JPH07137589A - Vehicle running control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give an easy feeling to a driver by issuing an alarm a little earlier so as to recover the ability of the driver, in the controlling condition of the automatic operation in the which ambiance recognizing ability and the driving ability of the driver is reduced, and giving an instruction of the optimum operation to a driver having an unstable mental state. CONSTITUTION:An automatic operation means M1 controls the automatic operation of a vehicle. A propriety discriminating means M2 discriminates the propriety of the automatic operation from the running ambiance of the vehicle. A releasing means M3 releases the automatic operation when it is decided the automatic operation is not adequate by the above discrimination. An alarm means M4 issues an alarm when the relative distance to an object in front of the vehicle in the running direction is less than a specific value. A converting means M5 increases a specific value of the alarm means at least for a specific time, when the automatic operation is discriminated to be not adequate by the propriety discriminating means in the controlling condition of the automatic operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle traveling control device, and more particularly to a vehicle traveling control device for controlling automatic driving of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a vehicle traveling control device for detecting a relative distance and a relative speed with respect to a preceding vehicle in a radar device and controlling the following distance by keeping the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle at a safe inter-vehicle distance.

[0003] For example, the vehicle running control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-16137 cancels follow-up running under adverse weather conditions such as rain, fog, snow and the like, which deteriorate the detection performance of the radar device. To improve safety.

[0004]

In the conventional device, when the weather condition of the bad environment is suddenly detected during follow-up running, the follow-up running is canceled, and the driver suddenly concentrates his / her nerve on the driving from the moment of canceling the follow-up running. However, there is a problem in that the driver's mental state becomes unstable due to sudden changes in the situation, and the driver's environmental cognitive ability and driving ability deteriorate.

It is also conceivable to notify the driver of the fact that the follow-up running will be canceled before a predetermined time before canceling the follow-up running. However, immediately after the cancellation notification, the weather conditions improve and the follow-up running follows. If it is suitable, the cancellation notification is unnecessary, and there is a problem that the driver is annoyed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
By increasing the relative distance to start the alarm when automatic driving is denied, the driver's environmental recognition ability and driving ability become low.
Restoring the above-mentioned ability and instructing a driver with a mental state instability by giving a driver an optimal operation instruction by instructing a driver operation suitable for the driving environment when automatic driving is disabled It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle travel control device that can do the above.

[0007]

FIG. 1 shows the principle of the present invention.

In the figure, automatic driving means M1 controls the vehicle to run automatically.

The suitability judging means M2 judges suitability of automatic driving from the traveling environment of the vehicle.

The canceling means M3 cancels the control of the automatic driving when it is determined that the automatic driving is denied.

The warning means M4 gives a warning when the relative distance to an object ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction is a predetermined value or less.

The changing means M5 increases the predetermined value of the warning means for at least a predetermined time when the appropriateness determining means determines that the automatic driving is not performed during the control of the automatic driving.

Further, the driving instructing means M6 instructs the driver to perform a driving operation suitable for the traveling environment when the suitability judging means judges that the automatic driving is not performed during the control of the automatic driving.

[0014]

In the present invention, in order to increase the relative distance at which an alarm is started when automatic driving is denied, an early warning is given during automatic driving control in which the driver's environmental recognition ability and driving ability become low. Restores the above abilities.

Further, when the automatic driving is disabled, a driving operation suitable for the traveling environment is instructed, so that it is possible to reassure the driver by giving an optimal operation instruction to the driver whose mental condition is unstable.

[0016]

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the device of the present invention. In the figure, a distance measuring sensor 10 is, for example, a radar device, and measures an inter-vehicle distance, a relative speed and a relative acceleration between a preceding vehicle and an own vehicle, and an automatic cruise electronic control circuit (ECU) 1
Supply to 1. The vehicle sensor 12 measures vehicle momentum such as vehicle speed, longitudinal acceleration, and yaw rate of the vehicle and supplies it to the auto cruise ECU 11.

Further, the manual operation sensor 14 detects each of the accelerator opening, the brake pedal force, the steering angle, and the gear shift position by a manual operation such as accelerator, brake and steering by the driver to detect the auto cruise ECU 11 and the human machine interface ( HMI) 15. The auto-cruise operation switch 16 is a system switch for instructing start and end of auto-cruise control, a vehicle speed setting switch for setting a target vehicle speed, and a vehicle-interval setting switch for setting a target inter-vehicle distance. Supply.

The automatic cruise ECU 11 is roughly divided into a risk degree calculation block 11a, a target vehicle speed calculation block 11b, and a throttle / brake calculation block 11c. The risk calculation block 11a calculates the risk based on whether or not the vehicle is in the automatic cruise control state, the relative speed, etc., and generates an alarm signal according to the result of comparison between the risk and the inter-vehicle distance.
Supply to I15. The target vehicle speed calculation block 11b calculates the target vehicle speed of the own vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance, the relative speed, the vehicle speed, the steering angle, the shift position and the like. The throttle / brake calculation block 11c generates a throttle actuator 17 and a brake for driving the throttle valve by generating control signals for each of the throttle and the brake based on the target vehicle speed, accelerator opening, brake pedal force, vehicle speed setting switch, inter-vehicle distance setting switch, etc. The brake actuators 18 to be driven are supplied respectively.

The HMI 15 is an alarm device for generating an alarm sound,
It is composed of a head-up display (HUD), and contents of manual operation and auto-cruise control are displayed on the head-up display.

Here, the response delay time of the driver when the automatic cruise system is automatically stopped during the automatic cruise control is 0.6 sec to 2.4 sec as shown by the bar of the plain land in the histogram of FIG. On the other hand, the response delay time of the driver during the manual operation is 0.3 sec to 1.3 sec, as shown by the hatched bar in the histogram of Fig. 3, which is about 0.7 sec faster than the automatic cruise automatic stop.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the control processing executed by the auto cruise ECU. This process is executed every predetermined time. In the figure, in step S10, the detection data of each of the distance measuring sensor 10, the vehicle sensor 12, and the manual operation sensor 14 is read, and in step S20, the data of the cruise operation switch 16 is read.

Next, it is determined whether or not the automatic cruise control is being executed. If the automatic cruise control is being executed, the process proceeds to step S40. In step S40, the degree of risk is calculated by the equation (1).

Risk level = ΔV × τauto + ΔV ² / (K1 + K2 × ΔV) (1) where ΔV is the relative speed obtained by the distance measuring sensor 10, and τauto is the response delay time during auto-cruise, and is shown in FIG. Based on this, for example, 1.5 sec, K1 and K2 are constants. The first term on the right side of the equation (1) represents the idling distance due to the response delay, and the second term represents the braking distance.

Next, in step S50, it is determined whether or not the inter-vehicle distance obtained by the distance measuring sensor 10 exceeds the risk degree obtained in step S40. If the inter-vehicle distance exceeds the degree of danger, there is no danger, so the process proceeds to step S60 to continue the automatic cruise control, where the automatic cruise control amount (throttle control amount and brake control amount) is calculated and processed. finish. If the inter-vehicle distance becomes less than or equal to the degree of danger in step S50, it means that the vehicle is in a dangerous state, so the process proceeds to step S70, where the HMI 15 is instructed to generate an alarm sound, and then the automatic cruise control is stopped in step S80. That is, the process is ended by switching to the manual operation.

On the other hand, if the automatic cruise control is not being executed in step S30, that is, if the manual operation is being executed, the process proceeds to step S100, and the degree of danger is calculated by the equation (2).

Risk level = ΔV × τmanu + ΔV ² / (K1 + K2 × ΔV) (2) However, τmanu is a response delay time at the time of manual operation, and is 0.7 sec based on FIG. 3, for example.

This equation (2) itself is τau in the equation (1).
I just changed to to τmanu.

Next, in step S110, the distance measuring sensor 10
It is determined whether or not the inter-vehicle distance obtained in step S100 exceeds the risk degree obtained in step S100. If the inter-vehicle distance exceeds the degree of danger, there is no danger, and the processing ends. Further, when the inter-vehicle distance becomes equal to or less than the danger level in step S110, it means that the vehicle is in a dangerous state. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S120, the HMI 15 is instructed to generate an alarm sound, and the process ends.

In this way, the danger level as the relative distance at which the alarm is started is made different depending on whether the automatic cruise control or the manual operation is performed, and the danger level at the auto cruise control is set to be large. During automatic cruise control, which reduces driving ability, an alarm is issued earlier than during manual operation, the driver's environmental awareness and driving ability are restored, and emergency response is accelerated.

By the way, the head up of the HMI 15
The display shows the manual operation on the upper stage and the automatic cruise control on the lower stage in two minutes. At the time of manual operation, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), a brake display 21 and an accelerator display 22 are displayed in the upper part of the head-up display display screen 20 according to the manual operation. During auto cruise control, as shown in FIG.
A deceleration display 23, a constant speed display 24, or an acceleration display 25 is displayed at the bottom of the display screen 20 according to the current auto cruise control, and when the alarm is issued in step S70, the display screen shown in FIG. Brake display is blinked in the upper part of 20 to guide the driver to operate the brake.

As described above, since the contents of the manual operation and the automatic cruise control are displayed on the head-up display, the movement of the driver's line of sight can be reduced,
The emergency response can be taken immediately. Also,
Since the contents of the auto cruise control can be known from the display on the head-up display, it is possible to know in advance the possibility that abnormal auto cruise control will be performed, and it is possible to make an early decision to avoid operation or cancel auto cruise control.

In the above embodiment, the automatic cruise system has been described, but it may be applied to a lateral control system for performing steering control or an automatic driving system including automatic cruise control and steering control. Not limited.

[0033]

As described above, according to the vehicle travel control device of the present invention, the relative distance at which the warning is started when automatic driving is disabled is increased, so that the driver's environmental awareness ability and driving ability are low. When the automatic driving is controlled, an alarm can be issued early to restore the above-mentioned ability.In addition, when the automatic driving is disabled, by instructing the driving operation suitable for the driving environment, the mental state becomes unstable. It is extremely useful in practice because it can give the driver instructions for optimum operation and make the driver feel at ease.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a histogram of response delay time.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of control processing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a head-up display display.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Distance Measuring Sensor 11 Auto Cruise ECU 12 Vehicle Sensor 14 Manual Operation Sensor 15 HMI 16 Auto Cruise Operation Switch M1 Automatic Driving Means M2 Appropriateness Determining Means M3 Release Means M4 Warning Means M5 Changing Means M6 Driving Instruction Means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An automatic driving means for controlling automatic driving of a vehicle, a suitability judging means for judging suitability of the automatic driving from the traveling environment of the vehicle, and the automatic driving when the judgment is negative. In a vehicle travel control device having a release means for releasing control of driving, an alarm means for issuing an alarm when a relative distance to an object ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction is a predetermined value or less, and the above-mentioned suitability determination during control of automatic driving A vehicle running control device comprising a changing means for increasing the predetermined value of the warning means for at least a predetermined time when the means determines that the automatic driving is not possible. 2. The vehicle traveling control device according to claim 1, wherein the driver is instructed to perform a driving operation suitable for a traveling environment when the adequacy determining unit determines that the automatic driving is not permitted during the control of the automatic driving. A vehicle travel control device having a driving instruction means.