WO2019244676A1

WO2019244676A1 - Traveling control device and traveling control method

Info

Publication number: WO2019244676A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/022766
Authority: WO
Inventors: 拓真須藤
Original assignee: 株式会社デンソー
Priority date: 2018-06-22
Filing date: 2019-06-07
Publication date: 2019-12-26
Also published as: JP2019218004A; JP7047627B2

Abstract

A vehicle traveling control device (100) is provided with: a preceding vehicle identification unit (104) that identifies a preceding vehicle (20) traveling ahead of a host vehicle (10); a preceding vehicle behavior detection unit (108) that detects a behavior of the preceding vehicle; a following control unit (118) that executes following control so as to follow the preceding vehicle identified by the preceding vehicle identification unit with a predetermined inter-vehicle distance therefrom; and a leaving determination unit (116) that determines, in accordance with the detected behavior of the preceding vehicle, whether the preceding vehicle is in a leaving state where the preceding vehicle is highly likely to leave a lane on which the host vehicle travels. When the leaving determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is in the leaving state, the following control unit changes the inter-vehicle distance in the following control to a second inter-vehicle distance shorter than a first inter-vehicle distance set when the preceding vehicle is not in the leaving state, and executes the following control.

Description

Travel control device and travel control method

Cross-reference of related applications

This application claims the priority based on the Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-118826 filed on June 22, 2018, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a travel control device and a travel control method for a vehicle.

JP-A-2013-173383 discloses a vehicle follow-up control device. The following control device for a vehicle specifies a preceding vehicle that is a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle, and determines whether or not there is a direction instruction in a direction indicator of the preceding vehicle at the time of following control with respect to the preceding vehicle. judge. Then, if it is determined that there is a direction instruction, if there is a situation that hinders the lane change of the preceding vehicle, for example, if there is a vehicle in an adjacent lane running parallel to the preceding vehicle, When there is a vehicle having a high speed, the following control is continued. On the other hand, when there is no situation that prevents the lane change of the preceding vehicle, the following control is canceled.

According to the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-173383, when the following control device for a vehicle determines that the following control of the preceding vehicle is to be released from the information on the direction indication of the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle, for example, the traveling of the own vehicle is performed. The inventors have noticed that, when the departure of the preceding vehicle from the lane is delayed, the own vehicle may approach the preceding vehicle in spite of the presence of the preceding vehicle in front. In addition, when the following control device for the vehicle does not cancel the following control of the preceding vehicle, for example, when the preceding vehicle decelerates when changing lanes, the own vehicle also decelerates, which may cause unnecessary acceleration / deceleration. In particular, the inventors have noticed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a travel control device for a vehicle is provided. The traveling control device includes a front vehicle identification unit that identifies a preceding vehicle that is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle, a front vehicle behavior detection unit that detects the behavior of the preceding vehicle, and an identification unit that identifies the preceding vehicle. A follow-up control unit that performs a follow-up control for following the preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance, and, in accordance with the detected behavior of the preceding vehicle, the preceding vehicle departs from the lane in which the own vehicle travels. A withdrawal determination unit that determines whether or not there is a withdrawal situation that is highly likely to be performed. When the departure determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is in the departure situation, the following control unit sets the inter-vehicle distance in the following control to a first distance when the preceding vehicle is not in the departure situation. Is changed to a second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the inter-vehicle distance. According to this aspect, when the departure determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is in the departure situation, the following control unit sets the following distance in the following control to the second following distance shorter than the first following distance. Since the change is made, the own vehicle does not approach the preceding vehicle as compared with the case where the following control is not performed. Also, when the preceding vehicle decelerates and leaves the lane, the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle can be maintained at the second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the first inter-vehicle distance even if the deceleration is slower than the deceleration of the preceding vehicle. That is, when it is determined that there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle will depart from the lane in which the own vehicle is traveling, there is no need to decelerate the own vehicle in accordance with the preceding vehicle, and the own vehicle can be decelerated more slowly than the preceding vehicle. . In addition, since the speed of the own vehicle when the preceding vehicle separates is faster than when decelerating in accordance with the preceding vehicle, the acceleration for returning the own vehicle to the original speed may be smaller. That is, fluctuations in the acceleration and speed of the own vehicle can be suppressed to a small level. That is, useless deceleration and acceleration can be prevented. As a result, the driver feeling can be improved and the fuel efficiency can be improved.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a traveling control device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of various detection units and a travel control device. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a detection range of a front vehicle or another vehicle, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the follow-up control executed by the travel control device, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a target inter-vehicle distance correction process performed by the traveling control device. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram comparing the front vehicle recognition state and the control state of the comparative example and the present embodiment, FIG. 7 is an example of a situation in which the target inter-vehicle distance correction processing is executed, FIG. 8 is another example of a situation in which the target inter-vehicle distance correction processing is executed. FIG. 9 is another example of a situation in which the target inter-vehicle distance correction process is executed. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the acceleration, speed, and target inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle when the preceding vehicle decelerates and leaves. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the acceleration, speed, and target inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle when the preceding vehicle has left without decelerating.

概略 A schematic configuration of the vehicle 10 will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, the self-vehicle 10 capable of automatic driving will be described as an example. However, the description can be applied to driving support of the self-vehicle 10. The host vehicle 10 includes a travel control device 100, a drive system 130, a steering system 140, a braking system 160,

rear wheels

170 and 171,

front wheels

172 and 173, various detection units 180, a communication unit 190, A route guidance device 195.

The travel control device 100 acquires various information necessary for driving the own vehicle 10 using the various detection units 180, the communication unit 190, and the route guidance device 195, and controls the operation of the own vehicle 10. In addition, the own vehicle 10 may be a vehicle for automatic driving or a vehicle for non-automatic driving. When the vehicle 10 is not in the automatic driving mode, the travel control device 100 assists the driver in driving.

The drive system 130 includes a drive ECU 132, a drive device 134, a differential gear 136, and a drive shaft 138. The drive ECU 132 receives an instruction from the travel control device 100 and controls the drive device 134. The driving device 134 is, for example, an electric motor or an internal combustion engine. Note that the drive device 134 may include both an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. The output of the driving device 134 is transmitted to the

rear wheels

170 and 171 via the differential gear 136 and the driving shaft 138. When an electric motor is used as the driving device 134, the driving device 134 may also be used as a generator that regenerates kinetic energy of the vehicle 10 into electric power. In the present embodiment, the driving device 134 drives the

rear wheels

170, 171. However, the driving device 134 may drive the

front wheels

172, 173, or may drive both the

rear wheels

170, 171 and the

front wheels

172, 173.

The steering system 140 includes a steering ECU 142, a steering wheel 144, an encoder 146, a steering device 148, a steering motor 150, and a steering gear 152. In the automatic traveling, the steering ECU controls the steering device 148 in response to an instruction from the traveling control device 100. An encoder 146 is connected to the steering device 148, and the encoder 146 detects a rotation angle of the handle 144 when the driver operates the handle 144. The steering device 148 drives the steering motor 150 in accordance with an instruction from the steering ECU in the case of automatic driving, and drives the steering motor 150 in accordance with the rotation angle of the steering wheel 144 in the case of non-automatic driving. Assist the operation of. The steering motor 150 controls the steering angle (the angle with respect to the straight traveling direction) of the

front wheels

172 and 173 via the steering gear 152. The steering gear 152 is composed of, for example, a rack and a pinion. Turning radius may be applied to the steering angles of the right and left

front wheels

172 and 173 by the steering gear 152 as needed.

The braking system 160 includes a braking ECU 162, a hydraulic pump 164, a brake hose 166, a brake caliper 168, and a brake disc 169. The braking ECU 162 drives and controls the hydraulic pump 164 in response to an instruction from the travel control device 100. When the driver steps on a brake pedal (not shown) and receives a braking instruction from the braking ECU 162, the hydraulic pump 164 sends hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper 168 via the brake hose 166. When hydraulic pressure is sent, the brake caliper 168 brakes the vehicle 10 by pressing a brake pad (not shown) against the brake disc 169. In the present embodiment, the disc brake for pressing the brake pad against the brake disc 169 has been described as an example, but a drum brake may be used. When the driving device 134 includes an electric motor, the travel control device 100 may perform braking by instructing the driving ECU 130 to regenerate from the electric motor.

(4) The various detection units 180 acquire information necessary for the traveling of the vehicle 10. The various detection units 180 will be described later. The communication unit 190 uses the vehicle-to-vehicle communication such as V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) or the road-to-vehicle communication such as V2I (Vehicle-to-roadside-Infrastructure) to drive another vehicle or the vehicle 10. Get information about roads. The route guidance device 195 has map information, for example, receives a signal from a satellite of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), specifies the position of the vehicle 10, and determines the route of the vehicle 10 to the destination. invite. The route guidance device 195 receives, for example, radio waves from radio beacons provided on roads, radio waves from mobile base stations, and radio waves from Wi-Fi base stations in addition to signals from GNSS satellites, and uses these. Thus, the position of the vehicle 10 may be specified. The map information may include the number of lanes of the road, the width of the lane, the traffic direction in the lane, and road regulation information.

各種 Various detection units 180 and the travel control device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The host vehicle 10 includes a camera 182, a radar 184, a vehicle speed detection unit 186, and a steering direction detection unit 188 as various detection units 180.

The camera 182 photographs the front of the vehicle 10. In the present embodiment, a monocular camera or a binocular camera can be used as the camera 182. The camera 182 may be a monochrome camera or a color camera. Further, the camera 182 may be a camera including a wide-angle lens and a zoom lens. Further, a wide angle may be covered by a plurality of cameras 182. Further, a rotating device for changing the shooting direction of the camera 182 may be provided.

The radar 184 emits an electromagnetic wave or a laser in front of the own vehicle 10 and receives the reflected wave to detect a state in front of the own vehicle 10. As the radar 184, for example, a millimeter wave radar using a millimeter wave, an infrared radar using an infrared ray, and a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) radar using light having a shorter wavelength than the infrared ray can be used. The radar 184 may have a configuration including a plurality of radars.

The vehicle speed detector 186 detects and acquires the speed of the vehicle 10. The speed of the vehicle 10 can be detected using, for example, the rotational speed of the differential gear 136 or the drive shaft 138. The steering direction detector 188 detects and acquires the directions of the front wheels 173 and 174. The direction of the front wheels 173, 174 can be detected using the position of the rack of the steering gear 152.

The travel control device 100 includes a forward vehicle identification unit 104, a lane detection unit 106, a preceding vehicle behavior detection unit 108, a departure determination unit 116, a follow-up control unit 118, an auto cruise control unit 120, and a travel mode switching unit. 122. The travel control device 100 is a computer including a CPU 102, a RAM, a ROM, an input / output port (I / O), and the like. The operation of the CPU 102 causes the front vehicle identification unit 104, the lane detection unit 106, and the front vehicle behavior detection. The functions of the unit 108, the departure determination unit 116, the following control unit 118, the auto cruise control unit 120, and the traveling mode switching unit 122 are realized. The illustration of the RAM, ROM, and input / output ports (I / O) is omitted. In addition, illustration and description of functions and configurations not related to the following control and the auto cruise control are omitted.

The front vehicle specifying unit 104 detects the front vehicle 20 ahead of the own vehicle 10 using the camera 182 and the radar 184 described above, and specifies the presence and position of the front vehicle 20 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 provides a reliability index (expressed as a percentage) according to the distance from the own vehicle 10, and determines the preceding vehicle 20 existing in a region equal to or larger than a predetermined index as described later. The vehicle behavior detection unit 108, the departure determination unit 116, and the follow-up control unit 118 perform the following. Note that the front vehicle specifying unit 104 can also obtain the relative speed Rv of the front vehicle 20 using the relative transition of the position of the front vehicle 20.

The lane detecting unit 106 detects the lane boundary lines S1, S2, and S3 in front of the vehicle 10 using the camera 182 described above, as shown in FIG.

The front vehicle behavior detecting unit 108 detects the behavior of the front vehicle 20, particularly, the lateral behavior. The front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 includes a direction instruction detection unit 110, a front vehicle lateral speed acquisition unit 112, and a front vehicle travel information acquisition unit 114. The direction indication detection unit 110 detects whether or not the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle is blinking from the image of the preceding vehicle 20 acquired using the camera 182. The front vehicle lateral speed acquisition unit 112 acquires the lateral speed of the front vehicle 20 using the transition of the position of the front vehicle 20 acquired using the camera 182 and the radar 184. The front vehicle traveling information acquisition unit 114 acquires traveling information of the preceding vehicle, for example, speed and steering direction, using inter-vehicle communication such as V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle). The front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 does not need to include all of the direction instruction detection unit 110, the front vehicle lateral speed acquisition unit 112, and the front vehicle travel information acquisition unit 114, and may include at least one.

The departure determination unit 116 can use the behavior of the front vehicle 20 detected or obtained by using the front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 to determine whether or not the front vehicle 20 is leaving the lane in which the vehicle 10 travels, or can leave the lane. It is determined whether the property is large.

Follow-up control section 118 executes follow-up control. Here, the follow-up control is control for causing the own vehicle 10 to follow the preceding vehicle at a speed equal to or less than a preset speed and at a distance between the own vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 20. The auto cruise control unit 120 controls auto cruise of the vehicle 10. The auto cruise means that the vehicle 10 runs at a speed equal to or less than a preset speed and does not deviate from the lane. The traveling mode switching unit 122 switches between following control, auto cruise control, and normal control. In the present embodiment, the normal control means a control that is neither the follow-up control nor the auto-cruise control. During the auto cruise, when approaching the preceding vehicle 20 or when the preceding vehicle 20 interrupts the lane in which the vehicle 10 travels, the traveling mode switching unit 122 switches from the auto cruise control to the following control. When the front vehicle 20 separates from the own vehicle 10 during the follow-up control of the front vehicle 20, or when the front vehicle 20 separates from the lane in which the own vehicle 10 runs, the driving mode switching unit 122 Switch from tracking control to auto cruise control. When the auto cruise switch 125 is on, the traveling mode switching unit 122 switches to follow-up control or auto cruise control, and when the auto cruise switch 125 is off, switches to normal control. The turning on and off of the auto cruise switch 125 is performed by, for example, a driver.

The control performed by each unit of the travel control device 100 will be described using a flowchart. The process shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed while the driver turns on auto cruise switch 125. In step S100 in FIG. 4, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 determines whether or not the preceding vehicle 20 exists in a region having a confidence index of 50% or more, for example. If the preceding vehicle 20 does not exist, the process proceeds to step S110, and the auto-cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to auto-cruise. On the other hand, when there is a preceding vehicle, the process proceeds to step S120, and the following control unit 118 executes control in which the own vehicle 10 follows the preceding vehicle 20. Note that when the front vehicle 20 exists in the region with the confidence index of 40%, the front vehicle specifying unit 104 does not determine that the front vehicle 20 exists in the region with the reliability index of 50% or more. However, the front vehicle 20 exists in a lane adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle 10 travels, the front vehicle 20 is blinking the lane-side direction indicator of the host vehicle 10, and the lane boundary on the blinking side is If the driver is stepping on the vehicle, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 may increase the confidence index by, for example, 10% to 50%, and may determine whether or not the preceding vehicle 20 exists in a region where the confidence index is 50% or more. . This is because the front vehicle 20 may interrupt the lane in which the vehicle runs.

In step S120, the following control unit 118 controls the traveling of the own vehicle 10 so as to follow the preceding vehicle 20. At this time, the follow-up control unit 118 controls the driving so that the speed of the own vehicle 10 is equal to or less than a preset vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 20 is equal to or more than the target inter-vehicle distance. The ECU 132 controls the drive system 130 and the brake ECU 162 controls the brake system 160. The target inter-vehicle distance at this time is referred to as “first inter-vehicle distance”. Here, the first inter-vehicle distance may be a fixed value or may be determined according to the speed of the vehicle 10. The tracking control unit 118 may increase the first inter-vehicle distance as the speed of the own vehicle 10 increases, and may set a fixed value when the speed of the own vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. In the present embodiment, the following control unit 118 uses the target inter-vehicle distance, but the target inter-vehicle time may be used instead of the target inter-vehicle distance. Here, the inter-vehicle time is the time from when the preceding vehicle 20 passes through a point to when the vehicle 10 passes through the point. That is, the control using the target inter-vehicle time means that the control is performed based on a time period from when the preceding vehicle 20 passes through a certain point to when the own vehicle 10 passes through that point. Note that the following control unit 118 controls the steering ECU 142 so as not to keep the vehicle 10 at a distance equal to or longer than the target vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 20 and to protrude from the lane in which the vehicle 10 is traveling. 140 may be controlled or the driver may be assisted.

In step S130, the departure determination unit 116 determines whether the front vehicle 20 can depart from the front of the vehicle 10. If the possibility that the front vehicle 20 will be separated from the front of the own vehicle 10 is large, the process proceeds to step S140. If the possibility that the front vehicle 20 is separated from the front of the own vehicle 10 is small, The process moves to step S190. As described above, the departure determination unit 116 uses the behavior of the front vehicle 20 acquired from the front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 to determine whether the possibility that the front vehicle 20 will depart is high or low. Note that even if the leaving determination unit 116 determines that there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle 20 will leave, there is a two-preceding vehicle further ahead of the preceding vehicle 20, and the relative speed Rv between the own vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle is large. In the case of a negative value, that is, when the vehicle is approaching immediately before, it is not necessary to determine that there is a high possibility of leaving. This is because, even if the front vehicle 20 leaves, there is a possibility that the vehicle will be replaced by the vehicle before the previous vehicle and become the front vehicle. In addition, even if the blinking of the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle 20 is confirmed, if the preceding vehicle 20 does not change lanes and a predetermined time has elapsed, it is not necessary to determine that there is a high possibility of leaving. This is because the driver of the front vehicle 20 may blink the turn signal by mistake.

In step S140, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 determines whether or not the preceding vehicle 20 has left the front of the own vehicle 10. For example, when the preceding vehicle 20 has moved to a region having a confidence index of less than 50%, it may be determined that the preceding vehicle 20 has left from the front of the own vehicle 10. At this time, if the preceding vehicle 20 is stepping on the lane boundary indicated by the turn signal, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 may determine that the preceding vehicle 20 has left by lowering the confidence index. For example, when the front vehicle 20 is on the same lane as the own vehicle 10 and further exists in the area with a confidence index of 50%, but the direction indicator is blinking and the driver is stepping on the lane boundary on the blinking side. For example, the reliability index may be reduced by, for example, 10% to 40%, and it may be determined that the preceding vehicle 20 has left from the front of the own vehicle 10.

In step S150, the following control unit 118 calculates the relative speed Rv and the relative distance Rd between the vehicle 10 and the front vehicle 20.

In step S160, the following control unit 118 determines whether or not the relative speed Rv between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 20 is less than a predetermined threshold value V. If the relative speed Rv between the host vehicle 10 and the front vehicle 20 is less than the threshold value V, the process proceeds to step S190; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S170.

In step S170, the following control unit 118 determines whether the relative distance Rd between the vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 20 is less than a predetermined threshold value W. If the relative distance Rd between the host vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 20 is less than the threshold value W, the process proceeds to step S190; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S180.

In step S180, the tracking control unit 118 changes the target inter-vehicle distance to a second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the first inter-vehicle distance, as shown in FIG. The second inter-vehicle distance is, for example, about half or 1/3 of the first inter-vehicle distance. The tracking control unit 118 may determine the magnitude of the second inter-vehicle distance or the rate of decrease of the second inter-vehicle distance with respect to the first inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the vehicle 10. In addition, instead of reducing the target inter-vehicle distance, the following control unit 118 may shorten the inter-vehicle time.

In step S190, as shown in FIG. 5, the following control unit 118 maintains the target inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle 20 to be greater than or equal to the first inter-vehicle distance.

The following control unit 118 includes a map for setting a first inter-vehicle distance and a second inter-vehicle distance in accordance with the speed of the own vehicle 10 and the relative speed Rv between the own vehicle 10 and the front vehicle 20. In setting or correcting the inter-vehicle distance in S190, a map may be used.

With reference to FIG. 6, the recognition state of the front vehicle 20 of the comparative example and the present embodiment and the control of the own vehicle 10 corresponding thereto will be described. Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are different from the present embodiment in the following points. Comparative Example 1 does not determine the possibility that the front vehicle 20 will leave the front of the vehicle 10. In other words, there are only two states: a state 1 in which the front vehicle specifying unit 104 recognizes and specifies the front vehicle 20 and a state 2 in which the front vehicle specifying unit 104 does not recognize and specify the front vehicle 20. In contrast, the present embodiment and Comparative Example 2 determine the possibility that the front vehicle 20 will leave the front of the vehicle 10. That is, the front vehicle specifying unit 104 recognizes and specifies the front vehicle 20 but does not determine the departure determination unit 116 when the front vehicle 20 separates from the front of the vehicle 10. The state 2 in which the front vehicle 20 is not recognized and not specified, the front vehicle specifying unit 104 recognizes and specifies the front vehicle 20, but the departure determination unit 116 determines that the front vehicle 20 has left from the front of the own vehicle 10. There are three types of state 3, The difference between Comparative Example 2 and the present embodiment will be described later.

制御 In this embodiment and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the control of the own vehicle 10 in State 1 and State 2 is the same. That is, in state 1, in this embodiment and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the following control unit 118 sets the speed of the own vehicle 10 to the set vehicle speed or less and sets the target inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle 10 and the front vehicle 20. Is executed, and control for following the front vehicle 20 is executed. In the state 2, the auto cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to run independently at a predetermined set vehicle speed.

In the case of state 3, the present embodiment is different from the comparative example 2 as follows. In the comparative example 2, in the case of the state 3, the following of the preceding vehicle 20 is released, and the auto cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to run independently at a predetermined set vehicle speed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, in state 3, the following control unit 118 changes the target inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 10 and the front vehicle 20 from the first inter-vehicle distance to the second inter-vehicle distance. Then, control for following the front vehicle 20 is executed.

Hereinafter, the behavior of the vehicle 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a case in which the preceding vehicle 20 changes lanes from an overtaking lane on a highway to a traveling lane will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the front vehicle 20 changes lanes to the traveling lane while blinking the direction indicator. In the case of Comparative Example 1, the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 recognizes the front vehicle 20, and the following control unit 118 executes the following control so as to keep the inter-vehicle distance with the front vehicle 20 equal to or greater than the first inter-vehicle distance. . In the case of Comparative Example 2, when the preceding vehicle 20 blinks the turn signal, the following control unit 118 releases the following of the preceding vehicle 20. As a result, the auto cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to perform independent auto cruise traveling at the set vehicle speed. Therefore, the vehicle 10 approaches the front vehicle 20. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the departure determination unit 116 determines that the front vehicle 20 has departed, the following control unit 118 determines the target inter-vehicle distance with the front vehicle 20 from the first inter-vehicle distance by the first inter-vehicle distance. Change to the inter-vehicle distance of 2. As a result, the own vehicle 10 is closer to the front vehicle 20 than the comparative example 1, though not as much as the comparative example 2. When the host vehicle 10 is closer to the preceding vehicle 20 than the second inter-vehicle distance, the travel control device 100 instructs the braking ECU 162 to brake the host vehicle 10. When the preceding vehicle 20 has completed the lane change to the driving lane and the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 cannot detect the preceding vehicle 20, the auto cruise control unit 120 determines whether the own vehicle 10 is running at a preset vehicle speed. To auto-cruise. The same applies to the case where the own vehicle 10 and the preceding vehicle 20 travel in the traveling lane and the preceding vehicle 20 moves to the passing lane.

Next, a case where the preceding vehicle 20 changes lanes from an expressway to an exit road will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the front vehicle 20 decelerates while blinking the direction indicator, and changes lanes to the exit road. In the case of the first comparative example, the following control unit 118 executes the following control so that the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle 20 is greater than or equal to the first inter-vehicle distance with the deceleration of the preceding vehicle 20. Therefore, the braking ECU 162 is instructed to brake and the own vehicle 10 is decelerated. In the case of the comparative example 2, when the front vehicle 20 blinks the turn signal, the auto cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to perform the auto cruise alone at the set vehicle speed in order to cancel the following of the front vehicle 20. . Therefore, the vehicle 10 approaches the front vehicle 20. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the departure determination unit 116 determines that the front vehicle 20 has departed, the following control unit 118 determines the target inter-vehicle distance with the front vehicle 20 from the first inter-vehicle distance by the first inter-vehicle distance. Change to the inter-vehicle distance of 2. As a result, the own vehicle 10 is closer to the front vehicle 20 than the comparative example 1, though not as much as the comparative example 2. The case where the preceding vehicle 20 does not decelerate when changing lanes from the highway to the exit road is the same as the case described with reference to FIG. When the host vehicle 10 is closer to the preceding vehicle 20 than the second inter-vehicle distance, the travel control device 100 instructs the braking ECU 162 to brake the host vehicle 10. When the preceding vehicle 20 has completed the lane change to the exit road and the preceding vehicle specifying unit 104 cannot detect the preceding vehicle 20, the auto cruise control unit 120 executes the control of the own vehicle 10 at a preset vehicle speed. To auto-cruise.

Next, a case will be described in which the preceding vehicle 20 turns left at an intersection on an ordinary road, not on an expressway. An ordinary road refers to a road other than an expressway. The expressway means an expressway national highway or a motorway. As shown in FIG. 9, a case will be described in which the front vehicle 20 decelerates and turns left while blinking the turn signal. In the case of Comparative Example 1, the following control unit 118 controls the braking ECU 162 to maintain the inter-vehicle distance with the front vehicle 20 greater than or equal to the first inter-vehicle distance as the front vehicle 20 decelerates. And decelerate the vehicle 10. In the second comparative example, when the front vehicle 20 blinks the direction indicator, the auto cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to perform the auto cruise alone at the set vehicle speed in order to cancel the following of the front vehicle 20. Therefore, the vehicle 10 approaches the front vehicle 20. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the following control unit 118 determines that there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle 20 will leave, the following control unit 118 changes the target inter-vehicle distance from the first inter-vehicle distance to the second inter-vehicle distance. . As a result, the own vehicle 10 is closer to the front vehicle 20 than the comparative example 1, though not as much as the comparative example 2. The front vehicle 20 stops when there is a traverser at the left turn. In such a case, when the own vehicle 10 approaches the preceding vehicle 20 by more than the second inter-vehicle distance, the travel control device 100 of the own vehicle 10 To stop the vehicle. When the preceding vehicle 20 has completed the left turn and is no longer present in front of the own vehicle 10, the auto cruise control unit 120 causes the own vehicle 10 to auto cruise at a preset vehicle speed.

Hereinafter, Comparative Example 1 in which the target inter-vehicle distance is maintained to be greater than or equal to the first inter-vehicle distance with respect to the acceleration and the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 10 when the front vehicle 20 decelerates and separates, and the target inter-vehicle distance is set to the second inter-vehicle distance A comparison will be made with this embodiment in which the distance is changed. As is clear from the graph shown in FIG. 10, the variation of the acceleration and the variation of the speed are smaller in the present embodiment than in Comparative Example 1. That is, in Comparative Example 1, when the front vehicle 20 decelerates, the own vehicle 10 also decelerates in accordance with the deceleration, and when the front vehicle 20 separates from the front of the own vehicle 10, the vehicle accelerates to the set speed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, when the front vehicle 20 decelerates, the target inter-vehicle distance is changed from the first inter-vehicle distance to the second inter-vehicle distance. Therefore, the deceleration of the own vehicle 10 during the interval between the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance may be slower than the deceleration of the front vehicle 20. Further, the speed of the own vehicle 10 during the interval between the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance is higher in the present embodiment than in Comparative Example 1. Thereafter, when the front vehicle 20 has left from the front of the own vehicle 10, the vehicle accelerates to the set speed. At this time, in the present embodiment, since the speed of the own vehicle 10 before acceleration is higher than that in Comparative Example 1, the acceleration may be slow to the set speed. As described above, in the present embodiment, the fluctuations in the acceleration and the speed of the vehicle 10 can be suppressed to be smaller than in Comparative Example 1. That is, in the present embodiment, unnecessary deceleration and acceleration are not required as compared with Comparative Example 1. As a result, the present embodiment can improve the driver feeling and the fuel efficiency as compared with the comparative example.

Next, a comparative example 1 in which the target inter-vehicle distance is maintained to be equal to or more than the first inter-vehicle distance with respect to the acceleration and the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 10 when the front vehicle 20 leaves without deceleration, and the target inter-vehicle distance is set to the second Is compared with the present embodiment in which the distance between vehicles is changed. It is assumed that the speed of the front vehicle 20 is lower than the speed of the auto cruise of the vehicle 10. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the tracking control unit 118 changes the target inter-vehicle distance from the first inter-vehicle distance to the second inter-vehicle distance from the time when it is determined that there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle 20 will leave. The vehicle 10 is accelerated to increase the speed. Therefore, there is no need to accelerate to the set speed after the completion of the separation of the front vehicle 20. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the change in acceleration and speed can be made more gradual than in Comparative Example 1, and the driver feeling can be improved. Also, fuel efficiency can be improved.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the departure determining unit 116 determines that the possibility that the preceding vehicle 20 has departed from the lane in which the vehicle 10 travels has increased, the following control unit 118 performs the following of the preceding vehicle 20. Instead of canceling, the second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the first inter-vehicle distance is changed to follow the preceding vehicle 20, so that unnecessary deceleration / acceleration is eliminated, and the driver feeling is reduced. It can improve fuel economy as well as improving fuel economy. Further, since the following of the front vehicle 20 is not released, the own vehicle 10 does not approach the front vehicle 20.

By following the target inter-vehicle distance, the follow-up control unit 118 may reduce the inter-vehicle distance from the front vehicle 20 from the first inter-vehicle distance to the second inter-vehicle distance, or may shorten the target inter-vehicle time. . Further, the tracking control unit 118 may determine the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the vehicle 10. Further, the following control unit 118 may determine the ratio of the second inter-vehicle distance to the first inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the vehicle 10.

The front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 includes a direction instruction detection unit 110 that detects the behavior of the front vehicle 20 by using the blinking of the direction indicator of the front vehicle 20, and the departure determination unit 116 uses the behavior to You may determine the possibility that 20 will leave | separate. This is because when the front vehicle 20 turns on the turn signal, there is a high possibility that the front vehicle 20 will change lanes or make a right or left turn, and therefore the possibility that the front vehicle 20 will leave will increase.

The front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 includes a front vehicle lateral direction detection unit 112 that detects the behavior of the front vehicle 20 using the lateral speed of the front vehicle 20. The departure determination unit 116 uses the behavior to The possibility that the vehicle 20 will leave may be determined. Even when the preceding vehicle 20 changes lanes or turns right or left without turning on the direction indicator, it is possible to determine the possibility that the preceding vehicle 20 will leave.

The front vehicle behavior detection unit 108 includes a front vehicle traveling information acquisition unit that acquires the movement and behavior of the front vehicle 20 acquired by the inter-vehicle communication, and the departure determination unit 116 determines whether the front vehicle 20 uses the movement and behavior. The possibility of leaving may be determined. Even when it is difficult to detect the movement of the front vehicle 20 with a camera or the like, it is possible to determine the possibility that the front vehicle 20 will leave. In addition, when the destination and route of the front vehicle 20 can be acquired by inter-vehicle communication, the movement of the front vehicle 20 can be easily predicted.

The present invention can be realized as the following modes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a travel control device for a vehicle is provided. The traveling control device includes a front vehicle identification unit (40) that identifies a front vehicle (200) that is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the own vehicle (100), and a front vehicle behavior detection unit that detects the behavior of the front vehicle. A follow-up control unit (21) that performs a follow-up control for following the preceding vehicle specified by the preceding vehicle specifying unit at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance, and according to the detected behavior of the preceding vehicle, A departure determination unit (20) for determining whether or not the vehicle is in a departure situation in which there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle will depart from the lane in which the vehicle travels. When the departure determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is in the departure situation, the following control unit sets the inter-vehicle distance in the following control to a first distance when the preceding vehicle is not in the departure situation. Is changed to a second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the inter-vehicle distance. According to this aspect, when the departure determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is in the departure situation, the following control unit sets the following distance in the following control to the second following distance shorter than the first following distance. Since the change is made, the own vehicle does not approach the preceding vehicle as compared with the case where the following control is not performed. Also, when the preceding vehicle decelerates and leaves the lane, the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle can be maintained at the second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the first inter-vehicle distance even if the deceleration is slower than the deceleration of the preceding vehicle. That is, there is no need to decelerate the own vehicle in accordance with the preceding vehicle, and the own vehicle can be decelerated more slowly than the preceding vehicle. In addition, since the speed of the own vehicle when the preceding vehicle separates is faster than when decelerating in accordance with the preceding vehicle, the acceleration for returning the own vehicle to the original speed may be smaller. That is, fluctuations in the acceleration and speed of the own vehicle can be suppressed to a small level. That is, useless deceleration and acceleration can be prevented. As a result, the driver feeling can be improved and the fuel efficiency can be improved.

In the above aspect, the vehicle further includes a vehicle speed detection unit (186) that acquires the speed of the own vehicle, and the following control unit performs the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the own vehicle. May be modified. If the speed of the own vehicle is different, the braking distance is different. Therefore, it is preferable to determine the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the own vehicle.

In the above aspect, the following control unit may determine a ratio of the second inter-vehicle distance to the first inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the own vehicle. If the speed of the own vehicle is different, the braking distance is different. Therefore, it is preferable to determine the ratio of the second inter-vehicle distance to the first inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the own vehicle.

In the above aspect, the preceding vehicle behavior detecting unit includes a direction instruction detecting unit (50) that detects blinking of the direction indicator of the preceding vehicle, and the departure determining unit uses the blinking of the direction indicator to blink. The possibility that the preceding vehicle may leave may be determined. When the preceding vehicle turns on the turn signal, there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle changes lanes or turns left or right. According to this aspect, by using the blinking of the direction indicator, it is possible to easily determine whether or not there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle will leave.

In the above aspect, the front vehicle behavior detection unit includes a front vehicle lateral speed acquisition unit (112) that acquires a lateral speed of the front vehicle, and the departure determination unit includes a lateral speed of the front vehicle. May be used to determine the possibility that the preceding vehicle will leave. According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily determine whether or not there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle will be departed even when the preceding vehicle changes lanes or turns right or left without turning on the direction indicator.

In the above aspect, the front vehicle behavior detecting unit includes a front vehicle traveling information obtaining unit (114) that obtains a movement of the front vehicle by inter-vehicle communication with the front vehicle, and the departure determining unit includes The possibility of the preceding vehicle leaving may be determined using the movement of the preceding vehicle acquired by communication. According to this aspect, even when it is difficult to detect the movement of the preceding vehicle with a camera or the like, it is possible to determine the possibility that the preceding vehicle will leave.

In the above embodiment, an auto cruise control unit (120) is provided, and when the preceding vehicle specifying unit cannot detect the preceding vehicle, the auto cruise control unit executes independent traveling at a preset vehicle speed. May be. According to this aspect, it is possible to control traveling when the vehicle does not follow the preceding vehicle.

The present invention can be realized in various forms, and can be realized by, for example, a vehicle running control method or the like in addition to a vehicle running control device.

Claims

A travel control device (100),
A front vehicle specifying unit (104) for specifying a front vehicle (20) that is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle (10);
A front vehicle behavior detector (108) for detecting the behavior of the front vehicle;
A follow-up control unit (118) for performing follow-up control for following the preceding vehicle specified by the preceding vehicle specifying unit at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance;
A departure determination unit (116) that determines whether or not the preceding vehicle is likely to depart from the lane in which the own vehicle travels, in accordance with the detected behavior of the preceding vehicle.
With
When the departure determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is in the departure situation, the following control unit sets the inter-vehicle distance in the following control to a first distance when the preceding vehicle is not in the departure situation. Performing the following control by changing to a second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the inter-vehicle distance of
Travel control device.
The travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising:
A vehicle speed detector (186) for acquiring the speed of the vehicle;
The following control unit corrects the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance according to the speed of the own vehicle,
Travel control device.
The travel control device according to claim 2, wherein
The following control unit determines a ratio of the second inter-vehicle distance to the first inter-vehicle distance according to a speed of the own vehicle,
Travel control device.
The travel control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The front vehicle behavior detection unit includes a direction instruction detection unit (110) that detects blinking of a direction indicator of the front vehicle,
The departure determination unit determines the possibility of the departure of the preceding vehicle using the blinking of the direction indicator,
Travel control device.
The travel control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The front vehicle behavior detection unit includes a front vehicle lateral speed acquisition unit (112) that acquires a lateral speed of the front vehicle,
The leaving determination unit determines a possibility that the preceding vehicle will leave using a lateral speed of the preceding vehicle,
Travel control device.
The travel control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
The front vehicle behavior detection unit includes a front vehicle traveling information acquisition unit (114) that acquires the movement of the front vehicle by inter-vehicle communication with the front vehicle,
The leaving determination unit determines the possibility that the preceding vehicle will leave using the movement of the preceding vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication,
Travel control device.
The travel control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
An auto cruise control unit (120) is provided.
If the preceding vehicle identification unit can no longer detect the preceding vehicle, the auto cruise control unit performs single traveling at a preset vehicle speed,
Travel control device.
A travel control method,
A preceding vehicle (20) which is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the own vehicle (10) is specified,
Executing a following control to follow the preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance,
Detecting the behavior of the preceding vehicle,
According to the detected behavior of the preceding vehicle, it is determined whether or not there is a high possibility that the preceding vehicle will leave the lane in which the vehicle travels, and
When it is determined that the preceding vehicle is in the leaving state, the inter-vehicle distance in the following control is set to a second inter-vehicle distance shorter than the first inter-vehicle distance set when the preceding vehicle is not in the leaving state. To implement the following control,
Travel control method.