JPH09183318A - Automatically travelling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure stable automatic travel on an exclusive road for automatic travelling by controlling the acceleration and deceleration of a vehicle in accordance with acceleration and deceleration corrected data based on distance deviation and speed deviation. SOLUTION: A communication signal processor 1 also functions as a travelling poisition recognizing means to recognize the travelling position of an owned vehicle on a travelling path. A control schedule processor 2 functions as a speed schedule making means to make a speed schedule in accordance with speed commanding information corresponding to a travelling area for a vehicle given from a leakage coaxial cable via the communication signal processor 1 for specifying a relationship between the travelling position and the speed of the vehicle on the travelling path. A speed controller 4 creates an acceleration indicating signal in accordance with acceleration and deceleration corrected data made by the control schedule processor 2 and controls an actuator 15 provided for a throttle system and an actuator 16 provided for a brake system by using the acceleration indicating signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic vehicle, and more particularly to an automatic vehicle that automatically travels in a lane by utilizing position information from the road.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a radar, a CCD camera, and a combination thereof have been developed to recognize an obstacle while recognizing a front obstacle, a road condition in front, and the like to automatically drive the vehicle. However, no technique has yet been found for properly determining obstacles ahead, road conditions, etc. on all roads.

On the other hand, automatic running under certain conditions has already been carried out, for example, by an automatic carrier in a factory.

This automatic guided vehicle travels on the traveling route at a constant low speed while detecting magnetic markers arranged at regular intervals on the traveling route on which the guided vehicle is to travel.

However, it is difficult to accurately travel on the target travel route, and the actual travel position of the transport vehicle causes a displacement error with respect to the target travel route as the vehicle travels.

Therefore, in the conventional automatic guided vehicle, the displacement error between the current traveling position of the guided vehicle and the target traveling route is detected and the vehicle is driven while correcting the error by the feedback control.

However, in such a traveling method,
Especially during high-speed driving, fluctuations continued to correct errors, and stability was poor.

Therefore, it is not possible to drive such an automatic guided vehicle on an ordinary road while controlling the speed.
It was difficult.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above background, the present invention is directed to a road under a certain condition, in particular, to an automatic driving road in which magnetic information sources and markers are arranged on the travel route of the vehicle for each lane. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic traveling vehicle that can perform automatic traveling stably, and in particular, can perform speed control smoothly and stably.

[0010]

The automatic vehicle according to the present invention comprises:
In order to achieve such an object, an automatic traveling vehicle that automatically travels on a traveling route provided with a route marker indicating the traveling route on the traveling route while detecting the route marker by a marker detection sensor, A travel position recognition means for recognizing the current travel position of the vehicle, a speed plan creation means for creating a speed plan that defines the relationship between the travel position and the speed of the vehicle on the travel route, and a vehicle speed map based on the speed plan. Scheduled value determining means for determining a planned arrival position after a predetermined time from the current traveling position and a planned speed at the planned arrival position, and an estimated arrival position after the predetermined time based on the current traveling position, speed and acceleration of the vehicle and its Expected value calculation means for obtaining an expected speed at the expected arrival position, a distance deviation between the expected arrival position and the expected arrival position, and the expected speed and the expected result Deviation calculating means for obtaining the speed deviation of the vehicle, acceleration / deceleration data calculating means for creating acceleration / deceleration correction data for the vehicle based on the distance deviation and the speed deviation, and an acceleration / deceleration for controlling the vehicle based on the acceleration / deceleration correction data. A deceleration control means is provided.

According to the present invention, the speed plan creating means creates a speed plan that defines the relationship between the travel position and the speed of the vehicle on the travel route, and the travel position recognizing means based on the speed plan. From the current traveling position of the vehicle that is recognized by the vehicle, the estimated arrival position of the vehicle after the predetermined time (the position on the travel route where the vehicle should reach after the predetermined time), and the estimated speed of the vehicle at the expected arrival position ( The vehicle speed which should be after a predetermined time) is obtained by the predetermined value determining means. In addition, the predicted value calculation means calculates a predicted arrival position and predicted speed of the vehicle after the predetermined time based on the current traveling position, speed and acceleration of the vehicle. Further, the distance deviation between the obtained expected position and the expected arrival position and the velocity deviation between the expected speed and the expected speed are obtained. Then, based on these distance deviations and speed deviations, the acceleration / deceleration data calculation means creates acceleration / deceleration correction data for the vehicle, and the acceleration / deceleration control means determines the acceleration / deceleration speed of the vehicle according to the created acceleration / deceleration correction data. Controlled.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a distance deviation between the expected (future) traveling position of the vehicle after the predetermined time (scheduled arrival position) and the traveling position expected after the predetermined time (predicted arrival position), Also, the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle is corrected based on the speed deviation between the desired vehicle speed after the predetermined time (scheduled speed) and the expected speed after the predetermined time (estimated speed). That is, the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle is controlled so that the future traveling position and speed of the vehicle after the predetermined time follows the speed plan.

As a result, according to the present invention, the vehicle speed can be controlled extremely stably, and the vehicle can travel stably on the required travel route.

In the present invention, the route marker is composed of magnetic information sources arranged on the traveling route at predetermined intervals. By configuring the route marker with the magnetic information source in this way, the route marker can be detected by the magnetic sensor (marker detection sensor) regardless of weather conditions, and thus the traveling position of the vehicle can be reliably recognized. Can be done.

Further, in the present invention, the traveling position recognizing means comprises means for detecting a traveling distance of the vehicle on the traveling route, and recognizes the current traveling position of the vehicle based on the detected traveling distance.

In this case, when the route marker is composed of magnetic information sources arranged at predetermined intervals on the traveling route, the traveling distance is detected by the number of times the magnetic information source is detected by the marker detecting sensor. .

That is, since the magnetic information sources are arranged at a predetermined interval, the product of the number of detections of the magnetic information source and the interval of the magnetic information source indicates the travel distance of the vehicle on the travel route. The traveling distance of the vehicle on the traveling route can be detected based on the number of detections. Then, by detecting the traveling distance of the vehicle in this way, the traveling position of the vehicle on the traveling route can be easily recognized.

The present invention further comprises communication means for transmitting / receiving vehicle traveling information to / from the traveling information providing equipment installed outside the vehicle, wherein the traveling information providing equipment communicates vehicle speed command information with the communication. It is given to the speed plan creating means via means, and the speed plan creating means creates the speed plan based on the given speed command information.

According to this, it is possible to give the speed command information of the vehicle suitable for the road condition and the like (congestion condition, the degree of turning of the road, etc.) from the running information providing facility, and the speed command information is used based on the speed command information. By creating a plan, it is possible to create a speed plan for the vehicle in accordance with road conditions.

The running information providing equipment is, for example, a leaky coaxial cable installed along the running path.

Further, according to the present invention, the predicted value calculating means determines the traveling position of the vehicle recognized by the traveling position recognizing means and the speed of the vehicle represented by the first-order differential value of the traveling position and the traveling position thereof. The predicted arrival position is calculated by the vehicle acceleration represented by the second-order differential value, the vehicle speed represented by the first-order differential value of the traveling position, and the vehicle acceleration represented by the second-order differential value of the traveling position. The expected speed is calculated by

According to this, the predicted arrival position, that is, the predicted traveling position of the vehicle after the predetermined time, is the current traveling position of the vehicle recognized by the traveling position recognition means,
The current speed of the vehicle, which is the first-order derivative of its travel position, and
It is calculated from the current acceleration of the vehicle which is the second derivative of the traveling position, and the expected speed of the vehicle after the predetermined time is the velocity which is the first derivative of the traveling position of the vehicle and the second derivative of the traveling position. Since the acceleration is calculated from the acceleration, the predicted arrival position and the predicted speed can be easily obtained.

The vehicle includes a speed sensor and an acceleration sensor for detecting the speed and acceleration of the vehicle, respectively, and the traveling position of the vehicle recognized by the traveling position recognizing means and the vehicle speed and the acceleration detected by the speed sensor. The predicted arrival position is calculated based on the acceleration of the vehicle detected by the sensor, and the predicted speed is calculated based on the speed of the vehicle detected by the speed sensor and the acceleration of the vehicle detected by the acceleration sensor. Good.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided inter-vehicle communication means for mutually transmitting and receiving the information regarding the traveling position of the vehicle between at least the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle.

Further, the estimated arrival position of the preceding vehicle after the predetermined time from the present traveling position of the preceding vehicle obtained from the preceding vehicle through the inter-vehicle communication means and the expected speed at the estimated arrival position thereof. Between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after the predetermined time from the preceding vehicle expected value calculation means for obtaining the estimated traveling position of the preceding vehicle and the estimated arrival position of the own vehicle obtained by the estimated value calculation means. An inter-vehicle speed between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after the predetermined time from the expected inter-vehicle distance calculating means for obtaining the inter-vehicle distance, the expected speed of the preceding vehicle and the expected speed of the own vehicle obtained by the expected value calculating means. And a vehicle-to-vehicle speed difference calculating means for obtaining the difference.

The vehicle further comprises a second acceleration / deceleration data calculating means for creating acceleration / deceleration correction data for the vehicle based on the vehicle-to-vehicle distance and the vehicle-to-vehicle speed difference, and the acceleration / deceleration control means comprises the acceleration / deceleration data calculating means and the second means. The acceleration / deceleration correction data created by the acceleration / deceleration data calculation means is selectively selected to control the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle.

According to this, the estimated arrival position and the estimated speed of the preceding vehicle after the predetermined time from the current traveling position of the preceding vehicle obtained from the preceding vehicle through the inter-vehicle communication means are calculated. The preceding vehicle after the predetermined time from the predicted value and the estimated speed of the preceding vehicle calculated by the predicted value of the preceding vehicle and the predicted position and speed of the own vehicle calculated as described above. The inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference are calculated by the predicted inter-vehicle distance calculating means and the inter-vehicle speed difference calculating means, respectively. Then, based on the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference, acceleration / deceleration correction data is created by the second acceleration / deceleration data calculation means, and the created acceleration / deceleration correction data and the distance deviation and the speed deviation with respect to the speed plan are determined. The acceleration / deceleration correction data created by the above is selectively selected by the acceleration / deceleration control means to control the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle.

Thus, the speed control of the vehicle can be performed in consideration of not only the speed plan on the travel route but also the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle after a predetermined time. .

In this case, the acceleration / deceleration control means uses the acceleration / deceleration correction data generated by the acceleration / deceleration data calculation means and the second acceleration / deceleration data calculation means, respectively. It is preferable to select the correction data to control the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle.

By doing so, of the acceleration / deceleration control of the vehicle according to the speed plan on the travel route and the acceleration / deceleration control considering the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference from the preceding vehicle,
The most appropriate vehicle acceleration / deceleration control can be performed.

It should be noted that the preceding vehicle expected value calculation means is the traveling position of the preceding vehicle obtained via the inter-vehicle communication means and the speed of the preceding vehicle represented by the first-order differential value of the traveling position. The predicted arrival position of the preceding vehicle is calculated by the acceleration of the preceding vehicle represented by the second-order differential value of the traveling position, and the speed of the preceding vehicle represented by the first-order differential value of the traveling position and the traveling By calculating the predicted speed of the preceding vehicle by the acceleration of the preceding vehicle represented by the second-order differential value of the position, the predicted arrival position and the predicted speed of the preceding vehicle are calculated in the same manner as the predicted value calculation means. It can be easily requested.

Then, in this case, when the information transmitted and received by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means includes information on the traveling position of the vehicle and information on the speed and acceleration of the vehicle,
The predicted arrival position of the preceding vehicle is calculated from the traveling position, speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle obtained via the inter-vehicle communication means, and the speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle obtained via the inter-vehicle communication means. The expected speed of the preceding vehicle may be calculated according to.

Further, according to the present invention, in the automatic traveling vehicle, which automatically travels on a traveling route provided with a route marker indicating the traveling route on the traveling route while detecting the route marker by the marker detection sensor, Driving position recognition means for recognizing the current driving position of the host vehicle, inter-vehicle communication means for mutually transmitting and receiving information regarding the driving position of the vehicle between at least the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle, and the current driving position of the host vehicle. Based on the position, speed, and acceleration, a predicted vehicle position after a predetermined time and a predicted vehicle speed at the predicted position at the predicted arrival position, and the information obtained from the preceding vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication means A preceding vehicle predicted value calculating means for obtaining a predicted arrival position of the preceding vehicle after a predetermined time and a predicted speed at the predicted arrival position, and a predicted arrival position of the preceding vehicle Predicted inter-vehicle distance calculating means for calculating the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after the predetermined time from the predicted arrival position of the own vehicle, and the predetermined distance from the predicted speed of the preceding vehicle and the predicted speed of the own vehicle. An inter-vehicle speed difference calculating means for obtaining an inter-vehicle speed difference between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after a lapse of time, an acceleration / deceleration data calculating means for creating acceleration / deceleration correction data of the vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference, and the acceleration / deceleration Acceleration / deceleration control means for controlling the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle based on the speed correction data.

According to this, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle, an appropriate inter-vehicle distance is maintained between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle. While doing so, it is possible to perform automatic traveling along the traveling route.

[0035]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an automatic traveling vehicle of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, an outline of the system of this embodiment will be described. Referring to FIG. 2, the automatic traveling vehicle A of the present embodiment includes:
While detecting the magnetic information source C on an automatic driving road in which a magnetic information source (magnetic nail) C as a route marker is embedded at an interval of 1 m, for example, on a traveling route B at the center of the road (traveling route), It is for automatic driving. And own vehicle A
When there is a preceding vehicle (not shown in FIG. 2) in front of the vehicle (when the own vehicle A is a following vehicle), the following vehicle is automatically maintained while maintaining a required inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle. It is for running. In this case, a leaky coaxial cable (LCX cable) D as an information providing facility is installed on the road side, and information necessary for automatic traveling is transmitted and received between the leaky coaxial cable D and the autonomous vehicle A. ing. Further, information indicating the traveling state of the own vehicle is mutually transmitted and received (inter-vehicle communication) between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle (following vehicle).

FIG. 1 shows the system configuration of the automatic vehicle of the present embodiment which performs such automatic traveling.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a communication signal processing device 1, a control plan processing device 2, a vehicle lateral direction (steering direction) control device 3, and a vehicle speed control device 4 are respectively provided. It is mounted on each vehicle as a module equipped with a signal processing device (CPU). Further, in each vehicle, a yaw rate sensor 5 that detects an angular velocity in the lateral direction (steering direction) of the vehicle and a magnetic sensor 6 that detects the magnetic information source C are provided.
(Marker detection sensor), a wheel pulse sensor 8 that outputs a pulse for each rotation of the wheel (for each traveling distance corresponding to one rotation of the wheel), and a longitudinal acceleration sensor 9 that detects acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. , A laser radar for detecting the distance to these objects as well as the preceding vehicles and obstacles in front
0 is provided, and the detection data thereof is appropriately given to the devices 1 to 4.

In this case, the magnetic sensors 6 are respectively provided on the lower front bumper and the lower rear bumper of the vehicle as shown in FIG. Each of the magnetic sensors 6 not only detects the magnetic information source C below the magnetic information source C but also laterally moves the magnetic sensor 6 with respect to the magnetic information source C within a range of about 45 cm left and right from the center of the magnetic information source C. The position in the direction (vehicle width direction) is detected as the lateral position of the front and rear portions of the vehicle with respect to the magnetic information source C.

The devices 1 to 4 to which the detection data of the sensors 5, 6, 8, 9 and the laser radar 10 are given.
Has the following functions.

The communication signal processing device 1 has a function as communication means for performing communication with the leaky coaxial cable (LCX cable) D and inter-vehicle communication, and an antenna provided for each communication in the vehicle. And communication devices 7 and 11 composed of transceivers.

In this case, in the communication with the leaky coaxial cable D, speed command information, road curvature information, traffic jam information, emergency message information, etc. in the traveling area of the vehicle are received from the leaky coaxial cable D, and the vehicle side From the car ID
The number will be sent. The traveling position of each vehicle can be grasped on the side of the leaky coaxial cable D from the ID number.
Then, the communication signal processing device 1 gives the received speed command information and the like to the control plan processing device 2.

On the other hand, in the inter-vehicle communication, between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle, the traveling position (traveling distance) and speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle on the traveling route B, which is grasped in each vehicle as described later, are obtained. ), Data indicating longitudinal acceleration and a velocity plan described later are transmitted and received mutually. And those data are
In each vehicle, it is given from the communication signal processing device 1 to the control plan processing device 2.

Further, the communication signal processing device 1 is provided with the traveling route B.
It also has a function as a traveling position recognition means for recognizing the traveling position of the own vehicle above.

In this embodiment, the traveling position is recognized as follows. That is, since the automatic vehicle of the present embodiment basically travels on the travel route B on which the magnetic information sources C are arranged, the travel distance of the vehicle on the travel route B is equal to that of the vehicle on the travel route B. It indicates the traveling position. Therefore, the communication signal processing device 1 counts the number of detections of the magnetic information source C detected by the magnetic sensor 6 after the traveling on the traveling route B is started, and the interval of the magnetic information source C is counted in the number of detections. The distance obtained by multiplying (constant) is grasped as the traveling distance of the vehicle on the traveling route B. However, the vehicle may deviate from the travel route B and miss the detection of the magnetic information source C. In such a case, the travel distance is grasped based on the output of the wheel pulse sensor 8. Then, based on the traveling distance thus grasped, the traveling position of the vehicle is recognized on the map data of the traveling route B possessed by the vehicle and is given to the control plan processing device 2. In this case, the map data of the travel route B is represented as point sequence data of the magnetic information source C, which may be stored and held in the storage device of the vehicle in advance, or the map data of the leakage coaxial cable D and the like. You may make it receive from the outside every predetermined traveling area by communication.

In this embodiment, the magnetic information source C on the travel route B is provided with bit information in which the magnetic polarity is inverted at intervals of 500 m, for example, and the magnetic sensor 6 detects this bit information. Each time it is performed, the travel distance is corrected based on the interval of 500 m (for example,
Correct the mileage to be an integral multiple of 500m).

The control plan processing device 2 is connected to the automatic traveling start switch 12, and in response to an ON operation of the automatic traveling start switch 12, the preparation of information for automatic traveling is started.

This control plan processing device 2 has a function as a speed plan creating means, and based on the speed command information corresponding to the traveling area of the vehicle given from the leaky coaxial cable D via the communication signal processing device 1, A speed plan that defines the relationship between the traveling position of the vehicle and the speed on the travel route B is created. In this case, the speed plan is created so as to follow the speed instructed from the leaky coaxial cable D. For example, when a speed command of 80 km / h is given in a certain traveling area,
If the current speed of the vehicle is 78 km / h, the speed of the vehicle is up to 80 km / h by a predetermined acceleration (for example, 2 km / h).
/ Min), and then create a speed plan to maintain a speed of 80 km / h.

Further, the control plan processing device 2 has a function as a scheduled value determining means, and based on the speed plan created as described above, a predetermined time T (the book) is determined from the current traveling position of the vehicle. In the embodiment, the expected arrival position to be reached after 1.5 seconds) and the expected speed of the vehicle at the expected arrival position are determined. For example, if the speed plan from the current position of the vehicle is created so as to keep the speed of 80 km / h (22.2 m / sec) constant, the arrival plan after the predetermined time T (1.5 sec) The position is the point on the travel route B that has advanced 33.3 m from the current position, and the planned speed at the planned arrival position is 80 km / h.
It is.

Further, the control plan processing device 2 has a function as an expected value calculating means, a deviation calculating means, and an acceleration / deceleration data calculating means. It also has a function as a distance calculation means, an inter-vehicle speed difference calculation means, and a second acceleration / deceleration data calculation means.

The function as the expected value calculating means is to obtain the expected arrival position and the expected speed of the own vehicle after the predetermined time T. The estimated arrival position is obtained by the later-described calculation from the current traveling position (traveling distance) of the vehicle, the current speed, and the current acceleration given from the communication signal processing device 1, and the expected speed is the current speed of the vehicle. It is obtained from the acceleration and the calculation described later.

In this case, in this embodiment, the speed of the vehicle for obtaining the predicted arrival position and the predicted speed is basically the latest running position of the vehicle given from the communication signal processing device 1. It is obtained by the floor differential value, that is, the amount of change in the traveling position per unit time. Similarly, the acceleration of the vehicle is basically obtained from the latest second-order differential value of the running position of the vehicle, that is, the changing speed of the running position per unit time. Then, the predicted arrival position and the predicted speed are calculated using the speed and the acceleration of the vehicle thus calculated.
However, when the vehicle deviates from the traveling route B and cannot correctly grasp the traveling position, the speed detected by the change amount per unit time of the traveling distance grasped by the output of the wheel pulse sensor 8. The predicted arrival position and the predicted speed are obtained using the acceleration detected by the longitudinal acceleration sensor. In this case, the speed of the vehicle may be detected using a speed sensor.

The function as the deviation calculating means is to obtain the distance deviation (positional error) between the expected arrival position after the predetermined time T based on the speed plan and the expected arrival position, and to calculate the distance deviation after the predetermined time T based on the speed plan. Is to obtain a speed deviation (speed error) between the expected speed and the expected speed, and these calculations are performed by subtraction calculation.

The function as the acceleration / deceleration data calculation means is as follows.
The acceleration / deceleration correction data of the vehicle (a control amount for correcting the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle) is created based on the distance deviation and the speed deviation. In the present embodiment, the distance deviation and the speed deviation are respectively set to predetermined values. Acceleration / deceleration correction data is created by adding values obtained by multiplying the gain coefficient to each other.

Further, the function of the preceding vehicle on the side of the following vehicle as an estimated value of the preceding vehicle is to obtain the expected arrival position and the expected speed of the preceding vehicle after the predetermined time T. The estimated arrival position of the preceding vehicle is obtained from the current traveling position (distance), current speed, and current acceleration of the preceding vehicle, which is obtained by the inter-vehicle communication via the communication signal processing device 1 of the own vehicle. The expected speed of the preceding vehicle is obtained by the same calculation as described below, and the expected speed of the preceding vehicle is calculated from the current speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle by the same calculation as that described below. In this case, the current speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle are obtained from the first-order differential value and the second-order differential value of the preceding traveling position from the traveling position data of the preceding vehicle given by inter-vehicle communication. You may do it.

The function as the expected inter-vehicle distance calculating means on the side of the following vehicle is to obtain the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle expected after the predetermined time T, and the expected arrival of the preceding vehicle obtained as described above. The expected inter-vehicle distance after the predetermined time T is calculated by calculating the distance difference between the position and the expected arrival position of the own vehicle which is obtained as described above.

Similarly, the function as the inter-vehicle speed difference calculating means on the side of the following vehicle is to obtain the speed difference with the preceding vehicle expected after the predetermined time T, and the expected speed of the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle. By calculating the difference from the expected speed of, the inter-vehicle speed difference after the predetermined time T is obtained.

The second acceleration / deceleration data calculating means on the side of the following vehicle produces acceleration / deceleration correction data of the vehicle (a control amount for correcting the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle) based on the predicted inter-vehicle distance and inter-vehicle speed difference. In the present embodiment, a value obtained by multiplying the expected inter-vehicle distance by the target inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the host vehicle by a predetermined gain coefficient, and the inter-vehicle speed difference by a predetermined value. Acceleration / deceleration correction data is created by mutually adding the value obtained by multiplying the gain coefficient.

Control plan processing device 2 having these functions
Further, based on the outputs of the two magnetic sensors 6 in front of and behind the vehicle (positional data in the lateral direction of each magnetic sensor 6 with respect to the travel route B), the current lateral position of the vehicle with respect to the travel route B (magnetic information source row) is displayed. The position deviation of the direction and the direction deviation (angle θ formed by the vehicle and the travel route B, see FIG. 2) are obtained. Further, the control plan processing device 2 determines the lateral position deviation of the vehicle with respect to the travel route B after the predetermined time T based on the current speed and steering amount of the vehicle, the curvature information of the road given from the leaky coaxial cable D, and the like. I am trying to predict the direction deviation. These data are used for steering control for causing the vehicle to travel along the travel route B.

In the case of the following vehicle, the control plan processing device 2 also displays data such as the speed of the own vehicle, the speed of the preceding vehicle, the distance to the preceding vehicle, the shape of the road ahead and the shape of the lane.
8 and audio output device 17.

In the case of a preceding vehicle, the display device 18 and the voice output device 17 display data such as the speed of the own vehicle, the speed of the following vehicle, the distance to the following vehicle, the shape of the road ahead and the shape of the lane.
Output to

Here, the above-mentioned inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is obtained by the above-mentioned inter-vehicle communication or the laser radar 10, and data such as the shape of the road ahead and the shape of the lane is obtained from the leaky coaxial cable D. It is obtained by communication.

In the present embodiment, the predetermined time T is set to 1.5 seconds, but it is preferable to set it in the range of 1 second to 2 seconds.

The lateral controller 3 is the control plan processor 2
Based on the output result (data of the above-mentioned lateral position deviation, direction deviation, etc.), a steering angle instruction signal for causing the vehicle to follow the travel route B is generated, and the steering wheel of the vehicle is steered by the steering angle instruction signal. The actuator 14 provided in the operation transmission system is controlled.

The steering is automatically controlled by the control of the actuator 14, and the traveling route B (magnetic information source array)
Travel along is performed.

The vehicle speed control device 4 generates an acceleration instruction signal based on the acceleration / deceleration correction data generated by the control plan processing device 2, and the acceleration instruction signal is provided to the actuator 15 or the brake system provided in the throttle system. The actuator 16 is controlled.

By the control of the actuators 15 and 16, the throttle system and the brake system of the vehicle are operated to accelerate and decelerate the vehicle.

A brake pedal switch 13 for detecting an operation of a brake pedal (not shown) is connected to the vehicle speed control device 4, and when the signal of the switch 13 detects that the brake pedal is depressed. To cancel the vehicle speed control.

Further, the vehicle speed control device 4 controls the brake amount based on the output of the laser radar 10 depending on the situation, such as when the laser radar 10 detects an obstacle other than a vehicle in front.

Next, the vehicle speed control in the automatic vehicle of this embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

As described above, the vehicle position Xi determined by the communication signal processing device 1 based on the detection signal of the magnetic sensor 6
(0) 21, the vehicle speed Vi (0) (first-order differential value of the position) 22 obtained by the control plan processing device 2 from the vehicle position Xi (0), and the vehicle acceleration Ai (0) ( Second derivative of position) 2
3 is output to the processing unit 24 that predicts the state of the vehicle after T seconds in the control plan processing device 2.

This processing unit 24 functions as an expected value calculating means, and calculates the expected arrival position Xi (T) after T seconds and the expected speed Vi (T) after T seconds by the following equation (1), (2)
Ask by

Vi (T) = Vi (0) + Ai (0) × T (1) Xi (T) = Xi (0) + Vi (O) × T + 1/2 × Ai (0) × T ² (2) On the other hand, the control plan processing unit 25 of the control plan processing device 2 has a function as a speed plan creating means and a planned value determining means, and based on the speed command from the leaky coaxial cable D as described above, the travel route. A speed plan along B is created, and a predicted arrival position Xi '(T) and a planned speed Vi' (T) after T seconds are obtained.

The predicted arrival position Xi (T) and the predicted speed Vi (T) obtained by the processing unit 24 as described above, and the expected arrival position Xi '(T) and the planned speed Vi' obtained by the processing unit 25. (T) is output to the deviation calculator 50 having a function as deviation calculating means. The deviation calculator 50 subtracts the expected arrival position Xi (T) and the expected speed Vi (T) from the expected arrival position Xi '(T) and the expected speed Vi' (T), respectively, to obtain the distance after T seconds. The deviation and the speed deviation are calculated and output to the conversion unit 26 having a function as acceleration / deceleration data creating means.

The conversion unit 26 generates acceleration / deceleration correction data by adding values obtained by multiplying the distance deviation and the speed deviation by predetermined gains Kx and Ku, respectively, to the vehicle speed control device 4. It is output to the comparison unit 27 provided.

The above processing is similarly performed for both the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle.

Further, in the following vehicle, the current traveling position Xi-1 of the preceding vehicle obtained by inter-vehicle communication with the preceding vehicle
(0) 28, speed Vi-1 (0) 29 and acceleration Ai-1 (0) 30
However, in the control plan processing device 2 of the following vehicle,
It is output to the processing unit 31 that predicts the state in seconds.

This processing unit 31 functions as a preceding vehicle predicted value calculating means, and the predicted arrival position Xi-1 (T) of the preceding vehicle T seconds later and the predicted speed Vi- of T seconds later. 1 (T) is the same formula as the above formulas (1) and (2), respectively (see FIG. 3)
Ask by

The predicted arrival position Xi-1 (T) and the predicted speed Vi-1 (T) of the preceding vehicle obtained by the processing unit 31 are the same as those of the own vehicle (following vehicle) obtained by the processing unit 24. Expected position Xi (T)
And the estimated speed Vi (T), and an inter-vehicle calculation unit 4 having a function as an expected inter-vehicle distance calculation means and an inter-vehicle speed difference calculation means.
Output to 0. In this inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 40, the T of the preceding vehicle is
From the expected arrival position Xi-1 (T) and the estimated speed Vi-1 (T) after 2 seconds, the expected arrival position Xi of the own vehicle (following vehicle) after T seconds is reached.
By subtracting (T) and expected speed Vi (T), the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference after T seconds are calculated.

In this embodiment, the own vehicle speed Vi of the following vehicle is
(0) 22 is also provided with a target inter-vehicle distance adjusting means 32 for adjusting the inter-vehicle distance, and in the inter-vehicle calculating section 40, the target vehicle distance adjusting means 32 causes the own vehicle speed Vi (0) 2
Target inter-vehicle distance d generated by a predetermined function according to 2
From the predicted arrival position Xi-1 (T) of the preceding vehicle to the own vehicle (following vehicle)
Is further subtracted from the expected inter-vehicle distance after T seconds, which is obtained by subtracting the expected arrival position Xi (T) of (1), and the deviation between the expected inter-vehicle distance and the target inter-vehicle distance d is obtained.

This is done in order to prevent the following vehicle from coming too close to the preceding vehicle at the beginning of traveling or at the time of the end of traveling. The target inter-vehicle distance adjusting means 32 may be omitted depending on the method of setting the inter-vehicle distance. The vehicle-to-vehicle distance data (deviation between the predicted vehicle-to-vehicle distance and the target vehicle-to-vehicle distance) calculated by the vehicle-to-vehicle distance calculating section 40 and the data on the vehicle-to-vehicle speed difference are converted into a conversion unit having a function as a second acceleration / deceleration data calculating unit. It is output to 33.
The conversion unit 33 generates acceleration / deceleration correction data by adding values obtained by multiplying the vehicle-to-vehicle distance data and the vehicle-to-vehicle speed difference data by predetermined gains Kx1 and Ku1 to each other, which is the vehicle speed control device. 4 is output to the comparison unit 27.

In the vehicle speed control device 4, the comparing section 27 is used.
Is the acceleration / deceleration correction data (output of the conversion unit 26) based on the expected deviation of the host vehicle after T seconds with respect to the above-described speed plan, and the expected inter-vehicle distance and inter-vehicle speed difference between the preceding vehicle after T seconds. Based on the acceleration / deceleration correction data (output of the conversion unit 33) based on the acceleration / deceleration correction data, the acceleration on the forward side of the vehicle becomes small so that the following vehicle does not come too close to the preceding vehicle. It is selected and output to the throttle-side integrator 41 and the brake-side integrator 42.

In this case, when there is no other vehicle ahead of the preceding vehicle or the other vehicle ahead is sufficiently far from the own vehicle, the comparison unit 27 determines that Acceleration / deceleration correction data (output of the conversion unit 26) based on the expected deviation of the own vehicle after T seconds with respect to the speed plan is output.

Further, the comparison unit 27 may output the correction data of the conversion unit 26 side on the front running vehicle side and the correction data of the conversion unit 33 side on the following vehicle side, for example.

The integrators 41 and 42 thus inputted with the acceleration / deceleration correction data integrate the acceleration / deceleration correction data,
The integrated values (which correspond to the target vehicle speed) are output to the throttle control amount conversion unit 34 and the brake control amount conversion unit 35, respectively.

In addition to the output of the integrator 41, the throttle control amount conversion unit 34 is provided with data such as the current vehicle speed of the vehicle, the number of revolutions of the engine (not shown), the number of gears of the transmission, and the like. The throttle opening degree is determined using a predetermined map or the like. And
Based on this throttle instruction opening, the throttle control unit 3
6, the instruction duty that defines the operation amount of the throttle actuator 15 is set to the actuator 1
5 to control the actuator 15.

Further, in the brake control amount conversion unit 35, the current vehicle speed data of the vehicle is given in addition to the output of the integrator 42, and the brake command pressure is determined from these data using a map or the like. Then, based on this brake command pressure, the brake control unit 37 gives a command duty that defines the operation amount of the brake actuator 16 to the actuator 16, thereby controlling the actuator 16.

By the control as described above, in the preceding vehicle, the vehicle speed control is performed according to the acceleration / deceleration correction data based on the expected deviation of the own vehicle after T seconds from the speed plan.
Then, in the following vehicle, in a state in which an appropriate inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle can be maintained, vehicle speed control is performed according to acceleration / deceleration correction data based on the expected deviation of the vehicle after T seconds from the speed plan, When there is a risk that the proper inter-vehicle distance cannot be maintained, vehicle speed control is performed according to the acceleration / deceleration correction data based on the expected inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle after T seconds and the inter-vehicle speed difference.

In this embodiment, when the magnetic information source C cannot be detected and the traveling position of the preceding vehicle cannot be detected correctly, the output of the laser radar 10 is used to calculate the following distance. To control.

That is, the body lengths of the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle are set to dc.
(For example, 5 m), the traveling position of the preceding vehicle is Xi-1, the traveling position of the own vehicle is Xi, and the inter-vehicle distance detected by the output of the radar 10 is dr. The position is calculated sequentially.

Xi-1 = Xi + dr + dc (3) Then, the traveling position Xi of the preceding vehicle obtained by the equation (3)
-1 in place of the predicted arrival position Xi-1 (T)
Give to.

Further, if the inter-vehicle communication cannot be normally performed due to a failure or the like, the data of the traveling position and speed of the preceding vehicle cannot be obtained by the following vehicle side by the inter-vehicle communication. To use. That is, the traveling position Xi-1 of the preceding vehicle is obtained by the equation (3) in the same manner as described above, and the speed Vi-1 of the preceding vehicle is determined by the vehicle position Xi and the position Xi of the preceding vehicle.
The relative speed of the preceding vehicle to the own vehicle, which is obtained by differentiating the distance difference (= dr + dc) from -1, is added to the speed Vi of the own vehicle. Then, the inter-vehicle distance calculation is performed by replacing the traveling position Xi-1 and the speed Vi-1 of the preceding vehicle thus obtained with the predicted arrival position Xi-1 (T) and the predicted speed Vi-1 (T), respectively. Input to the section 40.

In the position control in the lateral direction (steering direction) in this embodiment, the magnetic sensors 6 in front of and behind the vehicle are used.
Based on the lateral position deviation and the direction deviation (angle deviation) with respect to the travel route B at the current position of the vehicle obtained based on the output of the vehicle, the curvature information of the road ahead of the vehicle obtained from the leaky coaxial cable D, and the like after a predetermined time. Position deviation and directional deviation between the predicted arrival position of the vehicle and the target arrival position on the travel route B are calculated, and the steering amount is calculated so that the vehicle follows the travel route B based on the position deviation and the directional deviation. To be

According to the automatic vehicle of the present embodiment described above, the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle is corrected based on the expected deviation of the future traveling position and speed of the vehicle predicted T seconds after the speed plan from the speed plan. Since the vehicle speed is controlled by obtaining the data, the automatic traveling along the traveling route B can be smoothly performed. Further, on the side of the following vehicle, the vehicle speed control is further performed by obtaining the acceleration / deceleration correction data of the vehicle based on the future predicted inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference expected in T seconds between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Since it is performed, it is possible to smoothly and automatically travel along the travel route B while reliably maintaining an appropriate inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle.

Since the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle have the same system configuration, there is a slight difference in the processing on the software (program), so that both the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle can be automatically driven in accordance with each other. It can be performed.

Further, since the system (devices 1 to 4) is modularized and the CPU is mounted on each of them, signal processing can be performed with extremely high precision and high speed.

In the embodiment described above, the wheel pulse sensor 8, the acceleration sensor 9, and the laser radar 10 are provided in consideration of the case where the magnetic information source C cannot be detected.
By deleting these, the traveling position (traveling distance) of the vehicle is grasped only by the number of detections of the magnetic information source C, and the traveling position is differentiated by the first and second floors to grasp the speed and acceleration of the vehicle. You may do it.

Further, the information source provided on the traveling route B is not limited to the magnetic information source C. For example, color or graphic marks may be arranged on the traveling route B to optically detect them. You may The mark interval is not limited to 1 m.

In the present embodiment, the leak information coaxial cable D is used as the traveling information providing equipment.
Cellular wireless equipment, beacons, etc. may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an automatic vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing magnetic sensing of the autonomous vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining vehicle speed control of the autonomous vehicle of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

B ... Travel route, C ... Route marker (magnetic information source), D ... Leakage coaxial cable (information providing facility), 1 ... Communication signal processing device (communication means, travel position recognition means), 2 ... Control plan processing device (speed) Plan preparation means, scheduled value determination means, expected value calculation means, deviation calculation means, acceleration / deceleration data calculation means, preceding vehicle expected value calculation means, estimated inter-vehicle distance calculation means, inter-vehicle speed difference calculation means), 4 ... Vehicle speed control processing Device (acceleration / deceleration control means),
6 ... Magnetic sensor (marker detection sensor).

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An automatic vehicle that automatically travels on a travel route provided with a route marker indicating the travel route on the travel route while detecting the route marker with a marker detection sensor. Driving position recognition means for recognizing the traveling position of the vehicle, speed plan creating means for creating a speed plan that defines the relationship between the traveling position and the speed of the vehicle on the travel route, and the current traveling of the vehicle based on the speed plan. An expected position after a predetermined time from the position and an expected value determining means for obtaining an expected speed at the expected position,
Expected value calculating means for obtaining the expected position after the predetermined time and the expected speed at the expected position based on the current traveling position, speed and acceleration of the vehicle, and a distance deviation between the expected position and the expected position, and Deviation calculating means for obtaining a speed deviation between the planned speed and the predicted speed, acceleration / deceleration data calculating means for creating acceleration / deceleration correction data of the vehicle based on the distance deviation and speed deviation, and acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle based on the acceleration / deceleration correction data. An automatic vehicle comprising: an acceleration / deceleration control means for controlling speed. 2. The automatic vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the route markers are magnetic information sources arranged on the traveling route at predetermined intervals. 3. The traveling position recognition means comprises means for detecting a traveling distance of a vehicle on the traveling route, and recognizes a current traveling position of the vehicle based on the detected traveling distance. The automated vehicle according to 1 or 2. 4. The route marker comprises magnetic information sources arranged on the travel route at predetermined intervals, and the travel distance is
The automatic vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the detection is performed by the number of times the magnetic information source is detected by the marker detection sensor. 5. A communication means for transmitting and receiving the traveling information of the vehicle to and from the traveling information providing equipment installed outside the vehicle, the traveling information providing equipment transmitting the speed command information of the vehicle through the communicating means. The automatic vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the speed plan creating means creates the speed plan based on the given speed command information. 6. The automatic vehicle according to claim 5, wherein the travel information providing facility is a leaky coaxial cable installed along the travel path. 7. The predicted value calculation means uses the traveling position of the vehicle recognized by the traveling position recognizing means, the speed of the vehicle represented by the first-order differential value of the traveling position, and the second-order differential value of the traveling position. The predicted arrival position is calculated based on the acceleration of the vehicle represented, and the prediction is calculated based on the vehicle speed represented by the first derivative of the traveling position and the vehicle acceleration represented by the second derivative of the traveling position. The automatic vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein speed is calculated. 8. A speed sensor and an acceleration sensor for respectively detecting a speed and an acceleration of the vehicle are provided, and the expected value calculating means is detected by the traveling position of the vehicle recognized by the traveling position recognizing means and the speed sensor. The predicted arrival position is calculated from the speed of the vehicle and the acceleration of the vehicle detected by the acceleration sensor, and the predicted position is calculated from the speed of the vehicle detected by the speed sensor and the acceleration of the vehicle detected by the acceleration sensor. The automatic traveling vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a speed is calculated. 9. An automatic vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising inter-vehicle communication means for mutually transmitting and receiving information regarding a traveling position of the vehicle between at least a preceding vehicle and a following vehicle. Traveling vehicle. 10. A predicted value of a preceding vehicle for obtaining a predicted position of the preceding vehicle after the predetermined time and a predicted speed at the predicted position thereof based on information obtained from the preceding vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication means. Predicted inter-vehicle distance for calculating the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after the predetermined time from the calculation means, the estimated arrival position of the preceding vehicle and the estimated arrival position of the own vehicle obtained by the estimated value calculation means. An inter-vehicle speed difference calculation that calculates a vehicle-to-vehicle speed difference between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after the predetermined time from the calculating means, the expected speed of the preceding vehicle, and the expected speed of the own vehicle obtained by the estimated value calculating means. 10. The automatic vehicle according to claim 9, further comprising means. 11. A second acceleration / deceleration data calculation means for creating vehicle acceleration / deceleration correction data based on the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference, wherein the acceleration / deceleration control means comprises the acceleration / deceleration data calculation means and the second acceleration / deceleration data calculation means. 11. The automatic vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the acceleration / deceleration correction data created by the acceleration / deceleration data calculating means is selectively selected to control the acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle. 12. The acceleration / deceleration control means includes acceleration / deceleration correction data in which the acceleration on the forward side of the vehicle is small, among the acceleration / deceleration correction data created by the acceleration / deceleration data calculation means and the second acceleration / deceleration data calculation means. The automatic vehicle according to claim 11, wherein data is selected to control acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle. 13. The preceding vehicle expected value calculation means is a traveling position of the preceding vehicle obtained via the inter-vehicle communication means and a speed of the preceding vehicle represented by a first-order differential value of the traveling position. The predicted arrival position of the preceding vehicle is calculated by the acceleration of the preceding vehicle represented by the second-order differential value of the traveling position, and the speed of the preceding vehicle represented by the first-order differential value of the traveling position and the traveling The automated vehicle according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the predicted speed of the preceding vehicle is calculated based on the acceleration of the preceding vehicle represented by the second-order differential value of the position. 14. The information transmitted / received by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means includes information on the vehicle speed and acceleration in addition to the information on the traveling position of the vehicle, and the preceding vehicle expected value calculation means is through the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means. The predicted traveling position of the preceding vehicle is calculated from the obtained traveling position, speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle, and the prediction of the preceding vehicle is calculated from the speed and acceleration of the preceding vehicle obtained through the inter-vehicle communication means. The automatic vehicle according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein a speed is calculated. 15. An automatic vehicle that automatically travels on a travel route provided with a route marker indicating the travel route on the travel route while detecting the route marker by a marker detection sensor. A traveling position recognition means for recognizing the current traveling position, an inter-vehicle communication means for mutually transmitting and receiving information on the traveling position of the vehicle between at least a preceding vehicle and a following vehicle, and a current traveling position, speed and Based on the acceleration, a predicted vehicle position after a predetermined time and a predicted vehicle speed value at the predicted position at that predicted position, and an estimated value after the predetermined time based on information obtained from the preceding vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication means A preceding vehicle predicted value calculating means for obtaining a predicted arrival position of the preceding vehicle and a predicted speed at the predicted arrival position, an expected position of the preceding vehicle and a predicted arrival of the own vehicle. Predicted inter-vehicle distance calculating means for obtaining the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle after the predetermined time from the position, and the preceding running after the predetermined time from the predicted speed of the preceding vehicle and the predicted speed of the own vehicle. An inter-vehicle speed difference calculating means for obtaining an inter-vehicle speed difference between the vehicle and the own vehicle, an acceleration / deceleration data calculating means for creating acceleration / deceleration correction data of the vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance and the inter-vehicle speed difference, and based on the acceleration / deceleration correction data An automatic vehicle comprising: an acceleration / deceleration control means for controlling the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle.