JPH02246838A - Safety control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform dangerous state avoiding action without giving unpleasantness to crews by setting plural dangerous areas of high collisional possibility stepwise on the basis of automobile running status and front status recognizing signals from a running status monitoring part. CONSTITUTION:In a safety control part 36, the front status is recognized at a front recognizing part 40 by the signals of the visual, acceleration, road surface mu sensors 12, 20, 22 of a running status monitoring part 10, the running status of an automobile is obtained at a running path computing part 42 by the signals of a speed, a steering angle and a yew rate sensors 14, 16, 18, and plural dangerous areas of high collisional possibility are set at a collision predicting part 44 according to their degrees. When the automobile enters into the dangerous area of each stage, a throttle control part 26, a brake control part 28, a stop lamp control part 34 and a seat belt tension control part 32 are driven stepwise. In case either one of the control parts of a vehicle control part 24 is detected to be faulty by a failure diagnosis part 48, the other control part replaces it according to the detection. Safety can be thus ensured without giving unpleasantness to crews.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a safety control device for vehicle collisions, particularly a vehicle safety control system that detects a vehicle collision danger state and automatically performs various vehicle drive controls. Regarding equipment.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, when a vehicle enters a dangerous area where there is a risk of colliding with an obstacle in front due to distracted driving or drowsy driving, devices for collision prevention and occupant protection have traditionally been activated. Various control techniques have been proposed.

For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-47264, a sensor AFI L detects obstacles in front of the vehicle and the relative distance to the obstacle by transmitting and receiving pulse waves. A safety control device is shown that takes precautions against a collision by issuing a warning and locking seatbelts when a collision occurs. and,
This safety control device has a configuration that prevents a pulse wave emitted by another person from being mistaken as a reflected wave of a pulse wave emitted by the own vehicle.

Next, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-15300 discloses a control device that uses an inter-vehicle distance detection device to detect a dangerous inter-vehicle distance to a vehicle in front, and based on this detection, simultaneously performs throttle control and a brake drive device. has been done.

Next, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-58181, the relative speed and distance between an obstacle and the obstacle are calculated by receiving reflected waves such as sound waves emitted from the emitting device, and the vehicle is detected in the dangerous area. This shows a device that activates a warning device when it is determined that the vehicle has entered the vehicle, and is similar to the conventional example in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-47264 in that it performs control to notify the driver of danger. .

Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-246688, a "distance means" is used to detect that the distance between the vehicle in front and the own vehicle is inappropriate, (when the vehicle is running) - A device is shown that is equipped with a light emitting means to notify the vehicles following the vehicle of the dangerous situation, and this light emitting means is designed to prevent accidents such as collisions with the following vehicle. .

Further, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-36210 discloses a device that protects occupants by increasing the tension of a seat belt in an emergency such as a collision.

In this device, gunpowder is exploded by the impact of a collision, for example, and this explosive force pushes down the piston of the seatbelt anchor that fixes the seatbelt to the floor, increasing the tension of the seatbelt. After the belt is increased, a structure is added in which the belt stretches a little due to the inertial force of the occupant after a collision. This reduces the impact on the occupants during a collision.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Each of the conventional safety control devices described above activates a safety device prepared in advance when it is determined that the vehicle is in a dangerous state where there is a risk of collision. Whether or not a vehicle is in a dangerous state is determined based on one criterion, for example, whether or not the vehicle is within a certain area.

Therefore, each prepared safety control device is activated in a certain dangerous state, and its activation is a one-step activation only. Even in a device that performs multiple safety controls, the drives are performed simultaneously, so the safety controls are not performed in multiple stages.

In such conventional devices, if the dangerous condition determination section cannot detect the initial stage of the dangerous condition or if the safety device fails and does not operate, there is a possibility that no safety control will be performed. However, there was a problem of low reliability.

Further, for example, in the conventional example disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-47264, control is performed such that when the vehicle enters a dangerous area, a warning is always issued and the seat belt is locked. Therefore, such control is performed even after the driver starts an operation to return to the safe area. However, human sensitivity always generates an alarm when attempting to return to a safe area.
If the seat belt is locked, the driver may feel uncomfortable and may not use the safety device. Therefore, protective measures that directly affect the occupants should not be implemented until the risk of a collision is extremely high, and in dangerous areas where the possibility of a collision is low, only the driving control of the vehicle should be performed. The problem was that a safety control device was needed to

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to replace it with another drive device even if the drive device for vehicle safety breaks down, and to eliminate the danger. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle safety control device that does not give discomfort to an occupant who is performing an operation to avoid a situation.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a first vehicle safety control device according to the present invention provides a first vehicle safety control device that recognizes the running state of the own vehicle and detects obstacles in front of the vehicle. A driving situation monitoring unit that recognizes the situation, multiple types of vehicle driving control means that control the driving of the own vehicle to avoid collisions with obstacles, and operation of devices to protect occupants in the event of a collision. A vehicle control section including an occupant protection means for performing control, and a recognition signal of the zero-vehicle running state and the forward situation from the running state monitoring section to identify dangerous areas with a high possibility of collision according to the degree of the possibility. A safety system that is set in multiple stages and sends a drive signal to the vehicle running control means or occupant protection means of the vehicle control section that is set corresponding to each danger region when the own vehicle enters the danger region of each stage. It is characterized by having a control section.

[Function] According to the vehicle safety control device configured as described above, the vehicle control unit is provided with a plurality of types of travel control means for controlling the drive of the vehicle to avoid a collision, and further to ensure the safety of occupants in the event of a collision. By providing the occupant protection means that performs the following operations, it becomes possible to operate each of these means in multiple stages.

The safety control unit then sets dangerous areas with a high possibility of collision in multiple stages. That is, a plurality of dangerous areas can be set in stages starting from a state where the possibility of collision is low.

Furthermore, when the own vehicle enters a dangerous area at each stage, the safety control unit sends a drive signal to a predetermined type of vehicle travel control means according to each dangerous area, and selects the type with the highest possibility of collision. A drive signal is sent to the occupant protection means in a dangerous area.

Therefore, the occupant protection means that directly act on the occupant are not activated until the final stage of the safety control, so that discomfort to the occupant does not occur until the final stage.

Furthermore, vehicle travel control for safety purposes is carried out in stages starting from low-risk conditions, so if an obstacle is not detected at the initial stage or one vehicle travel control means is not activated. Even in such a case, the reliability of the safety control is increased because the driving means at other stages operates.

[Example] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the embodiment, and a driving situation monitoring unit 10 that recognizes the driving state of the own vehicle and the situation ahead in the direction of travel of the vehicle, such as recognizing obstacles ahead, includes:
It is composed of a visual sensor 12, a vehicle speed sensor 14, a steering angle sensor 16, a yaw rate sensor '18, an acceleration sensor 20, and a road surface μ sensor 22.

The visual sensor 12 uses a scan-type pulse laser radar, and can detect the distance and angle to obstacles such as vehicles, guardrails, separation strips, and road shoulders in front of the vehicle. That is, by emitting pulsed light from a semiconductor laser,
Detection is performed by irradiating light onto an obstacle and receiving the reflected light, and the distance to the obstacle can be calculated based on the time difference between the light emission timing and the light reception timing.

Additionally, by scanning the beam with a small diameter in the left and right directions, it is possible to detect the angle of obstacles from the vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of such a scanning type pulse laser radar, in which a light transmitting section 52 that scans the laser beam in the left and right direction with a predetermined width l on the front surface of the casing 50 and its reflected light are shown. A light receiving section 54 is provided to receive light. By providing this pulse laser radar on the front side of the vehicle, it is made to function as a visual sensor 12.

Note that the visual sensor 12 is not limited to such a pulse laser radar; for example, an image sensor can also be effectively used as long as its processing time can be shortened.

Next, the vehicle speed sensor 14 detects the vehicle speed by detecting the number of pulses generated by the rotation of a magnetic rotating plate that rotates in accordance with the vehicle speed.

The steering angle sensor 16 is configured by attaching, for example, a potentiometer to the wheel drive mechanism, and can detect the steering angle of the steering wheel.

The yaw rate sensor 18 detects the acceleration of yawing of the vehicle, and is composed of, for example, a rate gyro.

The acceleration sensor 20 is, for example, a piezoelectric type acceleration sensor, and detects acceleration using piezoelectric reduction in which a potential difference is generated due to mechanical strain of a ceramic piezoelectric element that occurs in response to acceleration.

The road surface μ sensor 22 detects the friction coefficient μ of the road surface by emitting ultrasonic waves or light from a vehicle to the road surface and measuring the reflectance thereof.

Next, the vehicle control unit 24 is composed of a vehicle running control means for controlling the running state of the vehicle and an occupant protection means for performing some operation for the driver, and the vehicle running control means is a throttle control means. section 26 and brake control section 28
It is composed of. The occupant protection means includes an alarm generation circuit 30 and a seatbelt tension control section 32.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the vehicle control section 24 is provided with a stop lamp control section 34 for notifying the following vehicles in advance of the operation when the driver stops.

The safety control unit 36 outputs drive signals to each control unit of the vehicle control unit 24 based on each signal from the driving condition monitoring unit 10, and the safety control unit 36 outputs a drive signal to each control unit of the vehicle control unit 24.
controlvnet) 38.

The safety control unit 36 includes a forward recognition unit 40 that calculates the situation in the direction of vehicle movement, a driving route calculation unit 42 that calculates and predicts the driving route of the own vehicle, and a driving route calculation unit 42 that determines the possibility of collision with an obstacle in front of the own vehicle. collision prediction unit 44 and collision prediction unit 44
The drive control section 46 supplies drive signals to each control section of the vehicle control section 24 based on signals from the vehicle control section 24.

In this embodiment, the safety control section 36 is provided with a failure diagnosis section 48 that detects the presence or absence of a failure state in each control section of the vehicle control section 24, and transmits the detection signal of the presence or absence of a failure to the drive control section. 46.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG. 2.

First, in step 1, the forward recognition unit 40 of the safety control unit 36 receives input of the distance MR to the obstacle detected by the visual sensor 12, the angle θ of the obstacle with respect to the own vehicle, and the output ■ from the vehicle speed sensor 14. Ru.

In step 2, the forward recognition unit 40 calculates the relative speed V' between the own vehicle and the obstacle based on the human input signal, and in step 3, after recognizing the obstacle, the position of the obstacle is calculated. The relative speed V' can be determined from the rate of change over time in the distance MR between the host vehicle and the obstacle using the following equation (1).

V "-ΔR/l ......(1) Here ΔR
is the distance change in one scan frame, and t is the time of one scan frame.

Next, in step 3, the forward recognition unit 40 determines whether the vehicle in front is
Obstacles such as guardrails, separation strips, road shoulders, and white lines are recognized. As shown in FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B), information on the distance R to the obstacle and the angle θ obtained by the visual sensor 12 is used to calculate
By converting the information into Y information (the direction perpendicular to the direction of vehicle travel is the X-axis and the direction of travel is the Y-axis) and adding recognition, it is possible to recognize guardrails, vehicles ahead, separation strips, etc. In the figure, the driving situation as shown in FIG. 3(B) results in a line as shown in the graph of FIG. 3(A).

In the diagram, the part (a) is the guardrail, the part (b) is the vehicle in front, the part ()\) is the white line, the part (d) is another vehicle further ahead, and the part (e) is the separation strip. are shown respectively.

Next, in step 4, the forward travel path is detected in the forward confirmation section 40 based on the information obtained in step 3. That is, the part surrounded by the guardrail and the separation strip is determined to be the running route, and whether the shape is straight or curved is recognized.

In step 5, the travel route calculation unit 42 of the safety control unit 36
Then, the steering angle θS, vehicle acceleration α, road surface friction coefficient μ, and yaw rate are manually input from the steering angle sensor 16, acceleration sensor 20, road surface μ sensor 22, and yaw rate sensor 18, respectively. Then, in step 6, the driving route calculation unit 42 calculates the driving state of the vehicle based on the information input in step 5, and predicts the driving route of the own vehicle based on the result.

In step 7, the travel route predicted in step 6 is superimposed on the road condition recognized in step 4, and it is determined whether or not there is an obstacle on the travel route of the host vehicle.

If there is no obstacle on the travel route, the process returns to the start and the operations are performed sequentially from step 1.

If there is an obstacle on the travel route, the collision 'F side 44
Furthermore, among the dangerous areas where there is a possibility of collision with an obstacle, the first dangerous area Rs with the lowest possibility of collision is calculated using the following formula (2
) is calculated.

RsmVs to 10V2/2a - (V+Vr)''/2β
・・・・・・・・・(2) Here, ■ is the own vehicle speed, t is the idle running time, α is the own vehicle acceleration, β is the front obstacle acceleration, and β is V+Vr.
It can be found by the differentiation of Also, guardrails, separation strips, etc. can be calculated as V+Vr-Q.

Next, a second dangerous region R's, which is even more dangerous than the first dangerous region Rs, that is, has a higher possibility of collision, is calculated. This second danger region R's is calculated by adding the deceleration αS of the own vehicle determined by the deceleration caused by closing the throttle, the shift position, the road surface friction coefficient μ, the vehicle weight, etc. to the formula (2), and then the following formula (3 ) can be calculated.

R'5-V-t +V2/2 (a+as)-(V+
Vr)"/2β (3) Furthermore, the collision prediction unit 44 selects the third
The dangerous area is calculated using the following equation (4). That is, the above (
3) It can be calculated by adding the speed ■, the road surface friction coefficient μ, the deceleration αB due to the brake determined by the vehicle weight, etc. to the equation.

R"s-V・t+V2/2(α+αS+αB)-(V+
Vr)''/2β ・・・・・・・・・(4) In this way, in step 8, the 1.i2 and 3rd danger regions Rs
, R's, and R″S are calculated, respectively, and then step 9
First, the first danger area Rs and the current distance 1ItlR to the obstacle are compared.

Here, if the distance R to the obstacle is Rs≦R with respect to the first danger area Rs, it is determined that there is no need to perform vehicle travel control because the own vehicle has not entered the first danger area Rs. .

In that case, various programs are reset in step 1o. For example, if some kind of vehicle running control is being performed, that control is reset and returns to the start, and operations are performed sequentially starting from step 1.

In step 11, it is determined in step 9 that Rs>R
In this case, the drive control unit 46 that has received the detection signal sends a drive signal to the throttle control unit 26 to perform throttle control. Throttle control section 2 that receives this drive signal
At 6, the throttle actuator drive circuit 2 (ia) is activated, and the throttle actuator 26b adjusts the throttle opening. That is, the throttle valve is operated to the closing side to decelerate the vehicle.

Next, in step 12, a comparison is made between the distance R between the second danger area R'S and the obstacle, and if R'S is less than R, there is a possibility that Rs<R due to throttle control, i.e. It is determined that there is a possibility that the own vehicle may escape from the dangerous area, and the operation returns to step 1 again (in the case of No in step 12). As a result, when the host vehicle is within the first danger region Rs and has not entered the second danger region R″S, throttle control is automatically performed.

Then, in step 13, the distance R to the obstacle is determined by the second
If R″s>R, which is smaller than the dangerous area R's, is Yes, the distance #iR is further compared with the third dangerous area R″S. Here, if the distance @R is larger than the t33 danger area R''S, that is, if R''s>R is NO, it is determined in step 14 whether or not there is a response from the driver. That is, whether or not the driver is taking any action to avoid a collision is determined based on, for example, whether a stop lamp is turned on due to a brake operation or whether a steering wheel is being operated. When an avoidance operation is being performed, the process returns to step 1, and the state of the distance 1111R due to the avoidance operation is confirmed.

Then, if the driver has not performed any collision avoidance operation (in the case of No), it is determined in step 15 whether or not a warning has been issued. If the answer is No, not issuing an alarm, the drive control unit 46 turns off the audio in step 16, making it deaf, and further sends a drive signal to the alarm generation circuit 30 in step 17, causing it to issue an alarm. .

Then, in step 18, the drive control section 46 issues an alarm and sends a signal to the stop lamp lighting circuit 34a of the stop lamp control section 34 to cause the stop lamp to blink. This flashing can alert following vehicles.

After activation of the alarm and stop lamp, the operation returns to step 1.

If it is determined in step 15 that an alarm has already been issued (Yes), then in step 19 it is determined whether 1 second 181 seconds have elapsed since the alarm was issued. This time T seconds is set in consideration of the human reaction time after sensing the alarm, and for example, 0.
It is set to 4 to 0.5 seconds. Until this T seconds have elapsed (in the case of NO in step 19), the operations up to step 15 are performed again, and the driver's collision avoidance operation is determined. Then, after T seconds have passed (in the case of Yes), brake control is performed in step 20.

That is, a drive signal is supplied from the drive control section 46 to the brake actuator drive circuit 28a of the brake control section 28, and the brake actuator drive circuit 28a drives the brake actuator 28b to apply the brake.

In this way, when the own vehicle is within the second danger area R's and has not entered the third danger area R''S, the alarm sound is generated by the operation from step 12 onwards after the throttle control in step 11. , the stop lamp flashes, and the brakes are automatically controlled.

Next, in step 21, if the distance MR to the obstacle is smaller than the third danger area R''S in step 13, it is determined that the risk of collision is extremely high, and direct brake control is performed. In other words, the drive control section 4
The brake actuator 28 is activated by the drive signal from 6.
drive b.

Then, in step 22, the collision prediction unit 44 calculates the time Ts from the running state of the vehicle to the collision, and determines whether it is time τ before (0.1 to 0.2 seconds before) the elapse of the time Ts. The step operation up to the previous stage is repeated as a No operation. Then, before the time Ts, in step 23, an operation for applying tension to the seat belt is performed to protect the occupant.

This operation is performed from the drive control section 46 to the seat belt control section 3.
A drive signal is supplied to the seatbelt tension drive circuit 32a of No. 2, and the seatbelt tensioner J#32b is driven to tighten the seatbelt to a predetermined strength.

Therefore, when the own vehicle enters the third danger zone R''S where the risk of collision is extremely high, the brakes are automatically applied.
Furthermore, a safety device that is directly activated for the occupant, in this embodiment, a seat belt is controlled.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the safety action performed directly on the occupant is performed when the driver enters a dangerous area and there is no collision avoidance action by the driver, or when the driver enters an area with an extremely high risk of collision. This will only be done if the Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driver who has started the collision avoidance operation from feeling uncomfortable. In addition, in this embodiment, safety control can be performed in four stages: throttle control, alarm, brake control, and seat belt control, so if an obstacle is not detected in the initial stage or if an obstacle suddenly appears in a dangerous area. If an object intrudes or if one of the safety controls fails, another safety control can replace it.

Next, the operation of the failure diagnosis section 48 provided in the safety control section 36 and the drive control section 46 performed in response to a detection signal from the failure diagnosis section 48 will be explained.

In the throttle control performed in step 11 above, the ECU 38 in which the drive control section 46 is provided controls the throttle control section 26 with respect to the throttle circuit command voltage hi.
The output voltage from the throttle sensor installed on the

Feedback control is performed by detecting , and the failure detection operation of the failure diagnosis section 48 is performed by the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step 101, the throttle circuit command voltage hi sent to the throttle control section 26 is input.

Next, in step 102, the throttle sensor output voltage is determined. is input.

Then, in step 103, the command voltage hi and the output voltage υ of the throttle sensor are determined. It is determined whether the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold value hth. If this threshold value hth is not exceeded, it is determined that no failure has occurred, and step 10
Return to 1. If the threshold value hth is exceeded (in the case of Yes), it is determined in step 104 that the throttle control section 26 has failed.

When this failure judgment is made, a warning is given to the driver in step 105, and in step 106, the deceleration αS of the own vehicle in equation (3) for calculating the second danger region R's is corrected. conduct.

That is, by correcting and reducing the deceleration α5,
The second dangerous region R's is set to a large area so that brake control can be performed in the second dangerous region R's without throttle control.

Furthermore, the failure diagnosis section 48 is not limited to detecting whether or not there is a failure in the throttle control section 26, but may also determine whether or not there is a failure in the brake control section 28. That is, if a deceleration of more than a certain value cannot be obtained in response to a brake control command from the vehicle control unit 36, it is determined that the brake control unit 28 is malfunctioning, and a warning is issued in the same manner as the operation shown in FIG. In addition, the value of the deceleration α8 due to the brake in the calculation of R″S using equation (4) is corrected. Thereby, the range of the third dangerous region R″S can be expanded.

In this way, by providing the failure diagnosis section 48, when a failure occurs in any of the means of the vehicle control section 24 for avoiding a collision, the substitute function of the next stage control means can be performed more effectively. can be achieved.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the basic operation of the present embodiment described above, and shows an example where the obstacle is, for example, another vehicle 62 in front of the own vehicle 60 while the vehicle is running. First, own car 6
When the distance between 0 and the other vehicle 62 is within the first danger region Rs and has not entered the second danger region R's, throttle control is performed.

Then, when the other vehicle 62 enters the second danger area R'S and does not enter the third danger area R''S, a warning and brake control are performed.

It also indicates that seat belt tension control, which is a direct safety operation for the driver, is performed for the first time when the other vehicle 62 enters the third danger area R''S where the risk of collision is extremely high. ing.

By performing such operations, even if an obstacle is not detected in the initial stage, or if an obstacle suddenly enters the dangerous area, safety will be maintained according to the distance to the obstacle @R. Control operations can be performed quickly.

In the above embodiment, the setting of the dangerous area was calculated based on the distance R to the obstacle, but it may also be set based on the safety time (distance R to the obstacle/vehicle speed) instead of this distance MR. It is possible.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the vehicle safety control device according to the present invention, a plurality of danger areas are set according to the degree of risk of collision, and a plurality of stages corresponding to each danger area are set. Safety control operations can be performed. Direct safety actions for the driver can then be performed only in the most dangerous areas. As a result, if an obstacle is not detected in the initial stage, if an obstacle suddenly enters a dangerous area, or even if one of the vehicle travel control means fails, the vehicle travel control means of the seismic membrane can be used. This makes it possible to replace the vehicle with the vehicle and reduce the discomfort felt by the driver who is performing the danger avoidance operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the embodiment, Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of forward recognition operation in the vehicle control section, and Fig. 4 is an example of the operation of the failure diagnosis section. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a visual sensor, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the basic operation of the embodiment. 10... Driving condition monitoring unit 12... Visual sensor 24... Vehicle control unit 26,... Throttle control unit 28... Brake control unit 30... Warning generation circuit 32... Seat belt control Leg portion 34 ... Stop lamp control section 36 ... Safety control section 40 ... Forward recognition section Travel route calculation section Collider a> section Drive control section Failure diagnosis section

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A driving condition monitoring unit that recognizes the driving state of the own vehicle and the situation in front of the vehicle, including detecting obstacles ahead, and a driving condition monitoring unit that recognizes the driving state of the own vehicle and the situation in front of the vehicle in the direction of travel, including detecting obstacles in front of the vehicle; a vehicle control section including a plurality of types of vehicle running control means for controlling vehicle running conditions, and an occupant protection means for controlling the operation of a device for protecting occupants in the event of a collision; Based on situation recognition signals, multiple dangerous areas with a high possibility of collision are set in stages according to the degree of possibility, and when the own vehicle enters a dangerous area at each stage, the system responds to each dangerous area. and a safety control section that sends a drive signal to a vehicle running control means or an occupant protection means of the vehicle control section, which is set to the vehicle control section, and performs vehicle safety control in a multi-stage manner. .