WO2018207813A1

WO2018207813A1 - Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Info

Publication number: WO2018207813A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/017910
Authority: WO
Inventors: 康司杉浦
Original assignee: いすゞ自動車株式会社
Priority date: 2017-05-12
Filing date: 2018-05-09
Publication date: 2018-11-15
Also published as: JP6950269B2; CN110636963A; JP2018192815A

Abstract

This vehicle control device comprises a lane change control unit that: during the execution of automatic drive travel wherein the present vehicle is caused to travel so as to follow a preceding vehicle, determines whether or not a direction indicator of the preceding vehicle has operated; and, in cases where it is determined that the direction indicator has operated, controls the present vehicle so as to change lanes to an adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle.

Description

Vehicle control apparatus and vehicle control method

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly, to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method for executing an automatic driving run in which a preceding vehicle runs following a preceding vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a vehicle control device that performs an automatic driving traveling in which a preceding vehicle travels following a preceding vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-175367

In the conventional technology, when an obstacle (forward obstacle) is present ahead of the preceding vehicle during execution of automatic driving, after the preceding vehicle completes the lane change to the adjacent lane to avoid the obstacle ahead The vehicle was changing lanes following the preceding vehicle. However, in such automatic driving, it cannot be said that when there is a front obstacle ahead of the preceding vehicle, the lane change can be performed with sufficient time margin.

The present disclosure can perform lane change with a time margin when a front obstacle is present ahead of the preceding vehicle during execution of the automatic driving traveling in which the host vehicle follows the preceding vehicle. A vehicle control device is provided.

The vehicle control device according to the present disclosure determines whether or not the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle has been activated during execution of the automatic driving traveling in which the preceding vehicle travels following the host vehicle. A lane change control unit that controls the host vehicle to change the lane to an adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle has operated.

According to the present disclosure, even when there is a front obstacle ahead of the preceding vehicle when the autonomous driving is performed, the preceding vehicle tries to change the lane to the adjacent lane in order to avoid the front obstacle. When the direction indicator is operated before, the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle. Thereby, compared with the case where the lane change of the own vehicle is started after the lane change of the preceding vehicle is completed, the lane change can be performed with a sufficient time margin.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the host vehicle. FIG.1 (b) is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the state at the time of the autonomous driving driving | running | working of the own vehicle. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the host vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a lane change control process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a lane change control process according to the second embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a lane change control process according to the third embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, the vehicle control device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Specifically, first, the schematic configuration of the host vehicle 1 having the vehicle control device 10 will be described, and then the details of the vehicle control device 10 will be described.

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the host vehicle 1. In FIG. 1A, for reference, right-handed XYZ orthogonal coordinates are shown. In this orthogonal coordinate, the X direction corresponds to the front of the host vehicle 1, and the Z direction corresponds to the upper side. As an example, the host vehicle 1 is a commercial vehicle (specifically, a truck) having a cab 2 and a cargo bed 3 disposed on the rear side of the cab 2. However, the specific type of the host vehicle 1 is not limited to such a commercial vehicle.

FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a state when the host vehicle 1 is in an automatic driving mode. The host vehicle 1 is traveling in the first lane 100. Next to the first lane 100, a second lane 101 is provided. That is, the second lane 101 is an example of an adjacent lane adjacent to the first lane 100. A preceding vehicle 5 is traveling ahead of the host vehicle 1. There is an obstacle (referred to as a front obstacle 6) in front of the preceding vehicle 5. In the present embodiment, the front obstacle 6 is another vehicle (a preceding vehicle) that travels ahead of the preceding vehicle 5 as an example. In FIG. 1B, the host vehicle 1 is traveling automatically so as to follow the preceding vehicle 5.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing each function of the host vehicle 1 in a block diagram. In addition to the vehicle control device 10, the host vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment includes a camera 20, a forward radar sensor 30, an adjacent lane radar sensor 40, sensors 50, and a vehicle traveling system 60.

The camera 20 is a camera that can photograph the front of the host vehicle 1 with a predetermined angle of view. The angle of view of the camera 20 is set to an angle value in a range in which the camera 20 can capture a lane (white line) and the preceding vehicle 5. An image detected by the camera 20 is transmitted to the vehicle control device 10. The vehicle control device 10 identifies a lane (white line) or the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle 5 from the image detected by the camera 20 using image processing technology.

In general, the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 is provided at least at the rear end of the preceding vehicle 5. For this reason, the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 can be photographed by the camera 20 of the host vehicle 1. Therefore, the vehicle control device 10 also identifies the presence / absence of the operation of the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 (specifically, the presence / absence of blinking of the direction indicator) from the image detected by the camera 20 using image processing technology. To do.

The front radar sensor 30 detects a distance between the preceding vehicle 5 and the host vehicle 1 by sensing a predetermined area in front of the host vehicle 1. The detection result of the forward radar sensor 30 is transmitted to the vehicle control device 10. In the present embodiment, a radar sensor using millimeter wave radar is used as an example of the forward radar sensor 30.

The adjacent lane radar sensor 40 detects an obstacle (adjacent obstacle) existing in the adjacent lane by sensing a predetermined area of the adjacent lane. Specifically, the adjacent lane radar sensor 40 according to the present embodiment includes a lateral radar sensor that senses a predetermined region in the lateral direction of the host vehicle 1 in the adjacent lane, and an oblique rearward of the host vehicle 1 in the adjacent lane. The slanting rear radar sensor for sensing a predetermined region and a slanting front radar sensor for sensing a predetermined region diagonally forward of the host vehicle 1 in the adjacent lane. Thereby, the radar sensor 40 for adjacent lanes according to the present embodiment detects the presence or absence of obstacles in the lateral direction, diagonally rearward, and diagonally forward of the host vehicle 1 in the adjacent lanes, and the detected result is detected by the vehicle control device 10. To tell.

Sensors 50 are sensors other than the forward radar sensor 30 and the adjacent lane radar sensor 40. Examples of the sensors 50 include a speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle 1.

The vehicle traveling system 60 is a system for traveling the host vehicle 1. Specifically, the vehicle travel system 60 includes a vehicle drive system that is a system for driving the host vehicle 1 such as an engine and a transmission, a brake system that is a system that performs brake braking of the host vehicle 1, and steering of the host vehicle 1. It includes a steering system that is a system to perform. In this embodiment, a diesel engine is used as an example of the engine. As an example of the transmission, AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) is used.

The vehicle control device 10 includes a CPU 11 that executes various control processes, and a microcomputer that has a storage device 12 that stores programs and various data used for the operation of the CPU 11. Note that a ROM, a RAM, or the like can be used as the storage device 12. Further, the CPU 11 according to the present embodiment corresponds to a member having a function as a “lane change control unit”.

Subsequently, details of the control processing of the vehicle control device 10 will be described. First, the vehicle control device 10 performs an automatic driving traveling in which the preceding vehicle 5 travels following the host vehicle 1. Specifically, the vehicle control device 10 according to the present embodiment controls the vehicle traveling system 60 based on the detection results of the camera 20, the forward radar sensor 30, and the sensors 50, so While maintaining a certain range of inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle 1, the host vehicle 1 is automatically driven within a preset range of the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 1. In addition, since this automatic driving | running | working itself can apply the control technology of a well-known automatic driving | running | working, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted any more.

In addition, the vehicle control apparatus 10 performs the above-described automatic driving traveling when receiving a request for starting automatic driving traveling from the driver of the host vehicle 1. Specifically, the driver's seat of the own vehicle 1 is provided with a switch for transmitting the start and stop of the automatic driving travel to the vehicle control device 10. When the driver desires to start the automatic driving travel, the driver turns on this switch to notify the vehicle control device 10 of the start request for the automatic driving traveling. The vehicle control device 10 that has received the signal for requesting the start of automatic driving travel starts execution of automatic driving. In addition, when the driver desires to end the automatic driving travel, the driver turns off this switch to notify the vehicle control device 10 of the end request for the automatic driving travel. The vehicle control device 10 that has received the signal for requesting completion of the automatic driving travel ends the execution of the automatic driving travel.

The vehicle control device 10 is connected to a setting device (not shown) for setting a vehicle speed range (for example, the upper limit speed is 100 km / h) when the driver is driving automatically. Performs automatic driving within the vehicle speed range set in the setting device.

Further, the vehicle control device 10 executes a lane change control process described below during automatic driving. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of the lane change control process according to the present embodiment. Specifically, the lane change control unit (CPU 11) of the vehicle control device 10 starts execution of the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step S10, the lane change control unit of the vehicle control device 10 determines whether the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 has been activated during execution of automatic driving (that is, during execution of automatic driving). Determine whether or not. Specifically, the lane change control unit according to the present embodiment acquires an image detected by the camera 20, and performs image processing on the acquired image to determine whether or not the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 is activated. Determine. A specific example is as follows.

For example, when the preceding vehicle 5 tries to change the lane to the adjacent lane in order to avoid the front obstacle 6, the direction indicator provided at the rear end of the preceding vehicle 5 (that is, the direction instruction for changing the lane to the adjacent lane). ) Is blinking. This blinking of the direction indicator is photographed by the camera 20. In step S10, the lane change control unit determines whether or not the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 has flashed by performing image processing on the image of the camera 20. In this way, step S10 is executed.

If it is determined NO in step S10, the lane change control unit executes the flowchart from the start (return).

When it is determined as YES in Step S10 (that is, when it is determined that the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 is activated), the lane change control unit determines whether there is an obstacle (adjacent obstacle) in the adjacent lane. Is determined (step S20). Specifically, the lane change control unit determines whether there is an adjacent obstacle in the lateral direction, diagonally backward, and diagonally forward of the host vehicle 1 in the adjacent lane based on the detection result of the adjacent lane radar sensor 40. judge.

When it is determined NO in step S20 (that is, when it is determined that there is an adjacent obstacle in the adjacent lane), the lane change control unit prohibits the lane change to the adjacent lane and executes the flowchart from the start ( return). That is, when it is determined NO in step S20, the lane change to the adjacent lane is not performed.

When it is determined YES in step S20 (that is, when it is determined that there is no adjacent obstacle in the adjacent lane), the lane change control unit changes the lane to the adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle 5. Next, the host vehicle 1 is controlled (step S30). Specifically, the lane change control unit controls the vehicle traveling system 60 based on the detection results of the camera 20, the forward radar sensor 30, and the sensors 50, so that a certain range is reached between the preceding vehicle 5. While maintaining the inter-vehicle distance, the vehicle 1 is changed to the adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle 5 within the vehicle speed range set in advance. After execution of step S30, the lane change control unit executes the flowchart from the start (return).

According to the present embodiment, when the automatic driving traveling is executed, even if the front obstacle 6 exists in front of the preceding vehicle 5, the preceding vehicle 5 avoids the front obstacle 6 so that the adjacent lane is avoided. If the direction indicator is operated to change the lane before changing to the lane, and there is no adjacent obstacle in the adjacent lane, the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle 5. . As a result, it is possible to change the lane with sufficient time margin as compared with the case where the lane change of the host vehicle 1 is started after the lane change of the preceding vehicle 5 is completed, and further, the adjacent lane has an adjacent obstacle. Since there is no lane change, the lane change is performed, so that the safety of the lane change can be improved.

For example, when the preceding vehicle 5 is large, the driver of the host vehicle 1 cannot visually recognize the front obstacle 6 in front of the preceding vehicle 5, and the front obstacle is not changed until the preceding vehicle 5 changes the lane to the adjacent lane. The case where the thing 6 can be visually recognized is considered. Even in such a case, according to the present embodiment, the front obstacle 6 suddenly appears on the front side of the own vehicle 1, and the driver rushes to change the lane of the own vehicle 1 to the adjacent lane. A sudden and unexpected situation can be avoided. As a result, the driving burden on the driver can be reduced, and driving errors (human errors) caused by the driver can also be suppressed. Thereby, the safety | security of a lane change can be improved.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a lane change control process of the vehicle control device 10a according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle control device 10a is different from the vehicle control device 10 according to the first embodiment in that the flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed instead of the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 4 differs from the flowchart of FIG. 3 in that step S20 is not included.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the lane change control unit of vehicle control device 10a determines that the direction indicator of preceding vehicle 5 is activated during execution of automatic driving travel (when YES is determined in step S10). ), The lane change to the adjacent lane is performed while following the preceding vehicle 5 (step S30).

According to the present embodiment, even when there is a front obstacle 6 ahead of the preceding vehicle 5 during execution of automatic driving, the preceding vehicle 5 changes lanes to the adjacent lane in order to avoid the front obstacle 6. If the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 is activated before changing the lane, the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle 5. Thereby, it is possible to change lanes with sufficient time margin.

In addition, when comparing the first embodiment and the present embodiment described above, the first embodiment changes the lane when the condition that there is no adjacent obstacle in the adjacent lane is further satisfied. High safety in changing lanes. For this reason, from the viewpoint of improving the safety of lane change, the first embodiment is preferable.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart of a lane change control process of the vehicle control device 10b according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle control device 10b is different from the vehicle control device 10 according to the first embodiment in that the flowchart of FIG. 5 is executed instead of the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 5 differs from the flowchart of FIG. 3 in that it further includes step S25 and step S26.

Referring to FIG. 5, the lane change control unit of the vehicle control device 10b changes the lane to the adjacent lane for the driver of the host vehicle 1 before changing the lane to the adjacent lane according to step S30. (Step S25), and if the result of this notification is a prohibition instruction from the driver, the lane change to the adjacent lane is prohibited (in the case of NO in step S26), and there is a permission instruction from the driver (In the case of YES at step S26), the lane change to the adjacent lane is performed at step S30. Details of a specific example of this embodiment are as follows.

First, in the driver's seat of the host vehicle 1, a notification device for notifying the driver that the lane change to the adjacent lane is performed is arranged. The specific configuration of the notification device is not particularly limited, and a display that displays character information, graphic information, and the like, a speaker that emits audio information, a combination thereof, and the like can be used. In this embodiment, a speaker is used as an example of the notification device.

In addition, a switch (referred to as a “lane change prohibition instruction switch”) is provided in the driver's seat of the host vehicle 1 so that the driver transmits a lane change prohibition instruction and permission instruction to the adjacent lane to the vehicle control device 10b. Has been. Specifically, this lane change prohibition instruction switch is normally OFF. Then, when the driver prohibits lane change, the driver turns on the lane change prohibition instruction switch.

If the lane change control unit of the vehicle control device 10b determines YES in step S20 in FIG. 5, the lane change control unit notifies the speaker as the notification device that “change lane to the adjacent lane” in step S25. The voice information is notified. This requests the driver for feedback regarding whether or not to allow lane change.

When the driver who has received this notification turns on the lane change prohibition instruction switch (when the lane change prohibition instruction is given), it is determined as NO in step S26. In this case, the lane change control unit prohibits the execution of step S30 and executes the flowchart from the start (return). That is, in this case, the lane change is not performed.

On the other hand, if the driver who has received the notification that “change lane to adjacent lane” in step S25 does not turn on the lane change prohibition instruction switch (that is, gives a lane change permission instruction), It is determined YES in step S26. In this case, the lane change control unit permits execution of step S30 and actually executes step S30. As a result, the lane change to the adjacent lane is performed.

According to the present embodiment, in addition to the operational effects of the first embodiment, the following operational effects can be achieved. Specifically, even when the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 operates and there is no adjacent obstacle in the adjacent lane (in the case of YES in step S10 and step S20), the driver lanes to the adjacent lane If you do n’t like to be changed (that is, if you give a lane change prohibition instruction), you can ban lane changes to the adjacent lane, and the driver allows lane changes to the adjacent lane ( Lane change can be performed in the case of YES in step S26. Thereby, it is possible to change the lane to the adjacent lane while respecting the driver's intention.

Note that the present embodiment may be applied to the above-described second embodiment. In this case, FIG. 5 does not include step S20. That is, in this case, when the lane change control unit determines that the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 5 is activated during execution of the automatic driving travel (in the case of YES in step S10), the lane change control unit executes step S25 and performs the notification device. To notify that “the lane is changed to the adjacent lane”. Even in this configuration, it is possible to change the lane to the adjacent lane while respecting the driver's intention.

This application is based on a Japanese patent application filed on May 12, 2017 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-095214), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

According to the present disclosure, even when there is a front obstacle ahead of the preceding vehicle when the autonomous driving is performed, the preceding vehicle tries to change the lane to the adjacent lane in order to avoid the front obstacle. When the direction indicator is operated before, it is possible to change to the adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure described in the claims. Is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Own vehicle 5 Leading vehicle 6

Front obstacle

10, 10a, 10b Vehicle control apparatus 11 CPU (lane change control part)
100 1st lane 101 2nd lane (adjacent lane)

Claims

At the time of execution of automatic driving running to make the preceding vehicle follow the preceding vehicle, it is determined whether or not the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle has been activated, and when it is determined that the direction indicator has been activated, A vehicle control device comprising a lane change control unit that controls the host vehicle so as to change a lane to an adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle.
The lane change control unit further determines whether or not there is an obstacle in the adjacent lane when it is determined that the direction indicator is operated, and determines that the obstacle exists in the adjacent lane. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the lane change is prohibited when the lane change occurs and the lane change is performed when it is determined that the obstacle does not exist in the adjacent lane.
The lane change control unit further notifies the driver of the host vehicle that the lane change is to be performed before changing the lane, and there is a prohibition instruction from the driver for the notification. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the lane change is prohibited, and the lane change is performed when there is a permission instruction from the driver.
The lane change control unit further notifies the driver of the host vehicle that the lane change is to be performed before changing the lane, and there is a prohibition instruction from the driver for the notification. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the lane change is prohibited and the lane change is performed when there is a permission instruction from the driver.
At the time of execution of automatic driving running to make the preceding vehicle follow the preceding vehicle, it is determined whether or not the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle has been activated, and when it is determined that the direction indicator has been activated, A vehicle control method for controlling the host vehicle to change a lane to an adjacent lane while following the preceding vehicle.