the determination unit 31, the warning level for the lane departure of the own vehicle is set to the lane departure intended by the driver. The level is determined to be higher than when it is determined that there is.
By comprising in this way, a warning can be given with the content according to the driving | running condition when the vehicle has deviated from the lane. For example, in the case of a normal lane change, a simple warning for the driver's awareness is given, and the driver is not bothered or uncomfortable.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, the control unit 32 controls the seat tilting device 5 that tilts the driving seat 8, and the vehicle deviates from the traveling lane at an angle corresponding to the warning level. Tilts the driving seat 8 to the opposite side. In this way, the driver can easily recognize the lane departure of the own vehicle and can perform a driving operation according to the warning level.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, the control unit 32 controls the seat vibration device 6 that vibrates the driving seat 8, and the vehicle deviates from the driving lane with the strength according to the warning level. Vibrate the seat part. Even in this way, the driver can easily recognize the lane departure of the own vehicle and can perform the driving operation according to the warning level.

  Furthermore, according to this Embodiment 1, the control part 32 displays the light pattern according to a warning level on the display apparatus 4, and warns the lane departure of the own vehicle. In this way, the driver can easily recognize the lane departure and can perform the driving operation according to the warning level.

  Furthermore, according to this Embodiment 1, the control part 32 controls the audio | voice output of the speaker 7 for audio | voice notification in a vehicle, and warns the lane departure of the own vehicle with the volume according to a warning level. Even in this way, the driver can easily recognize the lane departure of the own vehicle and can perform the driving operation according to the warning level.

  Further, according to the first embodiment, the control unit 32 controls the seat tilting device 5 that tilts the driving seat 8 and the seat vibrating device 6 that vibrates the driving seat 8, and automatically controls the seat 32 at an angle corresponding to the warning level. The driving seat 8 is tilted to the side opposite to the side where the vehicle deviates from the traveling lane, and the seat portion on the side where the own vehicle deviates from the traveling lane is vibrated with a strength according to the warning level. Even in this way, the driver can easily recognize the lane departure of the own vehicle and can perform the driving operation according to the warning level.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a vehicle equipped with a driving support apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. A vehicle A1 shown in FIG. 10 includes a front camera 1, a vehicle information acquisition device 2, an ECU 3A, a display device 4, a seat tilting device 5, a seat vibration device 6, and rear side cameras 10a and 10b. The ECU 3A functions as a driving support device according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 10, the same components as those in FIG.

The rear side cameras 10a and 10b are cameras attached to the upper left and right sides of the rear window of the vehicle A1, and take a picture of the road condition on the rear side of the vehicle A1 and output it to the ECU 3A. As the rear side cameras 10a and 10b, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera is used.
The ECU 3A is configured to include CPU peripheral components such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and has a function of controlling the operation of an electronic device mounted on the vehicle A1. As one of these functions, the driving support apparatus according to the second embodiment is realized.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the driving support apparatus according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 11, an ECU 3A is an ECU that functions as a driving support device according to the second embodiment, and includes a front camera 1, a vehicle information acquisition device 2, a display device 4, a seat tilt device 5, a seat vibration device 6, and a voice. It connects with the speaker 7 for notification and the rear side cameras 10a and 10b.
The ECU 3A includes a lane departure amount calculation unit 30, a determination unit 31, a control unit 32, and a vehicle periphery detection unit 33 as functional blocks of the driving support device.
The vehicle periphery detection unit 33 is a vehicle periphery detection unit that detects obstacles in the vicinity of the host vehicle. For example, image information of the rear side of the host vehicle taken by the rear side cameras 10a and 10b is displayed. Process to detect obstacles around the vehicle. In FIG. 11, the same components as those in FIG.

  Note that the lane departure amount calculation unit 30, the determination unit 31, the control unit 32, and the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 are executed by the CPU of the ECU 3A, for example, by executing a program describing processing unique to the second embodiment. It can be realized as a means in which hardware and hardware cooperate.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving support apparatus according to the second embodiment, and shows the details of the processing for giving a warning for the lane departure of the host vehicle. Note that the series of processing in FIG. 12 is continuously performed at regular intervals, for example, every 50 msec.
Further, the processing from step ST1, step ST2, step ST5 to step ST8 in FIG. 12 is the same as that in FIG.

  In step ST <b> 1-1, the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 calculates a collision allowance time with an obstacle around the host vehicle. Here, the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 performs image processing on the captured images of the rear side cameras 10a and 10b to detect rear side vehicles traveling in the left and right adjacent lanes shown in FIG. Is detected.

The vehicle periphery detection unit 33 is based on the temporal change in the speed V of the host vehicle acquired from the vehicle information acquisition device 2 and the position of the rear side vehicle in the captured images sequentially captured by the rear side cameras 10a and 10b. The speed Vl of the left lane traveling vehicle, the speed Vr of the right lane traveling vehicle, the distance Dl between the own vehicle and the left lane traveling vehicle, and the distance Dr between the own vehicle and the right lane traveling vehicle are calculated.
Subsequently, the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 uses the relative speed V-Vl and the distance Dl to calculate a collision margin time (Time To) that is a time from the following equation (3) until the own vehicle and the left lane traveling vehicle collide. Collation) TTCl is calculated. Further, by using the relative speed V-Vr and the distance Dr, a collision margin time TTCr between the host vehicle and the right lane traveling vehicle is calculated from the following equation (4).
Hereinafter, TTCr and TTCl are collectively referred to as TTC.
TTCl = Dl / (V−Vl) (3)
TTCr = Dr / (V−Vr) (4)

In step ST3b, the determination unit 31 adjusts various threshold values based on the vehicle information.
As in the first embodiment, the threshold Th0 relating to the lane departure amount d and the threshold Th1 of the absolute value of Δd are adjusted based on the vehicle speed.
Further, for example, when the host vehicle speed is within the high speed range, it is necessary to quickly inform the driver of the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the rear side vehicle from the viewpoint of safety. The threshold value Th2 is adjusted from the initial value to a lower value.

  Next, the determination unit 31 determines the lane departure of the host vehicle based on the comparison result between the lane departure amount d and the threshold Th0. Here, when it is determined that the host vehicle departs from the lane, the determination unit 31 determines whether there is a margin before the host vehicle and the obstacle (rear side vehicle) collide. As a result, when it is determined that the determination unit 31 has no allowance until the own vehicle and the obstacle collide, the control unit 32 determines a warning level corresponding to the collision with the obstacle, and according to the warning level. Determine the alert method for the content. If it is determined that there is a margin before the vehicle and the obstacle collide, based on the comparison result between Δd and the threshold Th1, the vehicle deviating from the travel lane returns to the travel lane. It is determined whether there is a tendency. In accordance with the determination result of the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines a warning level for lane departure of the host vehicle, and determines a warning method having contents corresponding to the warning level. The process so far corresponds to step ST4b.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the warning level determination process in the second embodiment and shows details of the process in step ST4b in FIG. Step ST1a in FIG. 14 is the same process as in FIG.
In step ST1a-1, the determination unit 31 determines whether or not the collision allowance time TTC until the obstacle (rear side vehicle) detected by the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 collides with the own vehicle is less than the threshold Th2. judge.

  When the collision allowance time TTC is less than the threshold Th2, the determination unit 31 has no allowance until the own vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle, and there is a danger of collision, but the driver can perform the collision avoidance operation. Is determined. When receiving the determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (strong)”. The control unit 32 is preset with warning content (warning technique) for each warning level regarding the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle, and the control unit 32 issues a warning level warning corresponding to the determination result of the determination unit 31. The content will be selected. The warning level corresponds to the degree of urgency to be notified to the driver. For this reason, when the warning level is “strong”, in order to prompt the driver to deal with it promptly, as shown in the first embodiment, the notification is made with contents visually or audibly emphasized.

  When the collision margin time is equal to or greater than the threshold, the determination unit 31 determines that there is a margin before the host vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle. In this case, the determination unit 31 proceeds to step ST2a and executes Δd determination. Here, when Δd <threshold Th1, the determination unit 31 determines that there is a margin until the own vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle and the own vehicle tends to return to the travel lane. Upon receiving this determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (weak)”. On the other hand, in the case of Δd ≧ threshold Th1, the determination unit 31 has a margin until the own vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle, but the driver does not return the own vehicle to the driving lane and deviates further. It is determined that

Therefore, the determination unit 31 determines whether or not this lane departure is an action intended by the driver using the vehicle information acquired in step ST2 (step ST3a).
For example, from the winker information acquired as the vehicle information, when the departure direction and the direction of the winker are the same, it is determined that the driver's intentional action. Upon receiving this determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines “no warning”.
In addition, when the departure direction and the turn signal direction do not match or when the turn signal operation is not performed, the determination unit 31 determines that the lane departure is not an intentional action of the driver.
When the control unit 32 receives this determination result from the determination unit 31, it is not a driver's intentional lane departure, but there is a margin until the own vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle. (Weak) ”

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 that detects an obstacle around the own vehicle is provided, and the determination unit 31 detects the obstacle detected by the vehicle periphery detection unit 33 and the vehicle itself. It is determined whether or not a collision allowance time TTC until a vehicle collision is less than a threshold value. Even with this configuration, it is possible to give a warning with the contents corresponding to the driving situation when the vehicle departs from the lane. For example, even if the vehicle has deviated from the lane unintended by the driver, if there is a margin for collision between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle, the warning level is lowered and the driver is aware Since a simple warning is given, the driver is not bothered or uncomfortable.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a vehicle equipped with a driving support apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. A vehicle A2 shown in FIG. 15 includes a front camera 1, a vehicle information acquisition device 2, an ECU 3B, a display device 4, a seat tilting device 5, a seat vibration device 6, rear side cameras 10a and 10b, and a vehicle interior camera 11. ing. The ECU 3B functions as a driving support device according to the third embodiment. 15, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The vehicle interior camera 11 is a camera installed on the upper part of the instrument panel of the vehicle, and captures and outputs the operation and face of the driver during driving to the ECU 3B. As the vehicle interior camera 11, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera is used.
The ECU 3B includes CPU peripheral components such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and has a function of controlling the operation of the electronic device mounted on the vehicle A2. As one of these functions, the driving support apparatus according to the third embodiment is realized.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the driving support apparatus according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 16, an ECU 3B is an ECU that functions as a driving support device according to the second embodiment, and includes a front camera 1, a vehicle information acquisition device 2, a display device 4, a seat tilt device 5, a seat vibration device 6, and a voice. The speaker 7 for notification, the rear side cameras 10a and 10b, and the vehicle interior camera 11 are connected. The ECU 3B includes a lane departure amount calculation unit 30, a determination unit 31, a control unit 32, a vehicle periphery detection unit 33, and a driver detection unit 34 as functional blocks of the driving support device. The driver detection unit 34 is a driver detection unit that detects the state of the driver of the host vehicle. For example, the driver detection unit 34 obtains a video of the driver photographed by the in-vehicle camera 11 and performs image processing to obtain the driver's face. Direction, line-of-sight direction and driver's movement are detected. In FIG. 16, the same components as those in FIGS. 2 and 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  Note that the lane departure amount calculation unit 30, the determination unit 31, the control unit 32, the vehicle periphery detection unit 33, and the driver detection unit 34, for example, the CPU of the ECU 3B executes a program describing processing unique to the third embodiment. Thus, it can be realized as a means in which software and hardware cooperate.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving support apparatus according to the third embodiment, and shows the details of the processing for giving a warning for the lane departure of the host vehicle. Note that the series of processing in FIG. 17 is continuously performed at regular intervals, for example, every 50 msec.
Also, the processing from step ST1, step ST1-1, step ST2, step ST5 to step ST8 in FIG. 17 is the same as in FIG. 3 and FIG.

In step ST1-2, the driver detection unit 34 detects the state of the driver of the host vehicle. Here, the driver detection part 34 acquires the image | video of the driver | operator image | photographed with the vehicle interior camera 11, performs an image process, and detects a driver | operator's gaze direction.
Subsequently, the determination unit 31 adjusts various threshold values based on the driver's state and vehicle information (step ST3c). At this time, as in the first embodiment, the threshold Th0 for the lane departure amount d and the threshold Th1 for the absolute value of Δd are adjusted based on the vehicle speed.
If it is determined that the driver's attention to the driver is distracting from the direction of the driver's line of sight, it is necessary to promptly inform the driver of the possibility of a collision between the vehicle and the rear side vehicle. The threshold Th0 for the lane departure amount d, the threshold Th1 for Δd, and the threshold Th2 for the collision allowance time TTC are adjusted so that the lane departure amount d is easily generated.

  Next, the determination unit 31 determines the lane departure of the host vehicle based on the comparison result between the lane departure amount d and the threshold Th0. Here, when it is determined that the host vehicle departs from the lane, the determination unit 31 determines whether there is a margin before the host vehicle and the obstacle (rear side vehicle) collide. Accordingly, when it is determined that there is no room before the vehicle and the obstacle collide, the determination unit 31 determines whether the driver recognizes the obstacle based on the driver's line-of-sight direction. To do. In accordance with the determination result of the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines a warning level for lane departure of the host vehicle, and determines a warning method having contents corresponding to the warning level. The process so far corresponds to step ST4c.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the warning level determination process in the third embodiment, and shows details of the process in step ST4c in FIG. Step ST1a, step ST1a-1, step ST2a, and step ST3a in FIG. 18 are the same processes as in FIGS.
In step ST4a, in the determination unit 31, the driver recognizes an obstacle (rear side vehicle) having a short margin time until it collides with the own vehicle based on the driver's line-of-sight direction detected by the driver detection unit 34. It is determined whether or not. For example, the determination is made based on whether the driver's line of sight is gazing at a specific object (for example, a side mirror or the obstacle itself) for a certain period of time.

  When the driver does not recognize the obstacle, the determination unit 31 has no allowance until the own vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle, and there is a risk of collision, and the driver is not aware of the obstacle. judge. When receiving the determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (strong)”. The control unit 32 is preset with warning content (warning technique) for each warning level regarding the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle, and the control unit 32 issues a warning level warning corresponding to the determination result of the determination unit 31. The content will be selected. The warning level corresponds to the degree of urgency to be notified to the driver. For this reason, when the warning level is “strong”, in order to prompt the driver to deal with it promptly, as shown in the first embodiment, the notification is made with contents visually or audibly emphasized.

When the driver recognizes the obstacle, the determination unit 31 has no allowance until the own vehicle collides with the rear side vehicle, and there is a danger of collision, but the driver can avoid the collision. judge.
Upon receiving this determination result from the determination unit 31, the control unit 32 determines the warning level as “warning (medium)”. When the warning level is “medium”, the driver is not required to take immediate action compared to when the warning level is “strong”, and more visually or audibly emphasized than when the warning level is “weak”. It is informed with the contents. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the position of the vehicle and the lane is displayed on each of the display portions 4a and 4b at the lower left and right sides of the front window 9 of the vehicle, and the background screen of this display is flashed to show the driver. If the warning level is “Warning (Medium)” and the warning level is “Warning (Low)”, the flashing interval is shorter than the “Warning (Low)” and the warning level is “Warning (High)”. In some cases, the flashing interval is increased.

When the warning sound is output from the voice notification speaker 7, if the warning level is “Warning (Medium)”, the volume of the warning sound is set larger than that when the warning level is “Warning (Weak)”, and the warning level is Lower the volume of the warning sound than when it is “Warning (Strong)”.
Further, when the driving seat is tilted, if the warning level is “warning (medium)”, the coefficient α1 of the sigmoid function shown in the above equation (2) is made larger than when the warning level is “warning (weak)”. The coefficient α1 is made smaller than when the warning level is “warning (strong)”. Accordingly, the height h for raising the side portion of the second pedestal 5c shown in FIG. 7 is higher than that when the warning level is “warning (weak)”, and the warning level is “warning (strong)”. It is lower than the case.
Further, when the operation seat 8 is vibrated, if the warning level is “Warning (Medium)”, the value of α at the frequency f = αd is set larger than that when the warning level is “Warning (Weak)”. It vibrates at an intermediate frequency so that the value of α is smaller than when the level is “warning (strong)”.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the driver detection unit 34 that detects the state of the driver of the own vehicle is provided, and the determination unit 31 is in the driver state detected by the driver detection unit 34. Based on this, it is determined whether or not the driver recognizes the obstacle. By comprising in this way, a warning can be given with the content according to the driving | running condition when the vehicle has deviated from the lane.
For example, even if the vehicle has deviated from the lane and there is no allowance for a collision between the vehicle and an obstacle around the vehicle, the driver recognizes the obstacle and responds accordingly. If avoidance driving is possible, the warning level is set to an intermediate level and the driver is encouraged to avoid avoidance with a lighter warning than when the warning level is “high”. There is no.

  In the present invention, within the scope of the invention, any combination of each embodiment, any component of each embodiment can be modified, or any component can be omitted in each embodiment. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front camera, 2 Vehicle information acquisition apparatus, 3, 3A, 3B ECU, 4 Display apparatus, 4a, 4b Display part, 5 Seat inclination apparatus, 5a 1st base part, 5b Inclination mechanism, 5c 2nd base part, 5d cushion part, 6 seat vibration device, 6L, 6R, 6L-1 to 6L-3, 6R-1 to 6R-3 vibrator group, 7 voice notification speaker, 8 driving seat, 8a seat surface, 9 front window, 10a, 10b Rear side camera, 11 vehicle interior camera, 30 lane departure amount calculation unit, 31 determination unit, 32 control unit, 33 vehicle periphery detection unit, 34 driver detection unit.

Claims (10)

A lane departure amount calculation unit for calculating a lane departure amount with respect to the traveling lane of the own vehicle;
Determining whether or not the own vehicle deviating from the travel lane tends to return to the travel lane based on the time change amount of the lane departure amount sequentially calculated by the lane departure amount calculation unit And
When the determination unit determines that the host vehicle has a tendency to return to the traveling lane, it is determined that the warning level for the departure from the lane of the host vehicle does not tend to return to the traveling lane. A driving support device comprising: a control unit that determines a level lower than the case and issues a warning according to the warning level. When the determination unit determines that the host vehicle does not tend to return to the travel lane, the determination unit determines whether or not the lane departure intended by the driver is based on the vehicle information of the host vehicle.
When the determination unit determines that the lane departure is not intended by the driver, the control unit determines that the warning level for the lane departure of the own vehicle is the lane departure intended by the driver. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device is determined to have a higher level than that of the case.   The control unit controls a seat tilting device for tilting a passenger's seat, and tilts the seat to an opposite side to a side where the own vehicle deviates from the traveling lane at an angle corresponding to the warning level. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1.   The control unit controls a seat vibration device that vibrates a passenger's seat to vibrate a seat portion on a side where the own vehicle deviates from the travel lane with a strength according to the warning level. The driving support device according to claim 1.   The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays a light pattern corresponding to the warning level on a display device to issue a warning of lane departure of the host vehicle.   The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls a sound output of a speaker in a vehicle and issues a warning of lane departure of the vehicle at a volume corresponding to the warning level.   The control unit controls a seat tilting device that tilts the occupant's seat and a seat vibration device that vibrates the occupant's seat, and the vehicle deviates from the traveling lane at an angle corresponding to the warning level. 2. The seat according to claim 1, wherein the seat is inclined to the opposite side of the vehicle and the seat portion on the side where the own vehicle deviates from the travel lane is vibrated with a strength according to the warning level. Driving assistance device. A vehicle periphery detection unit for detecting obstacles around the vehicle,
The driving support according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not a collision margin time until the collision between the obstacle detected by the vehicle periphery detection unit and the host vehicle is less than a threshold value. apparatus. A driver detection unit for detecting the state of the driver of the host vehicle;
The driving support device according to claim 8, wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the driver recognizes the obstacle based on the state of the driver detected by the driver detection unit. . A driving support method for warning a lane departure with respect to the driving lane of the vehicle,
A lane departure amount calculating unit calculating a lane departure amount of the host vehicle with respect to the traveling lane;
Whether or not the vehicle deviating from the travel lane tends to return to the travel lane based on the time change amount of the lane departure amount sequentially calculated by the lane departure amount calculation section Determining
When the control unit determines that the vehicle has a tendency to return to the travel lane, the control unit does not tend to return the warning level for the departure of the vehicle to the travel lane. And a step of performing a warning with a content corresponding to the warning level.

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