JP2012079125A - Driving support device, driving support method and driving support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an art suppressing a collision of vehicles in a case where a driver of a subsequent vehicle is inattentively driving.SOLUTION: The driving support device provided inside a vehicle and supporting the driving of the vehicle includes: an automatic speed control section automatically controlling the speed of the vehicle when a collision of the vehicle with a preceding vehicle or a subsequent vehicle is predicted; an information acquisition section for acquiring information on the posture of a driver of the subsequent vehicle; an inattentiveness determination section determining whether or not the driver of the subsequent vehicle looks away based on the information on the posture of the driver of the subsequent driver acquired by the information acquisition section; and a control content alteration section, when the inattentiveness determination section determines that the driver of the subsequent driver looks away, altering the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress the collision with the subsequent vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device, a driving support method, and a driving support system.

  A technique for preventing a collision between vehicles is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, the position of the own vehicle side vehicle and the other vehicle side vehicle at the intersection is predicted, and the minimum distance when the own vehicle side vehicle and the other vehicle side vehicle are closest to each other at the intersection is calculated. Based on the calculated minimum distance, the risk of collision with the other vehicle side vehicle at the intersection is calculated, it is determined whether the driver of the other vehicle side vehicle recognizes the own vehicle, and the direction of the line of sight is determined. When it is estimated that there is no car and the vehicle is not recognized, the predetermined crossing vehicle collision risk threshold is changed to be lowered by a predetermined value, and the predetermined crossing vehicle collision risk is changed. Disclosure of determining whether there is a risk of collision with an intersecting vehicle by setting a threshold value or a changed threshold value for collision risk of a crossing vehicle as a threshold value when determining the risk of collision Has been.

  Further, Patent Document 2 estimates the attention of the driver who is driving the other vehicle based on the running state of the other vehicle located on the rear side of the own vehicle, which is continuously monitored by the computer, It is disclosed that a warning is given to the driver of the host vehicle via a navigation device when it is determined that the driver's attention is reduced.

JP 2008-129772 A JP 2007-241729 A

  As a technique for preventing a collision between vehicles, there is a technique using a millimeter wave radar. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a conventional technique for preventing a collision accident between vehicles. The host vehicle is equipped with a front millimeter wave radar that detects a front obstacle, a front camera that photographs a front obstacle, and a rear millimeter wave radar that detects a rear obstacle. The front is monitored by the front millimeter wave radar and the front camera, and when there is a risk of collision with the vehicle ahead, a warning to the driver and speed control of the host vehicle are performed. Further, when the rear is monitored by a rear millimeter wave radar and there is a risk of a rear-end vehicle collision, a warning such as blinking a hazard is given to the driver of the subsequent vehicle. Further, when the rear-end collision of the following vehicle is unavoidable, the position of the headrest of the host vehicle is adjusted in order to reduce the impact at the time of the rear-end collision.

  Here, among collisions between vehicles, a rear-end collision is often caused by a side-by-side driving of the following vehicle. Also, the driver of the own vehicle (the preceding vehicle with respect to the following vehicle) cannot detect this even if the driver of the following vehicle is looking aside. In addition, according to the above-described prior art, it is possible to avoid a collision and reduce the impact at the time of the collision. However, when the driver of the following vehicle is looking aside, it is effective even if a hazard blink is executed. Absent. Further, in the above prior art, the speed control of the host vehicle is performed based on information from the front millimeter wave radar and the front camera. Therefore, when the driver of the following vehicle is looking aside, There is a possibility that the danger of a collision may be increased by reducing the speed.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for suppressing a collision between vehicles when a driver of a following vehicle is driving aside.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, the control content of the automatic control of the vehicle speed is changed so that the direction of the driver of the following vehicle is detected and the rear-end collision from the following vehicle is suppressed.

  More specifically, the present invention is a driving support device that is provided in a vehicle and supports driving of the vehicle, and when a collision with a preceding vehicle of the vehicle or a succeeding vehicle of the vehicle is predicted, From an automatic speed control unit that automatically controls the speed of the vehicle, an information acquisition unit that acquires information related to the driver's direction of the subsequent vehicle, and information related to the driver's direction of the subsequent vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit A look-ahead determination unit that determines whether or not the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away; and when the look-ahead determination unit determines that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away, A control content changing unit that changes the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress the rear-end collision.

  In the present invention, when the driver of the following vehicle is driving aside, the control content of the automatic control is changed so as to suppress the rear collision from the subsequent vehicle, so that the rear collision from the subsequent vehicle is suppressed. Can do.

  Here, in the driving assistance device according to the present invention, when the collision with the preceding vehicle is predicted, the automatic speed control unit decelerates the speed of the vehicle so as to suppress the collision with the preceding vehicle, The control content changing unit is configured to control the speed of the vehicle by the speed automatic control unit so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the succeeding vehicle when the look determining unit determines that the driver of the succeeding vehicle is looking away. You may make it restrict | limit the deceleration of. Limiting speed reduction means slowing down the speed. According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the rear-end collision from the following vehicle by slowing down the deceleration.

  Further, in the driving support device according to the present invention, the automatic speed control unit controls the speed of the vehicle so as to ensure a predetermined inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and the control content changing unit includes: When the looking-off determination unit determines that the driver of the following vehicle is looking away, the predetermined inter-vehicle distance may be increased. The predetermined inter-vehicle distance can be arbitrarily set by the driver of the vehicle. By increasing the inter-vehicle distance, a collision between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle can be avoided more reliably. Moreover, the setting range when decelerating the vehicle can be increased.

  In the driving support device according to the present invention, when the looking-off determination unit determines that the driver of the succeeding vehicle is looking away, the driver of the succeeding vehicle indicates that the driver of the succeeding vehicle is looking away. It is good also as a structure further provided with the danger alerting | reporting part alert | reported to a driver | operator. The danger notification unit can notify that the driver of the following vehicle is looking away through a speaker or a display device. By informing the vehicle driver that the driver of the following vehicle is looking away from the following vehicle, such as increasing the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle, changing the driving lane, flashing the hazard repeatedly, etc. A measure for avoiding the rear-end collision can be executed.

Further, in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, the information acquisition unit further acquires at least one information of an obstacle other than a vehicle existing in front of the vehicle, a sign, and a stop line, and changes the control content The unit may change the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the succeeding vehicle when none of the obstacle, a sign, or a stop line exists in front of the vehicle. Obstacles other than vehicles include traffic lights, railroad crossings, and the like. When there are traffic lights, railroad crossings, signs, stop lines, etc., the vehicle is required to stop. Therefore, when the presence of these is confirmed, the control content of the automatic control is not changed, and only when the presence of these is not confirmed, the control content of the automatic control is changed.

  In addition, you may comprise this invention as a driving assistance system provided with the driving assistance apparatus mentioned above, a front radar, a rear radar, and a rear camera. Specifically, the present invention is a driving support system that is provided in a vehicle and supports driving of the vehicle, and includes a front radar that detects a relative speed and an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and a vehicle ahead of the vehicle. A rear radar that detects a relative speed and an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and a succeeding vehicle of the vehicle, a rear camera that captures an image of a driver of the subsequent vehicle, the front radar, the rear radar, and the rear camera. A driving support device that supports driving of the vehicle based on information from the vehicle, the driving support device based on detection information by the front radar and the rear radar, and a vehicle ahead of the vehicle or a succeeding vehicle of the vehicle. A speed automatic control unit that automatically controls the speed of the vehicle when a collision with the vehicle is predicted, and information on the driver's direction of the following vehicle from an image captured by the rear camera An information acquisition unit to be obtained, a look-off determination unit that determines whether or not the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away from information on the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit; A driving support provided with a control content changing unit that changes the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the subsequent vehicle when the determination unit determines that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away It can be specified as a system.

  Moreover, this invention can also be specified as a driving assistance method which implement | achieves the process performed with the new driving apparatus or driving assistance system mentioned above. For example, the present invention is a driving support method for supporting driving of a vehicle from within the vehicle, and automatically controls the speed of the vehicle when a collision with a vehicle ahead of the vehicle or a succeeding vehicle of the vehicle is predicted. A speed automatic control step, an information acquisition step for acquiring information related to the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle, and an information regarding the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle acquired in the information acquisition step. A step of determining whether or not the driver is looking away, and if the driver of the following vehicle determines that the driver of the following vehicle is looking away in the looking away step, the rear-end collision from the following vehicle is suppressed. And a control content change step for changing the control content of the automatic control.

  The present invention may be a program that realizes processing executed by the above-described driving support device or driving support system. Furthermore, the present invention may be a computer-readable recording medium that records such a program. In this case, the function can be provided by causing the computer or the like to read and execute the program of the recording medium. Note that a computer-readable recording medium is a recording medium that accumulates information such as data and programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action and can be read from a computer or the like. Say.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when the driver | operator of the following vehicle is driving aside, the technique which suppresses the collision of vehicles can be provided.

An outline of the prior art for preventing a collision accident between vehicles is shown. The figure explaining the driving assistance system which concerns on embodiment is shown. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a driving support system according to a first embodiment. The functional block diagram of a driving assistance device is shown. The flowchart of a look-aside determination process is shown. The flowchart of a main process is shown. An example of setting the predetermined time (Y) is shown. The timing chart in a series of processes mentioned above is shown. The schematic structure of the driving assistance system which concerns on 2nd embodiment is shown.

  Next, embodiments of a driving support device, a driving support method, and a driving support system of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Hereinafter, the driving support system 100 including the rear camera 1 and the driving support device 7 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the driving support system 100 according to the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle A, analyzes an image captured by the rear camera 1, and determines the direction (line of sight) of the driver (driver) 0 of the following vehicle B. , Face orientation). Then, the case where the driver's line of sight of the following vehicle B is not facing forward is counted as the “number of times the driver is looking away”, and if the number of times the driver is looking away exceeds a certain number, it is determined that the driver of the following vehicle B is looking away, While notifying the driver of the vehicle A, the control content of the automatic control of the speed of the vehicle A is changed so as to avoid the collision of the following vehicle B or reduce the impact at the time of the collision. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below. For example, when it is determined that the driver of the following vehicle B is looking away, the determination result may be used for other vehicle control such as PCS (Pre-crash Safety System).

<First embodiment>
[Constitution]
FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the driving support system according to the first embodiment. A driving support system 100 according to the first embodiment is mounted on a vehicle A, and includes a rear camera 1, a front camera 2, an image processing device 3, a rear radar device 4, a front radar device 5, and an ECU (Electrical Control Unit) 6.
Is provided with a driving support device 7 mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle A on which the driving support system 100 is mounted includes a navigation device 8, a speaker 9, a brake device 10, a vehicle speed sensor 11, and an acceleration sensor 12.

  The rear camera 1 photographs the following vehicle B, particularly the driver M of the following vehicle. For example, the rear camera 1 is fixed to the upper inner side of the rear glass or the rear of the ceiling using a connecting member. The rear camera 1 is installed behind the vehicle A in order to photograph the driver M of the following vehicle. A monocular camera can be used for the rear camera 1. The monocular camera may be monochrome or color. A stereo camera may be used instead of the monocular camera. In addition, night photography is possible by using an infrared camera.

  The front camera 2 captures the front of the vehicle A. The front camera 2 is provided on the non-mirror surface side of the rearview mirror, for example, and can be configured by a monocular camera as with the rear camera 1. The front camera 2 may be either monochrome or color, and may be a stereo camera or an infrared camera.

The image processing device 3 analyzes the images taken by the rear camera 1 and the front camera 2 and detects the number of the following vehicle B, the line of sight of the driver M of the following vehicle, the face direction, and the obstacle ahead of the vehicle A. To do. Obstacles include telephone poles, traffic lights, railroad crossings, pedestrians, etc., in addition to vehicles ahead of vehicle A. The image processing apparatus 3 is configured by a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and the like and an existing image transmission processing apparatus having a program executed on the computer.

The rear radar device 4 detects the direction of the following vehicle B, the relative speed with the following vehicle B, and the inter-vehicle distance. The rear radar apparatus 4 includes an antenna and a control unit (including a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like and a program executed on the computer), and is provided in the rear part of the vehicle A. The rear radar apparatus 4 can use a phase monopulse method as an angle measurement method for detecting the azimuth of the following vehicle B, and FM-CW (Frequency Modulated) as a distance measurement method for detecting the relative speed and distance from the following vehicle B. Continuous Wave) method can be used. In the phase monopulse method, for example, two antennas are arranged, and the direction of an incoming radio wave is obtained based on the phase difference (Δφ) of signals received by each antenna. The FM-CW system transmits a transmission wave modulated with a triangular wave, and the frequency of the reflected wave reflected by the target includes a time delay due to distance and a Doppler shift component due to a speed difference, and therefore the difference between the reflected wave and the transmission wave is obtained. To calculate distance and speed.

  The forward radar device 5 detects the direction of an obstacle (also referred to as a target) in front of the vehicle A, the relative speed and the distance to the target. The front radar device 5 is configured by an antenna and a control unit (including a computer including a CPU, a memory, and the like and a program executed on the computer), and is provided in the front portion of the vehicle A. In the forward radar apparatus 5, a phase monopulse method can be used as an angle measurement method for detecting the azimuth of the target, and an FM-CW method can be used as a distance measurement method for detecting the relative speed and distance to the target.

  The navigation device 8 guides the route of the vehicle A to the destination. The navigation device 8 includes a display as a display device. Since the navigation device 8 has the map information and the current location information of the vehicle A, the navigation device 8 can obtain information on the direction and distance of the obstacle. The brake device 10 decelerates the vehicle A based on the operation of the driver of the vehicle. The speaker 9 outputs the sound from the navigation device and the sound from the music playback deck in the vehicle A, the danger of a collision with the following vehicle B, the danger of a collision with the target, and the driver M of the following vehicle B looking away. The fact that you are doing is output by voice. The vehicle speed sensor 11 detects the speed of the vehicle A. The acceleration sensor 12 detects the acceleration of the vehicle A.

The driving support device 7 notifies the danger of a rear-end collision from the following vehicle B and the danger of a collision with an obstacle through the speaker 9 or the like, and executes automatic control of the speed of the vehicle A. FIG. 4 shows a functional block diagram of the driving support device 7. The driving support device 7 according to the first embodiment is realized by a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 70, a memory 71, and the like and a program executed on the computer. The memory 71 includes a volatile RAM (Random Access Memory) and a nonvolatile ROM (Read Only Memory). ROM includes flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically
Includes rewritable semiconductor memory such as Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. The CPU 70 develops a program for executing a process for notifying a danger of collision and a deceleration process stored in the ROM in the work area of the RAM, and performs various processes according to various data input to the driving support device 7. Execute processing according to the program. Each configuration (functional unit) included in the driving support device 7 can be configured as a computer program executed on the CPU 70. Each configuration may be configured as a dedicated processor. The components included in the driving support device 7 include an information acquisition unit 72, a look-aside determination unit 73, a subsequent vehicle rear-end collision risk determination unit 74, a front obstacle collision risk determination unit 75, a danger notification unit 76, an automatic speed control unit 77, and a control. A content changing unit 78 is provided.

  The information acquisition unit 72 acquires information necessary for determining the risk of a rear-end collision of the following vehicle B and the risk of a collision with a front obstacle. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 72 receives the information about the line of sight of the driver M of the following vehicle, the direction of the face, the information about the front obstacle, the sign, and the stop line from the image processing device 3, and the following vehicle from the rear radar device 4. B, information on the relative speed and distance between the vehicles, information on the relative speed and distance between the front radar device 5 and the preceding vehicle, information on the speed of the vehicle A from the vehicle speed sensor 11, and information on the acceleration of the vehicle A from the acceleration sensor 12. get.

The looking-away determination unit 73 determines whether or not the driver M of the following vehicle is facing forward (front). Specifically, the looking-off determination unit 73 acquires information on the line of sight and the face direction of the driver M of the following vehicle from the image processing apparatus 3 and determines whether or not the driver M of the subsequent vehicle is facing forward (front). To do. When the driver M of the following vehicle is not facing forward, it is counted as the number of looking away, and when the number of looking away exceeds a predetermined number of times, a look-off flag is set.

  The subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 determines the rear-end collision risk of the subsequent vehicle B. Specifically, the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 determines the rear-end collision of the subsequent vehicle B based on the relative speed with the subsequent vehicle B from the rear radar device 4 and the distance difference (inter-vehicle distance) between the vehicle A and the subsequent vehicle B. Time (TTC) is calculated.

  The front obstacle collision risk determination unit 75 includes information on the front obstacle, the sign, and the stop line from the image processing device 3, the direction of the front obstacle from the front radar device 5, and the relative speed with the front obstacle. Based on the distance, etc., the risk of collision with an obstacle ahead is determined.

  The danger notifying unit 76 notifies the danger of rear-end collision of the following vehicle B and the danger of collision of a front obstacle through a display included in the speaker 9 and the navigation device 8.

  The speed automatic control unit 77 decelerates the speed of the vehicle A according to the danger of a rear-end collision of the following vehicle B or the danger of a collision with a front obstacle. For example, if the vehicle A is not decelerated even though the danger notification unit 76 notifies the danger of a rear-end vehicle B collision or the collision of a front obstacle, the brake device 10 is controlled to control the vehicle A. Decrease speed. When the control content is changed by a control content change unit 78 described later, the automatic speed control unit 77 performs control according to the change content.

  The control content changing unit 78 includes information regarding the look-ahead flag set by the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74, information regarding whether or not the speed automatic control unit 77 executes deceleration processing, information regarding rear-end collision time (TTC), Based on information on the danger of collision with an obstacle, etc., it is determined whether or not the control content of the automatic speed control by the automatic speed control unit 77 needs to be changed. Change the contents.

[Processing flow]
Next, processing (hereinafter also referred to as driving support processing) executed by the driving support system 100 according to the first embodiment described above will be described. The process executed by the driving support system 100 includes a look-ahead determination process for determining the look-ahead of the driver M of the following vehicle and a main process performed based on the determination result of the look-ahead determination process. First, the look away process will be described.

(Look away judgment process)
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the look-off determination process. In step S01, information regarding the following vehicle is acquired. Specifically, in the rear camera 1, the rear camera 1 captures the following vehicle B. The image captured by the rear camera 1 includes the following vehicle B, the number plate of the following vehicle B, and the face of the driver M of the following vehicle. If the information regarding the following vehicle B is acquired, it will progress to step S02.

  In step S02, the information acquisition unit 72 acquires information regarding the line of sight and the face direction of the driver M of the following vehicle. That is, the line of sight of the driver and the direction of the face are extracted from the image of the rear camera 1 by the image processing apparatus 3, and the information acquisition unit 72 acquires them. When information regarding the line of sight and the face direction of the driver M of the following vehicle is acquired, the process proceeds to step S03.

In step S03, the looking-off determination unit 73 determines whether the driver M of the following vehicle is facing the front. That is, it is determined whether or not the driver M of the following vehicle is facing the front, that is, the vehicle A, based on the information regarding the driver's line of sight and face orientation acquired by the information acquisition unit 72. If it is determined that it is facing the front, the process proceeds to step S04. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not facing the front, the process proceeds to step S06.

  In step S04, the looking away determination unit 73 resets the looking away counter. The looking away count is the number of times of looking away when the driver M of the following vehicle is not facing the front. Subsequently, in step S05, the looking away determination unit 73 turns off the looking away flag. The looking-off flag is a flag representing the looking-away of the driver M of the following vehicle. When the look-ahead counter is reset, the look-ahead flag is turned off. When the look-off flag OFF is set, the process proceeds to step S09.

  If it is determined that the driver M of the following vehicle is not facing the front, the process proceeds to step S06. In step S06, the looking-off determination unit 73 counts the looking-off counter once. For example, when the look-ahead counter has already been counted three times, the look-ahead count is four times by counting once more. When the looking-away counter is counted, the process proceeds to step S07.

  In step S07, the looking-away determination unit 73 determines whether or not the look-ahead counter count exceeds a predetermined number (X). The predetermined number of times (X) can be appropriately set as a reference as to whether or not the driver M of the following vehicle is looking away. The predetermined number (X) can be set in consideration of the number of executions per unit time of the look-ahead determination process. For example, when the look-ahead determination process is repeatedly executed every 0.1 seconds, if the predetermined number of times (X) is set to 4 times, the driver M of the following vehicle is looking away for 0.5 seconds. It will be judged. The predetermined number (X) may be changed according to the speed of the vehicle A. For example, the predetermined number of times (X) during high speed travel (for example, 80 km / h) is set to be smaller than during low speed travel (20 km / h). Thereby, the rear-end collision during high-speed traveling can be prevented more reliably. If the look-aside counter exceeds the predetermined number (X), the process proceeds to step S08. On the other hand, if the look-ahead counter does not exceed the predetermined number (X), the process proceeds to step S09.

  In step S08, the looking-off determination unit 73 turns on the looking-off flag. Next, in step S09, the looking-off determination unit 73 stores the looking-off flag set in step S05 or step S08 in the memory 71. When the look-off flag is stored, the process proceeds to step S01 again, and information regarding the following vehicle B is acquired again.

(Main process)
In the main process, the deceleration process is executed based on the determination result of the look-off determination process. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the main process. In step S <b> 11, the information acquisition unit 72 acquires information regarding the vehicle A. Specifically, the speed and acceleration of the vehicle A are acquired as information related to the vehicle A. If the information regarding the vehicle A is acquired, it will progress to step S12.

  In step S12, the rear radar apparatus 4 calculates the relative speed of the vehicle A and the following vehicle B. Subsequently, in step S <b> 13, the rear radar device 4 calculates the distance difference (inter-vehicle distance) between the vehicle A and the following vehicle B. In the present embodiment, the existing FM-CW method is used as a distance measuring method for detecting the relative speed and distance from the following vehicle B. When detecting the direction of the following vehicle B, the existing phase monopulse method may be used as the angle measurement method. When the distance difference between the vehicle A and the following vehicle B is calculated, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 calculates the rear-end collision time (TTC: Time To Collision) of the subsequent vehicle B. That is, the time until the subsequent vehicle B collides with the vehicle A based on the relative speed between the vehicle A and the subsequent vehicle B calculated in step S12 and the distance difference between the vehicle A and the subsequent vehicle B calculated in step S13. Is calculated. When the rear-end collision time is calculated, the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S <b> 15, the information acquisition unit 72 acquires the determination result of the look-off determination process. Subsequently, in step S <b> 16, the information acquisition unit 72 acquires information related to the front obstacle, the sign, and the stop line. Such information can be acquired from the front radar device 5, the front camera 2, and the car navigation device 8. When the information about the front obstacle, the sign, and the stop line is acquired, the process proceeds to step S17.

  In step S17, the following vehicle rear-end collision risk determination unit 74 determines whether or not the look-ahead flag is ON. That is, if information indicating that the look-off flag is ON is acquired in step S15, the process proceeds to step S18. On the other hand, if information indicating that the looking-off flag is OFF is acquired in step S15, the process proceeds to step S19.

  In step S18, the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 sets a deceleration limit flag OFF. The deceleration limit flag is a flag indicating that a limit process for limiting the deceleration process set as a standard is executed. When the deceleration limit flag OFF is set, the process proceeds to step S19.

  In step S19, the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 determines whether the deceleration process is being executed or is being prepared as an automatic speed control process. The deceleration process is a process of automatically decelerating the speed of the vehicle A according to the danger of a rear-end collision of the subsequent vehicle B or the danger of a collision with a front obstacle. Specifically, if the vehicle A is not decelerated even though the danger notification unit 76 notifies the danger of a rear-end vehicle B collision or the collision of a front obstacle, the brake device 10 is controlled. The speed of the vehicle A is reduced. If the deceleration process is being executed or is being prepared, the process proceeds to step S20. On the other hand, when the deceleration process is not being executed or being prepared, the process proceeds to step S18, and the deceleration limit flag OFF is set.

  In step S20, the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 determines whether or not the rear-end collision time (TTC) exceeds a predetermined time (Y). That is, it is determined whether or not the collision time until the subsequent vehicle B calculated in step S14 collides with the vehicle A exceeds a predetermined time (Y). The predetermined time (Y) can be set as appropriate, such as 0.2 seconds or 0.3 seconds. The predetermined time (Y) may be set in a plurality of stages according to the inter-vehicle distance. FIG. 7 shows an example of setting the predetermined time (Y). In FIG. 7, the inter-vehicle distance is divided into three stages of “long”, “short”, and “normal”, and the predetermined time (Y) is “0.4 seconds” and “0.2 seconds” according to the inter-vehicle distance, respectively. ”And“ 0.3 seconds ”. When it is determined that the rear-end collision time (TTC) exceeds the predetermined time (Y), the process proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, when it is determined that the rear-end collision time (TTC) does not exceed the predetermined time (Y), the process proceeds to step S18, and the deceleration limit flag OFF is set.

  In step S21, the forward obstacle collision risk determination unit 75 determines whether or not it is necessary to decelerate depending on the presence or absence of the forward obstacle. That is, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to decelerate based on the presence or absence of the front obstacle based on the information about the front obstacle, the sign, and the stop line acquired in step S16. For example, the front obstacle collision risk determination unit 75 calculates the collision time (TTC) between the vehicle A and the preceding vehicle, and when the collision time (TTC) with the preceding vehicle exceeds a predetermined time (Y ′), It is determined that the preceding vehicle is an obstacle with a risk of collision, and it is determined that it is necessary to decelerate due to the presence of the preceding vehicle. Further, when there is a stop line or signal, it is determined that deceleration is necessary due to the presence of the stop line or signal. If it is determined that the vehicle needs to be decelerated due to the presence of a front obstacle, the process proceeds to step S18, and the deceleration limit flag OFF is set. That is, the deceleration process is executed without performing the deceleration restriction process in preference to the presence of the front obstacle. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no need to decelerate due to the presence of a front obstacle, the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S <b> 22, the subsequent vehicle rear-end collision determination unit 74 sets a deceleration restriction flag ON and notifies that there is a risk of rear-end collision from the subsequent vehicle B. The notification to the driver of the vehicle may be made, for example, when it is determined that the driver M of the following vehicle is looking away in the look-off determination process. When the deceleration limit flag is set, the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, the speed automatic control unit 77 executes a deceleration process. Specifically, when the deceleration limit flag OFF is set, the automatic speed control unit 77 executes the deceleration process without performing the deceleration limitation. On the other hand, when the deceleration limit flag ON is set, the speed automatic control unit 77 executes the deceleration process according to Equation 1, for example. That is, the speed automatic control unit 77 moderates deceleration so that the following vehicle B does not collide. Here, the own vehicle deceleration is the vehicle A acceleration in the direction opposite to the traveling direction. The own vehicle speed is the speed of the vehicle A. The following vehicle deceleration is the acceleration of the following vehicle B in the direction opposite to the traveling direction. The following vehicle speed is the speed of the following vehicle B. The inter-vehicle distance is an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle A and the following vehicle B.
Own vehicle deceleration <[(own vehicle speed) ² x following vehicle deceleration] / [(following vehicle speed) ² + (2 x following vehicle deceleration x distance between vehicles)] ... Equation 1

It should be noted that by performing the limiting process based on the above formula 1, deceleration is moderated, and rear-end collision from the following vehicle B can be avoided. Although the rear-end collision from the following vehicle B cannot be completely avoided, when the impact due to the rear-end collision from the subsequent vehicle B is alleviated, the speed automatic control unit 77 can execute the deceleration process according to Equation 2. Here, the rear-end collision speed is the speed of the following vehicle B when rear-end collision with the vehicle 2.
Own vehicle deceleration <[(own vehicle speed) ² x following vehicle deceleration] / [(end-on collision speed) ^2- (following vehicle speed) ² + (2 x following vehicle deceleration x distance between vehicles)] ... Equation 2

  FIG. 8 shows a timing chart in the series of processes described above. In FIG. 8, the look-off determination process is executed every 0.1 seconds, and the look-off flag ON is set by counting the look-ahead counter five times. Further, when the rear-end collision time of the following vehicle falls below a predetermined time, the deceleration limit flag OFF is set.

[effect]
According to the driving support system 100 according to the first embodiment described above, when the driver M of the following vehicle is driving aside, the notification to the driver of the vehicle A and the restriction process are executed, so that the following vehicle The rear-end collision of B with the vehicle A can be suppressed. Further, even when the rear-end collision of the subsequent vehicle B to the vehicle A cannot be avoided, the impact of the rear-end collision of the subsequent vehicle B to the vehicle A can be reduced by executing the restriction process.

<Second embodiment>
In the driving support system 100 according to the second embodiment, the line of sight and the direction of the face of the driver M of the following vehicle are acquired from an image taken by the following vehicle in-vehicle camera 0 installed in the room of the following vehicle B. FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration of the driving support system according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, in the driving support system 100 according to the second embodiment, the vehicle A further includes an inter-vehicle communication device 13. Further, the following vehicle B further includes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device and a following in-vehicle camera. In addition, about the structure similar to the driving assistance system 100 which concerns on 1st embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is omitted.

The vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 13 of the vehicle and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device of the following vehicle enable communication between the vehicles. Thereby, in 2nd embodiment, the vehicle A and the succeeding vehicle B can mutually communicate. The following vehicle in-vehicle camera is installed in the following vehicle B toward the driver M, and the following vehicle driver M
Shoot the eyes and face direction. The image captured by the following in-vehicle camera is sent from the inter-vehicle communication device of the following vehicle B to the inter-vehicle communication device 13 of the vehicle A, and the information acquisition unit 72 acquires it.

  The process executed by the driving support system 100 according to the second embodiment is basically the same as the process executed by the driving support system 100 according to the first embodiment. In step S02, in the first embodiment, information on the line of sight of the driver M of the following vehicle and the orientation of the face is acquired from an image photographed by the rear camera 1 provided in the vehicle A. In the second embodiment, It is acquired from an image photographed by a subsequent in-vehicle camera provided in the room of the following vehicle B. The image captured by the following in-vehicle camera is transferred by the inter-vehicle communication device, and the line of sight and the face direction of the driver M of the following vehicle are extracted by the image processing device 3 provided in the vehicle A.

[effect]
According to the driving support system 100 according to the second embodiment described above, in the same manner as the driving support system 100 according to the first embodiment, when the driver M of the following vehicle is driving aside, By performing the notification and the restriction process, it is possible to suppress the rear-end collision of the succeeding vehicle B with the vehicle A. Further, even when the rear-end collision of the subsequent vehicle B to the vehicle A cannot be avoided, the impact of the rear-end collision of the subsequent vehicle B to the vehicle A can be reduced by executing the restriction process. In the second embodiment, it is necessary that both the vehicle and the rear vehicle include the inter-vehicle communication device 13 and can communicate with each other. However, the line of sight and the face direction of the driver M of the following vehicle can be extracted from the image of the camera in the subsequent vehicle, and the line of sight and the face direction of the driver M of the subsequent vehicle can be extracted with higher accuracy. Even in the dark, the driving support system 100 according to the second embodiment can more accurately extract the line of sight and the direction of the face of the driver M of the following vehicle.

<Modification>
When the image of the driver M of the following vehicle can be acquired from either the subsequent vehicle B or the vehicle A, the image acquired from the subsequent vehicle B may be used preferentially. Alternatively, the looking-off determination unit 73 may compare both images and use an image with a high resolution.

  When the vehicle A is subjected to deceleration processing or is prepared, the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle A and the preceding vehicle may be further increased. For example, when the inter-vehicle distance in the deceleration process is composed of three stages of “long”, “short”, and “normal”, and the setting is “normal”, the setting may be changed to “long”. Thereby, the collision with the vehicle ahead can be further reduced when the restriction process is performed.

  When the look-off flag ON is set, if it is detected that the driver M of the following vehicle is not looking away, the look-off flag ON may be canceled.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the driving support device according to the present invention is not limited to these, and can include combinations of these as much as possible. Moreover, the order of the processes performed by the driving support system 100 described above can be changed as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Back camera 2 ... Front camera 3 ... Image processing apparatus 4 ... Back radar apparatus 5 ... Front radar apparatus 6 ... ECU
7 ... Driving assistance device 8 ... Navigation device 9 ... Speaker 10 ... Brake device 11 ... Vehicle speed sensor 12 ... Acceleration sensor

Claims (7)

A driving support device that is provided in a vehicle and supports driving of the vehicle,
A speed automatic control unit that automatically controls the speed of the vehicle when a collision with a vehicle ahead of the vehicle or a vehicle following the vehicle is predicted;
An information acquisition unit for acquiring information related to the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle;
A look-ahead determination unit that determines whether the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away from the information regarding the orientation of the driver of the subsequent vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit;
A control content changing unit that changes the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the subsequent vehicle when the looking-off determination unit determines that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away;
A driving support apparatus comprising: When the collision with the preceding vehicle is predicted, the automatic speed control unit decelerates the speed of the vehicle so as to suppress the collision with the preceding vehicle,
The control content changing unit is configured to control the speed of the vehicle by the speed automatic control unit so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the succeeding vehicle when the look determining unit determines that the driver of the succeeding vehicle is looking away. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration of the vehicle is limited. The speed automatic control unit controls the speed of the vehicle so as to ensure a distance between the predetermined vehicle and the preceding vehicle,
3. The driving support according to claim 1, wherein the control content changing unit further increases the predetermined inter-vehicle distance when the looking-off determination unit determines that the driver of the following vehicle is looking away. apparatus.   And a danger notification unit that notifies the driver of the vehicle that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away when the driver of the subsequent vehicle determines that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The information acquisition unit further acquires at least one information of an obstacle other than the vehicle existing in front of the vehicle, a sign, and a stop line,
The control content changing unit changes the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the following vehicle when none of the obstacle, a sign, or a stop line exists in front of the vehicle. The driving support device according to any one of 1 to 4. A driving support method for supporting driving of a vehicle from within the vehicle,
A speed automatic control step for automatically controlling the speed of the vehicle when a collision with a vehicle ahead of the vehicle or a vehicle following the vehicle is predicted;
An information acquisition step of acquiring information related to the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle;
From the information on the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle acquired in the information acquisition step, a look-off determination step of determining whether or not the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away;
When it is determined that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away in the looking-off determination step, a control content changing step of changing the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the subsequent vehicle;
A driving support method comprising: A driving support system provided in a vehicle for supporting driving of the vehicle,
A forward radar for detecting a relative speed and a distance between the vehicle and a vehicle ahead of the vehicle;
A rear radar for detecting the relative speed and the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and a vehicle following the vehicle;
A rear camera that captures an image of the driver of the following vehicle;
A driving support device for supporting driving of the vehicle based on information from the front radar, the rear radar, and the rear camera,
The driving support device includes:
A speed automatic control unit for automatically controlling the speed of the vehicle when a collision with a vehicle ahead of the vehicle or a vehicle following the vehicle is predicted based on detection information by the front radar and the rear radar;
An information acquisition unit for acquiring information related to the direction of the driver of the subsequent vehicle from an image captured by the rear camera;
A look-ahead determination unit that determines whether the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away from the information regarding the orientation of the driver of the subsequent vehicle acquired by the information acquisition unit;
A control content changing unit that changes the control content of the automatic control so as to suppress a rear-end collision from the subsequent vehicle when the looking-off determination unit determines that the driver of the subsequent vehicle is looking away;
A driving support system comprising:

Images