JP3924776B2 - Vehicle travel support device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicular driving support device that executes driving support control of a host vehicle based on an obstacle or the like existing in front of the vehicle, and more particularly, when driving on a driving lane of an automatic toll collection system installed on a toll road. The present invention relates to a vehicle travel support apparatus that changes travel support control.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, an automatic toll collection (Electronic Toll Collection, ETC) system has been developed for non-stop, toll reduction, cashless, and human cost reduction at toll roads on toll roads. Has been started.
[0003]
In this ETC system, an IC card in which contract information is recorded is inserted into an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, and traffic is made by wireless communication between the roadside antenna installed at the toll gate of the toll gate on the toll road and the on-vehicle device. This is a system in which information such as tolls is recorded on both the toll road computer system connected to the roadside antenna and the IC card, and can be traveled without stopping for toll payment.
[0004]
On the other hand, an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle is detected, and collision avoidance control (braking, warning, etc.) is automatically executed when the distance from the detected obstacle is within a predetermined distance, Collision avoidance / following systems have been developed that automatically perform follow-up control so that the distance from an object maintains a predetermined distance.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when there is a vehicle preceding the own vehicle, the communication between the roadside antenna of the ETC system and the own vehicle becomes shorter as the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or the like and the predetermined separation distance set by the collision avoidance / following system is shorter. May cause damage.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to minimize the obstacle at the time of communication with the system when traveling in the traveling lane of the ETC system and traveling outside the traveling lane. Another object is to provide a vehicular travel support apparatus that can optimally maintain a separation distance from a front obstacle.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the vehicular driving support apparatus of the present invention detects an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle, and a separation distance from the detected obstacle is a predetermined first distance. A travel support device for a vehicle that executes travel support control of the host vehicle when the distance is within the distance, and travels by an automatic toll collection system that receives and charges to / from roadside equipment installed on a toll road A determination unit that determines whether the host vehicle is traveling in a lane, a communication unit that communicates with the automatic toll collection system, and communication with the roadside device when the host vehicle is traveling in the traveling lane. Control means for changing the predetermined first distance to a predetermined second distance so as not to cause an obstacle, and the control means sets the predetermined second distance so as not to obstruct communication with the roadside device. Enter from the communication means To.
[0008]
In addition, the vehicle travel support device of the present invention detects an obstacle present in front of the host vehicle, and controls the host vehicle to support the separation distance from the detected obstacle to a predetermined first distance. To determine whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in a travel lane of an automatic toll collection system that receives and collects tolls by transmitting and receiving to / from roadside equipment installed on toll roads predetermined means, and communication means for communicating with the electronic toll collection system, wherein when the vehicle is traveling the travel lane, the predetermined first distance so as not to disorder in the communication between the road side equipment Control means for changing to a second distance, and the control means obtains the predetermined second distance from the communication means so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device .
[0012]
Preferably, the control means corrects the predetermined second distance according to a vehicle type of a preceding vehicle as an obstacle existing ahead of the host vehicle.
[0014]
Preferably, the determination unit determines whether the host vehicle is traveling on a travel lane of the automatic toll collection system from information obtained from the roadside device via the communication unit.
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle is detected, and when the distance from the detected obstacle is within a predetermined first distance, When executing the driving support control, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in the driving lane of the automatic toll collection system that receives and charges by transmitting and receiving to / from roadside equipment installed on the toll road. When traveling in the lane of the ETC system by changing the predetermined first distance to the predetermined second distance so as not to hinder communication with roadside equipment when traveling in the traveling lane Minimizes obstacles during communication with the system, and can optimally maintain the distance from the front obstacle when traveling outside the driving lane.
[0016]
According to the invention of claim 2, an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle is detected, and the driving support control of the host vehicle is executed such that the distance from the detected obstacle is maintained at the predetermined first distance. When the vehicle is traveling in the lane of the automatic fare collection system that receives and collects fees by sending and receiving to / from roadside equipment installed on the toll road, the vehicle travels in the lane When the vehicle is traveling in the travel lane of the ETC system by changing the predetermined first distance to the predetermined second distance so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device, communication with the system is performed. When the vehicle is traveling outside the driving lane, the distance from the front obstacle can be optimally maintained.
According to the invention of claim 1 or 2, the communication means for communicating with the automatic toll collection system is provided, and the predetermined second distance is obtained from the communication means so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device. A value that matches the specifications of the roadside equipment can be obtained, and the time and effort of calculation can be saved.
[0020]
According to the invention of claim 3 , by correcting the predetermined second distance according to the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle as an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle, the communication with the roadside device is obstructed regardless of the vehicle type. It is possible to set a second distance that does not.
[0022]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily determine using the existing equipment by determining whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in the travel lane of the automatic toll collection system from the information obtained from the communication means.
[0023]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0024]
The embodiment described below is an example as means for realizing the present invention, and the present invention can be applied to a modified or modified embodiment described below without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[ETC system]
First, the ETC system will be described with reference to FIG.
[0025]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a toll gate including an ETC system as an embodiment according to the present invention.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 1, the entrance 2 of the toll road 1 is provided with a general gate 3 for issuing a pass ticket and an entrance antenna 4 by an ETC system, and a general lane 5 is provided corresponding to the general gate 3. Corresponding to the entrance antenna 4, an ETC entrance lane 6 is provided.
[0027]
An entrance notification antenna 7 for transmitting an entrance notification signal is provided in front of the toll road entrance 2, and an exit notification antenna 13 for transmitting an exit notification signal is provided in front of the toll road exit 8.
[0028]
Also, at the exit 8 of the toll road 1, a conventional general gate 9 that collects cash as a toll and an exit antenna 10 by an ETC system are installed, and a general lane 11 is provided corresponding to the general gate 9, An ETC exit lane 12 is provided corresponding to the exit antenna 10.
[0029]
The number of lanes at the entrance and exit is not limited to the 6 lanes shown in the figure, and is arbitrarily determined depending on the scale of the toll booth.
[0030]
The ETC system communicates vehicle information between an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle and the entrance antenna 4 when the vehicle passes through the entrance 2 of the toll road 1, and the vehicle also exits the exit 8 of the toll road 1. When you pass through the ETC exit lane 12, the toll for the vehicle is calculated and collected by a credit card, prepaid card that can be attached to and removed from the card reader of the in-vehicle device, and other similar IC cards. As a result, non-stop, alleviation of traffic congestion, cashlessness, and reduction of human expenses will be achieved.
[Various equipment installed in ETC lane]
FIG. 2 shows an installation example of various devices in a toll gate of the ETC system as an embodiment according to the present invention.
[0031]
At the entrances 2 and 8 of the toll road 1 in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, only vehicles equipped with the in-vehicle device 21 can pass through the ETC entrance lane 6 and the ETC exit lane 12 at present. 21 has a function of performing wireless communication between the entrance antenna 4 (exit antenna 10) and the entrance announcement antenna 7 (exit announcement antenna 13) as a roadside antenna, and an IC card 22 having a payment settlement function can be attached and detached. Yes. Further, as a result of communication with the roadside antennas 4, 7, 10, and 13, the in-vehicle device 21 normally displays a toll display that also serves as a notification of completion of payment of tolls at the ETC exit lane 12, Notify the user whether it is operating or the like.
[0032]
The IC card 22 specifies a payer of a toll and is issued at the time of use contract. When the IC card 22 is inserted into the in-vehicle device 21, the toll is settled by wireless communication with a roadside antenna. Further, in a lane where a roadside antenna is not provided, a toll person can settle a fee directly by processing the IC card 22 at a toll booth.
[0033]
The entrance antenna 4 (exit antenna 10) is installed in the ETC entrance lane 6 and the ETC exit lane 12, and transmits information such as a toll to the in-vehicle device 21 by wireless communication.
[0034]
The entrance notification antenna 7 (exit notification antenna 13) is installed upstream of the entrance antenna 4 (exit antenna 10) in the ETC entrance lane 6 and the ETC exit lane 12, and whether or not the IC card 22 is normally inserted by wireless communication. In addition, the driver is notified through the human machine interface (HMI) function of the in-vehicle device 21 whether or not the ETC entrance lane 6 and the ETC exit lane 12 can be used.
[0035]
The vehicle detectors 23 are installed on both sides of the ETC entrance lane 6 and the ETC exit lane 12 in the vicinity of the upstream and downstream of the entrance antenna 4 (exit antenna 10), and detect the passage of the vehicle.
[0036]
The roadside indicator 24 is installed in front of the entrance antenna 4 (exit antenna 10), and displays a message such as whether or not the vehicle can enter the entrance vehicle appropriately.
[0037]
The toll gate 25 opens the gate when the toll collection is normally performed by wireless communication, allows the vehicle to pass, and closes the gate when the toll collection cannot be performed for some reason. Is prohibited.
[Driving support system]
Next, a driving support system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
[0038]
In the vehicle according to the present embodiment, as a driving support system, an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle is mounted from the radar or CCD camera mounted on the host vehicle, or the imaging information of the infrared camera or the roadside antenna with infrastructure. From the detected obstacle information, collision avoidance control (information provision, alarm, automatic braking, etc.) is executed when the distance of the vehicle from the obstacle is within a predetermined distance, A collision avoidance / following system that performs follow-up control for maintaining the separation distance at a predetermined distance is mounted. In addition, the system is configured such that the driver can arbitrarily select the operation / non-operation of the system by an operation switch or the like.
[0039]
FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the driving support system according to the present embodiment.
[0040]
As shown in FIG. 3, the support control controller 31 that controls the driving support system in an integrated manner receives as input information the toll collection end information from the in-vehicle device 21 of the ETC system and the map information of the car navigation system 41 of the toll road 1. Lane shape information (gate positions, etc.) at the entrances 2 and 8, the current position information of the host vehicle from the GPS antenna 42, vehicle speed detection information of the host vehicle from the vehicle speed sensor 32, and obstacle information existing in front of the host vehicle from the laser radar 33 ( The operation information is input from the operation switch 34, the image information is displayed on the display 35, the sound information is displayed on the speaker 36, and the brake control information is displayed on the brake controller 51 and the steering controller 75. Output each one.
[0041]
The support control controller 31 that controls the driving support system receives each of the input information, executes a calculation process necessary for the driving support control, and outputs the output information as a calculation result to a control target.
[0042]
The brake controller 51 drives the brake actuator 53 from the braking control information from the assist controller 31 and the acceleration / deceleration signal detected by the acceleration / deceleration sensor (G sensor) 52 to apply a desired braking force.
[0043]
The steering controller 75 applies a desired steering force by driving the steering actuator 74 by the control torque from the support control controller 31.
[0044]
The in-vehicle device 21 performs toll collection processing between the in-vehicle antenna 26 mounted on the in-vehicle device 21 and the ETC system computer 27 via the roadside antennas 4, 7, 10, 13.
[0045]
In place of the in-vehicle laser radar 33, an obstacle existing around the host vehicle may be input by inputting information from a CCD camera or infrared camera mounted on the host vehicle or information from a roadside antenna equipped with infrastructure. Good.
[Outline of driving support control]
Next, an outline of the travel support control will be described.
<Collision avoidance control>
The collision avoidance control as the driving support control is performed because the urgency of the collision avoidance operation by the driver increases as the distance between the own vehicle and an obstacle (such as a pedestrian or another vehicle) existing in front of the host vehicle decreases. The contents will be changed step by step to information provision, warning, and automatic braking.
[0046]
The information provision displays the character information 35a, the symbol information 35b, and the image information 35c as shown in FIG. 4 on the display 35, notifies the driver of the own vehicle of the presence of the obstacle β, and has the lowest degree of urgency to call attention. Control.
[0047]
The alarm is displayed on the display 35 with character information 35a, symbol information 35b, and image information 35c as shown in FIG. The control is higher than information provision.
[0048]
In automatic braking, character information 35a as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display 35, the presence of an obstacle is warned to the driver of the own vehicle by a voice message from a speaker 36, and the distance from the obstacle is predetermined. This is the control with the highest degree of urgency for automatically operating the brake in order to be less than the distance and avoid further approach.
<Follow-up control>
Follow-up control as driving support control is to execute automatic braking, automatic steering, etc. so that the separation distance between the host vehicle and an obstacle (such as a pedestrian or another vehicle) existing in front of the host vehicle is maintained at a predetermined distance. Yes, it is possible to travel with the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle much shorter than the driver's operation.
[Contents of driving support control]
Next, the control contents when the ETC exit lane 12 passes when the collision avoidance control is executed as the travel support control will be described.
[0049]
As described above, when there is a vehicle preceding the own vehicle, the ETC system's roadside antenna and the own vehicle become smaller as the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or the like and the predetermined separation distance set by the collision avoidance / follow-up system is shorter. It may cause trouble in communication with the vehicle.
[0050]
For this reason, in this embodiment, when the host vehicle is traveling in the ETC exit lane 12, the obstacle at the time of communication with the ETC system is minimized, and when the host vehicle is traveling outside the lane 8, the front obstacle When the host vehicle is traveling in the ETC exit lane 12, the threshold of the separation distance from the front obstacle is changed so that the separation distance from the object can be optimally maintained.
[0051]
Specifically, the control is executed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the following, the control when passing through the ETC exit lane 12 will be described. However, the same applies to the case of the ETC entrance lane 6, and vehicle information or toll gate entrance can be used instead of determining the end of the toll collection process. Similar control may be executed by determining the end of communication processing such as information.
<Collision avoidance / follow-up control of this embodiment>
In the control of this embodiment, when the host vehicle is traveling in the ETC exit lane 12, the threshold of the separation distance from the front obstacle does not become an obstacle to communication between the predetermined first distance and the roadside antenna. Correct to the second distance. That is,
As shown in FIG. 7, if the vehicle is traveling on the ETC exit lane 12 in step S1 (YES in step S1), a predetermined second distance is calculated as a threshold of the distance from the front obstacle in step S3. Or after obtaining from the roadside antenna and correcting the threshold of the distance to the front obstacle in step S5 from the predetermined first distance to the second distance, the normal collision avoidance / following control is executed in step S9. This is the parameter set in step S5. However, the first distance <the second distance.
[0052]
On the other hand, if the host vehicle is not traveling in the ETC exit lane 12 in step S1 (NO in step S1), the threshold of the separation distance from the front obstacle is set to a predetermined first distance in step S7, In S9, normal collision avoidance control is executed.
[0053]
In the above control, whether or not the host vehicle is traveling in the ETC lane is acquired from the reception information from the roadside antenna, the inter-vehicle communication information obtained by communication with other vehicles, or the map information of the car navigation system 41. What is necessary is just to calculate from the present lane shape information and the current position information of the host vehicle acquired from the GPS signal.
[0054]
The second distance may be corrected according to the vehicle type (vehicle height, etc.) of the preceding vehicle. The vehicle type of the preceding vehicle in this case may be calculated from inter-vehicle communication information and infrastructure information obtained by communication with the preceding vehicle.
<Calculation method of second distance>
The second distance D in step S3 is calculated by the following equation 1.
[0055]
D = (H _v −H _a ) / tan θ (1)
However, as shown in FIG. 8, D: inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle, H _v: height of the preceding vehicle, H _a: mounting height of the roadside antenna, theta: the roadside antenna obtained from the design value of the ETC system The optimal elevation angle.
[0056]
According to the control of the above embodiment, the obstacle during communication with the ETC system is minimized when traveling in the ETC exit lane 12, and when traveling outside the lane 8, The separation distance can be maintained optimally.
[0057]
In addition, the second distance that matches the specifications of the roadside antenna can be obtained, and the labor of calculation and the like can be saved.
<Control of other embodiment>
In the above embodiment, when the first distance is corrected to the second distance, traffic congestion may occur because all the vehicles increase the inter-vehicle distance in the vicinity of the ETC exit lane 12. For this reason, when there is a traffic jam in step S5 of FIG. 7, the distance between the vehicles is reduced by correcting the first distance> the second distance, or the vehicles are alternately placed in the ETC exit lanes 12 adjacent to each other as shown in FIG. As described above, the odd-numbered vehicle may be controlled to follow the odd-numbered preceding vehicle, and the even-numbered vehicle may follow the even-numbered preceding vehicle.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a toll gate including an ETC system as an embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an installation example of various devices in a toll gate of an ETC system as an embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the driving support system according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a display showing control contents for providing information as collision avoidance control.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a display showing alarm control contents as collision avoidance control.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a display showing control contents of automatic braking as collision avoidance control.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating collision avoidance / follow-up control according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method for calculating a second distance.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating follow-up control according to another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Toll road 2 Entrance 4 Entrance antenna (roadside antenna)
7 Entrance notice antenna (roadside antenna)
10 Exit antenna (roadside antenna)
13 Exit notice antenna (roadside antenna)
6 ETC entrance lane 8 Exit 12 ETC exit lane 20 In-vehicle equipment 21 IC card 25 Toll gate α Own vehicle β Obstacle (other vehicle)

Claims (4)

A vehicle driving support device that detects an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle and executes driving support control of the host vehicle when a distance from the detected obstacle is within a predetermined first distance,
A determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a traveling lane of an automatic toll collection system that performs transmission and reception with a roadside device installed on a toll road and collects a fee;
Communication means for communicating with the automatic toll collection system;
Control means for changing the predetermined first distance to a predetermined second distance so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device when the host vehicle is traveling in the travel lane;
The vehicle travel support apparatus, wherein the control means obtains the predetermined second distance from the communication means so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device. A vehicle travel support device that detects an obstacle existing in front of the host vehicle and executes the driving support control of the host vehicle so that a distance from the detected obstacle is a predetermined first distance,
A determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is traveling in a traveling lane of an automatic toll collection system that performs transmission and reception with a roadside device installed on a toll road and collects a fee;
Communication means for communicating with the automatic toll collection system;
Control means for changing the predetermined first distance to a predetermined second distance so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device when the host vehicle is traveling in the travel lane;
The vehicle travel support apparatus, wherein the control means obtains the predetermined second distance from the communication means so as not to hinder communication with the roadside device. The control means, the vehicle travel support device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that to correct the predetermined second distance in accordance with the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle as an obstacle present ahead of the host vehicle. The said determination means determines whether the said own vehicle is drive | working the travel lane of the said automatic toll collection system from the information acquired from the said communication means, The said any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. A vehicle travel support device.

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