JPH11321377A - Control device for environment recognizing vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cruise control device which prevents one's own car from carelessly following a preceding vehicle, in a divided traffic flow to an interchange and a service parking area and the like from a superhighway. SOLUTION: This control device for an environment recognizing vehicle is formed out of a running control device 14 executing follow-up running control or constant speed running control, a lane position recognition part 11 recognizing a lane position occupied by one's own car out of a plurality of traffic lanes, a direction indicator 12 indicating the intention of a driver for making a right or a left turn, and of a releasing part 13 which clearly confirms whether the follow-up running control or the constant speed running control is released based on the lane position of one's own car obtained from the lane position recognition part 11 and the content of information obtained from the direction indicator 12, generates a control signal for releasing the control in response to the result of decision, thereby outputs the control signal to the running control device 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an environment-recognizing vehicle control device for controlling a traveling operation of a vehicle while recognizing the traveling environment of the vehicle, and more particularly to a cruise control device having means for detecting a wobble of a traveling vehicle and a lane departure. And a lane departure warning device for warning.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reduce the driving operation of a driver, a cruise control device for performing a constant speed traveling control for maintaining a constant vehicle speed of a host vehicle or a following traveling control for maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle is known. More known. Vehicles equipped with constant-speed running control detect the vehicle speed of the host vehicle by a vehicle speed measuring device such as a vehicle speed sensor, and control the engine output and brake so that the host vehicle speed becomes a preset vehicle speed. You are running at a constant speed. Further, the vehicle provided with the following cruise control detects an inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle by an inter-vehicle distance measuring device, and controls an engine output and a brake so that the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle becomes a preset inter-vehicle distance. By controlling, the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle. In recent years, various devices have been devised in accordance with running conditions in order to more safely and comfortably follow a preceding vehicle.

For example, in an inter-vehicle distance control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-61348, the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped while the direction indicator is switched on and for a predetermined time after the switch is turned off. By maintaining the speed just before the turn signal switch is turned on unless the accelerator, brake, clutch, etc. are operated, the inter-vehicle distance sensor at the time of passing or changing lanes detects guardrails, etc.
It has been proposed to solve the problem that the inter-vehicle distance is erroneously detected.

[0004] In addition, in the vehicle travel control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-159198, during overtaking and lane change, the inter-vehicle distance shorter than the normal target inter-vehicle distance is temporarily set. A proposal has been made to prevent a sudden approach to a following vehicle after a lane change.

[0005]

However, if the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped every time the turn signal is turned on, the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped every time the vehicle passes or changes lanes. An operation to restart is required.

[0006] Setting an inter-vehicle distance shorter than a normal target inter-vehicle distance is effective in the case of passing or changing lanes from a traveling lane to an overtaking lane or the like. When diverting to a service / parking area or the like, there is a risk that the vehicle may inadvertently follow the preceding vehicle.

According to the present invention, as an environment-recognizing vehicle control device for solving the above-mentioned problems, the cruise control is released in accordance with the lane position of the own vehicle and the driver's intention, so that the vehicle is controlled ahead of an expressway or a general road. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a cruise control device capable of preventing careless following of a vehicle.

Further, in an alarm device for warning of a lane departure due to dozing, etc., even when the lane is changed while the direction indicator is not operated, the lane departure is always determined and an alarm is issued. It is a second object of the invention to discriminate between a lane departure due to a drowsiness or the like and a lane change intended by the driver, and to issue an alarm.

[0009]

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides a cruise control device provided with traveling control means for performing follow-up traveling control or constant-speed traveling control. Lane position recognizing means for recognizing the lane position where the vehicle exists, a direction indicator for indicating the driver's intention to make a right or left turn, and information from the lane position and direction indicator of the own vehicle obtained from the lane position recognizing means. Cruise control release means for releasing the travel control operation in accordance with

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides a cruise control device, comprising: a lane position recognizing means for recognizing a lane position where a host vehicle exists in a plurality of lanes; And a cruise control canceling means for canceling the traveling control operation based on the lane position obtained from the lane position recognizing means and the information obtained from the lane change detecting means.

Here, in addition to the lane change detecting means, the lane change detecting means detects the degree of wandering of the own vehicle, and the cruise control release means changes the lane change detecting means of the own vehicle. The configuration may be such that the travel control operation is canceled when it is detected that the vehicle is moving in one of the left and right directions and when the direction indicator is not operated.

Further, the cruise control release means may include a warning means for warning a driver when the cruise control operation is released, to the driver.

[0013] The lane position recognizing means may include an image capturing means for capturing an image in front of the own vehicle, an image processing means for processing an image from the image capturing means, and a millimeter wave radar for detecting an oncoming vehicle. Is also good. Alternatively, the lane position recognizing means may be constituted by a navigation device capable of detecting a lane position where the vehicle is traveling.

The travel control means may include at least one of a follow-up travel control means for maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle and a constant-speed travel control means for maintaining a constant vehicle speed of the host vehicle.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lane departure warning device or a cruise control device, comprising: a lane change detecting means for detecting a lane change operation together with a wobble degree of the host vehicle; And cancels the traveling control operation based on the information from the lane change detecting means and the signal from the direction indicator, or generates an alarm that warns of lane departure.

In order to achieve the second object, the present invention relates to a lane departure warning device or a cruise control device, which comprises a wobble detecting means for detecting a wobble condition of the own vehicle which is different from a normal running state. And a direction indicator for canceling the traveling control operation based on information from the wobble detection means and a signal from the direction indicator, or generating an alarm for warning of lane departure.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a cruise control device and a lane departure warning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the cruise control device according to the first embodiment. The cruise control device of the first embodiment, as shown in FIG.
When diverging in a parking service area or the like (patterns 21 and 22) or on a general road, when the vehicle turns right or left at an intersection (pattern 23), careless follow-up running is performed by releasing the cruise control. It is to avoid. However, pattern 2
In the case of a lane change from a driving lane to an overtaking lane such as 4, 25, 26, or a lane change from an overtaking lane to a driving lane or overtaking, the cruise control is not released so that the operability of the driver is improved. I try not to lose.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cruise control device according to the present embodiment includes a travel control device 14 having follow-up travel control means or a constant speed travel control means, and a host vehicle on a road having a plurality of lanes. A lane position recognition unit 11 for recognizing the position of the lane, a direction indicator 12 for indicating the driver's intention to make a right or left turn, and a lane position and direction indicator 12 of the own vehicle obtained from the lane position recognition unit 11 A release unit 13 that releases the follow-up traveling control or the constant-speed traveling control according to the content of the obtained information.

Hereinafter, the case where the traveling control device 14 in the cruise control device performs follow-up traveling control will be described in detail. However, the case of constant speed traveling control can be similarly realized.

The operation of the cruise control device of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation of the present embodiment includes a step 31 for performing a follow-up running control for maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle, a step 32 for recognizing a lane position of the own vehicle, a step 33 for detecting a signal from the direction indicator 12, It can be divided into five steps: a step 34 of determining whether to release the cruise control based on the lane position of the vehicle and the direction indicator signal, and a step 35 of releasing the cruise control based on the determination result.

First, a description will be given of step 31 for performing follow-up running control for maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle. These traveling controls are performed by the traveling control means 14 of FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a control block of the follow-up traveling control means provided in the traveling control device 14.
The following running control means of this example includes a distance measuring device 41 for measuring a distance to an object located in front of the own vehicle, a vehicle speed measuring device 42 for measuring a vehicle speed of the own vehicle, and running while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance. A cruise controller 43 having a function of controlling the drive mechanism of the vehicle, a throttle controller 44 for controlling a throttle actuator 45 for operating a throttle, a transmission controller 46 for controlling a shift operation of a transmission 47, and a brake. And a brake controller 48 for controlling a brake actuator 49 to be operated.

The distance measuring device 41 is realized by, for example, a radio wave radar device or a laser radar device.
Is realized by, for example, a vehicle speed sensor.

The processing content of the following running control will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a control system for following running using predicted inter-vehicle distances Da, Dn, and Dd between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle. Now, the inter-vehicle distance D is oscillating around the target inter-vehicle distance Dr, which is the current inter-vehicle distance D (time = T1) with respect to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr with the preceding vehicle, and the deviation is ΔD
And The inter-vehicle distance Da at time T2 when the own vehicle is accelerated at the current time (time = T1) is predicted using the vehicle model. The time T when the deceleration control is performed similarly
2 and the inter-vehicle distance Dn at time T2 when the vehicle travels as it is. The predicted values are as shown in FIG. The follow-up traveling control means the target inter-vehicle distance D among the three predicted values Da, Dn, and Dd.
This is a control method for executing a process of selecting a value close to r.

In the following, a routine for generating a throttle command signal output for controlling the speed of the vehicle in the following running control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, at step 601, the inter-vehicle distance D between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is measured using the distance measuring device 41. As a specific measuring method, for example,
As described in Japanese Patent No. 27678/29, a radio wave radar which radiates radio waves in the traveling direction and measures the relative speed and the inter-vehicle distance from the Doppler frequency superimposed on the returned reflected waves, As described in JP-A-203524, there is a method in which a laser beam is output, and measurement is performed using a pulse-type laser radar that measures the inter-vehicle distance from the time until reflected light returns.

Step 602 is necessary only when the distance between vehicles can only be measured when using a pulse type radar device. Step 602 may be omitted if the relative speed can be measured as in a CW system such as a radio wave radar device.

In step 603, an expected inter-vehicle distance Da when the acceleration signal is output is calculated. + Α corresponding to the acceleration is input to the vehicle model held in advance, and the time T2
Is predicted. In step 604, a future inter-vehicle distance Dd when the deceleration signal is output is predicted. In the same manner as in step 603, a calculation is performed by inputting -α corresponding to the deceleration signal. In step 605, a future inter-vehicle distance Dn is predicted when no acceleration / deceleration signal is output.

The predicted inter-vehicle distances Da, D thus obtained
Among n and Db, the one having the value closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr is searched for in steps 606 and 607. If the predicted inter-vehicle distance Da is closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr when the acceleration signal is output, the flow branches from step 606 to step 608, and otherwise to step 607. In step 608, a signal is output to the throttle controller 44 so that the throttle opening can be opened by Δθ, and the process ends.

In step 607, if the predicted inter-vehicle distance Dd when the deceleration signal is output is closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr, the flow branches to step 610. If acceleration / deceleration is not required and the current throttle opening is maintained, the process is terminated. In step 610, the predicted inter-vehicle distance Dd is compared with the inter-vehicle distance Dc for canceling the auto cruise, and if Dc ≦ Dd, the process proceeds to step 609, where Dc> Dd.
If so, the flow branches to step 611. In step 609, a signal is output to the throttle controller 44 to close the throttle opening by Δθ, and the process ends.

In step 611, the throttle controller 4 sets the throttle opening to the fully closed state (Δθmin).
4 to output a signal. By fully closing the throttle opening, a strong engine brake is applied and deceleration is prevented to prevent a rear-end collision. The inter-vehicle distance Dc at which the throttle opening is fully closed is set for each vehicle.

According to step 31 in FIG. 3 in the traveling control device 14 described above, it is possible to perform the following traveling while keeping the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle constant.

Next, step 32 for recognizing the lane position of the vehicle will be described. The recognition of the lane position is performed by the lane position recognition unit 11 in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of a control block of the lane position recognition unit 11. The lane position recognition unit 11
An imaging device 71 (CCD camera or the like) for imaging the front of the own vehicle, a lane position recognition image processing unit 72 for processing an image captured by the imaging device 71, and whether an oncoming vehicle exists in a lane adjacent to the own vehicle Lane position determination for determining the position of the lane in which the own vehicle travels based on the information from the adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit 73 and the information from the lane position recognition image processing unit 72 and the information from the adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit 73 It is composed of a part 74.

Here, a method of recognizing the lane position of the own vehicle in the lane position recognizing section 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The step 32 of recognizing the lane position is divided into three parts: a part for determining the solid line / broken line from step 81 to step 85, a part for determining the adjacent lane in step 86, and a part for determining the lane position in step 87. Can be divided. Below,
The determination of the solid line / broken line, the determination of the adjacent lane, and the determination of the lane position will be described in this order.

First, a portion for determining whether a line is a solid line or a broken line will be described. In step 81, the imaging device 71 captures an image of the scene in front of the own vehicle. Next, straight lines on the left and right of the image area 91 and the image area 92 are detected from the captured input image (FIG. 9), and the two boundary lines 102 and 103 of the lane where the own vehicle is present as shown in FIG. White line initial model 104 composed of vanishing points 101 that are intersections
Is estimated (step 82). In this example, a case will be described in which rectangular image areas 91 and 92 are used. However, the shape of these image areas is not limited to a rectangle.
For example, a rectangular area including only the vicinity of the white line and set corresponding to the shape of the white line may be used.

For detecting a straight line in step 82, for example, a known Hough transform is used. X, Y
For image data represented on the rectangular coordinate system screen, feature points are calculated by processing such as differentiation, and the obtained feature points (X,
Y) is converted into polar coordinate values (ρ, θ) of the polar coordinate system by ρ = xcos θ + ysin θ, and stored while adding the frequencies to the frequency table corresponding to the polar coordinate values one by one. In this method, a straight line represented by the maximum polar coordinate value (ρ, θ) is set as a straight line to be obtained. For example, 114 in FIG. 11 is a set of straight lines passing through the feature point 111, and similarly, 115 and 116 are a set of straight lines passing through 112 and 113, respectively, and the coordinates of the intersection 117 of the three curves 114, 115 and 116 ( ρ
1, θ1) are parameters of a straight line passing through the feature points A, B, and C. In the Hough transform used in the present invention, in order to reduce the processing time of white line detection, instead of calculating feature points in the entire image region, calculation of feature points is performed by limiting the range in which white lines exist in advance. Is going. Further, the processing time is improved by limiting the angle range in which θ of the Hough transform is checked in advance.

In step 83, the region near the straight line obtained in step 82 is binarized as indicated by 122 in FIG. Subsequently, at step 84, the maximum X coordinate of the left white line of the image area 91 is projected onto the Y axis, and the X coordinate is stored in the maximum X coordinate projection table 123a. Similarly, the minimum X coordinate of the white line on the right side of the image area 92 is projected onto the Y axis, and the X coordinate is stored in the minimum X coordinate projection table 123b. Such maximum / minimum X coordinate extraction processing is performed by zebra zone,
This is performed so as not to be affected by adjacent vehicles.
Each of the projection tables 123a and 123b is initialized with invalid coordinates in advance. For example, if the image processing size is 51
In the case of 2 × 440, the maximum X coordinate projection table 123
The invalid coordinate of a is X = 0, and the minimum X coordinate projection table 12
The invalid coordinates of 3b are initialized with X = 511.

The determination of the solid line / broken line in step 85 is made based on whether or not the value of the projection table storing the coordinate values projected in step 84 continuously appears with the initial invalid coordinates. . This will be described with reference to the flowchart of the determination of the solid line / broken line shown in FIG.

In steps 131 and 132, a continuous counter and a judgment result are initialized. Next, the coordinate values in the projection table are checked (step 133). If the coordinates of the projection table are invalid coordinates, the continuous number counter is incremented (step 134); otherwise, the continuous number counter is reset (step 13).
5). The processes of steps 133, 134, and 135 are repeatedly performed by the size of the projection table. Finally, in step 136, the continuous number counter is compared with the continuous number threshold, and it is determined that a broken line is obtained when the continuous number counter> = continuous number threshold (step 137). Judge as the solid line at the threshold.

Next, the adjacent lane judging process of step 86 performed by the adjacent lane oncoming vehicle judging section 73 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, the adjacent lane-oncoming vehicle determination unit 73 detects the radio wave radar device 1 that detects an object ahead of the own vehicle.
41 (for example, a millimeter wave radar) and a radio wave radar device 14
1 comprises a signal processing unit 142 for processing a signal. As the radio radar device 141, the distance measuring device 41 of the following traveling device can be used. That is, it is possible to determine whether there is an oncoming vehicle in an adjacent lane based on distance information from the oncoming vehicle in front of the own vehicle. Specifically, a relative speed is calculated from a change over time in the distance, and if the relative speed is negative, it is determined that the vehicle is an oncoming vehicle. When a device capable of detecting relative speed information together with distance information is used as the radio wave radar device, a configuration may be used in which the relative speed information is used as it is.

The determination of the lane position in the last step 87 is made by the lane position determination section 74 based on the result of the solid line / broken line determination in the step 85 and the determination result of the adjacent lane in the step 86. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for lane position determination.

First, in step 151, step 86
Check the judgment result of the adjacent lane. When the determination result of the adjacent lane is “oncoming vehicle”, in step 152, the lane position recognition unit 11 outputs information indicating “oncoming vehicle”. Conversely, if there is no oncoming vehicle,
It branches to step 153. In step 153, the solid line
By checking whether the left white line is a dashed line and the right white line is a solid line with respect to the determination result of the broken line, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle exists in the right end lane. If the result of the determination in step 153 is Yes, in step 154, the lane position recognition unit 11 outputs information indicating that the vehicle is in the rightmost lane. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 153 is No, the flow branches to step 155. In Step 155, Step 1
By examining the determination result of the solid line / broken line as in 53, it is determined whether the vehicle is in the leftmost lane. If the determination result is Yes, the lane position recognition unit 11 determines in step 156 that Outputs information indicating that the vehicle is present in the leftmost lane. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 155 is No, information indicating that the vehicle is in another lane is output.

As another method of recognizing the lane position of the host vehicle, a navigation device may be used. FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of the lane position recognition unit 11 'when a navigation device is used.

The lane position recognizing unit 11 'includes a host vehicle position detecting unit 161 for detecting the position of the host vehicle, map data 162 in which coordinates of intersections and interchanges, the number of lanes of the lane, and the like are recorded. The lane position determination unit 74 'determines the lane where the vehicle is located based on the vehicle position information from the position detection unit 161 and the data from the map data 162. The own vehicle position detection unit 161 includes:
Specifically, it is realized by a differential GPS, a kinematic GPS, or the like.

The map data 162 includes information relating to nodes (points where roads and roads intersect, that is, intersections) and links (nodes and nodes) as shown in the table of FIG. Connection). In addition to roads, map data also includes location and name data of facilities such as buildings and parks, railroads, water systems, etc., but they are not relevant to the present invention and will not be described here. In the database of FIG. 18, the node table contains the node number, coordinates, the number of links flowing out of the node and their link numbers, and the link table contains the link numbers, the start and end nodes constituting the link, the link length, And the number of lanes. The node numbers are determined so that they do not overlap with each other. The same applies to link numbers. The correspondence between the table in FIG. 18 and the actual road map in FIG. 17 can be obtained as follows. The node numbers 15 and 34 in the node table of FIG. 18 can be understood from the respective coordinate values as the nodes indicated by ○ in FIG. And the number of links flowing out from the node number 15 is 4
There are books, they are link numbers: 20, 21, 19, 30
It is. Looking at the link number 21 in the link table, it can be seen that the road is from the node 15 to the node 34. If this road is not a one-way street, there is a road from the node 34 to the node 15. Looking at the link table, it can be seen that the road is provided with the link number 55.

The lane position determination unit 74 'determines which lane the vehicle is in based on the position information from the vehicle position detection unit 161 and the number of road lanes from the map data 162.

Step 3 in the above lane position recognition means
2, the lane position of the own vehicle can be recognized.

In the detection of the direction indicator signal in step 33, it is detected to which side the driver has issued the direction indicator 12 (left winker or right winker), and the result is sent to the release unit 13. This detection can be detected by checking the switch of the direction indicator 12.

The determination of the release of the cruise control in step 34 is made in the release section 13 of FIG. If the result of the release determination in step 34 in FIG. 3 is Yes, the flow branches to release of cruise control in step 35, and a release signal is transmitted to the travel control device 14 to release cruise control. Conversely, if the result of the cancellation determination in step 34 is No, the process branches to running control in step 31 to continue the following running.

FIG. 19 is a control block diagram of the release unit 13.
FIG. 20 shows a flowchart for determining the release of the cruise control. Hereinafter, a method of determining cruise control cancellation will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 19, the release unit 13 performs release determination for releasing the cruise control based on the lane position information obtained by the lane position recognition unit 11 and the direction indicator information from the direction indicator 12. A determination unit 191;
And a warning device 192 for warning the driver of the release of the cruise control.

The cancellation determination unit 191 determines whether the cancellation has been performed in step 2 of FIG.
01, the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32
It is determined whether the lane position information from is the leftmost lane. If the result of the determination in step 201 is Yes, the process branches to step 202, and if No, the process branches to step 204. In step 202, it is determined whether or not the direction indicator signal from the direction indicator 12 is a left turn signal. If the determination result is Yes, step 20 is performed.
In step 3, a release signal is generated and transmitted to the travel control device 14. This corresponds to the case of the pattern 21 that branches to an interchange, a parking service area, and the like shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 202 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.

In step 204, it is determined whether or not the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is the rightmost lane or an oncoming vehicle. Step 20
If the result of the determination in 4 is Yes, the process branches to step 205, and if No, the cancellation determination process ends. Then, in Step 205, it is determined whether or not the direction indicator signal from the direction indicator 12 is a right turn signal. If the determination result is Yes, a release signal is generated in Step 203 and transmitted to the travel control device. This corresponds to the patterns 22 and 23 shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 205 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.

In step 203, a release signal for releasing the travel control is generated, and the alarm device 192 is operated to warn the driver of the release of the travel control.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention,
A cruise control device that reflects the driver's intention can be realized. In other words, without releasing the cruise control device by operating the conventional turn signal, unintentional release of the cruise control device can be performed at the time of an interchange on an expressway or in a diversion such as a service area / parking. Following the preceding vehicle can be prevented.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 21 shows an example of a control block configuration of the cruise control device according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when the host vehicle branches off at an interchange, a parking service area, or the like on a highway, or on a general road, the host vehicle turns right or left at an intersection. In such a case, the cruise control is canceled to prevent the vehicle from inadvertently following the vehicle. However, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a means for detecting a lane change of the own vehicle is provided, not from a signal from the direction indicator.

As shown in FIG. 21, for example, the cruise control device according to the present embodiment includes a cruise control device 14 having a follow-up cruise control means or a constant-speed cruise control means, and a cruise control device for a lane in which the own vehicle exists in a plurality of lanes. The lane position recognizing unit 11 for recognizing the position, the lane change detecting unit 211 for detecting the lane change of the own vehicle along with the degree of wander, and the lane position and lane change detecting unit 211 for the own vehicle obtained from the lane position recognizing unit 11. And a canceling unit 212 that cancels the follow-up traveling control or the constant-speed traveling control based on the received information.

Hereinafter, the operation of the cruise control device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation of the present embodiment includes a step 221 of performing a follow-up running to keep a constant inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle, a step 222 of recognizing a lane position of the own vehicle, a step 223 of detecting a lane change of the own vehicle, a lane of the own vehicle, Step 224 for determining whether to release the cruise control based on the position and lane change information, and step 225 for releasing the cruise control based on the determination result can be divided into five steps.

The running control in step 221, the lane position recognition in step 222, and the release of the cruise control in step 225 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the detection of the lane change in step 223 will be described first, and then the step 224 for determining whether to release the cruise control will be described.

FIG. 23 is a control block diagram of the lane change detecting section 211. The lane change detection unit 211 is an imaging device 71 (CCD camera or the like) that images the front of the vehicle.
And a lane change detection image processing unit 231 that processes an image captured by the imaging device 71.

Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 24, a description will be given of a method in which the lane change detecting section 211 detects the lane change of the own vehicle together with the degree of wander.

The image input in step 241 and the initial model estimation in step 242 are the same as steps 81 and 82 described in step 32 for recognizing the lane position of the host vehicle in the first embodiment. That is, in step 241, the imaging device 71 captures an image of the scene in front of the own vehicle. In step 242, the captured input image is compared with the two boundary lines 102 of the lane where the own vehicle exists, as shown in FIG. An initial model of a white line composed of 103 and vanishing point 101 is estimated. Therefore, when the present embodiment is implemented, the lane position recognition unit 11 and the lane change detection unit 211 estimate an initial model for the input image captured by the imaging device 71, and Perform both lane position recognition and lane change detection.

In step 243, based on the initial model obtained in step 242, as shown in FIG. 25, the angle θ 255 between the horizontal line 252 centered on the vanishing point 251 and the boundary line 253 is recorded for each frame. .

In the present embodiment, the change in the angle θ 255, that is, the time change of the difference between the angle obtained when the initial model is set and the angle after that, is examined to change the lane of the host vehicle and to stagger. Can be detected. For example, as shown in FIG. 26, when the host vehicle does not change lanes, the angle θ265 shown in the graph on the right side of this drawing takes a constant value with respect to time. However, as shown in FIG. 27, when the vehicle moves to the left in an attempt to change lanes to the left lane, the horizontal line 25
The angle θ275 formed between the boundary line 2 and the boundary line 273 is smaller than the angle θ255 when the lane is not changed, and the angle θ275 gradually decreases. Conversely, as shown in FIG. 28, when the vehicle moves rightward to change lanes to the right lane, the angle θ285 formed by the horizontal line 252 and the boundary line 283 is equal to the case where the lane is not changed. Angle θ255
, And the angle θ285 increases.

When the running state is unstable due to falling asleep or the like, and there is fluctuation, the angle θ is not constant as shown in FIGS. 26 to 28, or does not monotonically increase or decrease. It changes zigzag with an amplitude and time width that are larger than the determined size.

The determination of lane change in step 244 is performed by detecting an operation in which the host vehicle is moving laterally to change lanes. If the angle θ255 recorded in step 243 decreases with time, a determination result that the object is moving to the left is output, and the angle θ25 is output.
If 5 has increased, a determination result indicating that it is moving to the right is output. In step 245, if the angle θ255 does not monotonically increase or decrease within a certain range, it is determined that there is fluctuation.

Since the amount of change in the angle θ 255 corresponds to the lateral distance that the vehicle has moved, the amount of change is numerically examined to determine whether the lane change operation to the adjacent lane has been completed or in the middle of the operation. It may be configured to determine whether or not it is.

Next, the determination of cruise control release will be described. The release determination in step 224 is performed by the release unit 212 in FIG. Step 224
If the result of the release determination in step is Yes, step 225
The cruise control is released by transmitting a release signal to the cruise control device 14. Conversely, if the result of the release determination in step 224 is No, the flow branches to the traveling control in step 221 to continue the following travel.

FIG. 29 is a control block diagram of the release unit 212. The release unit 212 includes a release determination unit 291 that determines release of cruise control based on lane position information obtained by the lane position recognition unit 11 and lane change detection information obtained by the lane change detection unit 211. Alarm device 292 that warns the release of cruise control
It is composed of The release unit 212 can be basically realized in the same manner as the release unit 13 of the first embodiment, except that the signal sent to the release signal determination unit 291 is not a turn signal but a lane change detection obtained in step 223. Information is different.

The determination of the release of the cruise control can be basically realized in the same manner as the first embodiment except that the lane change detection information is used instead of the direction indicator signal. FIG. 30 is a flowchart of the release determination unit 291.

In step 301, the release determination unit 291 determines whether the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is the left end lane.
If the result of the determination in step 301 is Yes, the flow branches to step 302; otherwise, the flow branches to step 304. In step 302, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is moving to the left based on the lane change detection signal from the lane change detection unit 211. If the determination result is Yes, a release signal is generated in step 303 to run the vehicle. Send to control device. This corresponds to the case of the pattern 21 that branches to an interchange, a parking service area, and the like shown in FIG. Conversely, if the determination result in step 302 is N
In the case of “o”, the cancellation determination processing is terminated.

In step 304, it is determined whether or not the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is a right end lane or an oncoming vehicle. Step 30
If the result of the determination at 4 is Yes, the process branches to step 305, and if No, the cancellation determination process ends. In step 305, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is moving to the right based on the lane change detection signal from the lane change detection unit 211. If the determination result is Yes, a release signal is generated in step 303 to run the vehicle. Send to control device. This corresponds to the patterns 22 and 23 shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 305 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.

As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention,
By detecting the lane change of the own vehicle, the cruise control device can be released at the time of an interchange on a highway or a shunt, such as in a service area or parking, to prevent careless following of the vehicle ahead. it can.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 31 shows a configuration example of a control block of the cruise control device according to the third embodiment. The third embodiment is to prevent the driver from falling asleep by canceling the cruise control operation when the lane change is detected together with the wobble of the host vehicle and the turn signal is not operating. . Specifically, in the third embodiment, it is possible to detect whether or not the vehicle is unintentionally deviating from the vehicle lane due to drowsy driving, etc.
When detecting a lane departure due to a lane change, even when the lane change is being performed in a state where the turn signal is not operated, it is possible to prevent the lane departure from being determined.

As shown in FIG. 31, the cruise control device according to the present embodiment includes a travel control device 14 having follow-up travel control means or constant-speed travel control means, and a lane detecting the lane change of the own vehicle together with the degree of wander. A change detection unit 211 and a direction indicator 12 for indicating a driver's intention
And a canceling unit 311 for canceling the following running control or the constant speed running control based on the information obtained from the lane change detecting unit 211 and the signal from the direction indicator 12. The release unit 311 includes, for example, the release unit 2 in FIG.
Like FIG. 12, it is assumed that an alarm device (not shown) for issuing a warning to the driver is included.

The operation of the cruise control device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The operation of the present embodiment includes a step 321 of performing a follow-up running that keeps a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle, a step 322 of detecting a lane change of the own vehicle, a step 323 of detecting a signal from a direction indicator, and a lane change. It can be divided into five steps: a step 324 for determining whether to release the cruise control based on the information and the turn signal, and a step 325 for releasing the cruise control based on the determination result.

Among them, the traveling control in step 321, the lane change detection in step 322, and the direction indicator signal detection in step 323 can be realized in the same manner as the corresponding steps in the first and second embodiments. In the following, FIG.
The cancellation determination in step 324 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

In step 331, the release unit 311 determines the wobble of the own vehicle based on the wobble information from the lane change detection unit 211 in step 322. If the result of determination in step 331 is Yes, step 3
In the case of No at 32, the release determination ends. Next, in step 332, it is determined whether or not the turn signal from step 323 has been detected. If the result of the determination in step 332 is Yes, a warning to the effect that the cruise control is released is issued to the driver in step 333, and then a control signal for releasing the cruise control is generated in step 334. And outputs it to the travel control device 14. If the result of the determination in step 332 is N
In the case of “o”, the cancellation determination processing ends.

As described above, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the cruise control device is released when the lane change is detected together with the wobble of the host vehicle and the turn signal is not operating. It is possible to prevent the driver from falling asleep, etc.

In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not to warn the driver based on the same criterion as the cruise control release determination. If so, a lane departure warning device that generates a warning can be configured.

Further, in the present embodiment, the lane change detecting unit 2 is used without using the state relating to the operation of the turn signal.
It is also possible to determine the stability of the running state only from the degree of wobble detected by step 11, and release the running control or generate an alarm based on the determination result. here,
The wobble degree is for detecting an unstable driving state that is unlikely to occur in normal driving. For example, regarding the angle θ detected by the lane change detection unit 211,
The determination may be made by detecting the intensity or the like of a frequency component higher than the time change that occurs in a normal lane change operation.

[0086]

According to the present invention, a cruise control device that reflects the driver's intention can be realized.
In other words, without releasing the cruise control device by operating the conventional turn signal, unintentional release of the cruise control device can be performed at the time of an interchange on an expressway or in a diversion such as a service area / parking. Following the preceding vehicle can be prevented.

Further, according to the present invention, by detecting the lane change of the own vehicle, the cruise control device is released by releasing the cruise control device at the time of a diverting operation such as an interchange on an expressway or a service area / parking. It is possible to prevent the vehicle from following the prepared vehicle.

Further, according to the present invention, wobble of the own vehicle is detected along with the detection of the lane change described above.
A device that can prevent drowsy driving by canceling cruise control when the vehicle's own wander is detected and the turn signal is not operating, and also functions as a lane departure warning device Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a first embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a control block configuration diagram of a traveling control device.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between a target inter-vehicle distance and time.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of throttle signal generation.

FIG. 7 is a control block configuration diagram of a lane position recognition unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a lane position recognition unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an input image captured by an imaging device.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial model of a road.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of Hough transform.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of processing in a lane position recognition image processing unit.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for determining a solid line / broken line.

FIG. 14 is a control block configuration diagram of an adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for lane position determination.

FIG. 16 is a control block configuration diagram of a lane position recognition unit when navigation is used.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a road map.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of map information.

FIG. 19 is a control block configuration diagram of a release unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart for releasing the cruise control device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a control block configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a control block configuration diagram of a lane change detection unit.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart for detecting a lane change.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial model of a road.

FIG. 26 is a graph showing an initial road model and a change in θ when the lane is not changed.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial model of a road when the lane is changed to the left.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an initial model of a road when a lane change is performed to the right.

FIG. 29 is a control block diagram of a release unit.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart for releasing the cruise control device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a control block diagram of a third embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart for releasing the cruise control device according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: Lane position recognition unit, 12: Direction indicator, 13: Release unit, 14: Travel control device, 41: Distance measurement device, 4
2: vehicle speed measurement device, 43: cruise controller, 4
4: throttle controller, 45: throttle actuator, 46: transmission controller, 47: transmission,
48: brake controller, 49: brake actuator, 71: imaging device, 72: lane position recognition image processing unit, 73: adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit, 74: lane position determination unit, 91: image area, 92: image area, 10
1: vanishing point, 102: horizontal line, 103: boundary line, 10
4: boundary line, 105: initial model, 111: point A, 11
2: point B, 113: point C, 114: straight line group passing through point A,
115: straight line group passing through point B, 116: straight line group passing through point C, 121: input image, 122: binarized image, 123:
Maximum / minimum table, 141: radio wave radar device, 14
2: signal processing unit, 161: own vehicle position detection unit, 162:
Map data, 191: release determination unit, 192: alarm device,
211: lane change detection unit, 212: release unit, 231: lane change detection image processing unit, 251: vanishing point, 252: horizontal line, 253: boundary line, 254: boundary line, 255: angle θ, 265: angle θ, 273: boundary line, 274: boundary line, 275: angle θ, 283: boundary line, 284: boundary line, 285: angle θ, 291: release determination unit, 292: alarm device, 311: release unit.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI G05D 1/02 G05D 1/02 J G08G 1/16 G08G 1/16 E (72) Inventor Koji Kuroda Omikamachi, Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan Hitachi 1-1, Hitachi Ltd. (72) Inventor Satoshi Kuragaki 7-1-1, Omika-cho, Hitachi, Hitachi, Ibaraki Pref. Hitachi Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Tokuharu Yoshikawa Hitachi, Ibaraki Hitachi Research Laboratories, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshimichi Minowa 7-1-1, Omikamachi, Hitachi, Ibaraki Pref., Hitachi Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A cruise control device provided with cruise control means for controlling cruise control of a vehicle.
(2) a direction indicator for indicating the driver's intention to make a right or left turn; and (3) a release of the travel control operation in accordance with a recognition result from the lane position recognition means and information from the direction indicator. And a cruise control canceling means for determining the cruise control. 2. The cruise control canceling means according to claim 1,
(1) When the own vehicle is recognized by the lane position recognizing means to be in the leftmost lane and the direction indicator indicates a left turn: (2) When the own vehicle is in the rightmost lane by the lane position recognizing means. And the direction indicator indicates a right turn: and (3) the lane position recognizing means recognizes that the lane adjacent to the own vehicle is an oncoming lane and indicates the direction. The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein the traveling control operation is canceled in any one of cases when the vehicle indicates a right turn. 3. A cruise control device comprising a traveling control means for controlling traveling of a vehicle, wherein: (1) a lane position recognizing means for recognizing a lane position where the host vehicle travels;
(2) a lane change detecting means for detecting a lane change operation of the own vehicle; and (3) release of the travel control operation in accordance with a recognition result from the lane position recognition means and a detection result from the lane change detection means. And a cruise control canceling means for determining the cruise control. 4. The lane change detecting means detects the degree of wandering of the own vehicle in addition to the lane changing operation of the own vehicle. The cruise control canceling means includes: (1) the lane position recognizing means When the vehicle is recognized to be in the leftmost lane and the lane change detecting means detects that the own vehicle is moving to the left: (2) When the own vehicle is detected by the lane position recognizing means, When it is recognized that the vehicle is in the rightmost lane, and when the lane change detecting means detects that the own vehicle is moving rightward: (3) The lane adjacent to the own vehicle is detected by the lane position recognizing means. Is recognized to be an oncoming lane, and when the lane change detecting means detects that the own vehicle is moving rightward: and (4) the lane change detecting means The travel control operation is canceled in any one of the cases where the fluctuation of the own vehicle is detected and the own vehicle is detected to be moving in any of the left and right directions. Claim 3
A cruise control device according to claim 1. 5. A cruise control device provided with traveling control means for controlling traveling of a vehicle, comprising: (1) a lane change detecting means for detecting a lane changing operation of the own vehicle; and (2) a driver's intention to turn left or right. And (3) cruise control release means for determining release of the traveling control operation in accordance with the detection result from the lane change detection means and the information from the direction indicator. A cruise control device characterized by the following. 6. An apparatus for warning a lane departure during traveling, comprising: (1) a lane change detecting means for detecting a lane change operation of the own vehicle; and (2) a direction for indicating a driver's intention to turn left or right. An indicator, and (3) according to a detection result from the lane change detection means and information from the direction indicator,
A lane departure warning device, comprising: warning means for generating a warning for warning a lane departure. 7. The lane change detecting means detects the degree of wandering of the own vehicle in addition to the lane changing operation of the own vehicle. The alarm means comprises: (1) the lane change detecting means
(2) a lane departure warning is issued when it is detected that the host vehicle is wandering and that the host vehicle is moving in any of the left and right directions, and (2) the direction indicator is not operated. The lane departure warning device according to claim 6, wherein 8. The lane change detecting means includes: (1) an image capturing means for capturing an image of a scene in front of the own vehicle; and (2) a straight line indicating one boundary of a traveling lane for each image captured by the image capturing means. Means for estimating a white line model including at least a boundary line corresponding to the detected straight line; and (3) obtaining an angle between a boundary line of the white line model and a horizontal line for each of the captured images, The lane departure warning device according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising means for detecting a lane change operation and a degree of wandering of the own vehicle from the history of the obtained angles. 9. The lane change detecting means includes: (1) an image pickup means for picking up an image of a scene in front of the own vehicle; and (2) a straight line indicating one boundary of a traveling lane for each image picked up by the image pickup means. Means for estimating a white line model including at least a boundary line corresponding to the detected straight line; and (3) obtaining an angle between a boundary line of the white line model and a horizontal line for each of the captured images, The cruise control device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, further comprising means for detecting a lane change operation and a degree of wandering of the own vehicle from the history of the obtained angles. 10. The lane position recognizing means includes: (1) a solid / broken line determining means for determining whether a line indicating a boundary of a lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a solid line or a broken line;
An oncoming lane determining means for determining whether a lane adjacent to the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling is an oncoming lane, wherein the solid / broken line determining means comprises: (a) an imaging means for imaging a scene ahead of the own vehicle (B) detecting two straight lines indicating the boundary of the traveling lane from the image captured by the image capturing means, and white lines including at least two boundary lines corresponding to each of the detected two straight lines; Means for estimating a model; and (c) projecting each boundary line of the white line model,
The cruise control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: means for determining whether the boundary line is a solid line or a dashed line based on a result of the projection. 11. A cruise control device provided with cruise control means for controlling cruise control of a vehicle, comprising: a sway detection means for detecting the degree of sway of the vehicle; and a cruise control operation in response to a detection result from the sway detection means. Cruise control device comprising: cruise control release means for determining release of the cruise control. 12. An apparatus for warning a lane departure during traveling, comprising: a wobble detection means for detecting a degree of wander of the vehicle; and a warning for warning a lane departure in accordance with a detection result of the wander detection means. A lane departure warning device, comprising: