JP2022028983A - Vehicle controller - Google Patents

Abstract

To calculate a path width and control a vehicle properly.SOLUTION: A vehicle controller controls travelling of a vehicle on a path and includes: a path calculation part which calculates a travel planned path of the vehicle; a control unit which generates an instruction signal for controlling travelling of the vehicle; and a path width calculation part which uses a normal line to the travel planned path to calculate a distance between an obstacle existing on the normal line and the travel planned path.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and more particularly to a device for detecting the width of a route.

It is desirable that the speed at which the vehicle is driven on the route is determined according to the width of the route. This is the same whether the driver operates manually or the control device operates automatically.

The following prior arts are the background technologies in this technical field. Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-149110) is a vehicle traveling control device that determines the traveling position of the own vehicle and controls the traveling speed according to the path width or an obstacle at the traveling position. The own vehicle position determination unit that determines the traveling position of the own vehicle, a collision determination frame setting unit that adds a minimum margin to both sides of the vehicle width of the own vehicle to set the minimum frame width, and the path at the traveling position. Vehicle travel control characterized in that the control means is provided with a frame width changing unit that changes the frame width according to the width and a speed setting unit that sets the traveling speed of the own vehicle according to the frame width. The device is described (see claim 1).

Further, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-77829), the front information recognition means for recognizing the front information of the own vehicle, the own vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring the driving information of the own vehicle, and the above-mentioned forward information are described. If it is determined that there is an obstacle that hinders the driving of the own vehicle based on the above, stop control for stopping the own vehicle in front of the obstacle and avoiding the obstacle should be avoided at least according to the type of the obstacle. When the stop control is set by the avoidance control selection means for selecting either the slip-through control traveling on the side of the obstacle and the avoidance control selection means, the stop control for stopping the own vehicle is executed. On the other hand, when the slip-through control is selected, the slip-through speed when passing through the obstacle is set according to the front information of the own vehicle, and the speed control means is used to control the speed so as to travel at the set slip-through speed. , A vehicle driving support control device, characterized in that the vehicle is provided with the above (see claim 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-149110 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-77829

In the above-mentioned prior art, the area in which the vehicle can travel is determined based on the paint that divides the lane (the center line of the lane, the boundary line of the lane, the outside line of the lane, etc.). On the road, you can drive according to the lanes demarcated by paint, but if you drive according to a defined route in a free space where the lane is not defined (for example, when guiding a vehicle from the entrance of a parking lot to a parking space). It was difficult to determine the passable area (width), and it was not possible to obtain an index for determining whether or not the route could pass and the speed of passage.

Therefore, even if the vehicle is passable, the driver may feel fear when passing through a narrow road without decelerating. Further, when the obstacle constituting the narrow road is a person, the vehicle may pass by the person in the vicinity of the route at high speed, and the person may feel a danger. Therefore, it is required to travel at a speed that is more suitable for human senses.

In addition, when an obstacle is detected on the route and the route is suddenly changed, the width of the changed route cannot be known before the route change, so the changed route can be quickly changed according to the route change. You need to calculate the width of.

A typical example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows. That is, it is a vehicle control device that controls the travel of a vehicle on a route, and includes a route calculation unit that calculates a planned travel route of the vehicle, a control unit that generates an instruction signal for controlling the travel of the vehicle, and the travel. It is provided with a route width calculation unit that calculates the distance between an obstacle existing on the normal route and the planned travel route by using a normal line for the planned route.

According to one aspect of the invention, the calculated distance can be used to adequately control the vehicle. Issues, configurations and effects other than those mentioned above will be clarified by the description of the following examples.

It is a block diagram of the vehicle to which the parking support device was applied. It is a block diagram of the parking support device. It is a logical block diagram of parking support control. It is a logical block diagram of the control by a vehicle speed control unit. It is a logical block diagram of the control by a steering angle control part. It is a figure which shows the structure of a mobile terminal. It is a figure which shows the structure of the narrow road speed control device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the route width calculation processing part. It is a figure which shows the structure of the narrow road passage determination part. It is a flowchart of the process executed by a narrow road speed control device. It is a flowchart of the process executed by a narrow road speed control device. It is a figure which shows the path normal generation processing. It is a figure which shows the path width calculation process of a blind spot part. It is a figure which shows the path width calculation process of a blind spot part. It is a figure which shows the path width calculation process using a plane. It is a figure which shows the path width calculation process using a plane. It is a figure which shows the example of a narrow road determination. It is a figure which shows the example of the vehicle speed control while passing through a narrow road.

As an example of the vehicle control device of the present invention, a vehicle equipped with a parking support device for automating parking will be described.
[Vehicle configuration]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle to which the parking support device of this embodiment is applied.

The driver instructs the forward, backward or stop of the vehicle by the shift lever 8, and instructs the driving force of the drive motor 1 by the accelerator pedal 6. The drive motor 1 may be an engine (internal combustion engine). The drive motor 1 can generate a driving force and a braking force regardless of the operation of the accelerator pedal 6 and the operation of the shift lever 8 of the driver.

The pedaling force of the brake pedal 7 is boosted by the brake booster 15, and hydraulic pressure corresponding to the force is generated in the master cylinder 16. The generated hydraulic pressure is supplied to the foil cylinders 21 to 24 via the electric hydraulic brake (HU) 2. In this way, the driver can control the braking force by the brake pedal 7. The electro-hydraulic brake 2 has a pump driven by a motor, a solenoid valve, and the like, and independently controls the braking force of the four wheels (hydraulic pressure of the wheel cylinders 21 to 24) even if the driver does not operate the brake pedal 7. can. There is no difference between the left and right braking forces of the four wheels when the driver operates the brake pedal.

The electric power steering 3 generates an assist torque according to the steering torque input by the driver via the steering wheel 9, and the left and right front wheels (steering wheels) 41 are generated by the steering torque of the driver and the assist torque of the electric power steering 3. 42 is steered and the vehicle turns while the vehicle is running. Further, the electric power steering 3 generates steer torque even if the driver does not operate the steering wheel 9, and can steer the left and right front wheels 41 and 42.

Further, a plurality of cameras 11 to 14 (for example, four cameras attached to the front, rear, left and right of the vehicle) for photographing the surroundings of the vehicle and recognizing an object around the vehicle are attached to the vehicle. The images of these cameras 11 to 14 are combined and displayed on the touch panel 18 as a bird's-eye view of the vehicle and the surroundings of the vehicle from above. The driver can park while watching this bird's-eye view image without controlling the parking support.

The parking support device of this embodiment recognizes the parking position based on the parking frame on the images of the cameras 11 to 14 and the positions of other parked vehicles, and drives the motor 1 so that the vehicle reaches the recognized parking position. The electric hydraulic brake 2 and the electric power steering 3 are automatically controlled. The driver can also instruct the parking position by using the touch panel 18 on which the bird's-eye view image is displayed.

Further, the driver operates the touch panel 18 to activate the parking support device described later. Further, the user can control the automatic parking of the vehicle by activating the parking support device from outside the vehicle by using the automatic parking control application of the mobile terminal 200 (see FIG. 6). As illustrated in FIG. 6, the mobile terminal 200 can be configured by a general computer equipped with a communication means such as a smartphone or a mobile phone, and is automatically parked by operating the start button 210 displayed on the touch panel 201. Launch the parking assistance device from the control application.

Further, in order to control the parking route, the steering angle sensor 4 and the wheel speed sensors 31 to 34 are attached to the vehicle. The electro-hydraulic brake 2 controls vehicle side slip prevention and anti-lock brake by means of sensor signals from a vehicle motion detection sensor 17 that detects forward / backward acceleration, lateral acceleration, and yaw rate, a steering angle sensor 4, and wheel speed sensors 31 to 34. However, the signals of the steering angle sensor 4 and the wheel speed sensors 31 to 34 are also shared for controlling parking assistance.

All of the above-mentioned electric devices are controlled by the electronic control unit (ECU) 5, and all the sensor signals are also input to the electronic control unit 5. The sensor signal input to the electronic control unit 5 also includes an accelerator pedal operation amount, a brake pedal operation amount, a shift position, and steering torque, which are operation amounts of the driver. Further, the function of the electronic control unit 5 may be divided, an electronic control unit may be attached to each electric device, and a configuration may be adopted in which necessary information is communicated between the electronic control units.

A vehicle speed control device that automatically controls the vehicle speed is configured by a drive motor 1, an electrohydraulic brake 2, each wheel cylinder 21-24, wheels 41 to 44, and an electronic control unit 5. Further, an automatic steering control device for automatically steering the left and right front wheels 41 and 42 is configured by the electric power steering 3 and the electronic control unit 5.

[Configuration of parking support device]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the parking support device.

During the parking operation, the vehicle operation is automatically controlled by the drive motor 1, the electric hydraulic brake 2, and the electric power steering 3, but the amount of operation by the driver is monitored and the driver can be overridden. For example, when the driver operates the brake pedal 7, the vehicle is temporarily stopped. As a result, when an obstacle enters the parking route, the driver's braking operation is prioritized to control the vehicle and avoid contact with the obstacle. After that, when the driver releases the operation of the brake pedal 7, the parking operation by automatic control is restarted. As a result, parking assistance can be automatically resumed when an obstacle leaves the parking route. Further, when the driver changes the shift position or when the driver applies a steering torque of a predetermined value or more to the steering wheel 9, the parking operation by automatic control is stopped. As a result, the vehicle can be driven with priority given to the shift operation or the steering operation of the driver. The automatic control may be stopped by operating the automatic control stop button displayed on the touch panel 18.

[Parking support control]
FIG. 3 is a logical configuration diagram of parking support control in the electronic control unit 5 constituting the parking support device.

The electronic control unit 5 has a parking route calculation unit 51, a moving distance calculation unit 52, a vehicle speed calculation unit 53, a route control unit 54, a vehicle speed control unit (vehicle control unit) 55, and a steering angle as a configuration for realizing parking support control. It has a control unit (vehicle control unit) 56, a start control unit 57, and a narrow road speed control device 58.

First, the parking position is recognized by the cameras 11 to 14 in front of the parking position. As described above, the driver may specify the parking position by the touch panel 18 on which the bird's-eye view is displayed. Next, the parking route calculation unit 51 starts the parking operation by a trigger from the activation control unit 57, and calculates the parking route based on the parking position. The activation control unit 57 starts the operation of the parking support device by, for example, operating the "parking start" button displayed on the touch panel 18 or operating the start button 210 provided on the mobile terminal 200.

The wheel speed sensors 31 to 34 output a plurality of wheel speed pulses for each rotation of the wheel. The moving distance calculation unit 52 integrates the number of wheel speed pulses and calculates the moving distance of the vehicle. Further, the vehicle speed calculation unit 53 calculates the vehicle speed V using the generation interval of the wheel speed pulse. In this embodiment, the moving distance and the vehicle speed V are the moving distance and the vehicle speed at the center of the rear wheel axle, so the average value of the moving distance and the vehicle speed of the left and right rear wheels 43 and 44 is calculated.

The route control unit 54 calculates a vehicle speed command (target value of vehicle speed) V * and a steering angle command (target value of steering angle) δh * from the parking route and the moving distance of the vehicle. The vehicle speed command V * during forward and backward movement may be constant. The vehicle speed command V * calculated by the route control unit 54 adjusts the traveling speed according to the route width calculated by the narrow road speed control device 58, and is sent to the vehicle speed control unit 55.

The vehicle speed control unit 55 calculates the drive torque command Tac * to the drive motor 1 and the hydraulic pressure command Pwc * to the electric hydraulic brake 2 as control parameters for controlling the vehicle speed based on the vehicle speed command V * and the vehicle speed V. do.

The drive motor 1 generates a driving force by the drive torque command Tac *, and the electro-hydraulic brake 2 generates a braking force by the hydraulic pressure command Pwc *. Both the driving force and the braking force may be generated by the drive motor 1, or the driving force may be shared by the drive motor 1 and the braking force may be generated by the electro-hydraulic brake 2. When an engine is provided in place of the drive motor 1, the driving force and the braking force may be shared and generated. In this embodiment, the drive motor 1 is used instead of the engine, but the drive force is generated by the drive motor 1 and the braking force is generated by the electro-hydraulic brake 2.

The steering angle control unit 56 calculates the steering torque command Tst * as a control parameter for controlling the steering angle based on the steering angle command δh * and the steering angle δh measured by the steering angle sensor 4. The electric power steering 3 generates steer torque by the steer torque command Tst *.

[Vehicle speed control]
FIG. 4 is a logical configuration diagram of control by the vehicle speed control unit 55.

The subtractor 100 outputs a vehicle speed deviation (V * −V) obtained by subtracting the vehicle speed V from the input vehicle speed command V *. The multiplier 101 multiplies the vehicle speed deviation by the proportional gain Kp_a. The integrator 102 integrates the vehicle speed deviation. The multiplier 103 multiplies the integrated value of the vehicle speed deviation by the integrated gain Ki_a. The adder 104 outputs the sum of the outputs of the two multipliers 101 and 103 as the drive torque command Tac *.

The multiplier 105 multiplies the vehicle speed deviation by -1 to invert the positive or negative of the vehicle speed deviation. The multiplier 106 multiplies the vehicle speed deviation after positive / negative inversion by the proportional gain Kp_b. The integrator 107 integrates the vehicle speed deviation after positive / negative inversion. The multiplier 108 multiplies the integrated value of the vehicle speed deviation after positive / negative inversion by the integrated gain Ki_b. The adder 109 outputs the sum of the outputs of the two multipliers 106 and 108 as the hydraulic pressure command Pwc *.

The determination device 110 outputs a selection command = 1 (true) when the vehicle speed deviation is 0 or more, and outputs a selection command = 0 (false) when the vehicle speed deviation is less than 0. The switch 111 outputs a drive torque command Tac * to accelerate the vehicle when the selection command output from the determination device 110 is 1, and liquid to decelerate the vehicle when the selection command is 0. The pressure command Pwc * is output.

The plant model (vehicle model) 112 calculates the vehicle speed V from the input drive torque command Tac * or hydraulic pressure command Pwc *.

As described above, the vehicle speed control unit 55 properly uses the drive motor 1 and the electrohydraulic brake 2 according to the positive / negative of the vehicle speed deviation (V * −V) by PI control. When the vehicle speed deviation is 0 or more, the drive motor 1 is driven by the drive torque command Tac * calculated using the proportional gain Kp_a and the integral gain Ki_a, and the vehicle speed V is set to the vehicle speed command V * by the drive force of the drive motor 1. Get closer to. At this time, the hydraulic pressure command Pwc * to the electric hydraulic brake 2 is set to 0 and no braking force is generated.

On the other hand, when the vehicle speed deviation is less than 0, the electric hydraulic brake 2 is driven by the hydraulic pressure command Pwc * calculated using the proportional gain Kp_b and the integrated gain Ki_b, and the vehicle speed V is set to the vehicle speed by the braking force of the electric hydraulic brake 2. Get closer to command V *. At this time, the drive torque command Tac * to the drive motor 1 is set to 0 and no driving force is generated.

[Steering angle control]
FIG. 5 is a logical configuration diagram of control by the steering angle control unit 56.

The steering angle control unit 56 performs two-degree-of-freedom control using a disturbance observer that cancels the disturbance d, and the steering angle response can be freely set by the target response G.

The subtractor 120 outputs a steering angle deviation (δh * −δh) obtained by subtracting the steering angle δh from the steering angle command δh *. The model matching compensator 121 is a feedback compensator that outputs an ideal steer torque that matches the input steering angle deviation with a predetermined target response G. The subtractor 122 outputs the steer torque command Tst * obtained by subtracting the disturbance estimated torque from the ideal steer torque. The adder 123 adds the disturbance d to the steer torque command Tst *. The plant model (vehicle model) 124 outputs a steering angle δh when a steer torque command including disturbance is input.

The noise filter unit 125 filters the steer torque command Tst * with a low-pass filter. In the reverse plant model 126, the steer torque command for obtaining the steering angle δh is filtered by the same low-pass filter as the low-pass filter of the noise filter unit 125. The subtractor 127 subtracts the output of the noise filter unit 125 from the output of the inverse plant model 126 to output the disturbance estimated torque.

Further, the route may be calculated from the past travel history by using the past environment storage device. Further, in addition to the cameras 11 to 14, a sensor using a sonar or a laser may be used.

Next, the configuration of the narrow road speed control device 58 will be described. 7A, 7B, and 7C are diagrams showing the configurations of the narrow road speed control device 58, the route width calculation processing unit 500, and the narrow road passage determination unit 510, respectively.

The narrow road speed control device 58 has a route width calculation processing unit 500, a narrow road traffic determination unit 510, and a speed / steering control unit 520, and is used to determine a traffic risk even in a place such as a lane where there is no travel standard. It is a device that seeks a useful passable width. As shown in FIG. 7B, the route width calculation processing unit 500 has an obstacle map generation unit 501, a route normal generation unit 502, and a route width calculation unit 503, and outputs the calculated route width. As shown in FIG. 7C, the narrow road passage determination unit 510 has a narrow road determination unit 511, a narrow road start distance calculation unit 512, a narrow road end distance calculation unit 513, and a narrow road passage determination unit 514. Outputs the distance and left / right narrow road flags. As shown in FIG. 7A, the speed / steering control unit 520 has a narrow road approach pre-speed control unit 521, a narrow road passage speed control unit 522, and a narrowing direction steering suppression control unit 523 for controlling the vehicle. The instruction signal is output to the vehicle speed control unit 55 and the steering angle control unit 56.

A driving support device that performs automatic driving such as automatic driving and automatic parking, and driving support such as automatic braking is instructed by the user to start by operating a switch (touch panel 18 or the like) or a mobile terminal 200, or an environment (for example, an environment (for example)). , The position information of the vehicle), the driving support device is automatically activated. Subsequent processing is started at the same time as the startup of this device. Hereinafter, an example of using a driving support device in a parking lot will be described, but it can also be applied to automatic driving.

8A and 8B are flowcharts of processes executed by the narrow road speed control device 58.

[Starting the device]
Upon entering the parking lot, the automatic parking device is activated by using the switch operation or GPS / GNSS information, and the narrow road speed control device 58 starts processing.

Obstacle map generation: Step 301
The obstacle map generation unit 501 recognizes a three-dimensional object or the like that may obstruct the passage of a vehicle as an obstacle by an outside world recognition device (cameras 11 to 14, etc.), and uses the position as point cloud information to form a peripheral map. Output on the dimensional space. This two-dimensional space is a virtual representation of the plane on which the vehicle can travel. The obstacle map may include the position of road markings such as a white line that separates the travelable area.

The point cloud information may be used as it is, or it may be grouped according to a predetermined rule and the group may be treated as a line segment or an arc. In this way, the obstacle information expressed in some form in the two-dimensional space is the obstacle information. Further, the obstacle information obtained in the past running may be superimposed.

Next, the obstacle map generation unit 501 generates an obstacle map in which obstacles are represented in a two-dimensional space. The obstacle map is data on software including obstacle information in a two-dimensional space, but as long as the obstacle information can be extracted, it may be three-dimensional information including height information and the like.

After that, the obstacle map generation unit 501 outputs the position of the own vehicle on the obstacle map. The vehicle position can be determined by using GPS / GNSS, wheel pulse information, SLAM, and the like.

Scheduled travel route capture: Step 302
The route width calculation processing unit 500 takes in the planned travel route calculated by the route control unit 54. The planned travel route is data indicating information on the planned travel position of the vehicle from the current vehicle position. The planned travel route is generated not only when moving forward but also when moving backward. Various methods have been devised for calculating the route, but the data may be in a format that can be finally expressed by a straight line, a curve, or a combination thereof, or data that can be converted into such a format, based on the position of the own vehicle. For example, route information may be indicated by a mileage and a steering angle. Moreover, you may use the route stored in advance.

Route normal generation: step 303
As shown in FIG. 9, the route normal generation unit 502 generates a normal for the planned travel route taken in from the route control unit 54. There are no particular restrictions on the position of the normals or the spacing between the generated normals. Normals may be generated continuously or discretely. A plane may be defined by a line segment substantially parallel to the planned travel route and a generated normal line.

The path normal generation unit 502 may calculate the path width also for the blind spot portion.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the outside world recognition device recognizes an object within the fan-shaped range shown by the dotted line. In the state shown in FIG. 10A, there is an obstacle on the left front side, and the hatched area behind the obstacle is a blind spot. In such a case, the area where there is clearly no obstacle is treated as having no obstacle, and the area where it is not (the area where the object cannot be detected and there may be an obstacle) is treated as having an obstacle. Therefore, it is determined that the left path width is small in the blind spot portion.

After that, as shown in FIG. 10B, the vehicle advances and the rear of the initially detected obstacle becomes visible, so that the blind spot is eliminated and the left path width is largely determined.

Route width calculation: Step 304
The route width calculation unit 503 superimposes the route information and the route normal on the obstacle map including the obstacle information. That is, at this point, the vehicle position, the obstacle coordinates, and the planned travel route appear on the obstacle map, and the subsequent geometric processing is executed by utilizing the mutual positional relationship of these information.

As shown in FIG. 9, the route width calculation unit 503 divides the route normal into two with the planned travel route as a boundary, and determines the length from the planned travel route to the point where the normal and the obstacle intersect. Calculated as the route width. Two route widths, a right route width and a left route width, are calculated based on the traveling direction. The total value of the left route width and the right route width is the width of the space through which the vehicle can pass.

If there are no obstacles in the normal direction, the upper limit value or invalid value is used as the route width. This is a measure for the convenience of the computer, and the effect of the present invention does not change even if it is treated as infinite. In addition, a route normal is also generated for the planned travel route generated in the backward direction.

The route width calculation unit 503 may calculate the route width using a plane using the route normal. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, when obstacles are discretely present, such as when obstacles are provided at predetermined intervals, the path width fluctuates in a short cycle. Considering that the total length of the vehicle is about 4 to 5 m, even if there is a gap of 0.5 m between obstacles, the vehicle cannot pass between the obstacles, so it is a substantially continuous obstacle. Sometimes it is convenient to recognize that there is. For example, there are slatted walls on the sides, or obstacles appear and disappear on the path normal (pylon is placed irregularly). On the other hand, if the distance between the route normals is increased, there is a possibility that an obstacle will be missed. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 11B, a plane in which a plurality of route normals are collected may be regarded as a passable area such as a lane area, and the route width may be calculated by the end of the plane.

The route width calculation unit 503 replaces the plane with the calculation of the route width, or together with it, performs a filter process for determining that the obstacles are the same if the distance between the obstacles is less than a certain distance when the obstacles exist discretely. You may go. This filter may simply measure the number of consecutive runs, use a moving average in the width direction, or use other approximation curves.

Narrow road judgment: Step 305
Next, the narrow path determination unit 511 compares the left path width with a predetermined left stenosis determination threshold value, and if the left path width is smaller than the left stenosis determination threshold value, determines that there is a left stenosis. Further, the right side also uses the right stenosis determination threshold value to determine whether or not there is right side stenosis. The stenosis determination threshold value may be set to any value, but if it is a parking lot, it may be set to about (vehicle width + 1 to 1.5 m) / 2.

The left and right stenosis determination threshold values may be set separately or the same value may be set. In the case of a right-hand drive vehicle, the left threshold value may be larger than the right threshold value because the left-hand drive is poorly cut off. The stenosis determination threshold value may be changed according to the situation in which the vehicle is traveling. For example, on a general road, the threshold value may be set to (vehicle width + 0.8 m) / 2, and this value may be used for judgment while driving on a general road. During remote operation from outside the vehicle in the parking lot, another (larger) threshold value may be used for the determination.

The narrow road determination unit 511 may also determine a narrow road generated by a moving obstacle such as a vehicle, a bicycle, a flying object, or a human. This is because the movement of obstacles results in a narrower path width.

The narrow road determination unit 511 may correct the stenosis determination threshold value using a preset value. For example, the curvature of the planned travel route at the place where the normal is created is evaluated, and if the curvature is small, the narrow road determination threshold value is increased. This is because the route width required for the vehicle to travel is larger when turning than when going straight due to the difference in inner wheels. The inner ring difference varies depending on the wheelbase and the maximum steering angle, but for example, the correction value is set to + 1.2 m.

The narrow road determination unit 511 may evaluate the height of the obstacle and compare it with the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle, the mirror height, and the driver's line-of-sight height. The higher the height of the obstacle, the stronger the feeling of oppression, and the driver tries to operate it carefully, so the demand for deceleration from the driver increases. Therefore, when the height of the obstacle is high, it is preferable to reduce the stenosis determination threshold. By correcting the stenosis determination threshold value according to the height, the driver's feeling can be accurately reflected.

When the narrow road determination unit 511 specifies a travelable area by the road surface display (for example, painting a white line) and an obstacle is detected outside the road marking (that is, outside the travelable area), the left and right sides Even if the path width of the road is smaller than the left and right stenosis determination threshold values, it does not have to be determined as a narrow road.

Own vehicle position acquisition: Step 306
After that, the narrow road traffic determination unit 510 acquires the position of the own vehicle. The own vehicle position can be determined by using GPS / GNSS, wheel pulse information, SLAM, etc., as in step 301.

Narrow road start distance calculation: Step 307
The narrow road start distance calculation unit 512 calculates the narrow road start distance, which is the path length from the position of the own vehicle on the planned travel route to the position determined by the narrow road determination unit 511 to be a narrow road. The narrow road start distance changes as the vehicle advances and the narrow road moves. By dividing the narrow road start distance by the vehicle speed, the time to the narrow road can be calculated. Here, the position of the own vehicle is usually the position of the front end of the vehicle, but the center of the rear wheel axle or the rear end of the vehicle may be used.

When the vehicle reaches the narrow road and the own vehicle position and the narrow road start position are equal, the narrow road start distance becomes 0. Furthermore, as the vehicle travels, the narrow road start distance becomes a negative value. The narrow road start distance calculation unit 512 calculates the narrow road start distance immediately after it is determined that there is a narrow road until the narrow road traffic determination unit 514, which will be described later, determines the end of the passage.

When the narrow road determination unit 511 does not determine that the road is a narrow road, the narrow road start distance calculation unit 512 may not calculate the narrow road start distance, but may use an upper limit value or an invalid value. For example, the narrow road start distance when it is not determined to be a narrow road may be set to 255 m, and the narrow road start distance immediately after being determined to be a narrow road may be set to a value such as 25 m.

Narrow road end distance calculation: Step 308
The narrow road end distance calculation unit 513 regards the position determined to be not a narrow road as the position where the narrow road is eliminated, on the traveling direction side from the position where the narrow road determination unit 511 determines that the road is narrow. The narrow road end distance, which is the path length from the position of the own vehicle on the planned travel route to the position determined not to be the narrow road, is calculated. The method for calculating the narrow road end distance is the same as the method for calculating the narrow road start distance. When the narrow road end position is undefined, the narrow road end distance may be an upper limit value such as 255 m or an invalid value. When the route width of the narrow road is too small to pass, the narrow road end distance may be set as an invalid value or an upper limit value.

When there are a plurality of narrow road start distances and narrow road end distances, the narrow road end distance calculation unit 513 uses the narrow road start distance 1, the narrow road end distance 1, the narrow road start distance 2, and the narrow road end distance in the order of proximity to the own vehicle. As a narrow road different from 2 ... and the like, the narrow road start distance and the narrow road end distance are calculated.

Deceleration control before entering a narrow road: Steps 309 to 311
The speed control unit 521 before entering the narrow road calculates the command vehicle speed based on the narrow road start distance and the preset indicated deceleration (step 309). If the route width of the narrow road is too small to pass, the command speed is set to 0 and the vehicle is controlled to stop before the narrow road.

Based on the calculated command vehicle speed, the speed control unit 521 before entering the narrow road instructs the vehicle speed control unit 55 to decelerate due to the operation of the brake, and controls the vehicle to decelerate before reaching the narrow road (step 310). .. At this time, the torque down to the drive motor 1 may be instructed.

Then, the vehicle speed control unit 55 starts the vehicle speed servo control based on the command vehicle speed for deceleration control before entering the narrow road (step 311).

Judgment during narrow road traffic: Step 312
When the narrow road start distance is 0 or less and the narrow road end distance is larger than 0, the narrow road passage determination unit 514 determines that the narrow road is in transit, and the narrow road start distance is 0 or less and the narrow road end distance is If it is 0 or less, it is determined that the narrow road traffic is completed.

The narrow road start distance and the narrow road end distance are calculated based on the front end of the vehicle, but the narrow road traffic determination unit 514 adds the total length of the vehicle to the narrow road end distance to determine whether the vehicle is traveling on a narrow road. You may. By the process of adding the total length of the vehicle, it is possible to control so that the end of the vehicle does not come into contact with an obstacle even if the steering occurs immediately after the end of narrow road traffic. Further, instead of the total length of the vehicle, the distance from the front end of the vehicle to the driver's seat and the distance from the front end of the vehicle to the center of the rear wheel axle may be added to determine whether the vehicle is traveling on a narrow road.

After determining that the narrow road has ended, the narrow road start distance and the narrow road end distance may be deleted as a result of the narrow road determination used for this determination.

Here, an example of narrow road determination will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, the route and the route normal are shown by information in the length direction, and the route normals h1, h2 ... H25 are shown at regular intervals in the vehicle traveling direction.

Since the right path width is smaller than the right stenosis threshold at the position of h6, it is determined to be right stenosis, and from h8, it is determined not to be right stenosis. In addition, right stenosis occurs in h7, h10, h13, h15, h16, and h19. In h12, the path width is close to the threshold value, but since the right path width is equal to or larger than the right stenosis threshold value, it is not determined to be right stenosis. Similarly, left stenosis occurs at h8, h10, h13, h16, h18.

The post-filter left stenosis determination and the post-filter right stenosis determination show the results of filtering the determined left stenosis and right stenosis. For example, a filter is used that maintains the stenosis determination until the stenosis is not determined four or more times in a row after the stenosis occurs once. Since left stenosis is not determined to be stenosis at the end of h18, it is determined not to be stenosis at h21, which is the fourth evaluation. Similarly, since right stenosis is not determined to be stenosis at the end of h19, it is determined not to be stenosis at h22, which is the fourth evaluation.

Further, when it is determined that h6 is a stenosis, the narrow road start distance is calculated. When h19 to h22 of the left stenosis and h20 to h23 of the right stenosis are determined, the narrow road end distance is calculated. In the illustrated example, the narrow road end distance is calculated based on the narrow road determination result after the filter.

Route width calculation: Step 313
While the determination unit 514 in the narrow road is determining that the vehicle is in the narrow road, the route width is calculated. The method for calculating the route width is the same as in step 304. By calculating the route width while traveling on a narrow road, it is possible to acquire the route width (for example, elimination of blind spots, movement of obstacles) that changes as the vehicle travels.

Narrow passage speed control: Steps 314 to 315
The narrow road passing speed control unit 522 calculates the vehicle speed while passing through the narrow road while the narrow road passing determination unit 514 determines that the vehicle is passing through the narrow road (step 314). For example, it is advisable to maintain a predetermined low speed while traveling on a narrow road, or to increase or decrease the command vehicle speed according to the route width. When the route width is too small to pass, the vehicle speed may be set to 0 and the vehicle may be controlled to stop.

The narrow road determination unit 511 is narrow when the travelable area is designated by the road surface display (for example, paint of a white line) and an obstacle is detected outside the road marking (that is, outside the travelable area). Even if it is determined that the road is a road, it is not necessary to suppress the deceleration amount to set a higher traveling speed or to decelerate.

After that, the narrow road passage speed control unit 522 starts vehicle speed servo control based on the command vehicle speed for narrow road passage speed control (step 315).

FIG. 13 shows an example of vehicle speed control while traveling on a narrow road. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the reference position for determining the end of the narrow road is set as the rear end of the vehicle, and the route normals N1, N2 ... N22 are shown at regular intervals in the traveling direction of the own vehicle.

In N5, the path width is smaller than the default value, and in N7, it is determined to be left stenosis and right stenosis. Since the stenosis can be detected before approaching, the command vehicle speed is reduced by decelerating before entering the narrow road so that the vehicle speed decreases by the time the vehicle reaches the stenosis.

The route width decreases from N7 to N9, and increases from N9 to N11. The command vehicle speed also increases or decreases according to the route width. Such changes will continue until N18. The commanded vehicle speed may be constant while passing through a narrow road without increasing or decreasing the commanded vehicle speed according to the route width.

In N19, the narrow road itself ends because the route width is larger than the narrowing threshold value, but in N20, the rear end of the vehicle ends passing through the narrow road. Therefore, the determination that the vehicle is traveling on a narrow road continues until N20, and the narrow road deceleration control is performed.

Stenosis direction steering suppression control: Steps 316 to 317
The narrowing direction steering suppression control unit 523 limits steering in the direction determined to be a narrow road while the determination unit 514 determining that the vehicle is passing through a narrow road determines that the vehicle is passing through a narrow road (step). 316). For example, it is advisable to prohibit steering in the direction (right, left) determined to be a narrow road, or to set an upper limit on the amount of steering. By restricting steering in the narrowing direction while traveling on narrow roads, contact with obstacles can be avoided. If both left and right stenosis are determined, steering in either the left or right direction is restricted.

After that, the stenosis direction steering suppression control unit 523 starts steering servo control based on the steering suppression command command steering angle (step 317).

End of control: Steps 318 to 321
When it is determined that the narrow road passing determination unit 514 is not passing through the narrow road (that is, the vehicle has passed the narrow road) (No in step 312), the control of the speed and the steering while passing through the narrow road is terminated. Specifically, if the vehicle speed servo control based on the command vehicle speed for narrow road passage speed control is being performed (Yes in step 318), the vehicle speed servo control based on the command vehicle speed for narrow road passage speed control is terminated (step 319). If the steering servo control based on the steering suppression control command steering angle is in progress (Yes in step 320), the steering servo control based on the steering suppression control command steering angle is terminated (step 321).

An example of controlling automatic parking using the control described above will be described. Consider a situation in which other vehicles are already parked on both sides of the planned parking position of the own vehicle, and the distance between them is 3.5 m. The width of the vehicle is set to 1.8 m, and the stenosis determination threshold is set to 1.5 m on both the left and right sides.

When the automatic parking device is activated near the planned parking position, the vehicle goes straight through the passage in the parking lot, then turns 90 degrees, and the planned travel route to enter the parking frame in front is calculated. Since the maximum steering angle is used when turning 90 degrees, a correction of about +1.0 m is added to the stenosis determination threshold value in consideration of the inner ring difference.

After activating the automatic parking device, the driver goes out of the vehicle and performs remote operation using the mobile terminal 200. When the vehicle actually starts to travel and the straight portion is half-digested, it is determined that the road is narrow in the 90-degree turning direction, the narrow road start distance is calculated, and the vehicle decelerates by the time the turning starts. When the vehicle is slow enough, it makes a maximum turn to make a 90-degree turn and enters the parking frame. At this time, since it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a narrow road, the automatic parking device controls the speed while the vehicle is traveling on a narrow road, and the vehicle travels at a low speed. However, in order to reach the final stop position, the automatic parking device commands the vehicle speed to be reduced to 0, and the vehicle finally stops.

An example of a case where a child jumps out during the control of automatic parking using the control described above will be described. Consider a situation in which the vehicle is traveling near the center of a passage with a width of 6 m. The width of the vehicle is set to 1.8 m, and the stenosis determination threshold is set to 1.5 m on both the left and right sides.

When the driver activates the automatic parking device in the parking lot, the planned travel route that goes straight through the passage in the parking lot is calculated up to the parking frame. The vehicle goes into automatic driving mode and goes straight at a constant speed. The child jumps out from the left side at a right angle to the direction of travel to a position 10 m in front of the vehicle. The outside world recognition device recognizes the child, and the narrow road speed control device 58 (path width calculation unit 503) calculates the path width. The width of the left route is 3 m until just before the jump, 2.95 m immediately after the jump, 2.25 m 0.5 seconds after the jump, and 1.5 m 1 second after the jump, and it is judged to be a narrow road on the left side.

When the narrow road determination unit 511 determines that the road is narrow, the narrow road start distance calculation unit 512 calculates the narrow road start distance and starts deceleration in preparation for the route width of 1.5 m. The child advances to a position that overlaps with the planned travel route, and the vehicle speed decreases. After 1.3 seconds, the left route width becomes 0.85 m, and the route width is smaller than the vehicle width, so the vehicle speed 0 is commanded and the vehicle stops.

The child travels across the planned travel route, and when the left route width reaches 0, the right route width increases from 0, and when the right route width is 1.5 m, it is determined that the road is not a right narrow road. At this time, since the left stenosis has already been resolved, the vehicle returns to the command speed before passing through the narrow road, the stop is released, and the vehicle travels on the planned travel route.

An example of encountering a narrow road during the control of automatic parking using the control described above will be described. Consider a situation in which the vehicle is traveling near the center of a passage with a width of 6 m. The width of the own vehicle is 1.8 m, the total length of the vehicle is 5 m, and the stenosis determination threshold is set to 1.5 m on both the left and right sides. In addition, pylon is lined up 25 m ahead in parallel with the traveling direction to form a path having a width of 2.8 m.

When the driver activates the automatic parking device in the parking lot, the planned travel route for turning right after going straight on the passage in the parking lot for 34 m to the parking frame is calculated. The vehicle goes into automatic driving mode and goes straight at a constant speed. The outside world recognition device recognizes the pylon and outputs obstacle information to the obstacle map.

After that, the narrow road determination unit 511 determines that the road is narrow on the left and right. The narrow road start distance calculation unit 512 calculates that the narrow road start distance is 25 m. Since the narrow road end position has not been recognized yet, the narrow road end distance calculation unit 513 outputs an upper limit value as the narrow road end distance. According to the preset deceleration, it is not necessary to decelerate at this point, so that the vehicle travels to a narrow road start distance of about 15 m. At this point, the narrow road end position is recognized and the end distance of 25 m is output. The vehicle starts decelerating by the deceleration control before approaching, and the speed is sufficiently reduced until the narrow road start distance becomes 0 m. When entering a narrow road, speed control starts while passing through the narrow road and proceeds at low speed. At this point, the narrow road start distance is 0 m and the narrow road end distance is 10 m.

When the end distance of the narrow road is 1 m, it is necessary to steer in order to proceed on the planned travel route and enter the parking frame, but the rudder suppression control is functioning and the rudder is not steered. , Go straight on. The planned travel route is recalculated, and the planned travel route that turns 1 m ahead is calculated.

Eventually, the narrow road end distance becomes 0 m, but since the vehicle body is in the narrow road, it is determined that the vehicle body is extended by the length of the vehicle body and is passing through the narrow road. After further traveling 5 m, the determination of passing through a narrow road is canceled, the speed of the vehicle increases, and steering is performed according to the recalculated route.

Although the parking support device has been described above as an embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control on a narrow road of the present invention can also be applied to a driving support device and an automatic driving device for controlling driving on a road.

As described above, in the vehicle control device of the embodiment of the present invention, the route calculation unit (parking route calculation unit 51) calculates the planned travel route of the vehicle, and the control unit (speed / steering control unit 520) calculates the planned travel route of the vehicle. , A route that is the distance between an obstacle existing on the planned travel route and the planned travel route by using a normal line for the planned travel route by the route width calculation unit 503, which generates an instruction signal for controlling the travel of the vehicle. Since the width is calculated, a temporary lane (travelable area) can be created according to a predetermined route by using the calculated route width, and the vehicle can be appropriately controlled. For example, it is possible to define a route width that can be moved even in a space (parking lot, etc.) where there is no restriction on the traveling direction, and to determine an appropriate passing speed. Therefore, appropriate stop control can be performed in places where it is difficult to pass. In addition, it is possible to suppress the fear felt by the driver or a person near the vehicle by passing through a narrow road at high speed.

Further, when the speed control unit 521 before entering the narrow road is a narrow road in which the distance (route width) between the obstacle calculated by the route width calculation unit 503 and the planned travel route is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the speed control unit 521 enters the narrow road. Since it generates a control command to control to an appropriate speed before it reaches the narrow road, it can decelerate to an appropriate speed before reaching the narrow road and can pass through the narrow road at an appropriate speed.

Further, the obstacle map generation unit 501 generates an obstacle map that includes the position information of the obstacle that hinders the vehicle from traveling in a space of two or more dimensions, and the route width calculation unit 503 obstructs the normal to the planned travel route. Created on an object map and using the intersection of the position of the obstacle and the normal, the distance (path width) between the obstacle and the route existing on the normal is calculated, so the normal is a simple calculation. Can be generated and the vehicle can be controlled in real time.

Further, the route width calculation unit 503 calculates the distance between the obstacle existing on the normal line and the planned travel route separately for the left route width and the right route width, and the narrow road determination unit 511 calculates the right route width and the left. Since each of the route widths is compared with the threshold value (left stenosis judgment threshold value, right stenosis judgment threshold value) and divided into the left and right of the planned travel route to determine whether the road is narrow, the vehicle can be moved even if only one side is narrow. Can be controlled appropriately.

Further, since the narrow road start distance calculation unit 512 calculates the narrow road start distance, which is the path length from the position determined to be the narrow road to the position of the own vehicle, the start position of the narrow road can be accurately grasped. You can decelerate to an appropriate speed before reaching a narrow road.

In addition, the narrow road end distance calculation unit 513 calculates the narrow road end distance, which is the path length from the position determined not to be a narrow road to the position of the own vehicle in the planned travel route after the narrow road is determined. Therefore, the end position of the narrow road can be accurately grasped, and the speed after passing through the narrow road can be appropriately controlled.

Further, since the narrow road passing determination unit 514 determines whether the vehicle is passing through the narrow road based on the vehicle position, the narrow road start distance, and the narrow road end distance, it is determined whether the vehicle is passing through the narrow road. It can be grasped accurately and the vehicle can be controlled appropriately.

Further, since the narrow road passing determination unit 514 determines whether the vehicle is passing through the narrow road by using the vehicle body length, it is possible to accurately detect that the rear end of the vehicle has passed through the narrow road, and the vehicle can be detected. Can be controlled appropriately.

Further, since the narrowing direction steering suppression control unit 523 suppresses steering in the direction determined to be a narrow road, contact with an obstacle in the narrow road can be avoided.

Further, since the narrow road passing speed control unit 522 suppresses the deceleration amount when there is an obstacle outside the traveling area separated by the road marking, it is possible to suppress excessive deceleration and appropriately control the vehicle. ..

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples, but includes various modifications and equivalent configurations within the scope of the attached claims. For example, the above-described examples have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. Further, a part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Further, the configuration of another embodiment may be added to the configuration of one embodiment. In addition, other configurations may be added / deleted / replaced with respect to a part of the configurations of each embodiment.

Further, each configuration, function, processing unit, processing means, etc. described above may be realized by hardware by designing a part or all of them by, for example, an integrated circuit, and the processor realizes each function. It may be realized by software by interpreting and executing the program to be executed.

Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a memory, a hard disk, a storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

In addition, the control lines and information lines show what is considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines necessary for mounting. In practice, it can be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

1 Drive motor 2 Electric hydraulic brake 3 Electric power steering 4 Steering angle sensor 5 Electronic control unit 6 Accelerator pedal 7 Brake pedal 8 Shift lever 9 Steering wheel 11-14 Camera 15 Brake booster 16 Master cylinder 17 Vehicle motion detection sensor 18 Touch panel 21- 24 Wheel cylinders 31 to 34 Wheel speed sensors 41 to 44 Wheels 51 Parking route calculation unit 52 Travel distance calculation unit 53 Vehicle speed calculation unit 54 Route control unit 55 Vehicle speed control unit 56 Steering angle control unit 57 Start control unit 58 Narrow road speed control device 200 mobile terminal

Claims (10)

A vehicle control device that controls the running of vehicles on the route.
A route calculation unit that calculates the planned travel route of the vehicle,
A control unit that generates an instruction signal to control the running of the vehicle,
A vehicle control device including a route width calculation unit that calculates a distance between an obstacle existing on the normal and the planned travel route by using a normal with respect to the planned travel route. The vehicle control device according to claim 1.
When the distance between the obstacle calculated by the route width calculation unit and the planned travel route is a narrow road smaller than a predetermined threshold value, the control unit controls the speed to an appropriate speed before entering the narrow road. A vehicle control device having a speed control unit before entering a narrow road that generates a control command for. The vehicle control device according to claim 2.
Equipped with an obstacle map generator that generates an obstacle map that includes the position information of obstacles that hinder the running of the vehicle in a space of two or more dimensions.
The route width calculation unit creates a normal for the planned travel route on the obstacle map, and uses the intersection of the position of the obstacle and the normal to the obstacle existing on the normal and the travel. A vehicle control device that calculates the distance to the planned route. The vehicle control device according to claim 2.
The route width calculation unit calculates the distance between the obstacle existing on the normal line and the planned travel route by dividing it into a left route width and a right route width.
The vehicle control device is a vehicle control device having a narrow road determination unit that compares each of the right route width and the left route width with a threshold value, divides each of the right route width and the left route width into left and right of the planned travel route, and determines whether the road is a narrow road. .. The vehicle control device according to claim 2.
A vehicle control device including a narrow road start distance calculation unit that calculates a narrow road start distance, which is the path length from the position determined to be a narrow road to the position of the own vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 5.
A vehicle provided with a narrow road end distance calculation unit that calculates a narrow road end distance, which is the path length from a position determined not to be a narrow road to the position of the own vehicle in the planned travel route after the narrow road is determined. Control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 6.
A vehicle control device including a narrow road passing determination unit for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling on the narrow road based on the vehicle position, the narrow road start distance, and the narrow road end distance. The vehicle control device according to claim 7.
The narrow road passing determination unit is a vehicle control device that further determines whether or not the vehicle is passing through the narrow road by using the vehicle body length. The vehicle control device according to claim 4.
The control unit is a vehicle control device having a steering suppression control unit that suppresses steering in a direction determined to be a narrow road. The vehicle control device according to claim 3.
The obstacle map includes the positions of road markings that demarcate the driving area.
The control unit is a vehicle control device having a narrow road passing speed control unit that suppresses a deceleration amount when the obstacle is outside the traveling region even in the narrow road.

Images