JP3548684B2 - Environment recognition vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an environment-recognizing vehicle control device for controlling a traveling operation of a vehicle while recognizing a traveling environment of the vehicle, and in particular, a cruise control device including means for detecting a wander of a traveling vehicle and a lane departure warning device for warning a lane departure. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art A cruise control device that performs constant-speed cruise control for keeping the vehicle speed of a host vehicle constant or following cruise control for keeping a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle in order to reduce the driver's driving operation is conventionally known. . A vehicle equipped with a constant-speed running control detects the vehicle speed of the own vehicle by a vehicle speed measuring device such as a vehicle speed sensor and controls the engine output and the brake so that the own vehicle speed becomes a preset vehicle speed. You are running at a constant speed. Further, the vehicle provided with the following travel control detects an inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle by an inter-vehicle distance measuring device, and controls an engine output and a brake so that the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle becomes a preset inter-vehicle distance. By controlling, the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle. In recent years, in order to more safely and comfortably follow a preceding vehicle, various devices have been devised according to running conditions.
[0003]
For example, in an inter-vehicle distance control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-61348, the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped while the direction indicator is turned on and for a predetermined time after the switch is turned off, and the accelerator is stopped. By maintaining the speed just before the turn signal switch is turned on unless the brakes, clutches, etc. are operated, the inter-vehicle distance sensor at the time of passing or changing lanes will detect the guardrail etc., and the inter-vehicle distance will be erroneously detected It has been proposed to solve the problem.
[0004]
In addition, in the vehicle travel control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-159198, when passing or changing lanes, a vehicle-to-vehicle distance shorter than a normal target vehicle-to-vehicle distance is temporarily set, so that the vehicle after lane change is performed. It has been proposed to prevent a sudden approach to a following vehicle.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, if the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped every time the direction indicator is turned on, the inter-vehicle distance control is stopped every time an overtaking vehicle or a lane change is performed, so that an operation to restart the inter-vehicle distance control is required. Would.
[0006]
Setting a shorter inter-vehicle distance than the normal target inter-vehicle distance is effective in the case of overtaking or changing lanes from the traveling lane to the overtaking lane, etc. When diverting to an area or the like, there is a risk that the vehicle may inadvertently follow the preceding vehicle.
[0007]
In the present invention, as an environment-recognizing vehicle control device that solves the above-described problems, by canceling cruise control according to the lane position of the host vehicle and the driver's intention, it is possible to control a preceding vehicle on an expressway or a general road. It is a first object to provide a cruise control device capable of preventing careless follow-up.
[0008]
Furthermore, in an alarm device that warns of a lane departure due to dozing, etc., even if the lane change is performed in a state where the turn signal is not operated, the lane departure is not always judged to be a warning. It is a second object of the present invention to distinguish between a lane departure due to a drowsiness or the like and a lane change intended by the driver and issue an alarm.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the first object, the present invention relates to a cruise control device including a traveling control means for performing follow-up traveling control or constant-speed traveling control. Release of the traveling control operation in accordance with the position recognition means, the direction indicator for indicating the driver's intention to make a right or left turn, and the lane position of the own vehicle obtained from the lane position recognition means and information from the direction indicator. Cruise control canceling means for performing
[0010]
In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides, in a cruise control device, a lane position recognizing means for recognizing a lane position where the vehicle is present in a plurality of lanes, and detecting a lane change operation of the vehicle. The vehicle includes a lane change detecting unit and a cruise control canceling unit for canceling the traveling control operation based on the lane position obtained from the lane position recognizing unit and the information obtained from the lane change detecting unit.
[0011]
Here, in addition to the lane change detecting operation of the own vehicle, the lane change detecting unit detects the degree of wandering of the own vehicle, and the cruise control canceling unit detects the wander of the own vehicle by the lane change detecting unit, and Alternatively, the configuration may be such that the traveling control operation is canceled when it is detected that the own vehicle is moving in the left or right direction and the direction indicator is not operated.
[0012]
Further, the cruise control canceling means may include a warning means for warning a driver of the cruise control operation when canceling the traveling control operation.
[0013]
Further, the lane position recognizing means may be configured to include an image capturing means for capturing an image in front of the own vehicle, an image processing means for processing an image from the image capturing means, and a millimeter wave radar for detecting an oncoming vehicle. Alternatively, the lane position recognizing means may be constituted by a navigation device capable of detecting a lane position where the host vehicle is traveling.
[0014]
Further, the travel control means may include at least one of a follow-up travel control means for maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle and a constant-speed travel control means for maintaining a constant vehicle speed of the host vehicle.
[0015]
Further, in order to achieve the second object, the present invention provides a lane departure warning device or a cruise control device comprising a lane change detecting means for detecting a lane change operation together with a wandering state of the own vehicle, and a direction indicator. Based on the information from the lane change detecting means and the signal from the turn signal, the travel control operation is canceled or an alarm is issued to warn of a lane departure.
[0016]
Further, in order to achieve the second object, the present invention provides a lane departure warning device or a cruise control device, which comprises: a wobble detecting means for detecting a wobble condition of the vehicle different from a normal traveling state; And cancels the traveling control operation based on information from the wander detecting means and a signal from the direction indicator, or generates an alarm that warns of lane departure.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of a cruise control device and a lane departure warning device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of the cruise control device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the cruise control device according to the first embodiment is configured such that, when the own vehicle branches on an interchange, a parking service area, or the like (patterns 21 and 22) on an expressway, and on a general road, When the host vehicle turns right or left at the intersection (pattern 23), the cruise control is released to prevent inadvertent following. However, in the case of the lane change from the driving lane to the overtaking lane or the overtaking lane to the driving lane or the overtaking lane as in the patterns 24, 25, and 26, the release of the cruise control is not performed so that the driver's The operability is not impaired.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 1, the cruise control device of the present embodiment includes a travel control device 14 having a follow-up travel control means or a constant-speed travel control means, and a position of a lane where a host vehicle exists on a road having a plurality of lanes. Lane position recognizing unit 11 for recognizing a vehicle, a direction indicator 12 for indicating a driver's intention to make a right or left turn, and information obtained from the lane position and direction indicator 12 of the own vehicle obtained from the lane position recognizing unit 11. And a canceling unit 13 for canceling the follow-up traveling control or the constant-speed traveling control in accordance with the content of the following.
[0020]
Hereinafter, the case where the travel control device 14 in the cruise control device performs the following travel control will be described in detail, but the case of the constant speed travel control can be similarly realized.
[0021]
The operation of the cruise control device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation of the present embodiment includes a step 31 for performing follow-up running control for maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle, a step 32 for recognizing the lane position of the own vehicle, a step 33 for detecting a signal from the direction indicator 12, It can be divided into five steps: a step 34 of determining whether to release the cruise control based on the lane position of the vehicle and the direction indicator signal, and a step 35 of releasing the cruise control based on the determination result.
[0022]
First, step 31 for performing follow-up running control for keeping the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle constant will be described. These traveling controls are performed by the traveling control means 14 of FIG.
[0023]
FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of a control block of the follow-up traveling control means provided in the traveling control device 14. The following running control means of this example includes a distance measuring device 41 for measuring a distance to an object located in front of the own vehicle, a vehicle speed measuring device 42 for measuring a speed of the own vehicle, and running while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance. A cruise controller 43 having a function of controlling the drive mechanism of the vehicle, a throttle controller 44 for controlling a throttle actuator 45 for operating a throttle, a transmission controller 46 for controlling a shift operation of a transmission 47, and a brake. And a brake controller 48 for controlling a brake actuator 49 to be operated.
[0024]
The distance measuring device 41 is realized by, for example, a radio wave radar device or a laser radar device, and the vehicle speed measuring device 42 is realized by, for example, a vehicle speed sensor.
[0025]
The processing content of the following running control will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a control system for following running using the predicted inter-vehicle distances Da, Dn, and Dd between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle. Now, the inter-vehicle distance D is oscillating around the target inter-vehicle distance Dr, which is the current inter-vehicle distance D (time = T1) with respect to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr with the preceding vehicle, and the deviation is ΔD. The inter-vehicle distance Da at time T2 when the own vehicle is accelerated at the current time (time = T1) is predicted using a vehicle model. Similarly, the vehicle distance Dd at time T2 when deceleration control is performed and the vehicle distance Dn at time T2 when traveling as it is are predicted. The predicted values are as shown in FIG. The follow-up running control is a control method for executing a process of selecting a value closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr from the three predicted values Da, Dn, and Dd.
[0026]
Hereinafter, a generation routine of the throttle command signal output for controlling the speed of the vehicle in the following running control will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0027]
First, in step 601, the inter-vehicle distance D between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle is measured using the distance measuring device 41. As a specific measuring method, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-27678, a radio wave is emitted in the traveling direction, and the relative speed and the headway are calculated based on the Doppler frequency superimposed on the returned reflected wave. A radio wave radar for measuring a distance or a pulse type laser radar for outputting a laser beam and measuring an inter-vehicle distance from a time until reflected light returns as described in JP-A-58-203524. There is a method of measuring by using.
[0028]
Step 602 is necessary only when the distance between vehicles can only be measured when using a pulse type radar device. Step 602 may be omitted if the relative speed can be measured as in a CW system such as a radio radar device.
[0029]
In step 603, an expected inter-vehicle distance Da when the acceleration signal is output is calculated. + Α corresponding to the acceleration is input to the vehicle model held in advance, and the inter-vehicle distance Da at time T2 is predicted. In step 604, a future inter-vehicle distance Dd when the deceleration signal is output is predicted. As in step 603, a calculation is performed by inputting -α corresponding to the deceleration signal. In step 605, a future inter-vehicle distance Dn is predicted when no acceleration / deceleration signal is output.
[0030]
Among the predicted inter-vehicle distances Da, Dn, and Db obtained in this way, the one having the value closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr is searched in steps 606 and 607. If the predicted inter-vehicle distance Da is closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr when the acceleration signal is output, the flow branches from step 606 to step 608, and otherwise to step 607. In step 608, a signal is output to the throttle controller 44 so as to increase the throttle opening by Δθ, and the processing is terminated.
[0031]
In step 607, the process branches to step 610 when the predicted inter-vehicle distance Dd when the deceleration signal is output is closest to the target inter-vehicle distance Dr. If acceleration and deceleration are not required and the current throttle opening is to be maintained, the process ends. In step 610, the predicted inter-vehicle distance Dd is compared with the inter-vehicle distance Dc for canceling the auto cruise, and if Dc ≦ Dd, the flow branches to step 609, and if Dc> Dd, the flow branches to step 611. In step 609, a signal is output to the throttle controller 44 to close the throttle opening by Δθ, and the process ends.
[0032]
In step 611, a signal is output to the throttle controller 44 so that the throttle opening is fully closed (Δθmin). By fully closing the throttle opening, a strong engine brake is applied and deceleration is prevented to prevent a rear-end collision. The inter-vehicle distance Dc at which the throttle opening is fully closed is set for each vehicle.
[0033]
By the above-described step 31 in FIG. 3 in the travel control device 14, it is possible to perform the follow-up travel that keeps the following distance to the preceding vehicle constant.
[0034]
Subsequently, step 32 of recognizing the lane position of the vehicle will be described. The recognition of the lane position is performed by the lane position recognition unit 11 in FIG.
[0035]
FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration example of a control block of the lane position recognition unit 11. The lane position recognition unit 11 includes an imaging device 71 (CCD camera or the like) that images the front of the own vehicle, a lane position recognition image processing unit 72 that processes an image captured by the imaging device 71, and a lane adjacent to the own vehicle. An adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit 73 that detects whether an oncoming vehicle exists, and a lane on which the own vehicle travels based on information from the lane position recognition image processing unit 72 and information from the adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit 73. It comprises a lane position determination unit 74 for determining the position.
[0036]
Here, a method of recognizing the lane position of the own vehicle in the lane position recognition unit 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The step 32 of recognizing the lane position is divided into three parts: a part for determining the solid line / broken line from step 81 to step 85, a part for determining the adjacent lane in step 86, and a part for determining the lane position in step 87. Can be divided. Hereinafter, the determination of the solid line / broken line, the determination of the adjacent lane, and the determination of the lane position will be described in this order.
[0037]
First, a part for determining the solid line / broken line will be described. In step 81, the imaging device 71 captures an image of the scene in front of the host vehicle. Next, straight lines on the left and right sides of the image area 91 and the image area 92 are detected from the captured input image (FIG. 9), and the two boundary lines 102 and 103 of the lane where the vehicle is present as shown in FIG. An initial model 104 of a white line composed of vanishing points 101, which are intersections, is estimated (step 82). In this example, the case where rectangular image areas 91 and 92 are used will be described. However, the shape of these image areas is not limited to a rectangle, and corresponds to the shape of the white line including only the vicinity of the white line, for example. A rectangular area to be set may be used.
[0038]
For detection of a straight line in step 82, for example, a known Hough transform is used. The Hough transform means that a feature point is calculated by processing such as differentiation with respect to image data displayed on an X, Y orthogonal coordinate system screen, and each of the obtained feature points (X, Y) is
ρ = xcosθ + ysinθ
Is converted into polar coordinate values (ρ, θ) in the polar coordinate system, and the frequencies are stored in the frequency table corresponding to the polar coordinate values while being added one by one, and the polar coordinate values (ρ, θ) having the maximum frequency in the frequency table are stored. In this method, the straight line represented by θ) is set as a straight line to be obtained. For example, 114 in FIG. 11 is a set of straight lines passing through the feature point 111, and similarly, 115 and 116 are a set of straight lines passing through 112 and 113, respectively, and the coordinates of the intersection 117 of the three curves 114, 115 and 116 ( ρ1, θ1) are parameters of a straight line passing through the feature points A, B, C. In the Hough transform used in the present invention, in order to reduce the processing time of white line detection, instead of calculating the feature points in the entire image area, the calculation of the feature points is performed by limiting the range in which the white line exists in advance. Is going. Further, the processing time is improved by limiting the angle range in which θ of the Hough transform is checked in advance.
[0039]
In step 83, the region near the straight line obtained in step 82 is binarized as indicated by 122 in FIG. Subsequently, in step 84, the maximum X coordinate of the left white line of the image area 91 is projected onto the Y axis, and the X coordinate is stored in the maximum X coordinate projection table 123a. Similarly, the right white line of the image area 92 is projected on the Y axis with the minimum X coordinate, and the X coordinate is stored in the minimum X coordinate projection table 123b. Such maximum / minimum X coordinate extraction processing is performed so as not to be affected by a zebra zone, an adjacent vehicle, and the like. Each of the projection tables 123a and 123b is initialized with invalid coordinates in advance. For example, when the image processing size is 512 × 440, the invalid coordinates of the maximum X coordinate projection table 123a are initialized to X = 0, and the invalid coordinates of the minimum X coordinate projection table 123b are initialized to X = 511.
[0040]
The determination of the solid line / dashed line in step 85 is made based on whether or not the values of the projection table storing the coordinate values projected in step 84 appear continuously with the invalid coordinates as the initial values. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of the determination of the solid line / broken line shown in FIG.
[0041]
At steps 131 and 132, the continuous counter and the determination result are initialized. Next, the coordinate values in the projection table are checked (step 133). If the coordinates of the projection table are invalid coordinates, the continuous number counter is incremented (step 134), otherwise, the continuous number counter is reset (step 135). The processes of steps 133, 134, and 135 are repeatedly performed by the size of the projection table. Finally, in step 136, the continuous number counter is compared with the continuous number threshold, and
Continuous count counter> = Continuous count threshold
At the time of (step 137)
Continuous counter <continuous threshold
Is determined to be a solid line at the time of.
[0042]
Next, the adjacent lane determination processing in step 86 performed by the adjacent lane oncoming vehicle determination unit 73 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, the adjacent lane oncoming vehicle determination unit 73 includes a radio wave radar device 141 (for example, a millimeter wave radar) that detects an object ahead of the host vehicle and a signal processing unit 142 that processes a signal from the radio wave radar device 141. Have been. As the radio radar device 141, the distance measuring device 41 of the following traveling device can be used. That is, it is possible to determine whether there is an oncoming vehicle in an adjacent lane based on distance information from the oncoming vehicle in front of the own vehicle. Specifically, a relative speed is calculated from a change in distance over time, and if the relative speed is negative, it is determined that the vehicle is an oncoming vehicle. When a device capable of detecting relative speed information as well as distance information is used as the radio wave radar device, the relative speed information may be used as it is.
[0043]
The determination of the lane position in the last step 87 is made by the lane position determination section 74 based on the result of the solid / broken line determination in the step 85 and the determination result of the adjacent lane in the step 86. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for lane position determination.
[0044]
First, in step 151, the judgment result of the adjacent lane in step 86 is checked. When the determination result of the adjacent lane is “there is an oncoming vehicle”, in step 152, the lane position recognition unit 11 outputs information indicating “there is an oncoming vehicle”. Conversely, if there is no oncoming vehicle, the flow branches to step 153. In step 153, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle exists in the right end lane by checking whether the left white line is a broken line and the right white line is a solid line with respect to the determination result of the solid line / broken line. . If the result of the determination in step 153 is Yes, in step 154, the lane position recognition unit 11 outputs information indicating that the host vehicle is present in the rightmost lane. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 153 is No, the flow branches to step 155. Also at step 155, by examining the determination result of the solid line / broken line as in step 153, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is in the leftmost lane. If the determination result is Yes, the lane position is determined at step 156. The recognizing unit 11 outputs information indicating that the own vehicle exists in the leftmost lane. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 155 is No, information indicating that the vehicle is in another lane is output.
[0045]
As another method of recognizing the lane position of the vehicle, it is conceivable to use a navigation device. FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of the lane position recognition unit 11 'when a navigation device is used.
[0046]
The lane position recognizing unit 11 'includes a host vehicle position detecting unit 161 for detecting the position of the host vehicle, map data 162 in which coordinates of intersections and interchanges, the number of lanes of lanes, and the like are recorded, and a host vehicle position detecting unit. And a lane position determination unit 74 'for determining the lane in which the vehicle is located based on the vehicle position information from the vehicle 161 and the data from the map data 162. The host vehicle position detection unit 161 is specifically realized by a differential GPS, a kinematic GPS, or the like.
[0047]
The map data 162 includes information relating to nodes (points at which roads and roads intersect, that is, intersections) and links (connections between nodes) as shown in the table of FIG. It is expressed with related information. The map data includes not only roads but also location and name data of facilities such as buildings and parks, railways, water systems, etc., but these are not relevant to the present invention and will not be described here. In the database of FIG. 18, the node table contains the node number, coordinates, the number of links flowing out of the node and their link numbers, and the link table contains the link numbers, the start and end nodes constituting the link, the link length, And the number of lanes. The node numbers are determined so as not to overlap each other. The same applies to link numbers. The correspondence between the table in FIG. 18 and the actual road map in FIG. 17 can be taken as follows. The node numbers 15 and 34 in the node table of FIG. 18 can be understood from the respective coordinate values to be the nodes indicated by ○ in FIG. The number of links flowing out from the node number 15 is four, which are link numbers: 20, 21, 19, and 30. Looking at the link number 21 in the link table, it can be seen that the road is from the node 15 to the node 34. If this road is not a one-way street, there is a road going from the node 34 to the node 15, and it can be seen from the link table that the link is assigned a link number 55.
[0048]
The lane position determination unit 74 ′ determines which lane the vehicle is in based on the position information from the vehicle position detection unit 161 and the number of lanes of the road from the map data 162.
[0049]
By the above-described step 32 in the lane position recognition means, the lane position of the own vehicle can be recognized.
[0050]
In the detection of the direction indicator signal in step 33, it is detected to which side the driver has turned the direction indicator 12 (left winker or right winker), and sends it to the release unit 13. This detection can be detected by checking the switch of the direction indicator 12.
[0051]
The determination of the cruise control release in step 34 is made in the release unit 13 of FIG. If the result of the release determination in step 34 in FIG. 3 is Yes, the flow branches to release of cruise control in step 35, and a release signal is transmitted to the travel control device 14 to release cruise control. Conversely, if the result of the release determination in step 34 is No, the flow branches to traveling control in step 31 to continue following travel.
[0052]
FIG. 19 shows a control block diagram of the release unit 13, and FIG. 20 shows a flowchart for determining release of the cruise control. Hereinafter, a method of determining cruise control cancellation will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0053]
As shown in FIG. 19, the release unit 13 determines release of the cruise control based on the lane position information obtained by the lane position recognition unit 11 and the direction indicator information from the direction indicator 12. And a warning device 192 for warning the driver of the release of the cruise control.
[0054]
In step 201 of FIG. 20, the release determination unit 191 determines whether the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is the left end lane. If the result of the determination in step 201 is Yes, the process branches to step 202, and if No, the process branches to step 204. Then, in step 202, it is determined whether or not the direction indicator signal from the direction indicator 12 is a left blinker. This corresponds to the case of the pattern 21 that branches to the interchange, the parking service area, and the like shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 202 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.
[0055]
In step 204, it is determined whether the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is the rightmost lane or an oncoming vehicle. When the result of the determination in step 204 is Yes, the process branches to step 205, and when the result is No, the cancellation determination process ends. Then, in Step 205, it is determined whether or not the direction indicator signal from the direction indicator 12 is a right turn signal. If the determination result is Yes, a release signal is generated in Step 203 and transmitted to the travel control device. This corresponds to the patterns 22 and 23 shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 205 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.
[0056]
In step 203, a release signal for releasing the travel control is generated, and the alarm device 192 is operated to warn the driver of the release of the travel control.
[0057]
As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, a cruise control device that reflects the driver's intention can be realized. In other words, without releasing the cruise control device by operating the conventional turn signal, unintentional release of the cruise control device at the time of an interchange on a highway or a diversion such as a service area / parking is performed. Following the preceding vehicle can be prevented.
[0058]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0059]
FIG. 21 illustrates a control block configuration example of the cruise control device according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when the host vehicle branches on an interchange, a parking service area, or the like, on a highway, or on a general road, the host vehicle turns right or left at an intersection. In such a case, the cruise control is canceled to prevent inadvertent following. However, the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a means for detecting a lane change of the own vehicle is provided, not from a signal from the direction indicator.
[0060]
The cruise control device according to the present embodiment recognizes, for example, as shown in FIG. 21, a travel control device 14 provided with follow-up travel control means or constant-speed travel control means, and recognizes the position of a lane in which a vehicle is present in a plurality of lanes. The lane position recognition unit 11 performs the lane change detection unit 211 that detects the lane change of the own vehicle together with the staggering degree, and the lane position of the own vehicle obtained from the lane position recognition unit 11 and the information obtained from the lane change detection unit 211 And a canceling unit 212 for canceling the follow-up running control or the constant-speed running control on the basis of the control.
[0061]
Hereinafter, the operation of the cruise control device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation of the present embodiment includes a step 221 of performing a follow-up running to keep a constant inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle, a step 222 of recognizing a lane position of the own vehicle, a step 223 of detecting a lane change of the own vehicle, a lane of the own vehicle Step 224 for determining whether to release cruise control based on the position and lane change information, and step 225 for releasing cruise control based on the determination result can be divided into five steps.
[0062]
Among them, the traveling control in step 221, the lane position recognition in step 222, and the release of the cruise control in step 225 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the detection of the lane change in step 223 will be described first, and then the step 224 for determining whether to release the cruise control will be described.
[0063]
FIG. 23 is a control block diagram of the lane change detection unit 211. The lane change detection unit 211 includes an imaging device 71 (such as a CCD camera) that captures an image of the front of the host vehicle, and a lane change detection image processing unit 231 that processes an image captured by the imaging device 71.
[0064]
Here, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 24, a method of detecting the lane change of the own vehicle together with the degree of wander in the lane change detection unit 211 will be described.
[0065]
The image input in step 241 and the initial model estimation in step 242 are the same as steps 81 and 82 described in step 32 for recognizing the lane position of the host vehicle in the first embodiment. That is, in step 241, the image capturing apparatus 71 captures an image of the scene in front of the own vehicle, and in step 242, the captured input image is compared with the two boundary lines 102 of the lane where the own vehicle exists, as shown in FIG. An initial model of a white line composed of 103 and vanishing point 101 is estimated. Therefore, when the present embodiment is realized, the lane position recognition unit 11 and the lane change detection unit 211 estimate an initial model for the input image captured by the imaging device 71, and Perform both lane position recognition and lane change detection.
[0066]
In step 243, based on the initial model obtained in step 242, as shown in FIG. 25, an angle θ255 between the horizontal line 252 centered on the vanishing point 251 and the boundary line 253 is recorded for each frame.
[0067]
In the present embodiment, the change of the angle θ255, that is, the time change of the difference between the angle obtained when the initial model is set and the angle after that, is checked to detect the lane change and the wander of the own vehicle. It can be carried out. For example, as shown in FIG. 26, when the host vehicle does not change lanes, the angle θ265 shown in the graph on the right side of this drawing takes a constant value with respect to time. However, as shown in FIG. 27, when the vehicle moves leftward to change lanes to the left lane, the angle θ275 between the horizontal line 252 and the boundary line 273 does not change lanes. It becomes smaller than the angle θ255 in the case, and the angle θ275 gradually decreases. Conversely, as shown in FIG. 28, when the vehicle moves rightward to change lanes to the right lane, the angle θ285 formed by the horizontal line 252 and the boundary line 283 is equal to the case where the lane is not changed. And the angle θ285 increases.
[0068]
In addition, when the running state is not stable due to falling asleep or the like and there is fluctuation, the angle θ is not constant as shown in FIGS. 26 to 28 or does not monotonically increase or decrease, for example, a predetermined size. It changes in a zigzag with an amplitude and time width larger than that.
[0069]
The determination of the lane change in step 244 is performed by detecting an operation in which the host vehicle is moving in the lateral direction to change the lane. If the angle θ 255 recorded in step 243 decreases with time, a determination result indicating that the angle θ 255 is moving to the left is output. If the angle θ 255 increases, the angle θ 255 is moved to the right. The result of the judgment is output. In step 245, when the angle θ255 does not monotonically increase or decrease within a certain range, it is determined that there is a fluctuation.
[0070]
Since the amount of change in the angle θ 255 corresponds to the lateral distance traveled by the host vehicle, the amount of change is numerically examined to determine whether the lane change operation to the adjacent lane has been completed or is in the middle of the operation. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the determination is made inclusive of the determination.
[0071]
Subsequently, the determination of the release of the cruise control will be described. The release determination in step 224 is performed by the release unit 212 in FIG. If the result of the release determination in step 224 is Yes, the flow branches to release of cruise control in step 225, and a release signal is transmitted to the cruise control device 14 to release cruise control. Conversely, if the result of the cancellation determination in step 224 is No, the flow branches to the running control in step 221 to continue the following running.
[0072]
FIG. 29 is a control block diagram of the release unit 212. The release unit 212 includes a release determination unit 291 that determines release of cruise control based on lane position information obtained by the lane position recognition unit 11 and lane change detection information obtained by the lane change detection unit 211. And an alarm device 292 for alarming the release of the cruise control. The release unit 212 can be basically realized in the same manner as the release unit 13 of the first embodiment, but the signal sent to the release signal determination unit 291 is not a direction indicator signal, but a lane change detection obtained in step 223. The information is different.
[0073]
The determination of the release of the cruise control can be basically realized in the same manner as in the first embodiment except that the lane change detection information is used instead of the direction indicator signal. FIG. 30 is a flowchart of the release determination unit 291.
[0074]
In step 301, the cancellation determination unit 291 determines whether the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is the left end lane. When the result of the determination in step 301 is Yes, the flow branches to step 302, and when the result is No, the flow branches to step 304. In step 302, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is moving to the left based on the lane change detection signal from the lane change detection unit 211. If the determination result is Yes, a release signal is generated in step 303 to run the vehicle. Send to control device. This corresponds to the case of the pattern 21 that branches to the interchange, the parking service area, and the like shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 302 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.
[0075]
In step 304, it is determined whether the lane position information from the lane position recognition unit 11 in step 32 is the rightmost lane or an oncoming vehicle. If the result of the determination in step 304 is Yes, the flow branches to step 305, and if No, the cancellation determination processing ends. In step 305, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle is moving in the right direction based on the lane change detection signal from the lane change detection unit 211. If the determination result is Yes, a release signal is generated in step 303 to run the vehicle. Send to control device. This corresponds to the patterns 22 and 23 shown in FIG. Conversely, if the result of the determination in step 305 is No, the cancellation determination process ends.
[0076]
As described above, in the second embodiment of the present invention, by detecting a lane change of the own vehicle, at the time of branching such as an interchange on an expressway and a service area parking, by releasing the cruise control device, Inadvertent following of the preceding vehicle can be prevented.
[0077]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0078]
FIG. 31 illustrates a configuration example of a control block of the cruise control device according to the third embodiment. The third embodiment is to prevent the driver from falling asleep by canceling the cruise control operation when the lane change is detected together with the wobble of the host vehicle and the turn signal is not operating. . Specifically, in the third embodiment, it is possible to detect whether the vehicle is unintentionally deviating from the lane of the own vehicle due to drowsy driving, etc. When detecting a lane departure due to a change, even when the lane change is being performed in a state where the direction indicator is not operated, it can be determined that the lane departure is not determined.
[0079]
As shown in FIG. 31, the cruise control device of the present embodiment includes a travel control device 14 having a follow-up travel control means or a constant-speed travel control means, and a lane change detection unit which detects a lane change of the own vehicle together with a stagger condition. Based on the information obtained from the lane change detecting unit 211 and the signal from the direction indicator 12, the follow-up running control or the constant speed running control is canceled based on the direction indicator 12 for indicating the driver's intention. And a release unit 311. It is assumed that the release unit 311 includes an alarm device (not shown) for giving a warning to the driver, similarly to the release unit 212 in FIG. 29, for example.
[0080]
Hereinafter, the operation of the cruise control device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operation of the present embodiment includes a step 321 of performing a follow-up running to maintain a constant inter-vehicle distance with a preceding vehicle, a step 322 of detecting a lane change of the own vehicle, a step 323 of detecting a signal from a turn signal, and a lane change. Step 324 for determining whether to release cruise control based on the information and the direction indicator signal, and step 325 for releasing cruise control based on the determination result can be divided into five steps.
[0081]
Among them, the traveling control in step 321, the lane change detection in step 322, and the direction indicator signal detection in step 323 can be realized in the same manner as the corresponding steps in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the cancellation determination in step 324 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.
[0082]
In step 331, the release unit 311 determines the wander of the vehicle based on the wander information from the lane change detection unit 211 in step 322. If the result of the determination in step 331 is Yes, the process proceeds to step 332, and if No, the release determination ends. Next, in step 332, it is determined whether or not the turn signal from step 323 has been detected. If the result of the determination in step 332 is Yes, a warning to the effect that the cruise control is released is issued to the driver in a step 333, and then a control signal for releasing the cruise control is generated in a step 334. And outputs it to the travel control device 14. If the result of the determination in step 332 is No, this release determination processing ends.
[0083]
As described above, in the third embodiment of the present invention, when the lane change is detected together with the wobble of the own vehicle and the turn signal is not operating, the cruise control device is released, and the driver's Drowsy driving can be prevented.
[0084]
In the present embodiment, by determining whether or not to warn the driver based on the same criterion as the release determination of the cruise control, when the vehicle is unintentionally deviating from the vehicle lane due to drowsy driving or the like. Can constitute a lane departure warning device that generates a warning.
[0085]
Further, in the present embodiment, the stability of the running state is determined only from the wobble degree detected by the lane change detection unit 211 without using the state related to the operation of the direction indicator, and the running control is canceled based on the determination result. Or an alarm may be generated. Here, the wobble degree is for detecting an unstable driving state that is unlikely to occur in normal driving. For example, with respect to the angle θ detected by the lane change detection unit 211, the normal lane changing operation is performed. May be determined by detecting the intensity or the like of a frequency component higher than the time change occurring at the time.
[0086]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a cruise control device that reflects the driver's intention can be realized. In other words, without releasing the cruise control device by operating the conventional turn signal, unintentional release of the cruise control device at the time of an interchange on a highway or a diversion such as a service area / parking is performed. Following the preceding vehicle can be prevented.
[0087]
Further, according to the present invention, by detecting the lane change of the own vehicle, the cruise control device is released in the case of an interchange on a highway and a diverting route such as a service area / parking, so that careless forward driving can be achieved. Following the vehicle can be prevented.
[0088]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, with the detection of the lane change described above, by detecting the wobble of the own vehicle, when the wander of the own vehicle is detected, and when the direction indicator is not operating, By releasing the cruise control, it is possible to provide a device that can prevent drowsy driving and also functions as a lane departure warning device.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a control block configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a cruise control device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a first embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a control block configuration diagram of a traveling control device.
FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between a target inter-vehicle distance and time.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of throttle signal generation.
FIG. 7 is a control block configuration diagram of a lane position recognition unit.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a lane position recognition unit.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an input image captured by an imaging device.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial model of a road.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the principle of Hough transform.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of processing in a lane position recognition image processing unit.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart for determining a solid line / broken line.
FIG. 14 is a control block configuration diagram of an adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit.
FIG. 15 is a flowchart for lane position determination.
FIG. 16 is a control block diagram of a lane position recognition unit when navigation is used.
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a road map.
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of map information.
FIG. 19 is a control block configuration diagram of a release unit according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart for releasing the cruise control device of the first embodiment.
FIG. 21 is a control block diagram of a cruise control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 22 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a control block configuration diagram of a lane change detection unit.
FIG. 24 is a flowchart for detecting a lane change.
FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial model of a road.
FIG. 26 is a graph showing an initial road model and a change in θ when the lane is not changed.
FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an initial model of a road when a lane change is performed to the left.
FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial model of a road when the lane is changed to the right.
FIG. 29 is a control block configuration diagram of a release unit.
FIG. 30 is a flowchart for releasing the cruise control device according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 31 is a control block configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.
FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of the cruise control device of the present invention.
FIG. 33 is a flowchart for releasing the cruise control device according to the third embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
11: Lane position recognition unit, 12: Direction indicator, 13: Release unit, 14: Travel control device, 41: Distance measurement device, 42: Vehicle speed measurement device, 43: Cruise controller, 44: Throttle controller, 45: Throttle actuator , 46: transmission controller, 47: transmission, 48: brake controller, 49: brake actuator, 71: imaging device, 72: lane position recognition image processing unit, 73: adjacent lane oncoming vehicle detection unit, 74: lane position determination Part, 91: image area, 92: image area, 101: vanishing point, 102: horizontal line, 103: boundary line, 104: boundary line, 105: initial model, 111: point A, 112: point B, 113: point C , 114: straight line group passing through point A, 115: straight line group passing through point B, 116: straight line group passing through point C, 121: input image, 12 : Binarized image, 123: maximum / minimum table, 141: radio wave radar device, 142: signal processing unit, 161: own vehicle position detection unit, 162: map data, 191: release determination unit, 192: alarm device, 211 : Lane change detection unit, 212: release unit, 231: lane change detection image processing unit, 251: vanishing point, 252: horizontal line, 253: boundary line, 254: boundary line, 255: angle θ, 265: angle θ, 273 : Boundary line, 274: boundary line, 275: angle θ, 283: boundary line, 284: boundary line, 285: angle θ, 291: release determination unit, 292: alarm device, 311: release unit.

Claims (4)

In a cruise control device including traveling control means for controlling traveling of the vehicle,
On a road having a plurality of lanes, a lane position recognizing unit that recognizes a lane position where the host vehicle travels,
Turn indicators to indicate the driver's intention to turn right and left;
Cruise control release means for determining release of the traveling control operation according to the recognition result from the lane position recognition means and the information from the direction indicator,
The cruise control release means,
(1) When the lane position recognizing means recognizes that the vehicle is in the leftmost lane and the direction indicator indicates a left turn:
(2) When the lane position recognizing means recognizes that the own vehicle is present in the rightmost lane and the direction indicator indicates a right turn: and (3) The lane adjacent to the own vehicle by the lane position recognizing means. A cruise control device characterized in that the traveling control operation is canceled only when it is recognized that the vehicle is in the oncoming lane and the turn signal indicates a right turn. The lane position recognition means,
(1) solid / broken line determining means for determining whether the line indicating the boundary of the lane on which the vehicle is traveling is a solid line or a broken line;
(2) oncoming lane determining means for determining whether a lane adjacent to the lane on which the vehicle is traveling is an oncoming lane,
The solid line / broken line determination means includes:
(A) imaging means for imaging a scene in front of the own vehicle;
(B) detecting two straight lines indicating the boundary of the traveling lane from the image captured by the image capturing means, and generating a white line model including at least two boundary lines corresponding to each of the detected two straight lines; Means for estimating,
(C) perform projection for each boundary line of the white line model, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a means for determining from the result of the projection of whether the boundary line is a broken line or a solid line Cruise control device. The lane position recognition means,
(1) own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the position of the own vehicle;
(2) map data in which the number of lanes is recorded;
(3) the self-vehicle position from the vehicle position detecting means on the basis of information and the map data, the cruise of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a lane position determining means for determining a lane in which the vehicle is present Control device. The cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle position detecting means is a differential GPS or a kinematic GPS.

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