JP6380257B2 - Vehicle information providing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle information providing apparatus that provides information related to traveling of a host vehicle to surrounding vehicles.

  In recent years, various devices (so-called driving support devices) that support driving of a driver have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a recognition unit that recognizes a deceleration lane on an expressway. When the recognition unit recognizes a deceleration lane, the remaining distance to the start point of the deceleration lane is calculated, and the remaining distance is predetermined. There is disclosed a driving support device that starts deceleration to a predetermined target speed while traveling on a main road when the value is less than or equal to the value. The target speed here corresponds to the initial speed in the deceleration lane for decelerating while traveling in the deceleration lane at a constant deceleration to the legal speed on the road after the deceleration lane (so-called ramp way).

  According to such a configuration, in a series of travelings that leave the main road and exit to the ramp way via the deceleration lane, it is possible to smoothly decelerate to the legal speed of the ramp way. In addition, the driving assistance apparatus of patent document 1 is returned to the speed before deceleration, when detecting that predetermined | prescribed cancellation operation by the user was performed after the deceleration start.

JP 2010-64613 A

  It is assumed that the act of starting deceleration on the main road of the expressway behaves differently than most of the surrounding vehicles. For example, when the vehicle equipped with the above-described driving support device (referred to as the own vehicle) starts deceleration by the function of the driving support device, and the following vehicle of the own vehicle does not branch, When trying to maintain running on the line, the distance between the host vehicle and the following vehicle may be clogged unexpectedly, and as a result, the driver of the following vehicle may be accidentally hated. In addition, if the driver of a subsequent vehicle that has been nearly shut down reduces the traveling speed, the flow of traffic behind the host vehicle may deteriorate in a chained manner.

  It should be noted that the situation in which the driver of the following vehicle is accidentally hated or confused due to the deceleration of the host vehicle is not limited to the case of traveling on the main road of the highway. The same can be said while driving on general roads.

  The present invention has been made based on this situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle information providing apparatus that suppresses the possibility of disturbing the flow of traffic behind the host vehicle due to the deceleration of the host vehicle. It is to provide.

  The present invention for achieving the object includes a host vehicle information acquisition unit (1D, 1B) that is mounted on a vehicle and acquires host vehicle information that is information including the traveling speed of the vehicle, and a position of a succeeding vehicle for the vehicle. And a subsequent vehicle information acquisition unit (1Fb) that acquires subsequent vehicle information that is information including the traveling speed, a route information acquisition unit (1A) that acquires travel route information indicating a planned travel route of the vehicle, and a route information acquisition unit Based on the travel route information acquired by the vehicle, of the branch roads branched from the travel road that is the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling, the planned exit road that is the branch road on which the vehicle is about to leave the travel road Based on the branch road information acquisition unit (1G) that acquires information on the vehicle, the own vehicle information and the following vehicle information, a deceleration for exiting to the planned exit road that is acquired by the branch road information acquisition unit is predetermined. Basic deceleration of A rear inter-vehicle distance estimation unit (1M) that estimates whether the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the following vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value before the vehicle exits the planned exit route, and a rear inter-vehicle distance; If it is estimated by the estimation unit that the inter-vehicle distance with the succeeding vehicle is less than the allowable value before exiting the planned exit road, the vehicle will not respond to the following vehicle before starting deceleration for exiting the planned exit road. And a deceleration notice section (1K) for notifying the start of deceleration.

  In the above configuration, if the inter-vehicle distance estimating unit estimates that the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the following vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value before exiting the planned exit route, the deceleration notice unit exits the planned exit route. Before starting to decelerate, the vehicle notifies the following vehicle that the host vehicle will start decelerating. In addition, the own vehicle here is corresponded to the vehicle carrying said vehicle information provision apparatus.

  According to such a configuration, the succeeding vehicle of the host vehicle can recognize in advance that the host vehicle decelerates to leave the current travel path. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the risk that the driver of the succeeding vehicle receives a deceleration of the host vehicle as the preceding vehicle and performs a sudden driving operation such as sudden braking. As a result, the risk of disturbing the flow of traffic behind the host vehicle due to the deceleration of the host vehicle can be suppressed.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis described in the claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later as one aspect, Comprising: The technical scope of this invention is limited is not.

It is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of in-vehicle system 100 concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the content of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication data. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a schematic structure of traveling control ECU1. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a schematic structure of the surrounding vehicle information acquisition part 1F. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process which travel control ECU1 implements. It is a continuation of the flowchart shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the deceleration start point setting process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a 1st deceleration behavior reset process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a 2nd deceleration behavior reset process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a front inter-vehicle distance adjustment process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle system 100 having a function as a vehicle information providing apparatus according to the present invention. The in-vehicle system 100 is mounted on a vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 1, a traveling control ECU (ECU: Electronic Control Unit) 1, an inter-vehicle communication unit 2, a navigation ECU 3, a position detector 4, a vehicle behavior sensor 5, and the surroundings A monitoring system 6 is provided.

  The in-vehicle system 100 provides an automatic travel function for automatically traveling a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the host vehicle) in which the in-vehicle system 100 is mounted along a preset travel route. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the in-vehicle system 100 performs automatic traveling on a highway or a motorway. Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the in-vehicle system 100 will be described.

<About the configuration of the in-vehicle system 100>
The travel control ECU 1 is connected to each of the inter-vehicle communication unit 2, the navigation ECU 3, the position detector 4, the vehicle behavior sensor 5, and the periphery monitoring system 6 via a communication network built in the vehicle. The travel control ECU 1 controls the travel of the host vehicle based on data provided from the inter-vehicle communication unit 2, the navigation ECU 3, the position detector 4, the vehicle behavior sensor 5, and the periphery monitoring system 6. Details of the travel control ECU 1 will be described later.

  The vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 2 includes a transmission / reception antenna, and performs broadcast-type wireless communication (so-called vehicle-to-vehicle communication) that does not go through a wide area communication network with other vehicles that exist around the host vehicle. The vicinity of the host vehicle refers to a range in which the inter-vehicle communication unit 2 can perform inter-vehicle communication.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inter-vehicle communication unit 2 includes a data processing unit 21 and a wireless communication unit 22 as finer functional blocks for carrying out inter-vehicle communication. The data processing unit 21 generates data (vehicle-to-vehicle communication data) to be transmitted to surrounding vehicles based on data input from the travel control ECU 1 and outputs the data to the wireless communication unit 22.

  The inter-vehicle communication data is mainly data indicating a running state of a vehicle (here, the own vehicle) corresponding to the transmission source of the data. An example of items included in the inter-vehicle communication data is shown in FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the inter-vehicle communication data includes information such as transmission time, transmission source information, destination information, position information, travel lane information, travel speed, acceleration, and traveling direction. The transmission source information is an identification number (so-called vehicle ID) assigned to the vehicle corresponding to the transmission source. The traveling lane information is information indicating which lane is traveling among lanes provided on a road (referred to as a traveling path) on which the transmission source vehicle is currently traveling. The travel lane information may be represented by a number, for example, with the first lane on the left side of the road as the first lane. Note that the type of information included in the inter-vehicle communication data may be designed as appropriate, and is not limited to that exemplified here.

  In addition, when the data received by the wireless communication unit 22 is input, the data processing unit 21 converts the received data into a data format that can be referred to by the travel control ECU 1 and provides the data to the travel control ECU 1. The reception data is data corresponding to vehicle-to-vehicle communication data transmitted from another vehicle. That is, the data processing unit 21 sequentially acquires the inter-vehicle communication data transmitted from the other vehicle and provides it to the travel control ECU 1.

  The wireless communication unit 22 provides the data processing unit 21 with received data obtained by performing various processes such as demodulation, decoding, and error correction on the wireless signal received by the transmission / reception antenna. In addition, the wireless communication unit 22 outputs a signal obtained by performing processing such as encoding and modulation on the inter-vehicle communication data input from the data processing unit 21 to the transmission / reception antenna, and radiates it as a radio wave to the space.

  The navigation ECU 3 provides the same function as a known navigation device. For example, based on the current position of the host vehicle and road map data stored in a storage device (not shown), a map image around the host vehicle is displayed on the display, or a travel route to the destination set by the user is guided. To do. The current position used by the navigation ECU 3 may be position information acquired by the position detector 4 described later. Of course, as another aspect, the current position used for route guidance or the like may be specified by the navigation ECU 3 itself.

  Further, the navigation ECU 3 derives other roads from the road type (highway, etc.), the number of lanes, the road shape (curvature and gradient), and the road from the current position of the host vehicle and the road map data. It is possible to obtain information such as a branch point that is present and a road derived from the branch point. A branch point on an expressway corresponds to a point connected to a road (so-called ramp way) leading to the exit of the expressway or a point connected to a branch path for entering a service area / parking area. Of course, a branch point is not limited to a connection point between an expressway and another road, but also includes an intersection of a general road.

  The navigation ECU 3 provides travel route information indicating a planned travel route set by the user based on a request from the travel control ECU 1. The travel route information indicates a branch point that requires a course change (exit from the current travel route), a planned exit route corresponding to the destination road at the junction, and the legal speed of the planned exit route. ing.

  The position detector 4 detects the current position of the host vehicle based on a signal received from a positioning satellite by a receiver used in a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The position detector 4 may perform dead reckoning that complements the detection result of the current position of the host vehicle using detection values of a yaw rate sensor, an acceleration sensor, and the like described later. The detection result of the position detector 4, that is, the position information indicating the current position of the host vehicle is sequentially provided to the traveling control ECU 1 and the navigation ECU 3. The position information may be expressed by latitude and longitude, for example.

  The vehicle behavior sensor 5 is a sensor that detects various physical state quantities indicating the traveling state of the host vehicle. The vehicle behavior sensor 5 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration acting in the front-rear direction of the host vehicle (referred to as a longitudinal acceleration), a gyro sensor that detects rotational angular velocity, and geomagnetism. This corresponds to a geomagnetic sensor that detects the direction. Vehicle behavior sensors include shift position sensors that detect shift positions, brake pedal sensors that detect the amount of brake pedal depression, accelerator pedal sensors that detect the amount of accelerator pedal depression, and steering sensors that detect the steering angle. It corresponds to 5. The detection result of the vehicle behavior sensor 5 is sequentially provided to the travel control ECU 1.

  The surroundings monitoring system 6 detects other vehicles existing around the own vehicle, and outputs surrounding vehicle information indicating the detected relative position, relative speed, relative acceleration, and the like of the other vehicles to the traveling control ECU 1. . The periphery monitoring system 6 may be realized by, for example, a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, a sonar, a vehicle-mounted camera, and a combination thereof.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the periphery monitoring system 6 collects information about a front monitoring unit 61 for collecting information about other vehicles existing in front of the host vehicle and information about other vehicles existing behind the host vehicle. It is assumed that a rear monitoring unit 62 is provided. Here, the front of the host vehicle may include not only the front direction but also an oblique front. Further, the rear side of the host vehicle may include not only the back direction but also an oblique rear side.

  Each of the front monitoring unit 61 and the rear monitoring unit 62 is realized by a combination of a vehicle-mounted camera and a millimeter wave radar. In addition, since a technique for detecting another vehicle from the captured image of the in-vehicle camera and the detection result of the millimeter wave radar and specifying the relative position and the relative speed of the detected other vehicle is well known, detailed description thereof will be given here. Is omitted.

  Further, the front monitoring unit 61 recognizes a lane marking (so-called lane) provided on the road by analyzing a captured image of the in-vehicle camera, and among the vehicles traveling in front of the host vehicle, the host vehicle travels. A vehicle (that is, a preceding vehicle) that is traveling in the same lane as the current lane (referred to as the own vehicle lane) is identified. Then, information on the preceding vehicle such as the relative speed and relative acceleration of the preceding vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance from the own vehicle is collected. Note that the preceding vehicle specified by the forward monitoring unit 61 corresponds to the vehicle closest to the host vehicle among the vehicles traveling in front of the host vehicle in the host vehicle lane. The inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is referred to as the front inter-vehicle distance for convenience.

  The rear monitoring unit 62 also recognizes the own vehicle traveling lane in the same manner as the front monitoring unit 61, and identifies a vehicle (following vehicle) traveling behind the own vehicle on the own vehicle traveling lane. Then, information about the succeeding vehicle such as the relative speed and relative acceleration of the succeeding vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance from the own vehicle, and the like is collected.

  The succeeding vehicle specified by the rear monitoring unit 62 corresponds to the vehicle closest to the own vehicle among the vehicles (that is, the following vehicles) traveling behind the own vehicle in the own vehicle travel lane. Hereinafter, among the succeeding vehicles, the vehicle closest to the host vehicle is referred to as the nearest succeeding vehicle, and the succeeding vehicle for the nearest succeeding vehicle is referred to as the indirect succeeding vehicle. When the immediate following vehicle and the indirect following vehicle are not distinguished from each other, they are simply described as the following vehicle. For the sake of convenience, the inter-vehicle distance between the nearest succeeding vehicle and the host vehicle is referred to as the rear inter-vehicle distance.

<About travel control ECU 1>
Next, the configuration and operation of the travel control ECU 1 will be described. The travel control ECU 1 is configured as a normal computer, and connects the CPU 11, the RAM 12 as a main storage device (so-called memory), the flash memory 13 as an auxiliary storage device (so-called storage), I / O, and these. Has a bus line. The flash memory 13 stores a program for causing a normal computer to function as the travel control ECU 1 according to the present embodiment, and a basic deceleration described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the travel control ECU 1 includes a route information acquisition unit 1 </ b> A, a host vehicle position acquisition unit 1 </ b> B, a speed limit acquisition unit 1 </ b> C, and a sensor information acquisition unit as functional blocks realized by the CPU 11 executing the program. 1D, basic deceleration acquisition unit 1E, surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 1F, branch road information acquisition unit 1G, deceleration start point setting unit 1H, travel control unit 1J, deceleration notice unit 1K, response acquisition unit 1L, rear inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1M, a forward inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1N, and a deceleration update unit 1P. Each of the functional blocks may be realized by hardware using one or a plurality of IC chips.

  The route information acquisition unit 1A acquires travel route information from the navigation ECU 3. The own vehicle position acquisition unit 1 </ b> B acquires position information indicating the current position of the own vehicle detected by the position detector 4. The speed limit acquisition unit 1C acquires the legal speed of the planned exit path based on the travel route information acquired from the navigation ECU 3. Note that the legal speed (60 km / h) or a predetermined value (40 km / h) on a general road may be regarded as the legal speed on the planned exit road.

  The sensor information acquisition unit 1D sequentially acquires detection results of various sensors corresponding to the vehicle behavior sensor 5. For example, the sensor information acquisition unit 1D acquires the traveling speed of the host vehicle, longitudinal acceleration, rotational angular velocity, steering angle, shift position, and the like. The detection results of various sensors acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 1D and the current position of the host vehicle acquired by the host vehicle position acquisition unit 1B are collectively referred to as host vehicle information. The own vehicle position acquisition unit 1B and the sensor information acquisition unit 1D correspond to the own vehicle information acquisition unit described in the claims.

  The basic deceleration acquisition unit 1E acquires a predetermined basic deceleration stored in the flash memory 13. This basic deceleration is used in a deceleration start point calculation process described later. Further, the basic deceleration functions as a reference value for determining the deceleration when performing deceleration for exiting to the planned exit path. The basic deceleration may be designed as appropriate. Here, as an example, the basic deceleration is 1.6 [m / sec ^ 2]. The deceleration here corresponds to negative acceleration.

  The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 1F manages information about the surrounding vehicle based on the detection result of the surrounding monitoring system 6, the own vehicle information, and the inter-vehicle communication data of other vehicles provided from the inter-vehicle communication unit 2 ( Obtain, organize, update, etc.). As shown in FIG. 4, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 1F includes a preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa, a subsequent vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fb, a communication partner identification unit 1Fc, and a vehicle density determination unit 1Fd as shown in FIG.

  The preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa acquires information about the preceding vehicle (preceding vehicle information). Specifically, relative information based on the host vehicle such as the relative speed, relative position, and relative acceleration of the preceding vehicle provided from the front monitoring unit 61 is acquired, and the acquired information and host vehicle information are included in the acquired information and host vehicle information. Based on this, the traveling speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle, the current position (latitude and longitude), etc. are specified. That is, the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa converts the relative traveling speed detected by the front monitoring unit 61 into information based on the road surface based on the host vehicle information. As another mode, the forward monitoring unit 61 instead of the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa may specify the traveling speed and the current position of the preceding vehicle based on the own vehicle information.

  Further, the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa, the detection result of the front monitoring unit 61, and the information indicated in the inter-vehicle communication data received from the preceding vehicle by inter-vehicle communication are used in a complementary manner, so that the preceding vehicle information with higher accuracy is used. It is good also as a structure which acquires. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the preceding vehicle information is acquired based on the detection result of the front monitoring unit 61. However, as another aspect, the inter-vehicle communication data and the vehicle information are not used without using the detection result of the front monitoring unit 61. It is good also as an aspect which acquires preceding vehicle information based on vehicle information. The same applies to the subsequent vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fb described below.

  The succeeding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fb acquires information about the latest succeeding vehicle (most recent succeeding vehicle information). Specifically, the information about the following vehicle provided from the rear monitoring unit 62 is acquired, and based on the acquired information and the own vehicle information, the traveling speed and acceleration of the latest succeeding vehicle, the current position (latitude and longitude). Etc. are specified. That is, the succeeding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fb converts the relative traveling speed of the nearest succeeding vehicle detected by the rear monitoring unit 62 to information based on the road surface based on the own vehicle information. As another aspect, the rear monitoring unit 62 instead of the subsequent vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fb may specify the traveling speed and the current position of the latest subsequent vehicle based on the own vehicle information.

  Further, the succeeding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fb acquires the current position and traveling speed of the indirectly succeeding vehicle based on the inter-vehicle communication data of the surrounding vehicles received by the inter-vehicle communication unit 2. Whether the transmission source vehicle of the inter-vehicle communication data is an indirect subsequent vehicle may be determined based on the traveling lane information and the position information included in the inter-vehicle communication data.

  The communication partner specifying unit 1Fc specifies the correspondence relationship between the surrounding vehicle detected by the surroundings monitoring system 6 and the vehicle performing inter-vehicle communication. For example, the information such as the current position, travel speed, and acceleration of the immediately following vehicle captured (detected) by the rear monitoring unit 62 is compared with the information indicated in the inter-vehicle communication data provided from each surrounding vehicle. As a result, the surrounding vehicles corresponding to the nearest succeeding vehicle captured by the rear monitoring unit 62 are identified among the surrounding vehicles performing inter-vehicle communication. Therefore, the communication partner specifying unit 1Fc corresponds to the following vehicle specifying unit described in the claims.

  Various methods have been proposed for identifying the correspondence between the surrounding vehicle detected by the surroundings monitoring system 6 and the vehicle performing inter-vehicle communication. Since these well-known methods can be used also in this embodiment, the description of a more specific method is abbreviate | omitted. Correspondence relations can be specified for the preceding vehicle and other peripheral vehicles by the same method.

  The vehicle density determination unit 1Fd determines whether or not the vehicle density representing the degree of congestion of the traffic situation around the host vehicle is low. Here, as an example, the vehicle density determination unit 1Fd acquires the number of surrounding vehicles in which the host vehicle is performing inter-vehicle communication as an index value representing the vehicle density. And when the number of the surrounding vehicles in which the own vehicle is carrying out inter-vehicle communication is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the vehicle density is high (not low), and is less than the predetermined threshold. Determines that the vehicle density is low.

  The threshold value for distinguishing whether or not the vehicle density is low is designed based on whether or not the traffic behind the host vehicle is disturbed if the vehicle is decelerated on the main road of the host vehicle. If the own vehicle decelerates on the main road in a situation where the vehicle density is high, there is a possibility that the effect of the deceleration will spread to the following vehicle. The threshold value for determining that the vehicle density is low corresponds to the vehicle density that can be expected to be less likely to deteriorate the flow of traffic following the host vehicle due to the deceleration of the host vehicle on the main road. .

  The vehicle density evaluation method is not limited to the above-described aspect. For example, when both the front inter-vehicle distance and the rear inter-vehicle distance detected by the periphery monitoring system 6 are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the vehicle density is low, and at least one of them is less than the predetermined threshold. If so, the vehicle density may be determined to be high. Furthermore, you may evaluate a vehicle density based on the traffic condition information broadcast from the roadside machine provided on the road. The traffic status information is information representing the degree of congestion on the road in a plurality of stages such as smoothness, congestion, and traffic jam. The vehicle density determination unit 1Fd corresponds to the vehicle density acquisition unit described in the claims.

  Based on the travel route information acquired by the route information acquisition unit 1A, the branch road information acquisition unit 1G is a road on which the own vehicle is about to exit out of the roads that are branched from the currently traveling road (that is, the planned exit) Road) start position. Then, the remaining distance Dr to the starting point of the planned leaving road is calculated based on the starting position of the planned leaving road and the current position acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 1B.

  Note that the planned leaving road in the present embodiment assuming a situation in which the host vehicle is traveling on a highway specifically corresponds to a rampway that leads to a desired highway exit. In addition, the position where the legal speed for rampway starts to be applied corresponds to the start position of the planned exit road. Here, although the deceleration lane does not correspond to the planned exit route, as another aspect, the deceleration lane may be regarded as a part of the planned exit route.

  The deceleration start point setting unit 1H performs a deceleration start point setting process based on the target speed when exiting the planned exit path, the current traveling speed of the host vehicle, the start position of the planned exit path, and the basic deceleration. To implement. The deceleration start point setting process is a process of setting a point (deceleration start point) at which to start deceleration for exiting from the currently running road to the planned exit road. The target speed for exiting the planned exit path may be the legal speed for the planned exit path. Details of the deceleration start point setting process will be described later.

  Further, the deceleration start point setting unit 1H performs a first deceleration behavior resetting process and a second deceleration behavior resetting process that are processes for resetting the deceleration start point when a predetermined condition described later is satisfied. To do. These processes will also be described later. Information about the deceleration start point set by the deceleration start point setting unit 1H is provided to the travel control unit 1J and the deceleration notice unit 1K.

  The traveling control unit 1J performs various controls for realizing automatic traveling of the host vehicle. For example, the traveling control unit 1J performs automatic steering control in which the steering is automatically operated to automatically control the traveling direction. In addition, the vehicle speed control for automatically controlling the traveling speed is performed by automatically controlling the operation of the internal combustion engine, the electric motor, the braking device, and the like that are the driving source of the vehicle. Here, the traveling control unit 1J decelerates from a deceleration start point set by the deceleration start point setting unit 1H toward a predetermined target speed in a series of processes for realizing automatic driving on a highway. Perform the process to perform.

  The deceleration notifying unit 1K notifies the subsequent vehicle that the own vehicle starts to decelerate for exiting the planned exit route. More specifically, when a deceleration start point is set, the deceleration notice unit 1K cooperates with the inter-vehicle communication unit 2 before the vehicle arrives at the deceleration start point, Send a deceleration notice message. The deceleration notice message includes, for example, a deceleration start point, a deceleration in the deceleration process, a target speed, and the like.

  Note that the deceleration notice message need not include all of the items exemplified here. Further, information other than those described above may be included. For example, the deceleration notice message includes overtaking availability information indicating whether or not the following vehicle can overtake the own vehicle, preceding vehicle information indicating the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle, and the remaining until the own vehicle starts decelerating. It may include time. The situation in which the succeeding vehicle can pass the own vehicle is a situation in which no other vehicle exists on the side (including the oblique side) of the own vehicle on the overtaking lane side.

  Further, the deceleration notice message may include the current position of the host vehicle and travel lane information of the host vehicle. By including the traveling lane information, surrounding vehicles that are traveling in other lanes, that is, surrounding vehicles that are not affected by the deceleration of the host vehicle, can ignore the deceleration notice message.

  Further, the deceleration notice message may include appearance information indicating the appearance (body type, body color, etc.) of the host vehicle. Further, by including the appearance information, the receiving vehicle can notify the driver of the appearance of the preceding vehicle (that is, the host vehicle) that is about to decelerate. Thus, the driver of the surrounding vehicle that has received the deceleration notice message can visually recognize the vehicle that will soon start to decelerate.

  Note that the deceleration notice message described below does not need to be data independent of normal vehicle-to-vehicle communication data. In other words, normal vehicle-to-vehicle communication data may be made to function as a deceleration notice message by including information for notifying deceleration of the host vehicle such as a deceleration start position. The deceleration notice message corresponds to the deceleration notice information described in the claims.

  Further, the deceleration notice unit 1K not only provides notice by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, but also cooperates with the travel control unit 1J to blink the direction indicator lamp or change the travel position in the travel lane. Then, the driver of the latest vehicle is visually notified that the vehicle will soon start decelerating to leave the planned leaving road. Specifically, the travel position in the travel lane is brought closer to the side where the deceleration lane is derived from the center of the lane, and the direction indicator lamp on the side where the deceleration lane is derived flashes.

  Operations such as transmission of the deceleration notice message, lighting of the direction indicator lamp, and change of the travel position as described above are referred to as a deceleration notice operation. The deceleration notice operation is executed before a predetermined time before starting deceleration. The predetermined time here is preferably a time that allows the driver of the succeeding vehicle to recognize that the host vehicle will soon decelerate based on the deceleration notice operation, and to determine whether to change the lane or maintain the lane. . For example, the deceleration notice operation is preferably performed 10 seconds before the deceleration is started.

  Further, as will be described later, when the deceleration notice unit 1K once decelerates with a behavior different from the notified content after transmitting the deceleration notice message, the newly set deceleration behavior ( A deceleration notification message indicating a deceleration, a deceleration start position, etc.) is transmitted. The deceleration notification message corresponds to the deceleration notification information described in the claims.

  In the present embodiment, as a more preferable aspect, it is assumed that surrounding vehicles that have received the deceleration notice message are configured to return a response signal to the own vehicle to the deceleration notice message. The response signal for the deceleration notice message includes, in addition to the transmission source information indicating the transmission source of the response signal, whether or not the vehicle is overtaken when the vehicle is a preceding vehicle for the surrounding vehicles. It is assumed that the corresponding behavior information indicating the response to the deceleration is included. In addition, the surrounding vehicle which transmits the response signal with respect to the deceleration notice message may be only a vehicle corresponding to the following vehicle for the host vehicle. The response acquisition unit 1L acquires the response signal transmitted from the surrounding vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication unit 2.

  If the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1M performs deceleration for exiting the planned exit path at the basic deceleration, does the rear inter-vehicle distance become less than a predetermined allowable value before moving the travel lane to the deceleration lane? Estimate whether or not. In other words, the rear inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1M determines whether or not the rear inter-vehicle distance is less than a predetermined allowable value during traveling on the main road when the deceleration for exiting the planned exit road is performed at the basic deceleration. Is estimated. The allowable value here may be appropriately designed from the viewpoint of ensuring the safety of the following vehicle and suppressing traffic disturbance, and may be set to 80 m or 100 m, for example. The allowable value is not limited to the above value, and may be a relatively small value such as 10 m, 30 m, or 50 m.

  The rear inter-vehicle distance in the deceleration process may be estimated based on the traveling speed and acceleration of the latest succeeding vehicle, the current rear inter-vehicle distance, the traveling speed of the host vehicle, the deceleration at the time of deceleration, and the like. Further, as a more preferable aspect, when the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1M estimates that the rear inter-vehicle distance does not become less than a predetermined allowable value while traveling on the main road, the rear vehicle at the point where the own vehicle changes the lane to the deceleration lane The estimated value of the inter-vehicle distance is provided to the deceleration update unit 1P. The point where the host vehicle changes the lane to the deceleration lane may be the start point of the deceleration lane. These estimations are preferably performed before starting deceleration.

  The front inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1N estimates whether or not the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value in the process of performing deceleration for exiting the planned exit path. The inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the deceleration process may be estimated based on the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle, the acceleration, the current front inter-vehicle distance, the traveling speed of the host vehicle, the deceleration at the time of deceleration, and the like. . This estimation is performed sequentially after the start of deceleration in this embodiment, but as another aspect, it may be performed before starting deceleration.

  The deceleration update unit 1P sets a deceleration value used for deceleration to a predetermined value smaller than the basic deceleration when the rear vehicle distance estimation unit 1M estimates that the rear vehicle distance is not less than a predetermined allowable value. Change to a value. This is because as the deceleration employed in the deceleration process (adopted deceleration) is reduced, the deceleration becomes smoother and the possibility of giving the user discomfort associated with the deceleration can be reduced.

  The newly adopted deceleration may be a value determined dynamically, as long as it is a smaller value in a range where the distance between the rear vehicles on the main road is not less than a predetermined allowable value, It may be a fixed value. For example, the deceleration update unit 1P sets the adopted deceleration to a smaller value as the estimated value of the rear inter-vehicle distance at the time when the host vehicle changes to the deceleration lane is longer. The operation when the deceleration update unit 1P sets the adopted deceleration to a smaller value will be described later.

  In addition, in the aspect in which the adopted deceleration is dynamically determined, a plurality of values are set as a preselectable deceleration, and the own vehicle is the deceleration lane among the plurality of preset values. The aspect which selects the value according to the estimated value of the rear inter-vehicle distance at the time of branching into is also included. The adopted deceleration may be a value at which the rear inter-vehicle distance at the time when the host vehicle changes to the deceleration lane becomes greater than or equal to the allowable value.

  The deceleration update unit 1P decelerates the new adopted deceleration when the adopted deceleration is reset to a value other than the basic deceleration based on the estimation result of the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1M. This is provided to the start point setting unit 1H. Accordingly, the deceleration start point setting unit 1H resets the deceleration start point to a point according to the new adopted deceleration.

  Further, the deceleration update unit 1P currently employs the deceleration used for deceleration when the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is estimated to be less than a predetermined allowable value by the front inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1N. It is set to a predetermined value greater than the deceleration that is present. The newly set deceleration is dynamic based on the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle, the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle, the acceleration, etc. so that the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle can be kept above a predetermined allowable value. To be determined. The operation when the deceleration update unit 1P sets the adopted deceleration to a larger value will be described later.

  If the deceleration update unit 1P updates the adopted deceleration based on the fact that the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is estimated to be less than a predetermined allowable value by the front inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1N, that fact To the deceleration notice unit 1K and the travel control unit 1J.

  Next, using the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of the travel control ECU 1 when the host vehicle is traveling on the main road of the highway will be described. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 may be started when it is detected that the vehicle has entered an expressway, for example. Whether the vehicle has entered the expressway may be determined from the current position and travel route information, or may be determined based on wireless communication with a roadside device provided at the entrance of the expressway. Further, the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 may be triggered by a user operation that activates the automatic driving function on the highway. FIG. 6 shows a continuation of the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, in step S1, the host vehicle position acquisition unit 1B and the sensor information acquisition unit 1D acquire host vehicle information, and the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa acquires the preceding vehicle information and proceeds to step S3. In step S3, the branch road information acquisition unit 1G acquires the start position of the planned exit path, and calculates the remaining distance Dr to the start point of the planned exit path based on the start position of the planned exit path and the current position of the host vehicle. The process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, it is determined whether or not the remaining distance Dr is equal to or less than a predetermined preparation start distance Dth. If the remaining distance Dr is equal to or less than the preparation start distance Dth, an affirmative determination is made in step S4 and the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the remaining distance Dr is greater than the preparation start distance Dth, a negative determination is made in step S4 and the process returns to step S1. The preparation start distance Dth used here is a distance for starting the deceleration start point setting process, and may be designed as appropriate. For example, the preparation start distance Dth may be set to 500 m.

  By the time the remaining distance Dr becomes equal to or less than the predetermined preparation start distance Dth, the traveling control unit 1J determines that the traveling lane is the lane in which the deceleration lane is derived from the lanes that constitute the main road (that is, the leftmost side). Lane).

  In step S5, the deceleration start point setting unit 1H performs a deceleration start point setting process, and proceeds to step S6. The deceleration start point setting process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 is started when the process proceeds to step S5 in FIG.

  First, in step S51, the basic deceleration read from the flash memory 13 is acquired by the basic deceleration acquisition unit 1E, and the process proceeds to step S52. In step S52, based on the basic deceleration, the legal speed on the planned leaving road as the target speed, and the current traveling speed of the host vehicle, during the deceleration from the current traveling speed to the target speed at the basic deceleration. The distance that the host vehicle moves (referred to as the deceleration required distance) is calculated, and the process proceeds to step S53.

  In step S53, a point going back to the host vehicle side by the required deceleration distance from the start position of the planned exit path is set as the deceleration position point, and the process proceeds to the next step (step S6 in FIG. 5) at the caller of this process. In addition, according to such an aspect, the deceleration start point is not necessarily set on the main road. The deceleration start point may be set in the deceleration lane.

  In step S6, if the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1M continues to travel on the main road when the host vehicle starts decelerating at the basic deceleration from the deceleration start point set in step S5, It is estimated whether the rear inter-vehicle distance is less than a predetermined allowable value. When the deceleration start point is set in the deceleration lane, it is only necessary to estimate that the distance between the rear vehicles is not less than a predetermined allowable value while continuing to travel on the main road. .

  As a result of the estimation in step S6, when it is estimated that the rear inter-vehicle distance is less than the predetermined allowable value while continuing the travel on the main road, step S7 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S8. . On the other hand, if it is estimated that the rear inter-vehicle distance will not be less than the predetermined allowable value while continuing traveling on the main road, step S7 is negatively determined and the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S8, the vehicle density determination unit 1Fd determines whether or not the vehicle density is low. If it is determined that the vehicle density is low, an affirmative determination is made in step S8 and the process proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle density is not low, a negative determination is made in step S8 and the process proceeds to step S20. In step S9, the deceleration notice unit 1K cooperates with the inter-vehicle communication unit 2 to transmit a deceleration notice message, and the process proceeds to step S10 shown in FIG.

  In step S10, it is determined whether or not a response signal to the deceleration notice message transmitted in step S9 has been received from the latest following vehicle. If the response signal from the latest following vehicle has been received, an affirmative determination is made in step S10 and the process proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, when the response signal from the latest following vehicle has not been received, a negative determination is made in step S10, and the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S11, with reference to the corresponding behavior information shown in the response signal from the latest succeeding vehicle, it is determined whether or not the latest succeeding vehicle is about to overtake the host vehicle. If the latest succeeding vehicle is about to overtake the host vehicle, an affirmative determination is made in step S11 and the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, if the immediately following vehicle is not about to overtake the host vehicle, a negative determination is made in step S11 and the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S12, the first deceleration behavior resetting process is performed based on the information of the indirect subsequent vehicle acquired by the subsequent vehicle information acquiring unit 1Fb. The first deceleration behavior resetting process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8 may be started when the process proceeds to step S12 illustrated in FIG. 6 or the process proceeds to step S14 illustrated in FIG.

  In step S121, a temporary value of a new deceleration at the time of deceleration is set to a value smaller than the currently employed deceleration by a certain amount (for example, 0.2 [m / sec ^ 2]), and step S122 is set. Move on.

  In step S122, using the temporary value set in step S121, the deceleration start point setting unit 1H calculates the deceleration start point, and proceeds to step S123. The recalculated deceleration start point is temporarily stored in the RAM 12 in association with the provisional deceleration value.

  In step S123, when deceleration using the temporary value set in step S121 is performed, the traveling speed of the host vehicle at the start point of the deceleration lane (that is, the point leaving the main road) becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined lower limit speed. It is determined whether or not. If the traveling speed of the host vehicle at the start point of the deceleration lane is equal to or higher than the lower limit speed, an affirmative determination is made in step S123 and the process proceeds to step S124. On the other hand, if the traveling speed of the host vehicle at the start point of the deceleration lane is less than the lower limit speed, a negative determination is made in step S123, and the process proceeds to step S125.

  The lower limit speed used here may be appropriately designed to a value corresponding to the minimum speed on the main road of the highway. For example, the lower limit speed may be a value obtained by adding a predetermined margin to the minimum speed, such as 70 km / h. In addition, it is preferable that the minimum speed of the main road is a value indicated by a sign or a sign.

  In step S124, when the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1M performs deceleration using the temporary value set in step S121, it is determined whether or not the rear inter-vehicle distance at the start point of the deceleration lane is equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable value. judge.

  The rear inter-vehicle distance here refers to an indirect subsequent vehicle that returns a response signal indicating that it is not trying to overtake its own vehicle when this flow is called in step S12 (in the lane keeping vehicle described in the claims). Equivalent)), the inter-vehicle distance between the next vehicle closest to the own vehicle and the own vehicle. This is because a succeeding vehicle that has transmitted a response signal indicating that it has overtaken its own vehicle changes its lane to an overtaking lane after the response signal is returned, and therefore can be expected to be less susceptible to the deceleration of the own vehicle. The indirect following vehicle that has returned a response signal indicating that it is not overtaking the host vehicle may be specified by the rear inter-vehicle distance estimation unit 1M in cooperation with the response acquisition unit 1L. Further, when this flow is called in step S14, it indicates the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the nearest succeeding vehicle.

  If the rear inter-vehicle distance at the start point of the deceleration lane is equal to or greater than the predetermined allowable value, an affirmative determination is made in step S124 and the process returns to step S121, and the temporary deceleration value is set to 1 more than the current temporary value. The step is set to a smaller value and steps S121 to S124 are repeated. On the other hand, if the rear inter-vehicle distance at the start point of the deceleration lane is greater than or equal to a predetermined allowable value, a negative determination is made in step S124 and the process proceeds to step S125.

  In step S125, a value that is one step larger than the current provisional value is adopted as the deceleration at the time of deceleration, and the deceleration start point corresponding to the deceleration is set as a new deceleration start point to call this flow. The process proceeds to the next step (step S15 in FIG. 6).

  In addition, when the first deceleration behavior resetting process as step S12 is performed, deceleration is performed with a behavior different from the content of the already transmitted deceleration notice message. Therefore, you may transmit the deceleration notification message which shows that the deceleration according to the newly employ | adopted deceleration is implemented. The deceleration notification message corresponds to a follow-up report of the deceleration notice message.

  In step S13, the deceleration notice unit 1K turns on the direction indicator lamp or moves the traveling position in the traveling lane to the left side to notify the driver of the following vehicle that it will be diverted to the deceleration lane soon. Then, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S14, the first deceleration behavior resetting process is performed based on the latest succeeding vehicle information, and the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S20, the second deceleration behavior resetting process is performed, and the process proceeds to step S21. This second deceleration behavior resetting process will be described separately using the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 may be started when the process proceeds to step S20.

  First, in step S201, the deceleration start point setting unit 1H sets the deceleration start point in the deceleration lane, and proceeds to step S202. For example, the deceleration start point is a point on the side of the planned road leaving 20 m from the start point of the deceleration lane.

  In step S202, the deceleration update unit 1P adjusts the deceleration and proceeds to step S203. Here, as an example, a deceleration that can be decelerated to a target speed is calculated from the deceleration start point to the start point of the planned exit path, and the deceleration is employed. As another aspect, the basic deceleration may be maintained. Such an aspect is an aspect that allows overspeed on the planned exit road from the viewpoint of safe driving. The deceleration may be dynamically determined after entering the deceleration lane so that the traveling speed of the host vehicle matches the traveling speed of the vehicles before and after the host vehicle.

  In step S203, the deceleration notice unit 1K cooperates with the vehicle-to-vehicle communication part 2 to transmit the deceleration notice message, ends this flow, and moves to the next step at the caller (step S15 in FIG. 6).

  In step S15, the vehicle travels at a predetermined traveling speed to the deceleration start point. Then, based on the fact that the host vehicle has reached the deceleration start point, the vehicle starts decelerating at the adopted deceleration and proceeds to step S16. In step S16, a forward inter-vehicle distance adjustment process is performed. This forward inter-vehicle distance adjustment process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 may be started when the process proceeds to step S16 in FIG.

  First, in step S161, the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit 1Fa acquires the front inter-vehicle distance, and proceeds to step S162. In step S162, the front inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1N determines that the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is predetermined before leaving the planned exit based on the current front inter-vehicle distance and the relative speed and relative acceleration of the preceding vehicle. Estimate whether or not it is less than the allowable value. If the front inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1N estimates that the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is less than the predetermined allowable value, an affirmative determination is made in step S162 and the process proceeds to step S163. On the other hand, when the front inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1N estimates that the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is not less than the predetermined allowable value, a negative determination is made in step S162 to end the present flow, The process proceeds to step (step S17 in FIG. 6).

  In step S163, the deceleration update unit 1P can maintain the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle at a predetermined allowable value or more based on the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle, the relative traveling speed of the preceding vehicle, the relative acceleration, and the like. A new deceleration is calculated and the process proceeds to step S164. The allowable value applied here may be a different value depending on whether the host vehicle is traveling in the main road or in the deceleration lane. Specifically, the allowable value in the deceleration lane may be shorter than the allowable value in the main road. This is because the traveling speed in the deceleration lane should be smaller than the traveling speed in the main road.

  In Step S164, the deceleration notice unit 1K cooperates with the inter-vehicle communication unit 2 to transmit a deceleration notification message indicating that the vehicle starts to decelerate at the newly calculated deceleration to the surrounding vehicle (mainly the following vehicle). Then, the process proceeds to step S165. In step S165, deceleration at the deceleration newly calculated in step S163 is started to end this flow, and the process proceeds to the next step (step S17 in FIG. 6) at the caller.

  In step S17, based on the current position of the host vehicle, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has entered a road (specifically, a rampway) corresponding to the planned exit road. If the vehicle has entered the scheduled exit route, step S17 is affirmatively determined, and this flow is terminated. On the other hand, if the start point of the scheduled exit route has not been reached, a negative determination is made in step S17 and the process returns to step S16.

<Summary of this embodiment>
In the above configuration, when the planned departure distance is within the preparation start distance Dth, the traveling control ECCU 1 performs the deceleration for exiting the planned exit path at a predetermined basic deceleration on the main roadway. It is estimated whether the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value (step S7 in FIG. 5). If it is estimated that the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is less than the allowable value on the main road (YES in step S7), a deceleration notice message is transmitted by inter-vehicle communication before starting deceleration (step S9). The vehicle notifies the subsequent vehicle that the vehicle starts to decelerate.

  According to such an aspect, the succeeding vehicle can recognize in advance that the host vehicle is decelerating, and therefore, the subsequent vehicle may be subjected to a sudden behavior such as sudden braking upon receiving the deceleration of the host vehicle. Can be suppressed. As a result, the risk of disturbing the flow of traffic behind the host vehicle due to the deceleration of the host vehicle can be suppressed. In addition, the structure provided with travel control ECU1 and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication part 2 is corresponded to the vehicle information provision apparatus as described in a claim.

  In the present embodiment, the mode in which the deceleration notice message is transmitted when it is estimated that the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is less than the allowable value on the main road is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. A deceleration notice message may also be transmitted when the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is not less than the allowable value on the main road. However, from the viewpoint of suppressing communication traffic, it is preferable to transmit a deceleration notice message only when necessary.

  In the present embodiment, when a response signal to the deceleration notice message transmitted by the host vehicle cannot be received from the immediately following vehicle (NO in step S10), the direction indicator lamp is activated or the vehicle travels in the travel lane. The position is moved to the left side (step S13). The driver of the succeeding vehicle can recognize that the own vehicle is about to move to the deceleration lane by looking at the behavior of the own vehicle.

  Therefore, according to the aspect of this embodiment, even when the immediately following vehicle does not support inter-vehicle communication or when a deceleration warning message cannot be received due to a packet collision, the driver of the immediately following vehicle does not automatically. You can tell that the vehicle is about to move into the deceleration lane. In the present embodiment, when the response signal from the most recent succeeding vehicle cannot be received, the direction indicator lamp is activated, or the process of moving the traveling position in the traveling lane to the left side is performed. Not limited to this. Even when the response signal from the latest following vehicle can be received, the direction indicator lamp may be activated or the travel position in the travel lane may be moved to the left side.

  In the present embodiment, when it is estimated that the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is not less than the allowable value on the main road (step S7 NO), the first deceleration behavior resetting process is performed (step S14), The deceleration is set to a smaller value within a range where the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle does not become less than the allowable value on the main road. According to such an aspect, it is possible to smoothly exit the planned exit route with a gradual speed change within a range that does not hinder the flow of vehicles on the main road.

  Further, in the present embodiment, even when it is found that the immediately following vehicle overtakes the own vehicle (YES in step S11), the first deceleration behavior resetting process is performed (step S12) and indirectly on the main road. The deceleration is set to a smaller value in a range where the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle does not become less than the allowable value. According to such an aspect, it is possible to perform deceleration for exiting the planned exit path with a more gradual speed change while suppressing traffic disturbance on the main road.

  In the present embodiment, when it is estimated that the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value after the start of deceleration (YES in step S162), the deceleration is a value larger than the previous value. Then, a value capable of keeping the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle at or above the allowable value is calculated. Then, after notifying the subsequent vehicle that the deceleration is to be increased by inter-vehicle communication (step S164), the deceleration is increased (step S165).

  According to such an aspect, the subsequent vehicle can know in advance that the deceleration of the own vehicle will increase, and thus it is possible to suppress a sudden movement of the subsequent vehicle. As a result, the flow of the vehicle behind the host vehicle can be prevented from being disturbed due to the deceleration of the host vehicle.

  In this embodiment, when the vehicle density on the main road is not low (NO in step S8), the deceleration start position is set in the deceleration lane (step S201). Thereby, it can suppress that the deceleration for the own vehicle leaving to an exit planned road affects the flow of the vehicle on a main roadway.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The following embodiment is also contained in the technical scope of this invention, and also the summary other than the following is also included. Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope.

  For example, in the above, an example has been described in which the planned leaving road is a road (so-called ramp way) following the expressway exit. The present invention can also be applied to a case where a diversion path following an entrance of a service area or a parking area is a planned exit path.

  Moreover, although the aspect which assumed the condition which drive | works the highway was illustrated above, this invention is applicable also to the condition which is drive | working roads other than highways, such as a motorway and a general road. For example, a road that is leaving on a regular road is a road that leaves the current road by turning right or left, and the intersection where the road and the road to leave are connected is the road that is scheduled to leave. Corresponds to the starting point. The target speed for deceleration may be a speed (speed corresponding to slow driving) that can stop quickly according to traffic conditions.

  In the above, since it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling on an expressway, the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit 1M determines that the distance between the following vehicle and the following vehicle while traveling on the main road included in the state until the vehicle exits the planned exit route. Although it was set as the aspect which estimates whether distance will be less than predetermined | prescribed tolerance, it is not restricted to this. When traveling on a general road, it may be estimated whether the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value before exiting on the planned exit path.

  Further, when it is found that the vehicle needs to be stopped during traveling on the highway, the traveling control ECU 1 may notify the following vehicle of starting deceleration for stopping. For example, when it is found that the vehicle needs to be stopped, a necessary deceleration and a deceleration start point are calculated, and a deceleration notice message is transmitted. In addition, if it is a travel route to exit from the main road on the nearest rampway from that stop position, the intention to exit the next rampway by bringing the travel position of the vehicle in the travel lane to the left side May be communicated to the following car.

100 in-vehicle system, 1 travel control ECU, 2 inter-vehicle communication unit, 3 navigation ECU, 4 position detector, 5 vehicle behavior sensor, 6 periphery monitoring system, 11 CPU, 12 RAM, 13 flash memory, 21 data processing unit, 22 Wireless communication unit, 61 forward monitoring unit, 62 rear monitoring unit, 1A route information acquisition unit, 1B own vehicle position acquisition unit, 1C speed limit acquisition unit, 1D sensor information acquisition unit, 1E basic deceleration acquisition unit, 1F peripheral vehicle information Acquisition unit, 1G branch road information acquisition unit, 1H deceleration start point setting unit, 1J travel control unit, 1K deceleration notice unit, 1L response acquisition unit, 1M backward inter-vehicle distance estimation unit, 1N forward inter-vehicle distance estimation unit, 1P deceleration update Unit, 1Fa preceding vehicle information acquisition unit, 1Fb subsequent vehicle information acquisition unit, 1Fc communication partner identification unit (subsequent vehicle identification unit), 1Fd Vehicle density determination unit (vehicle density acquisition unit)

Claims (10)

Mounted on the vehicle,
A host vehicle information acquisition unit (1D, 1B) for acquiring host vehicle information, which is information including the traveling speed of the vehicle;
A subsequent vehicle information acquisition unit (1Fb) for acquiring subsequent vehicle information, which is information including the position and travel speed of the subsequent vehicle for the vehicle;
A route information acquisition unit (1A) for acquiring travel route information indicating a planned travel route of the vehicle;
Based on the travel route information acquired by the route information acquisition unit, the vehicle will exit from the travel road among the branch roads branched from the travel road that is the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling. A branch path information acquisition unit (1G) that acquires information about the planned exit path that is a branch path that is
Based on the own vehicle information and the following vehicle information, if the deceleration for exiting to the exit planned road acquired by the branch information acquisition unit is performed at a predetermined basic deceleration, the exit A rear inter-vehicle distance estimation unit (1M) that estimates whether or not the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the following vehicle is less than a predetermined allowable value before the vehicle exits on a planned road;
If it is estimated that the inter-vehicle distance with the succeeding vehicle will be less than the allowable value before leaving the planned exit path by the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit, before starting deceleration for exiting to the planned exit path A vehicle information providing device, comprising: a deceleration notice unit (1K) for notifying that the vehicle starts to decelerate the succeeding vehicle. In claim 1,
A travel control unit (1J) for controlling travel of the vehicle;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit (2) for performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication with other vehicles existing around the vehicle;
A deceleration start point setting unit (1H) for setting a deceleration start point that is a point for starting deceleration for exiting the planned exit path on the travel path based on the travel speed of the vehicle and the basic deceleration; With
The deceleration notice unit cooperates with the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit, and transmits deceleration notice information indicating that the vehicle decelerates from the deceleration start point through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, whereby the vehicle is transmitted to the following vehicle. A vehicle information providing device for notifying that the vehicle starts to decelerate. In claim 2,
The travel control unit performs automatic travel on the highway of the vehicle,
The branch road information acquisition unit acquires information of the branch road as the planned exit road among the branch roads branched from the expressway as the travel road,
The rear inter-vehicular distance estimating unit, when the vehicle is decelerated at the basic deceleration for exiting from the expressway to the planned exit road, on the main road of the expressway, A vehicle information providing apparatus for estimating whether an inter-vehicle distance is less than the allowable value. In claim 3,
Among the other vehicles that carry out inter-vehicle communication with the vehicle, the vehicle includes a subsequent vehicle specifying unit (1Fc) that specifies another vehicle corresponding to the subsequent vehicle,
The inter-vehicle communication unit receives a response signal transmitted from a surrounding vehicle as a response to the deceleration notice information,
If the response signal cannot be received from the nearest succeeding vehicle that is the next succeeding vehicle among the following vehicles, before starting deceleration for exiting the planned exit route, Turn on the direction indicator light on the side where the deceleration lane exists for the vehicle, and move closer to the side where the deceleration lane exists than the center of the lane in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, thereby A vehicle information providing apparatus for notifying that the vehicle starts to decelerate. In claim 4,
The response signal includes corresponding behavior information indicating whether or not to overtake the vehicle when the vehicle corresponds to a preceding vehicle for another vehicle that has received the deceleration notice information,
The rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit identifies a lane keeping vehicle that is the succeeding vehicle that does not pass the vehicle among the following vehicles based on the response signal received by the inter-vehicle communication unit,
The travel control unit performs deceleration for exiting the planned exit route using a deceleration smaller than the basic deceleration within a range where the lane keeping vehicle cannot catch up. . In any one of Claim 3 to 5,
When it is estimated that the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the following vehicle on the main road is not less than the allowable value by the rear inter-vehicle distance estimating unit, the vehicle and the following vehicle on the main road The vehicle information providing device is set to a smaller value in a range where the inter-vehicle distance is not less than the allowable value. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the deceleration advance notice information includes a deceleration at the time of deceleration for exiting the exit planned road. In claim 7,
If the deceleration at the time of deceleration for exiting the planned leaving road is changed after the deceleration notice information is transmitted, the deceleration notice information including the newly applied deceleration is transmitted. Is transmitted by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In claim 8,
A preceding vehicle information acquisition unit (1Fa) for acquiring preceding vehicle information including the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle for the vehicle;
A forward inter-vehicle distance estimating unit (1N) that estimates whether or not the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle is less than an allowable value;
After the deceleration notice unit transmits the deceleration notice information, if the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle is estimated to be less than the allowable value by the front inter-vehicle distance estimating unit, the deceleration is A deceleration that is larger than a value determined before starting deceleration for exiting to the planned exit road, and updated to a value that can maintain an inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle above the allowable value An update unit (1P),
When the deceleration update unit updates the deceleration notification unit, the deceleration notification unit transmits vehicle deceleration notification information including a newly set deceleration by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. apparatus. In any one of Claims 3 to 9,
A vehicle density acquisition unit (1Fd) for acquiring a vehicle density around the vehicle;
When the vehicle density acquired by the vehicle density acquisition unit is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the deceleration start point setting unit is included in a deceleration lane for exiting the deceleration start point to the planned exit route. A vehicle information providing apparatus characterized by setting.

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