JPH06255514A - Steering controller for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the unexpected of entry a vehicle into another running lane due to driver's doze and carelessness concerning a steering controller for a vehicle. CONSTITUTION:A steering controller for vehicle is provided with a steering actuator, a control means 8, a white line recognition means 2 which recognizes a white line on a road, and a potential energy setting means 3B which sets stable running potential energy. The potential energy setting means 3B sets stable running potential energy to a low value within a running lane in the inside of the white line and to a high value as a vehicle approaches the white line in the vicinity of the white line. Further, the control means 8 outputs a control signal to the steering actuator so that a driver steers the vehicle 1 toward a side where stable running potential energy is reduced if stable running potential energy increases.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle steering control device suitable for use in an automobile, and more particularly to a vehicle steering system capable of recognizing a white line on a road to prevent the vehicle from departing from a traveling lane. Steering control device for vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a steering mechanism provided with a power steering device has been in widespread use for assisting a force for operating a steering wheel (hereinafter referred to as steering force).
With such a power steering device, even a vehicle requiring a large steering force, such as a large-sized vehicle or a vehicle using wide tires for the steered wheels, can perform steering with a small steering force, and the so-called steering wheel is heavy. Is eliminated.

Further, in such a steering mechanism, the steering assist amount is increased so that the steering wheel (steering wheel) can be lightly operated at low speeds, for example, according to the vehicle speed, and the steering wheel becomes higher at higher speeds at medium and high speeds. A vehicle speed sensitive power steering device has been developed in which the steering assist amount is reduced so that

Among such steering mechanisms, it has been proposed to provide various sensors on a vehicle and positively change the assist amount of hydraulic pressure to automatically perform steering to reduce the driving load on the driver. However, under the present circumstances, it is very difficult to correctly grasp the running condition of the automobile and the traffic conditions around the automobile and to accurately control the steering mechanism. Also,
In recent years, a four-wheel steering mechanism that simultaneously steers front wheels and rear wheels has also been developed, and in many cases it is mounted on a vehicle together with the above-described power steering device.

In such a four-wheel steering mechanism, the rear wheels are normally steered to the opposite phase (reverse phase) to the front wheels at low speed to improve maneuverability and small turning performance at medium and low speeds, and at the same time at high speeds. By steering the rear wheels in phase (in-phase), high-speed stability is improved.

[0006]

By the way, if the driver does not notice the accumulation of his / her own fatigue or is suddenly drowsiness, the vehicle may stagger or run,
It may be possible to cross the white line on the road and move to the next driving lane. In such a case, if the departure of the vehicle from the traveling lane can be recognized and the vehicle can be returned to the original traveling lane or the return can be prompted, the vehicle can be driven more safely.

The present invention was devised from such a point of view, and it is possible to prevent the vehicle from inadvertently moving to another driving lane due to the driver's drowsiness, carelessness, or the like. An object is to provide a control device.

[0008]

Therefore, a vehicle steering control device according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a steering actuator for steering the steered wheels of the vehicle and a control means for controlling the operation of the steering actuator. And a road white line recognition means for recognizing a white line of a road on which the vehicle is traveling,
And a potential energy setting means for setting stable running potential energy based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognition means, wherein the potential energy setting means sets stable running potential energy in a running lane inside the white line. It is configured to be set low, and in the vicinity of the white line, the stable running potential energy is set to be higher as it approaches the white line, and when the control means increases the stable running potential energy set by the potential energy setting means, It is characterized in that a control signal is outputted to the steering actuator in order to steer the vehicle to the side where the stable traveling potential energy becomes low.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of the first aspect, the vehicle steering control device is provided with a four-wheel steering mechanism capable of steering the front wheels and the rear wheels. The steering actuator is provided to steer the rear wheels of the four-wheel steering mechanism. Also,
A vehicle steering control device according to a third aspect of the present invention is a power steering mechanism for assisting a steering force of a vehicle, the assist amount variable power steering mechanism including an assist amount adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting an assist amount, Control means for controlling the state of the assist amount adjusting mechanism, road white line recognition means for recognizing the white line of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and stable running potential energy set based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognition means The potential energy setting means sets the stable running potential energy low in the running lane inside the white line, and sets the stable running potential energy high near the white line as it approaches the white line. And the control means controls the potential energy setting. Reducing the assist amount to the side where the stable running potential energy which is set in stepped increases,
It is characterized in that the assist amount adjusting mechanism is controlled so as to increase the assist amount to the side where the stable running potential energy becomes low.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control means according to the first or third aspect of the present invention, based on the operation information of the turn indicator mounted on the vehicle, when the turn indicator is in operation, Even if the vehicle approaches the side where the stable traveling potential energy is high, it is desirable that the steering control is not performed according to the approach.

[0011]

In the vehicle steering control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the road white line recognition means provided to the vehicle recognizes the white line of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the road white line recognition means recognizes the white line. The stable running potential energy is set by the potential energy setting means based on the white line information.

In this potential energy setting means,
The stable running potential energy is set low in the running lane between the white lines, and the stable running potential energy is set high near the white line as the white line approaches. Further, the steered wheels of the vehicle are steered by the steering actuator, and the operation of the steering actuator is controlled by the control means.

When the control means raises the stable traveling potential energy set by the potential energy setting means, a control signal is output to the steering actuator in order to steer the vehicle so that the stable traveling potential energy becomes low. To be done. In the vehicle steering control device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the vehicle is provided with a four-wheel steering mechanism, and the rear wheels are steered by the steering actuator.

In the vehicle steering control device according to the present invention, the road white line recognition means provided in the vehicle recognizes the white line of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and the road white line recognition means recognizes the white line. The stable running potential energy is set by the potential energy setting means based on the white line information. In the potential energy setting means, the stable running potential energy is set low in the running lane between the white lines, and the stable running potential energy is set high near the white line as the white line approaches.

Further, this vehicle is provided with a power steering mechanism for assisting the steering force, and the steered wheels are steered by the power steering mechanism. The assist amount of the power steering mechanism is adjusted by the assist amount adjusting mechanism. Further, the assist amount adjusting mechanism is controlled by the control means, and the assist amount is determined by this.

Then, the control means controls the assist amount adjusting mechanism so as to decrease the assist amount for steering to the side where the stable running potential energy set by the potential energy setting means becomes high, and the stable running potential is set. The assist amount adjusting mechanism is controlled so as to increase the amount of steering assist to the side where the energy becomes low.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the control means is configured, the vehicle is placed on the side where the stable running potential energy is high when the direction indicator is operating based on the operation information of the direction indicator mounted on the vehicle. Even if the vehicle approaches, steering control corresponding to this is not performed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vehicle steering control apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the overall structure thereof, and FIG. 2 shows its potential energy setting means. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an image of the potential energy to be set, FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view for explaining its action, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a four-wheel steering mechanism provided in the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 of an automobile is provided with a road white line recognition means 2 for recognizing a white line 5 on the road. The road white line recognition means 2 images the road surface condition of the road. It is composed of a camera 2A and a road white line recognition processing means 3A for processing the image from the camera 2A to recognize the white line 5 on the road. The road white line recognition processing means 3A is provided in the image processing unit 3 mounted on the vehicle 1, and the image information captured by the camera 2A is processed as follows, for example. .

In other words, the image information from the camera 2A is sent to the road white line recognition processing means 3A, and the road white line 5 dividing the traveling lane 4 on the road is recognized by the road white line recognition processing means 3A. ing. The road white line recognition processing means 3A is configured using a known technique as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-90379.

That is, the image data of the traveling road captured by the camera 1 is converted into digital data by the A / D (analog / digital) converter and temporarily stored in the image memory. The image data read from the image memory is input to a pre-processing unit, where edge detection by differentiation, threshold processing by a look-up table (LUT), area setting, coordinate conversion, etc. are performed. In addition, the DDA operation unit uses so-called digital differential analysis.
Initial Analysis) was carried out, and Houg
The h conversion is done in a pipeline fashion. And this H
A straight line group corresponding to the features of the image is obtained by the ough transformation.

The data relating to the straight line group obtained by the Hough transform is subjected to, for example, a filtering process, and then a representative value is selected by the clustering process, and this is sent to the straight line extraction / selection unit. Then, the data relating to the extracted and selected straight line is sent to the discriminating unit to discriminate the shape of the traveling road including the white line 5. Also,
The image processing unit 3 is provided with potential energy setting means 3B together with road white line recognition processing means 3A.

This potential energy setting means 3B
Is for obtaining stable running potential energy of the running vehicle based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognition processing means 3A. The stable running potential energy is a standard indicating whether or not the vehicle 1 is running in the running lane 4, and the lower this energy is, the more the vehicle is running on the center side in the running lane 4.

Then, the potential energy setting means 3
In B, the stable running potential energy distribution is as shown in FIG. 2, for example. That is, the energy is set low inside the traveling lane 4, and the energy is set high outside the white lines 5 on both sides of the traveling lane 4. Then, the potential energy of the running vehicle 1 can be calculated by associating the position of the vehicle 1 on the road surface with this potential energy distribution. The calculation of this potential energy is performed at an appropriate cycle.

The value of this potential energy is evaluated with reference to, for example, the center of the vehicle 1 on the left and right, and is set so that the potential energy becomes maximum when the vehicle crosses the white line 5. . Then, when the vehicle [part (for example, one wheel)] 1 enters the road surface region where the stable running potential energy is high, energy is given to the side where the potential energy becomes lower.

By the way, the vehicle 1 is provided with a four-wheel steering mechanism (or 4WS) 9 as shown in FIG. The four-wheel steering mechanism 9 is a steering mechanism capable of steering not only the front wheel 6 side but also the rear wheel 7 side. For example, when traveling at high speed, the rear wheel 7 is in the same phase side as the front wheel 6 (in the same direction as the front wheel 6 side). ) To improve high-speed stability, and when traveling at low speed, the rear wheels 7 are steered to the opposite phase side of the front wheels 6 (side opposite to the front wheels 6) to obtain light vehicle characteristics. It is a steering mechanism that can.

In the four-wheel steering mechanism 9, the front wheels 6
Is steered in accordance with the steering input angle from the steering wheel 10. For steering the rear wheel 7, the steering angle is determined using parameters such as vehicle speed and lateral acceleration in addition to this. It is supposed to be done. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear wheel side oil pump 16 is provided in the four-wheel steering mechanism 9, and the hydraulic oil driven by the oil pump 16 is supplied to the steering actuator 17 via the control valve 18. It is being supplied.

The steering actuator 17 is connected to the rear wheel 7, and the rear wheel 7 is steered by supplying hydraulic oil of a required hydraulic pressure to the steering actuator 17. Also, control valve 1
Reference numeral 8 is a solenoid valve, for example, and is driven by a control means 8 described later, whereby the operation of the steering actuator 17 is controlled.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 14 indicates a power steering mechanism. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the control means 8 is connected to the image processing section 3 and controls the steering actuator 17 of the vehicle 1 based on the information from the image processing section 3. . As a result, the steering of the rear wheels 7 is controlled.

The control contents of the control means 8 will be described in detail. In the control means 8, a part of the vehicle 1 [(eg, one wheel side)] approaches the white line 5 and a part of the vehicle 1 [(eg, When the stable running potential energy of (one wheel side) is increased, a control signal is transmitted to the control valve 18 so as to return to the direction in which the stable running potential energy is reduced, that is, the central side of the running lane 4. There is. As a result, the control valve 18 is driven, hydraulic oil is supplied to the steering actuator 17, and the rear wheels 7 are steered.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5 on the right side, the potential energy increases accordingly. A control signal is output to the control valve 18 to steer the rear wheel 7 to the right so that the vehicle travels in the center of the smaller traveling lane 4.

As a result, hydraulic oil having a predetermined hydraulic pressure is supplied to the steering actuator 17, and the rear wheels 7 are steered to the right. As a result, the vehicle 1 is steered to the left and stably travels on the center side of the travel lane 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5 from the left side, the potential energy also increases in this case. A control signal is output to the control valve 18 so as to return to a smaller side, that is, to steer the rear wheel 7 to the left. As a result, the control valve 18 is driven, hydraulic oil having a predetermined hydraulic pressure is supplied to the steering actuator 17, and the rear wheels 7 are steered to the left. This allows
The vehicle 1 is steered to the right and travels on the center side of the travel lane 4.

Therefore, the vehicle 1 can stably drive in the traveling lane 4 without departing from the traveling lane 4, it is possible to prevent the driver 1 from falling asleep and the vehicle 1 from wobbling due to carelessness. It is possible to prevent accidental movement to another driving lane. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the control means 8 is connected to a switch indicating the operation state of the turn signal (winker) of the vehicle 1, that is, a winker switch (not shown), so that the driver turns the winker on. When actuated, the steering of the rear wheels according to the above-mentioned potential energy is stopped.

As a result, when the driver actuates the blinker to intentionally change the course of the vehicle 1,
Since the rear wheel 7 acts as a normal 4WS, stable vehicle characteristics can be obtained. Since the vehicle steering control device as the first embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above, it operates as follows.

First, the camera 2A attached to the vehicle 1
When the state of the road is picked up by, the image information is sent to the road white line recognition processing means 3A of the image processing unit 3. Then, the road white line recognition processing means 3A recognizes the road white line 5 on the road. Further, the potential energy setting means 3B in the image processing section 3 is based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognition processing means 3A.
The stable running potential energy is set as shown in FIG. 2, for example. That is, the potential energy inside the traveling lane 4 is low, the potential energy gradually increases in the portions near the white line 5 on both sides of the traveling lane 4, and the potential energy outside the white line 5 is set to be high.

Then, the potential energy of the vehicle 1 is changed in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 by making the position of the traveling vehicle correspond to the distribution of the potential energy on the road surface set at every constant period during traveling. It is calculated based on the center. Further, in the control means 8, when the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5 and the stable traveling potential energy becomes high based on the information from the image processing unit 3, the steering actuator 1 is arranged to reduce the stable traveling potential energy.
The control valve 18 of No. 7 is controlled. This allows
Predetermined hydraulic oil is supplied to the steering actuator 17 on the rear wheel 7 side to steer the rear wheel 7.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), when the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5 from the right side, the potential energy of the vehicle 1 is determined by the potential energy setting means 3B according to the potential energy distribution shown in FIG. To rise. Then, the control means 8 outputs a control signal to the control valve 18 so as to drive the vehicle 1 on the center side of the traveling lane 4 where the stable traveling potential energy is low in order to reduce the potential energy value of the vehicle 1. It

The control valve 18 is driven in accordance with a control signal to supply hydraulic oil of a predetermined hydraulic pressure to the steering actuator 17 and the rear wheel 7
Turns to the right. As a result, the vehicle 1 is steered to the left and stably travels on the center side of the travel lane 4. In this case, in FIG. 4, the control valve 18 is driven to the left side, and the oil chamber 1 on the left side of the steering actuator 17 is driven.
Supply hydraulic oil to 5A. As a result, the piston in the steering actuator 17 is driven to the right, and the rear wheels 7 are steered to the right.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), when the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5 from the left side, the operation in the opposite direction to the above is performed. That is, the control means 8 outputs a control signal to the control valve 18 to steer the rear wheel 7 to the left. Then, hydraulic oil having a predetermined hydraulic pressure is supplied to the steering actuator 17, and the rear wheels 7 are steered to the left. As a result, the vehicle 1 is steered to the right and travels on the center side of the travel lane 4.

Therefore, the vehicle 1 can stably travel in the traveling lane 4, and it is possible to prevent the driver 1 from drowsiness and the vehicle 1 from wobbling due to carelessness. Further, since the control means 8 does not operate when the driver operates the winker, when the driver intentionally changes the course of the vehicle 1 by operating the winker, the rear wheels 7 are set to the normal 4WS. To work. Therefore, stable vehicle characteristics can be obtained.

The drive mechanism for the rear wheels 7 in this embodiment is not limited to the above-described hydraulic four-wheel steering mechanism 9, but may be any mechanism capable of controlling the steering of the rear wheels 7. It can be widely applied. Next, the second aspect of the present invention
Explaining a vehicle steering control device as an embodiment, FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram of a schematic power steering mechanism for explaining its operation, and FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing a main part of the power steering mechanism. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the reaction force generating means, which is A- in FIG.
FIG.

The device of the second embodiment is configured to control the steering force characteristic of the steering instead of the rear wheel steering of the first embodiment. Therefore, the road white line recognition means 2 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here. By the way, the vehicle 1 includes a power steering mechanism 14 for assisting the steering force.
Is provided so that the steering force of the driver can be reduced.

FIG. 6 shows the power steering mechanism 14
It is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the power steering mechanism 14
Is configured as a hydraulic power steering mechanism that assists the steering force with hydraulic pressure. By supplying hydraulic oil of a predetermined hydraulic pressure to the power steering mechanism 14, the steering force of the driver can be reduced.
Further, the power steering mechanism 14 is provided with an assist amount adjusting mechanism (not shown), and the assist amount can be adjusted by controlling the supply amount of hydraulic oil according to the vehicle speed or the like. ing. This allows
The power steering mechanism 14 is configured as a power steering mechanism with variable assist amount.

Explaining the structure of the power steering mechanism 14, the vehicle 1 is provided with an oil pump 23, and the oil pump 23 sucks up hydraulic oil from the reservoir tank 11. The hydraulic oil discharged from the oil pump 23 is supplied to the hydraulic cylinder 19 of the power steering mechanism 14 via the oil passage.

The hydraulic cylinder 19 is connected to the front wheels 6, and by supplying hydraulic oil to the hydraulic chamber 15 of the hydraulic cylinder 19, the front wheels 6 are steered while the steering force is reduced. Further, the power steering mechanism 14 is provided with a reaction force generating means 30 as an assist amount adjusting mechanism as a part of the above-mentioned assist amount adjusting mechanism. The steering reaction force can be applied to 10 to increase the steering force. That is, the steering assist amount is adjusted through the reaction force generating means 30.

The reaction force generating means 30 is constructed by using a reaction force plunger 40 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. This reaction force plunger 40 includes four plungers 41.
Chamber chamber 4 on the back of each plunger 41
The force for pressing the input shaft (steering shaft) 21 changes according to the hydraulic pressure acting on 2. That is, when the hydraulic pressure in the chamber 42 is increased, the pressing force on the input shaft 21 is increased and the steering force (feeling) is increased.

The reaction force plunger 40 is operated by using the hydraulic oil of the power steering mechanism 14, and the supply amount of this hydraulic oil is controlled by the control means 8. . When the control signal from the control means 8 is issued, the hydraulic control valve 8A is driven in accordance with this control signal, whereby the supply amount of hydraulic oil is controlled and the magnitude of the steering reaction force is controlled. It is supposed to be adjusted. The magnitude of the steering reaction force is adjusted by controlling the.

With such a power steering mechanism 14, the steering force can be steered with a small force by the assist force from the power steering mechanism 14 at low speed and medium speed, and at the time of high speed, the steering force is changed by the reaction force plunger 40. It is possible to give a feeling of response and give a calm steering feeling. Further, the vehicle 1 has a control means 8 for controlling the operation of the power steering mechanism 14.
Is provided. The control means 8 is connected to the image processing section 3 and controls the hydraulic cylinder 19 and the reaction force generating means 30 of the vehicle 1 based on the information from the image processing section 3 as in the first embodiment. It has become.

The control means 8 controls the power steering mechanism 14 with the characteristics shown in FIG. This power steering mechanism 14
2 is set so as to correspond to the stable running potential energy distribution shown in FIG. 2. For example, when the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5 and the potential energy of the vehicle 1 rises, the vehicle 1 travels accordingly. The steering operation force is assisted only in the steering operation direction that returns to the center side of the lane 4.

Further, at this time, in the steering direction such that the vehicle 1 approaches the white line 5, the control means 8 causes the reaction force generating means 3 to operate.
It is set so that 0 acts and the steering force becomes heavy.
Note that, in FIG. 5, the line a shows the characteristic of the steering assist force of the power steering mechanism 14 as described above, and when the vehicle 1 is steered to the side where the stable running potential energy becomes higher (that is, the vehicle 1 is the white line The steering assist force is gradually reduced when the steering wheel approaches 5). Further, when the vehicle 1 is steered to the side where the stable traveling potential energy becomes low (that is, when the vehicle 1 is steered to return to the center side of the traveling lane 4).
On the contrary to this, the steering assist force gradually recovers.

Thus, for example, when the vehicle 1 approaches the road white line 5 from the right side of the vehicle 1, the control means 8 causes
The hydraulic cylinder 19 is adapted to generate an assisting force that reduces the steering force to the left. Further, in the control means 8, when the vehicle is steered to the side where the stable traveling potential energy becomes higher (in this case, when steered to the right).
The reaction force generating means 30 is operated only on the steering wheel to generate a reaction force on the steering force.

Therefore, it becomes difficult to steer the vehicle 1 in the direction of the white line 5, and the vehicle easily travels in the center of the traveling lane 4. As a result, the stable running potential energy is reduced. The control means 8 is connected to a winker switch (not shown) of the vehicle 1 as in the first embodiment, and when the driver operates the winker, the control means 8 does not work.

As a result, when the driver intentionally changes the course of the vehicle 1 by operating the turn signal,
Since the power steering mechanism 14 operates as a normal power steering mechanism, it can be steered with a small force by the assist force from the power steering mechanism 14 at low speed and medium speed, and at the high speed, the reaction force plunger 40.
By the action of, the steering force is given a feeling of response, and a comfortable steering feeling can be obtained.

Since the vehicle steering control system according to the second embodiment of the present invention is constructed as described above, it operates as follows. First, as in the first embodiment, when the state of the road is imaged by the camera 2A attached to the vehicle 1, the road white line recognition processing means 3A of the image processing unit 3 recognizes the road white line 5 on the road. It

In the potential energy setting means 3B in the image processing section 3, the road white line recognition processing means 3 described above is used.
Based on the white line information recognized by A, the stable running potential energy is set at regular intervals as shown in FIG. 2, for example. That is, the energy is set low inside the traveling lane 4, and the energy outside the white lines 5 on both sides of the traveling lane 4 is set high.

When the vehicle 1 is steered to the side where the stable traveling potential energy becomes low (for example, the center side of the traveling lane 4), the steering force is reduced according to the magnitude of the potential energy of the vehicle 1. The control signal is transmitted to the assist amount adjusting mechanism by the control means 8. Further, the control means 8 also controls the reaction force generation means 30 so as not to generate a reaction force.

By controlling the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 19 and the reaction force generating means 30 as described above, the steering force when the vehicle 1 is steered to the center of the traveling lane 4 is reduced, and the vehicle travels. It becomes easier to return to the center of lane 4.
Further, at this time, when the vehicle 1 is steered to the side where the stable traveling potential energy becomes higher (the road white line 5 side), the control means 8 controls the assist amount adjusting mechanism so as not to assist the steering.

The reaction force generating means 30 is also controlled by the control means 8 so as to generate a reaction force, and the magnitude of this reaction force is also controlled according to the magnitude of the stable running potential energy of the vehicle. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is steered to the side of the white line 5, the steering force becomes heavy, and the driver can feel resistance to the steering, thereby suppressing the deviation of the vehicle 1 to the outside of the traveling lane 4. .

As described above, by recognizing the white line 5 on the road and setting the stable traveling potential energy in the traveling lane 4, the vehicle 1 can be stably driven on the center side of the traveling lane 4, As in the case of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the driver 1 from drowsiness and the instability of the vehicle 1 from deviating from the traveling lane 4. Further, since the control means 8 does not operate when the driver operates the turn signal, when the driver operates the turn signal and intentionally changes the course of the vehicle 1, the power steering mechanism 14 normally assists. Acts as a variable power steering mechanism.

Therefore, normally, steering can be performed with a small force by the assist force from the power steering mechanism 14 at low and medium speeds, and the reaction force plunger 40 at high speeds.
By the action of, the steering force can be given a feeling of response, and a comfortable steering feeling can be obtained. In this example,
Although the power steering mechanism 14 is configured by using the reaction force generating means 30, an actuator that positively controls the assist amount may be used instead of the reaction force generating means 30.

[0061]

As described in detail above, according to the vehicle steering control apparatus of the present invention, the steering actuator for steering the steered wheels of the vehicle and the control means for controlling the operation of the steering actuator are provided. And a road white line recognizing means for recognizing a white line of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and a potential energy setting means for setting a stable running potential energy based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognizing means. The potential energy setting means is configured to set the stable running potential energy low inside the running lane inside the white line and set the stable running potential energy high near the white line as the white line approaches. The control means controls the stable running potential energy set by the potential energy setting means. When the rugi becomes high, the control signal is output to the steering actuator in order to steer the vehicle to the side where the stable running potential energy becomes low. It is possible to prevent deviation from the driving lane.

According to the vehicle steering control apparatus of the present invention, the vehicle is provided with a four-wheel steering mechanism capable of steering the front wheels and the rear wheels, and the steering actuator is provided with the four-wheel steering mechanism. Due to the configuration provided to steer the rear wheels, the present device can be realized relatively easily and at low cost. According to the vehicle steering control device of the third aspect of the present invention, the assist amount variable power steering system includes a power steering mechanism for assisting the steering force of the vehicle, the assist amount adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting the assist amount. Mechanism, control means for controlling the state of the assist amount adjusting mechanism, road white line recognition means for recognizing the white line of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and stable running based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognition means. Potential energy setting means for setting potential energy, the potential energy setting means setting a low stable traveling potential energy in a traveling lane inside the white line, and a stable traveling potential in the vicinity of the white line as the white line approaches. The control means is configured to set the energy high and The assist amount adjusting mechanism is controlled so as to decrease the assist amount set by the energy setting means to the side where the stable running potential energy becomes high and increase the assist amount to the side where the stable running potential energy becomes low. With such a structure, it is possible to prevent the driver's drowsiness, the instability of the vehicle due to carelessness, and the deviation from the traveling lane.

Further, according to the vehicle steering control device of the present invention as defined in claim 4, when the control means operates based on the operation information of the direction indicator mounted on the vehicle, when the direction indicator is operated. With a structure in which the steering control is not performed even when the vehicle approaches the side where the stable traveling potential energy is high, the driver intentionally operates the turn signal to intentionally advance the course of the vehicle. When changing the route, the course can be changed according to the driver's intention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a vehicle steering control device as a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an image of potential energy in the vehicle steering control device as the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the vehicle steering control device as the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a four-wheel steering mechanism provided in the vehicle in the vehicle steering control apparatus as the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram of a schematic power steering mechanism for explaining the operation of the vehicle steering control system according to the second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of a power steering mechanism in a vehicle steering control system as a second embodiment of the invention.

7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a reaction force generating means in a vehicle steering control system as a second embodiment of the invention and is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vehicle 2 Road white line recognition means 2A Camera 3 Image processing unit 3A Road white line recognition processing means 3B Potential energy setting means 4 Driving lane 5 Road white line 6 Front wheels 7 Rear wheels 8 Control means 8A Hydraulic control valve 9 Four wheel steering mechanism 10 Handle 11 Reservoir tank 14 Power steering mechanism 15, 15A, 15B Hydraulic chamber 16 Rear wheel oil pump 17 Steering actuator 18 Control valve 19 Hydraulic cylinder 21 Steering shaft 23 Oil pump 30 Reaction force generating means 40 Reaction force plunger 41 Plunger 42 Chamber chamber

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical indication location B62D 113: 00 137: 00 (72) Inventor Yoshinori Yoshiki 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A road white line recognition means for recognizing a white line of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, the steering actuator including a steering actuator for steering a steered wheel of a vehicle, and a control means for controlling an operation of the steering actuator. And a potential energy setting means for setting stable running potential energy based on the white line information recognized by the white line recognition means, wherein the potential energy setting means sets a low stable running potential energy in the running lane inside the white line. However, in the vicinity of the white line, the stable traveling potential energy is configured to be set higher as it approaches the white line, and the control means increases the stable traveling potential energy set by the potential energy setting means.
A vehicle steering control device configured to output a control signal to the steering actuator in order to steer the vehicle to the side where the stable traveling potential energy becomes low. 2. The vehicle is provided with a four-wheel steering mechanism capable of steering the rear wheels together with the front wheels, and the steering actuator is provided for steering the rear wheels of the four-wheel steering mechanism. The vehicle steering control device according to claim 1. 3. A power steering mechanism for assisting a steering force of a vehicle, the assist amount variable power steering mechanism including an assist amount adjusting mechanism capable of adjusting an assist amount, and control for controlling a state of the assist amount adjusting mechanism. Means, a road white line recognition means for recognizing a white line of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and a potential energy setting means for setting a stable running potential energy based on the white line information recognized by the road white line recognition means, The potential energy setting means is configured to set the stable running potential energy to be low in the running lane inside the white line, and to set the stable running potential energy to be high near the white line as the white line is approached. , The stable running potatoes set by the potential energy setting means Reducing the assist amount to the side where the interstitial energy is high, to increase the assist amount to the side where the stable running potential energy is lowered,
A vehicle steering control device, which is configured to control the assist amount adjusting mechanism. 4. The control means, on the basis of the operation information of a turn indicator equipped in the vehicle, when the turn indicator is in operation, even when the vehicle approaches the high stable running potential energy side, The vehicle steering control device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the steering control according to this is not performed.