JP2016068774A - Vehicle travel support device - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic driving stop and restart timing can be clearly identified after an override is detected by a driver's intervention operation. When an override is detected during automatic driving, the driving support control unit 11 stops the automatic driving (S15) and notifies the driver to that effect (S17). Thereafter, when no override is detected, a notification is made that the target traveling path is being recalculated (S20), and after completion of the recalculation, a notification that automatic driving is to be resumed (S21). Is resumed (S22). [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle travel support apparatus that notifies a driver of a control state during travel support control.

  Conventionally, the vehicle should run based on the surrounding environment detected by the surrounding environment detection means (stereo camera, monocular camera, laser radar, microwave radar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar, etc.) mounted on the vehicle. 2. Description of the Related Art A driving support device that obtains a target traveling path and causes the host vehicle to travel along the target traveling path is known.

  In addition, when the driver performs a driving operation (steering operation, accelerator pedal or brake pedal operation) while executing the driving support control, and intentionally removes the own vehicle traveling path from the target traveling path, The driving support control gives priority to the driver's intention, pauses the driving support control, and switches to manual driving.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-51441), when a driver's positive intervention operation (override) is detected during automatic driving, the driving mode is automatically switched to manual driving mode. After switching to the mode, if the difference between the vehicle driving path by manual driving and the target driving path for automatic driving is small and the driver is not overriding, the driving mode is automatically changed from manual driving mode to automatic driving mode. A technique for switching to is disclosed.

JP 2012-51441 A

  By the way, if the automatic driving is continued even though the automatic driving is stopped because the own vehicle moving path is deviated from the target traveling path, the driver may misunderstand.

  For example, when the host vehicle is following the preceding vehicle by automatic driving and the driver recognizes a vehicle that cuts in front of the host vehicle, the driver slowly depresses the brake pedal, or on the road surface ahead Since a fallen object has been found, there is a case where the driver reflexively performs an intervention operation (override) during automatic driving, such as when a steering wheel operation is performed to avoid the falling object.

  In such a state, in the technique disclosed in the above-described document, since the timing when the operation mode is switched from the automatic operation mode to the manual operation mode is unknown, the automatic operation mode is continued for the driver. There is a possibility of misrecognizing it.

  In addition, there is a time lag to recalculate the target travel path before switching from manual operation mode to automatic operation mode, so the timing of when to switch to automatic operation mode is unknown, and the driver can operate the steering wheel and accelerator. There is an inconvenience that the driver cannot be clearly determined whether or not to perform the operation and the driver is confused.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention clearly identifies when the driving assistance control is suspended by the driver's intervention operation and when the target traveling path is set by recalculation after the suspension and the driving assistance is resumed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle driving support device that can be used without causing confusion for the driver.

  According to the present invention, a surrounding environment detecting unit that detects a surrounding environment of a vehicle, a target traveling path that the vehicle should travel on the basis of the surrounding environment detected by the surrounding environment detecting unit, and calculating along the target traveling path Driving support control for causing the vehicle to travel, and when it is determined that the vehicle has deviated from the target travel path due to external force, driving support control means for stopping the driving support control, and the driving support by the driving support means In the vehicle travel support device comprising a notification means for reporting the state of control, the travel support control means, after the travel support control is suspended, until the recalculation of the target travel path is completed. A notification means informs that the travel support control is suspended.

  According to the present invention, after the driving support control is paused, until the recalculation of the target traveling path is completed, the notification means informs that the driving support control is paused. When the driving support is suspended by the driving operation, and when the target traveling path is set by recalculation after the suspension, the timing at which the driving assistance is resumed can be clearly identified, and automatic driving and manual driving are switched. Thus, confusion given to the driver can be prevented.

Configuration diagram of the travel support device Flow chart showing automatic operation start routine Flow chart showing automatic operation control subroutine FIG. 3 shows a mode in which automatic driving is suspended by a driver's conscious intervention operation, (a) is an overhead view of a state in which a steering wheel operation is performed to overtake the preceding vehicle, and (b) is a distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle. A bird's-eye view of the accelerator operated to close A bird's-eye view showing a mode in which automatic driving is suspended by a driver's reflexive intervention operation

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 4 and 5, reference symbol A is the host vehicle, B is a preceding vehicle that runs immediately before, and C is a vehicle (interrupt vehicle) that tries to interrupt the front of the host vehicle A.

  The host vehicle A is equipped with the vehicle travel support device 1 shown in FIG. In the following, description will be made on the assumption that left-hand traffic. Therefore, in the case of right-hand traffic, the left and right descriptions are reversed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this vehicle travel support apparatus 1 includes a travel support control unit 11 as a travel support control means, an engine control unit (hereinafter referred to as “E / G-ECU”) 12, a power steering control unit ( Each control unit includes a control unit such as a “PS-ECU” (hereinafter referred to as “PS-ECU”) 13 and a brake control unit (hereinafter referred to as “BK-ECU”) 14. It is connected through an in-vehicle communication line 15. Each of the units 11 to 14 includes a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and a control program for realizing an operation set for each system is stored in the ROM.

  In addition, the surrounding environment detection means 21 is connected to the input side of the driving support control unit 11. The surrounding environment detection means 21 detects the surrounding environment mainly in the traveling direction of the host vehicle A, and is a stereo camera unit having a main camera and a sub camera, a monocular camera unit, a millimeter wave radar, a microwave radar. In addition, one of infrared laser radars or a combination of two or more thereof is configured as appropriate.

  Further, an automatic operation switch 22, a steering angle sensor 23 for detecting a steering operation, an accelerator opening sensor 24 for detecting an accelerator operation, and a brake switch 25 for detecting a brake operation are connected to the input side of the driving support control unit 11. ing. The automatic operation switch 22 is provided at a position that can be operated by the driver, such as an instrument panel or a steering handle, and can be arbitrarily selected between manual operation (switch OFF) and automatic operation (switch ON). When automatic driving is selected, the host vehicle A is driven by automatic driving, and when manual driving is selected, automatic driving is stopped and driving is performed by the driving operation of the driver.

  On the other hand, a notification means 27 is connected to the output side of the driving support control unit 11. The notification means 27 notifies the driver of the start, stop, restart, etc. of the automatic driving by lighting of the corresponding symbol mark, character display, voice, etc., and comprises a display lamp, a character display, a speaker, etc. Has been.

  On the other hand, a throttle actuator 31 is connected to the output side of the E / G-ECU 12. The throttle actuator 31 opens and closes a throttle valve of an electronically controlled throttle provided in the throttle body of the engine. The throttle valve 31 is opened and closed by a drive signal from the E / G-ECU 12, and the intake air flow rate is increased. Is adjusted to generate a desired engine output.

  An electric power steering motor 32 is connected to the output side of the PS-ECU 13. The electric power steering motor 32 applies a steering torque to the steering mechanism by the rotational force of the motor. In automatic operation, the electric power steering motor 32 is controlled by a drive signal from the PS-ECU 13 to control the current driving lane. Lane maintenance control or the like for maintaining traveling is executed.

  A brake actuator 33 is connected to the output side of the BK-ECU 14. The brake actuator 33 adjusts the brake hydraulic pressure supplied to the brake wheel cylinder provided on each wheel. When the brake actuator 33 is driven by a drive signal from the BK-ECU 14, the brake wheel cylinder A braking force is generated for each wheel, and the vehicle is forcibly decelerated.

  The driving support control unit 11 starts automatic driving when it detects the ON of the automatic driving switch 22, and first calculates a target travel path on which the host vehicle A should travel and detects the front of the host vehicle detected by the surrounding environment detection means 21. Based on the surrounding environment information, command signals are output to the E / G-ECU 12, PS-ECU 13, and BK-ECU 14 so that the host vehicle A travels along the target traveling path. Based on the above, the throttle actuator 31, the electric power steering motor 32, and the brake actuator 33 are controlled in a predetermined manner.

  In addition, the driving support control unit 11 determines the traveling path of the host vehicle A from the target traveling path when the driver performs an intervention operation (handle operation, accelerator operation, or brake operation) as an external force during automatic driving. When driving intention (override) to be positively removed is detected, automatic driving is stopped and the driver is notified through the notification means 27. On the other hand, when the detection is changed from the override detection to the non-detection state, the automatic operation is not resumed until the recalculation of the target traveling path is completed, so that the driver is informed that the recalculation is being performed. Then, when the recalculation is completed and switching to automatic driving, the driver is notified that automatic driving will be resumed.

  Specifically, the automatic driving control executed by the driving support control unit 11 is executed according to the automatic driving start routine shown in FIG.

  This routine is executed every set calculation cycle after the vehicle travel support device 1 is activated, and first waits until the ON of the automatic operation switch 22 is detected in step S1. When ON of the automatic operation switch 22 is detected, the automatic operation start condition is determined in step S2. If the automatic operation start condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S3, and automatic operation control is executed. On the other hand, if the automatic driving start condition is not satisfied, the routine is exited as it is.

  The automatic operation control in step S3 is executed according to the automatic operation control subroutine shown in FIG. In this subroutine, first, in step S11, a target traveling path on which the host vehicle A should travel is calculated. This own vehicle traveling path includes the surrounding environment information in front of the own vehicle detected by the surrounding environment detection means 21 and the current information of the own vehicle A (position information, speed information, steering torque, direction, yaw rate, etc. of the own vehicle A). It is obtained based on information necessary for traveling of the vehicle A). still. Any method may be used for obtaining the target traveling path, and in this embodiment, a conventionally known method is used to set the target traveling path sequentially for each calculation cycle.

  Thereafter, when the process proceeds to step S12, a command signal is transmitted to each of the ECUs 12 to 14 in order to drive the host vehicle along the target traveling path obtained in step S11, and the throttle actuator 31, the electric power steering motor 32, and the brake actuator 33 are transmitted. Is operated in a predetermined manner to perform engine control, steering control, and brake control.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S13, in which parameters for determining the override of the steering wheel angle detected by the steering angle sensor 23, the accelerator opening detected by the accelerator opening sensor 24, and the ON / OFF signal of the brake switch 25 are read. Then, it is checked whether or not it is an override. Then, when the driver operates the steering wheel, depresses the accelerator pedal, accelerates, or depresses the brake pedal to decelerate, the traveling path of the vehicle A deviates from the target traveling path. Proceed to step S15. On the other hand, when the traveling direction of the host vehicle A follows the target traveling path within a predetermined range, it is determined as non-override, and the process branches to step S16.

  When it is determined as an override and the process proceeds to step S15, the automatic operation is stopped and the transmission of the command signal to each of the ECUs 12 to 13 is stopped. As a result, the operation mode is switched from automatic operation to manual operation. Then, it progresses to step S17 and notifies a driver | operator via the alerting | reporting means 27 that automatic driving | operation stopped. When the notification means 27 is a display lamp, the automatic operation stop is notified by turning on the display lamp on which the automatic operation stop symbol mark is drawn. In the case of a character display, notification is made by displaying characters such as “automatic operation has been suspended”. Or, in the case of a speaker, it is notified by outputting a voice such as “automatic operation has been suspended”.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S18, the override determination flag Fo is set (Fo = 1), and the routine is exited. Note that the initial value of the override determination flag Fo is 0.

  The driver can prevent the driver from misrecognizing that the automatic driving is continued by acquiring information indicating that the automatic driving is stopped from the notification unit 27.

  On the other hand, when it is determined as non-override and the process branches to step S16, the value of the override determination flag Fo is referred to. The override determination flag Fo is set in step S18 after the automatic operation is stopped, and is cleared in step S23 after the automatic operation is resumed. Therefore, Fo = 1 is the first routine after determining non-override, and the process proceeds to step S19. On the other hand, if Fo = 0, it is determined that the automatic operation is continued, and the routine is directly exited.

  When the process proceeds from step S19 to step S20, it is checked whether or not the calculation of the target traveling path for resuming the automatic operation is completed. That is, the calculation of the target travel path is performed in step S11 described above, but since there is a large gap between the target travel path calculated in the override state and the actual travel path of the host vehicle A, automatic Even if the operation is resumed, a certain delay time occurs until the target traveling path that the host vehicle A should travel is recalculated based on the current position information of the host vehicle A.

  Therefore, if it is determined in step S19 that the recalculation has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S20 to notify the driver that the recalculation is being performed in order to switch to automatic driving via the notification means 27, Exit the routine. When the notification means 27 is a display lamp, the notification that the recalculation is being performed blinks a display lamp on which a symbol mark of automatic operation stop is drawn or a display lamp on which a symbol mark of automatic operation is drawn. In the case of a character display, a character such as “Recalculating to resume automatic operation” is displayed. Or, in the case of a speaker, a sound such as “Recalculating to resume automatic operation” is output. Thereby, the driver can recognize in advance that automatic driving will be resumed, and can prepare for the resumption of automatic driving.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S19 that the recalculation of the target travel route has been completed, the process branches to step S21 to notify the driver via the notification means 27 that automatic driving will be resumed, and step S22. Proceed to When the notification means 27 is a display lamp, the notification that automatic driving is resumed is turned on by a display lamp on which a symbol mark for automatic driving is drawn. In the case of a character display, characters such as “Restart automatic operation” are displayed. Alternatively, in the case of a speaker, a voice output such as “Restart automatic operation” is output. Accordingly, the driver can clearly recognize the timing at which the automatic driving is resumed, and can eliminate the uncomfortable feeling that the driver does not understand when the automatic driving is resumed.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S22 to restart the automatic operation. In step S23, the override determination flag Fo is cleared (Fo ← 0), and the routine is exited.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when the driver's override is detected, the recalculation period from when the non-override is detected until the automatic driving is restarted, and when the automatic driving is restarted, this is indicated. Since the driver is notified at each timing, the driver is confused about whether automatic driving is currently being executed or when it is resumed, that is, switching between automatic driving and manual driving. It can be clearly recognized without giving.

  Here, the manner of overriding is illustrated with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 4A, when the own vehicle A is following the preceding vehicle B by automatic driving control, the driver consciously operates the steering wheel to change the lane so as to overtake the preceding vehicle. The aspect which accelerates by depressing an accelerator pedal is shown. As described above, as a result of the driver performing the steering wheel operation and the accelerator operation during the automatic driving, the driving support control unit 11 determines that at least one of the steering angle and the accelerator opening is an override in step S14 of FIG. If it is determined, the automatic operation is stopped in step S15, and the automatic operation stop is notified to the driver through the notification means 27 in step S17. In this case, if the driver depresses the accelerator pedal even after changing the lane to the overtaking lane, the suspension state of the automatic operation is continued, so the automatic operation suspension is continued. Informed continuously.

  After that, when the host vehicle A is moved to the traveling lane ahead of the preceding vehicle B, and the host vehicle A is cruised along the traveling lane by the accelerator operation and the handle operation, the traveling support control unit 11 performs step S14 in FIG. In step S20, it is informed that re-calculation is in progress until the override is not detected and re-calculation of the target traveling path is completed. When the recalculation of the target traveling path is completed, in step S21, the driver is notified through the notification means 27 that automatic driving will be resumed, and then in step S22, the automatic driving is restarted.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4B shows a mode in which the driver consciously operates the accelerator and accelerates it so as to reduce the inter-vehicle distance L1 between the own vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B during automatic driving to the inter-vehicle distance L2. Has been. By accelerating by the accelerator operation, when the driving support control unit 11 determines that the vehicle is overriding, the automatic driving is stopped (S15), and the driver is notified by the notification means 27 (S17). Thereafter, when the driver cruises the host vehicle A, the driving support control unit 11 determines that the override is not detected (S14), and the notifying means 27 re-calculates the target travel path and indicates that the re-calculation is being performed. The driver is notified (S17). When the recalculation is completed (S19), the driver is notified through the notification means 27 that automatic driving will be resumed.

  Further, FIG. 5 shows a mode in which the driver reflexively decelerates the vehicle because the other vehicle (interrupt vehicle) C interrupts between the own vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B. Has been. When the driving support control unit 11 determines that it is an override by decelerating by the brake operation, the automatic driving is stopped (S15), and the driver is notified by the notification means 27 (S17). Thereafter, when the driver deviates from the brake operation, it is determined that the override is not detected (S14), the target travel route is recalculated, and the driver is notified by the notification means 27 that the recalculation is being performed (S17). ). When the recalculation is completed (S19), the driver is notified through the notification means 27 that automatic driving will be resumed. In addition, as a driver's reflective intervention operation, for example, when a falling object is found on the traveling road ahead of the own vehicle A and a steering wheel operation is performed to avoid it, the vehicle travels in an adjacent traveling lane. Since the parallel running vehicle has approached in the direction of the own vehicle A, there is a case where a steering wheel operation is performed to avoid it.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the driving support control unit 11 determines that the vehicle is overridden by the driver's intervention operation (handle operation, accelerator operation, brake operation) during automatic driving, Subsequent recalculation for resuming automatic driving and resumption of automatic driving are notified to the driver through the notification means 27, so that the driver has stopped the automatic driving and the automatic driving is restarted. Timing can be clearly identified. As a result, the driver can be prevented from being confused by switching between automatic driving and manual driving.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, various notification modes for the driver executed by the driving support control unit 11 are not limited to automatic driving, but are lanes for maintaining and driving in the driving lane. The present invention can also be applied to other travel support controls such as keep control and departure prevention control for preventing a departure of a travel lane.

1 ... Vehicle travel support device,
11 ... Driving support control unit,
12 ... Engine control unit,
13: Power steering control unit,
14 ... Brake control unit,
15 ... In-car communication line,
21 ... Ambient environment detection means,
22 ... Automatic operation switch,
23 ... rudder angle sensor,
24 ... accelerator opening sensor,
25 ... Brake switch,
27. Informing means,
31 ... Throttle actuator,
32 ... Electric power steering motor,
33 ... Brake actuator,
A ... own vehicle,
B ... preceding car,
C ... Interrupting vehicle,
Fo: Override determination flag,
L1, L2 ... Distance between vehicles

Claims (5)

A surrounding environment detecting means for detecting the surrounding environment of the vehicle;
Based on the surrounding environment detected by the surrounding environment detection means, a target travel path for the vehicle to travel is calculated, travel support control for traveling the vehicle along the target travel path is performed, and the vehicle is driven by an external force. Driving support control means for pausing the driving support control when it is determined that the vehicle has deviated from the target travel path;
In a vehicle travel support device comprising: notifying means for notifying the state of the travel support control by the travel support means;
The travel support control means causes the notification means to notify that the travel support control is suspended until the recalculation of the target travel path is completed after the travel support control is suspended. A vehicle driving support device characterized by the above. The vehicle travel support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the travel support control unit causes the notification unit to notify that the travel support control is resumed after the recalculation of the target traveling path is completed. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the external force is a driver's intervention operation. The vehicle driving support device according to claim 3, wherein the driver's intervention operation is determined based on a detection signal output from at least one of a steering angle sensor, an accelerator opening sensor, and a brake switch. . The vehicle travel support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the travel support control executed by the travel support control means includes an automatic driving control for automatically traveling on a travel path. .

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