JPH0769095A - Travel control device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the same travel as when a human being drives a car by making an output period of a throttle command long as an inter-vehicle distance becomes long, and setting the output period forcibly in a minimum period when relative speed becomes larger than preset speed. CONSTITUTION:A throttle command operation part 150 of a throttle control part 107 outputs a throttle command so that one's own vehicle speed becomes target vehicle speed, and the throttle command is outputted to a throttle actuator 3 through a throttle command output part 151. A relative speed judging - basic period forcibly determining part 153 sets a throttle command output period forcibly in a basic period when reletive speed is larger than preset dangerous relative speed, and outputs the throttle command from the throttle command output part 151. On the other hand, a control period determining part 152 sets the throttle command output period in the basic period when an inter-vehicle distance is less than, for example, 25m, and sets the period, for example, in 0.3 seconds when the inter-vehicle distance is 25 to 40m, and sets the period, for example, in 0.6 seconds when the inter-vehicle dustance is 40 to 60m.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle drive control device. More specifically, when traveling while tracking the preceding vehicle while maintaining the target vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, the control cycle is set according to the distance between the preceding vehicle and the relative speed with the preceding vehicle. It was adjusted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reduce the driving operation of an automobile, a constant speed traveling device has been put to practical use and an inter-vehicle distance control device has been developed.

The "constant speed traveling device" is an "automatic
It is also known as "speed control" or "cruise control." In a car equipped with this device,
When you press the set switch, the vehicle will travel at the set vehicle speed even if you release your foot from the accelerator pedal. The set vehicle speed can be changed by operating the control switch. When the driver operates the brake, the clutch, or shifts the gear, this function is canceled.

In order to ensure the safety when the above-mentioned constant speed traveling device is used, there are some which are added with the following functions. That is, the distance to the preceding vehicle is detected by a laser radar or the like, and when an abnormal approach is made to the preceding vehicle, an alarm is issued to call attention to the driver, or the gear shift stage is shifted from the 4th speed (overdrive) to the 3rd speed. It will decelerate due to overdrive off when the engine brakes down and operates.

On the other hand, in the case of an automobile equipped with the "inter-vehicle distance control device", when the set switch is pushed, the target inter-vehicle distance is calculated from the vehicle speed of the own vehicle at that time, and the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is detected to detect the preceding vehicle. The engine output and the brake are controlled so that the vehicle-to-vehicle distance between and becomes the target vehicle-to-vehicle distance, and the vehicle travels following the preceding vehicle. In this case, the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle is detected by performing image processing on the image captured by the camera or by using a laser radar or the like.

[0006]

By the way, in the conventional "constant speed traveling device", when the driver catches up with a preceding vehicle having a slow vehicle speed, the driver must decelerate to cancel the constant speed traveling control. . For this reason, operations are frequently performed on a congested road, which is rather troublesome and highly dangerous.

On the other hand, in the conventional "vehicle distance control device",
Control is not possible when there is no preceding vehicle.

The inventor of the present application has developed a "vehicle traveling control device" having the functions of both a constant speed traveling device and an inter-vehicle distance control device. In a vehicle equipped with this "vehicle drive control device", details will be described later. If there is no preceding vehicle, the vehicle travels at the set vehicle speed at a constant speed, and if there is a preceding vehicle, the target inter-vehicle distance is maintained and the vehicle is advanced. The vehicle is tracked, and deceleration control is performed when there is a further interruption or when a high-speed own vehicle catches up with a low-speed preceding vehicle. If this "vehicle drive control device" is used when traveling on the main line of a highway, the driver can travel by operating the steering wheel, and so-called easy drive can be realized. Moreover, considering that it is possible to avoid the risk of abnormally approaching or colliding with a vehicle ahead even if a little glancing or sleeping, it is expected to improve safety.

The present invention relates to this "vehicle traveling control device".
It is an object of the present invention to adjust the control cycle when performing tracking traveling control in (1) according to the relationship with the preceding vehicle so that the vehicle travels in the same manner as when a person is driving.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention that achieves the above-mentioned object is to detect a vehicle speed, which is the vehicle speed of the vehicle, and to drive the vehicle in the same lane as the vehicle in which the vehicle is traveling. Inter-vehicle distance detecting means for detecting the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle, target inter-vehicle distance calculating means for calculating the target inter-vehicle distance by multiplying the detected own vehicle speed by the set time, and the target inter-vehicle distance And a correction speed calculation means for obtaining a correction speed according to an inter-vehicle distance error which is a difference between the actual inter-vehicle distance, and a relative speed calculation part for obtaining a relative speed of the preceding vehicle with respect to the own vehicle from the change of the inter-vehicle distance over time. The preceding vehicle speed calculation unit that calculates the preceding vehicle speed by adding the relative speed to the own vehicle speed, the target vehicle speed calculation unit that calculates the target vehicle speed by adding the correction speed to the preceding vehicle speed, and the own vehicle speed become the target vehicle speed. For a specific throttle command, Throttle control means for outputting a throttle command at a set minimum cycle when the speed is faster than the preset speed, and for outputting a throttle command at a cycle that determines the length of time corresponding to the length of the inter-vehicle distance otherwise. And throttle actuation means for changing the throttle opening according to a throttle command.

[0011]

In the present invention, the output cycle of the throttle command becomes longer as the inter-vehicle distance becomes longer, and when the relative speed becomes higher than the set speed, the output cycle is forcibly set to the minimum cycle.

[0012]

【Example】

<Overall Description of “Vehicle Travel Control Device”> First, a vehicle travel control device currently under development will be described.
This traveling control device for an automobile is used when traveling on an expressway and an exclusive road for automobiles (hereinafter referred to as "expressway" representatively of both).

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle equipped with a vehicle running control device. In the figure, 1 is a stereoscopic camera, 2 is a laser radar, 3 is a throttle actuator, 4 is a brake actuator, 5 is an operation switch / information display section, 6 is a controller, 7 is a vehicle speed sensor, 7a is a steering wheel angle sensor, and 7b. Is a brake switch, 7c is a brake pedal switch, and 7d is an accelerator pedal switch.

The stereoscopic camera 1 is a front view shown in FIG.
As shown in, two Cs that capture the scenery in front of the car
The CD cameras 11 and 12 are horizontally arranged, and electronic components such as a video board and a diaphragm board are mounted in a body 13. The stereoscopic camera 1 is attached near the rearview mirror in the vehicle interior. Each camera 11,1
The viewing angle in the horizontal plane of 2 is 23 degrees. Then, a video signal indicating an image captured by the cameras 11 and 12 is sent to the controller 6.

The images recognized by the two cameras 11 and 12 are subjected to image processing by the image processing section of the controller 6 to perform the following recognition. Recognition of the preceding car (preceding car). Recognition of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling among the lanes on the highway. Recognition of the distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle.

The above-mentioned recognition of the preceding vehicle is performed as follows, for example. That is, an area surrounded by a vertical straight line is extracted from the image, and one of the extracted areas that is bilaterally symmetric and whose position does not move much in the successively captured images is recognized as a preceding vehicle. .

The white line indicating the traveling lane of the own vehicle is recognized as described above, for example. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, the front road screen is captured from the stereoscopic camera 1, and then, as shown in FIG. 3B, pixels along four horizontal lines W1 to W4 are displayed. , The bright points are selected as white line candidates, and as shown in FIG. 3C, a line segment obtained by interpolating the upper candidate points and the lower candidate points is extracted as a white line.

The above-described recognition of the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle is performed as follows. That is, from the two cameras 11 and 12 of the stereoscopic camera 1, as shown in FIG.
Two images are obtained as shown in (b). The same image as the car image enclosed by the window on the right image is slightly laterally displaced from the left image. Therefore, the position of the most matching image is obtained by shifting the right side vehicle image enclosed by the window by one pixel in the search region of the left side image. At this time, as shown in FIG.
The focal lengths of the lenses 1 and 12 are f, the left and right cameras 11 and 1
The distance between the two optical axes is L, the pixel pitch of the CCD is P,
In FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, assuming that the number of pixels shifted in the right image until the left and right vehicle images are matched is n, the distance (inter-vehicle distance) R to the preceding vehicle is calculated by the triangulation principle. , Can be calculated by the following formula. R = (fL) / (nP)

On the other hand, one laser radar 2 is arranged at each of the front right side position and the front end left side position of the vehicle. The divergence angle of the laser beam emitted from the laser radar 2 is 2 degrees. The distance to the object can be measured by measuring the time from the emission of the laser beam from the laser radar 2 to the return of the laser beam reflected by the object to the laser radar 2 again. it can.

The laser radar 2 can detect the presence / absence of a long-distance object (100 m to several hundred m) in a short time, but cannot judge whether the object is an automobile.
On the other hand, in image processing using a camera, it can be accurately determined whether or not the object is a car, but it takes a long processing time until the determination. Therefore, if the presence or absence of the target object is detected by the laser radar 2 and it is confirmed that the target object is present, the roles are divided so as to narrow down to the detection area and perform image processing of the camera image to detect the presence or absence of the vehicle. Good. In this way, the preceding vehicle can be detected quickly and accurately.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 which is a view of an automobile running on a highway from above, the laser beam 2a emitted from the laser radar 2 travels in a straight line, whereas the camera 1
Since the field of view 1a of the vehicle is 23 degrees, when the other vehicle suddenly interrupts the front of the vehicle, the laser beam 2a first hits the other vehicle and is reflected (the other vehicle that interrupts at this time is the camera 1). I have not entered the field of view 1a). Therefore, the laser radar 2 that can detect the interrupting vehicle first and has a quick response is in charge of detecting the interrupting vehicle. In addition, in FIG. 6, 8, 8a and 8b are white lines. The continuous white line 8 is located at the end of the highway, and the dotted white lines 8a and 8b are located at the lane boundaries.

When the throttle actuator 3 is operated by the command from the controller 6 and the opening degree of the throttle is increased, the engine speed is increased and the vehicle speed is increased. Conversely, when the throttle opening is reduced, the engine brake operates and the vehicle decelerates. The tracking travel control and the constant speed travel control described later are executed by adjusting the throttle opening. When the brake actuator 4 is activated by the command from the controller 6 and the brake is applied, the speed is rapidly reduced. This sudden deceleration occurs when another vehicle cuts in immediately before the host vehicle or when the brake control described later is performed, that is, when the host vehicle that was traveling at high speed approaches the preceding vehicle that is traveling at low speed. This is done when the distance becomes shorter than the safe inter-vehicle distance. It should be noted that, in the present system, a sudden deceleration does not cause a sudden stop in accordance with a command from the controller 6, and the sudden stop is performed only by the driver stepping on the brake pedal.

Next, the outline of the traveling control mainly performed by the controller 6 will be described with reference to FIG. The image processing unit 61 of the controller 6 performs image processing on the image captured by the stereoscopic camera 1, the vehicle recognition unit 61a recognizes the image of the automobile from the scenery in the front, and the lane recognition unit 61b drives the vehicle. The white line indicating the existing lane is recognized, and the inter-vehicle distance recognizing unit 61c recognizes the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle. The target tracking vehicle recognition unit 62 recognizes this vehicle as a target tracking vehicle when there is a vehicle preceding the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.

A target tracking vehicle is recognized by the target tracking vehicle recognition unit 62.
When both are recognized, the setting command unit 63 controls the tracking traveling control.
do. That is, the setting command unit 63 is the inter-vehicle distance recognizing unit 61c.
Or use the laser radar 2 to reach the target vehicle
The inter-distance D is calculated and the vehicle speed obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 7
Vehicle speed V_aMultiply by the set time (for example, 2 seconds)
Distance D₀Ask for. The actual inter-vehicle distance D is the target inter-vehicle distance.
Distance D₀Throttle actuator equal to
Engine speed (∽ throttle opening)
Control. This way, depending on the vehicle speed
Target inter-vehicle distance D ₀Track the target tracking vehicle with
The car will continue to run. Therefore, the target tracking vehicle
Is traveling at high speed (for example, 120 km / h),
Target inter-vehicle distance D₀Becomes longer (for example, 66.7 m),
The vehicle runs at high speed while tracking the target tracking vehicle (for example, 120
km / h) In addition, the target tracking vehicle runs at low speed (for example, 6
0 km / h), the target inter-vehicle distance D₀Is short
(For example, 33.3m), the target vehicle tracks the target tracking vehicle.
While traveling at low speed (for example, 60 km / h).

During the tracking control, the target tracking vehicle travels at a high speed and moves ahead of the host vehicle, so that the stereoscopic camera 1 or the laser radar 2 cannot capture the target tracking vehicle, or When the tracked vehicle moves to another lane, the setting command section 63 holds the throttle opening degree (throttle opening degree) by the throttle actuator 3 so as to hold the speed of the own vehicle at that time for a preset holding time (for example, 2 seconds). ∽ Engine speed) is controlled. That is, the tracking traveling control is shifted to the vehicle speed holding control (see FIG. 8).

When another preceding vehicle is recognized as the target tracking vehicle before the above-mentioned holding time has elapsed, that is, when the preceding vehicle can be captured on the traveling lane of the own vehicle, the above-described tracking traveling is performed again. Take control. When the holding time described above has elapsed, the routine proceeds to the constant speed traveling control described below (see FIG. 8).

After shifting to the constant speed traveling control, the setting command section 63
Is set so that the vehicle runs at the speed when the preceding vehicle cannot be captured or at a preset speed V _s .
Throttle actuator 3 throttle opening (∽
Control the engine speed). When the target tracking vehicle is captured during the constant speed traveling control, the tracking traveling control is performed (Fig. 8).
reference).

When the presence of an interrupting vehicle is detected by the laser radar 2 during tracking traveling control, vehicle speed holding control or constant speed traveling control, the control shifts to interrupt control.
The setting command unit 63 controls the throttle actuator 3 so that the throttle is fully closed for a certain period of time. After the lapse of a fixed time period in which the vehicle is fully closed, if the target tracking vehicle can be captured, the tracking traveling control is performed, and if the target tracking vehicle cannot be captured, the constant speed traveling control is performed (see FIG. 8).

During the tracking traveling control, the vehicle speed holding control, the constant speed traveling control, and the interrupt control, the safe inter-vehicle distance (determined by the relative speed between the own vehicle and the traveling vehicle and the own vehicle speed as described later) When it is detected that a preceding vehicle is present at a position closer than the value of (), the control proceeds to deceleration traveling control. That is, the setting command unit 63 operates the throttle actuator 3 to fully close the throttle, and also operates the brake actuator 4 to operate the brake to decelerate.
This deceleration traveling control is performed when the preceding vehicle traveling at a low speed catches up with the own vehicle traveling at a high speed, or when the preceding vehicle suddenly decelerates. And the deceleration control is
The process is repeated until the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle returns to the safe inter-vehicle distance. When the deceleration traveling control is completed, the target traveling vehicle is shifted to the tracking traveling control when it can be captured, and the target traveling vehicle is not captured to the vehicle speed holding control (see FIG. 8).

When the driver operates the accelerator pedal, the brake pedal, and the winker during the tracking traveling control, the vehicle speed holding control, the constant speed traveling control, the interrupt control, and the deceleration traveling control, the manual operation is performed. At this time, the control command from the setting command unit 63 to the throttle actuator 3 and the brake actuator 4 is released, and the driver's operation is prioritized. When a set switch (described later) is turned on during manual operation, the control shifts to tracking traveling control and constant speed traveling control.

Next, the structure of the operation / information display section 5 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 51 denotes a main power supply switch, which is turned on to power on the drive units of the travel control device, the throttle actuator and the brake actuator, and turned off to clear the control output and further turn off the drive power of the actuator to end the program. Reference numeral 52 denotes a control switch. When the control switch is turned on to the set side, tracking running control or constant speed running control is performed according to the running condition at that time, and the vehicle speed when set to the set side is set in the constant speed running control mode. The velocity becomes V _s . When the control switch 52 is turned on to the cancel side, a mode for performing a normal manual operation by the driver is set. Reference numeral 53 denotes an increase / decrease switch, which is set to a set speed V _s when it is turned to the + side in the constant speed traveling control mode.
Becomes larger and the set speed V _s becomes smaller when it is put in the negative side, and when it is put in the positive side in the tracking running control mode, the vehicle speed increases once and the target inter-vehicle distance D ₀ becomes small, and when it is put in the negative side, the target vehicle distance is decreased. The distance D ₀ becomes large.

A vehicle speed display unit 54 normally displays the vehicle speed (km / h) of the vehicle. An inter-vehicle distance display unit 55 displays the inter-vehicle distance to the target tracking vehicle. Further, when the increase / decrease switch 53 is turned to the + side or − side in the tracking traveling control mode, the corrected target inter-vehicle distance D ₀ is displayed as the inter-vehicle distance display unit 5.
5 is displayed, and when the increase / decrease switch 53 is turned to the + side or − side in the constant speed traveling control mode, the corrected set speed V _s is displayed on the vehicle speed display unit 54.

Reference numeral 56 is a tracking lamp, and 57 is a constant speed lamp. Only the tracking lamp 56 is lit in the tracking control mode, and only the constant speed lamp is lit in the constant speed control mode.
In the manual operation mode, the lamps 56 and 57 are both turned on.

Reference numeral 58 denotes a system abnormality lamp, which lights up when the system is abnormal.

Reference numeral 59 denotes a monitor, which is a stereoscopic camera 1
The image obtained in step 1 and the image obtained by performing image processing on this image are displayed.

Next, referring to FIG. 10, the control state when the setting command section 63 of the controller 6 performs tracking traveling control and deceleration traveling control will be described.

In FIG. 10, a target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 10
1 is the vehicle speed V _a obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 7 and the time T
The target inter-vehicle distance D ₀ is obtained by multiplying by 1 (for example, 2 seconds). The inter-vehicle distance error calculation unit 102 is an inter-vehicle distance error ΔD that is a difference between the inter-vehicle distance D obtained from the inter-vehicle distance recognizing unit 61c or the laser radar 2 and the target inter-vehicle distance D _0.
Ask for. The correction speed calculation unit 103 obtains the correction speed V _c according to the inter-vehicle distance error ΔD based on the preset data conversion characteristics (the characteristics are shown in the figure).
When the value of ΔD is positive (when D ₀ > D), the value of V _c becomes negative, and when the value of ΔD is negative (when D ₀ <D), the value of V _c becomes positive. Become.

The relative speed calculation unit 104 receives data indicating the inter-vehicle distance D from the inter-vehicle distance recognizing unit 61c or the laser radar 2 at regular time intervals, and delays the inter-vehicle distance D _{n at} this time by the delay circuit 104a. the difference D _n -D _n-1 of the inter-vehicle distance D _n-1 of the previous round, determined by the subtracter 104b, divided further the difference D _n -D _n-1 by the arithmetic unit 104c at time T4,
The relative speed V _ba between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle is obtained by taking the moving average of the divided data values. The preceding vehicle referred to here is a vehicle recognized by the target tracking vehicle recognition unit 62 (see FIG. 7) as a target tracking vehicle, that is, a vehicle traveling ahead of the own vehicle in the same lane as the own vehicle.

The preceding vehicle speed calculator 105 determines that the own vehicle speed V _a
And the relative speed V _ba are added to obtain the preceding vehicle speed V _b . The target speed calculation unit 106 calculates the target speed V ₀ by adding the correction speed V _c to the preceding vehicle speed V _b .

The throttle control unit 107 controls the vehicle speed V_a
Is the target vehicle speed V₀Throttle actuator to be
Issue a throttle command to 3 and slot according to this command
The actuator 3 controls the opening of the throttle. This
Therefore, the target vehicle distance is D ₀Track the preceding vehicle while taking
You can drive.

On the other hand, the safe inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 108 multiplies the own vehicle speed V _a by the time T2 by the multiplier 108a to obtain _a value V _a · T2, and multiplies the relative speed V _ba by the time T3 by the multiplier 108b. To obtain the value V _ba · T3, and subtracter 108c
Then, the value V _ba · T3 is subtracted from the value V _a · T2 to obtain the safe inter-vehicle distance D _s . The dangerous inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 109 subtracts the inter-vehicle distance D from the safe inter-vehicle distance D _s to calculate the dangerous inter-vehicle distance D.
ask for _d .

The dangerous inter-vehicle distance braking force calculation unit 110
The dangerous inter-vehicle distance braking force Fb ₂ corresponding to the dangerous inter-vehicle distance D _d is calculated based on the preset data conversion characteristic (the characteristic is shown in the figure). The braking force Fb ₂ is D
_It occurs when _d is positive, that is, when the inter-vehicle distance D becomes shorter than the safe inter-vehicle distance D _s , and its value is proportional to the magnitude of D _d .

The relative speed braking force calculation unit 111 is
Data conversion characteristics that have been set to the maximum (shown in the figure
Based on the relative velocity V_baRelative vehicle speed according to
Force Fb₁Ask for. Braking force Fb₁Is the relative speed V_baBut
When negative, that is, the vehicle speed V _aIs the preceding vehicle speed V_bthan
It occurs when it is large, and its value is V_baProportional to the absolute value of.

The braking force calculation unit 112 determines the braking force F
The braking force Fb is obtained by adding b ₁ and Fb ₂ , and the brake actuator 4 operates so that the braking force Fb is generated. Therefore, when the inter-vehicle distance D becomes shorter than the safe inter-vehicle distance D _s , or when the host vehicle catches up with the preceding vehicle at high speed, the brake is activated and the deceleration traveling control can be performed.

<Description of Portion Corresponding to the Point of the Present Invention> Next, a portion corresponding to the point of the present invention will be described. When performing the tracking traveling control by the above-described vehicle traveling control device, the throttle actuator 3 operates so that each time a new throttle command is received from the throttle control unit 107, the throttle opening indicated by this throttle command is obtained. do. The cycle of outputting the throttle command from the throttle actuator 3, that is, the cycle (time) from the previous operation of the throttle actuator 3 to the current operation for controlling the throttle opening is examined, and the following (1) (2) It turned out that it is good to do like (3). In this way, the throttle control can be performed at the same timing as when the driver changes the accelerator pedal depression amount while driving on a highway with an ordinary vehicle not equipped with the "vehicle driving control device". it can.

(1) When the inter-vehicle distance D is large, the driver is less likely to notice even if the inter-vehicle distance varies slightly, so the period may be extended. If the cycle is made long in this way, even if the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle changes, the speed of the own vehicle changes gently, so that the vehicle can be driven comfortably and stably.

(2) When the inter-vehicle distance D is small, the driver notices that the inter-vehicle distance changes even a little, and when the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle changes, the vehicle approaches abnormally or the inter-vehicle distance fluctuates too much. If you do, you will feel anxiety, so it is necessary to shorten the above cycle. If the control cycle is shortened in this way, even if the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle suddenly changes, the vehicle speed of the host vehicle can also immediately react and change, and the trend of the preceding vehicle can be quickly responded to.

(3) When the relative speed V _ba is larger than the set value, it means that the host vehicle is approaching the preceding vehicle abruptly. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the above-mentioned period to urgently secure the required inter-vehicle distance D. is there.

In the present invention, the output cycle of the throttle command output from the throttle control unit 107 is made variable by reflecting the examination results of the above (1), (2) and (3). This will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 11, the throttle control unit 107
The throttle command calculation unit 150 determines the vehicle speed V_aIs the target car
Speed V₀The throttle command S that causes
The throttle command S is sent via the throttle command output unit 151.
Is output to the throttle actuator 3. This output
The timing (cycle) is controlled by the control cycle determining unit 152 and the relative
It is determined by the speed determination / basic cycle forced determination unit 153. One
The relative speed determination / basic cycle forced determination unit 153
Speed V_baPreset relative speed V _dthan
Determine if it is large V_ba> V_dWhen becomes
Forcibly set the command output cycle to the basic cycle (for example, 0.1 seconds)
Then, in this cycle (0.1 second), the throttle command output unit 151
To output the throttle command S. On the other hand, control cycle decision
The constant unit 152 is V_ba<V_dDistance between vehicles when
When the distance D is less than 25m, the throttle output cycle is used as the basis.
With this cycle (for example, 0.1 seconds), the inter-vehicle distance D is 25 to 40
When m, the cycle is, for example, 0.3 seconds, and the inter-vehicle distance is 4
When it is 0 to 60 m, the cycle is set to, for example, 0.6 seconds, and
When the distance is 60 m or more, the cycle is set to 1.0 seconds, for example.
To decide. Then, at this determined cycle, the throttle command
The throttle command S is output from the output unit 151.

Since the throttle command unit 107 is configured as shown in FIG. 11, if the output cycle of the throttle command S changes according to the inter-vehicle distance D and the relative speed V _ba becomes larger than the set dangerous relative speed V _d. The throttle output cycle becomes the minimum basic cycle, and the requirements (1), (2), and (3) described above can be satisfied.

[0052]

As described above in detail with the embodiments, according to the present invention, the cycle of outputting the throttle command becomes longer as the inter-vehicle distance becomes longer, and is output when the relative speed becomes larger than the set speed. Since the cycle is minimized, the same engine output control can be performed when a human is operating the accelerator, and a comfortable tracking ride can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle including a vehicle traveling control device.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a stereoscopic camera.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of detecting a white line by image processing.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of detecting an inter-vehicle distance by image processing.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of triangulation with a stereoscopic camera.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an automobile running on a highway.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a controller.

FIG. 8 is a state diagram showing a transition state of traveling control.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing an operation switch / information display unit.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a functional unit that performs tracking traveling control and deceleration traveling control in the setting command unit.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a throttle control unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Stereoscopic Camera 1a Field of View 11,12 CCD Camera 13 Body 2 Laser Radar 2a Laser Beam 3 Throttle Actuator 4 Brake Actuator 5 Operation Switch / Information Display 51 Main Power Switch 52 Control Switch 53 Increase / Decrease Switch 54 Vehicle Speed Display 55 Inter-Vehicle Distance Display Part 56 Tracking lamp 57 Constant speed lamp 58 System abnormality lamp 59 Monitor 6 Controller 61 Image processing part 61a Vehicle recognition part 61b Lane recognition part 61c Inter-vehicle distance recognition part 62 Target tracking vehicle recognition part 63 Setting command part 7 Vehicle speed sensor 7a Steering wheel angle sensor 7b Brake switch 7c Brake pedal switch 7d Accelerator pedal switch 8, 8a, 8b White line 101 Target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 102 Inter-vehicle distance error calculation unit 103 Corrected speed calculation unit 04 Relative speed calculation unit 105 Preceding vehicle speed calculation unit 106 Target speed calculation unit 107 Throttle control unit 108 Safe inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 109 Dangerous inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 110 Dangerous inter-vehicle distance braking force calculation unit 111 Relative speed Braking force calculation unit 112 Brake force calculation unit 150 throttle command calculation unit 151 throttle command output unit 152 control cycle determining section 153 relative speed determination-fundamental period force determining portion V _a vehicle speed V _b preceding vehicle speed V _ba relative velocity V _c corrected velocity V _d dangerous relative velocity V _s set speed V ₀ target vehicle speed ΔV deviation speed D inter-vehicle distance D ₀ target inter-vehicle distance D _s safe inter-vehicle distance D _d dangerous inter-vehicle distance ΔD inter-vehicle distance error S throttle command

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed, which is the vehicle speed of the own vehicle, and an inter-vehicle distance between a preceding vehicle traveling in the same lane as the own vehicle and the own vehicle. An inter-vehicle distance detecting means for detecting, a target inter-vehicle distance calculating means for calculating a target inter-vehicle distance by multiplying the detected own vehicle speed by a set time, and an inter-vehicle distance error which is a difference between the target inter-vehicle distance and the actual inter-vehicle distance. A correction speed calculation means for obtaining a correction speed according to the vehicle speed, a relative speed calculation part for obtaining a relative speed of the preceding vehicle with respect to the own vehicle from a change in inter-vehicle distance over time, and a preceding vehicle speed obtained by adding the relative speed to the own vehicle speed. The desired vehicle speed calculation unit, the target vehicle speed calculation unit that calculates the target vehicle speed by adding the corrected speed to the preceding vehicle speed, the throttle command that determines the vehicle speed of the host vehicle to the target vehicle speed, and the relative speed is set to a preset speed. Greater than Throttle command is output at the set minimum cycle, and if not, throttle control means that outputs the throttle command at a cycle that determines the length of time according to the length of the inter-vehicle distance, and the throttle opening degree according to the throttle command. And a throttle actuation means for changing the travel speed of the vehicle.