JP5754807B2 - Steering assist control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a steering assist control device, and more particularly to a technique for confirming an appropriate relation to a driver's driving during execution of steering assist control for adjusting a steering assist torque so that a vehicle travels in a lane.

  In recent years, when a vehicle travels, the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is recognized, and steering assist torque is generated according to the positional relationship with the lane so that the host vehicle travels in the center of the lane. A vehicle equipped with an assistance system (LKAS: Lane Keeping Assist System) has been developed. As described above, the steering assist control in the lane keeping assist system is executed, so that the driver can perform lane keeping traveling with a light steering operation.

On the other hand, when such steering assist control is performed over a long period of time, the driver's attention tends to be reduced because the burden on the driver is reduced. As a result, problems such as a drowsy driving and a delay in dealing with an emergency occur.
Therefore, a technique for estimating the driver's concentration and attention has been developed. For example, there is a technique for estimating the driver's concentration by detecting the reaction of the driving operation by the driver. Specifically, the time series data of the driver's driving operation is stored, and the driver's ideal tracking operation and the response intensity or reaction time from the actual tracking operation according to the inter-vehicle distance are used to determine the driver's driving operation. There is a technique for determining concentration (see Patent Document 1).

However, during automatic driving, the vehicle speed is kept constant by the auto-cruise function, and the follow-up operation to the preceding vehicle is also automatically performed by the inter-vehicle distance maintenance function. For this reason, the driving operation by the driver is hardly performed, and the driver's attention cannot be accurately determined from the driving operation situation.
In addition, as another example of a method for estimating the driver's concentration and attention, a method of measuring the driver's arousal level has been proposed. There are cases where people concentrate on conversation, food, etc.). In such a case, since the driver's arousal level is high, the method for estimating the driver's concentration and attention cannot determine whether or not the driver is monitoring the automatic driving.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-92285

  However, even when the vehicle is running by automatic driving or during steering assist control, the driver is responsible for monitoring and supervising whether or not the driving is appropriate. It is impossible to determine whether or not the driver appropriately monitors the driving. For this reason, the above-described conventional technique has a problem that it is impossible to alert the driver when appropriate monitoring is not performed during automatic traveling operation or steering assist control.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to detect an appropriate relationship of the driver during the execution of the steering assist control and to abandon the monitoring of the driver's steering assist control. An object of the present invention is to provide a steering assist control device capable of suppressing the above.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the steering assist control device according to claim 1 is a steering assist control device that executes steering assist control that adjusts assist torque for assisting steering of the vehicle. a target assist torque setting means for setting a target assist torque, the steering at a predetermined time in the auxiliary control, the assist torque adjusting means for adjusting the assist torque to the set target assist torque value different by the target assist torque setting means And a driver reaction detecting means for detecting a driver's reaction to the adjusted assist torque, and a driver's reaction by the driver reaction detecting means is not detected within a predetermined period from the start of the adjustment of the assist torque. A warning means for calling attention to the driver.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the steering assist control device according to the first aspect, wherein the assist torque adjusting means detects a driver reaction by the driver response detecting means within a predetermined period from the start of the assist torque adjustment. Is characterized in that the assist torque is returned to the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the steering assist control device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the alerting means is an alarm device that alerts the driver by issuing a warning.
A steering assist control device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the steering assist control device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the alerting means is a steering assist control stopping means for alerting by stopping the steering assist control. Yes.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the steering assist control device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the driver response detection means is a switch that detects a response of the driver by a switch operation of the driver. Yes.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the steering assist control device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the driver response detecting means is a sound receiving means for detecting the driver's reaction based on a voice uttered by the driver. It is characterized by.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the steering assist control device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the driver reaction detecting means is a steering detecting means for detecting the driver's reaction based on steering by the driver. It is a feature.

  According to the steering assist control device of the first aspect of the present invention using the above-described means, the driver's automatic driving operation is adjusted by adjusting the assist torque to a value different from the target assist torque at a predetermined time during the steering assist control. Check for proper engagement with. When the driver's reaction is not detected within a predetermined period from the start of the assist torque adjustment, the driver is alerted.

  Thus, even during the steering assist control in which the driver's driving burden is reduced, the assist torque in the steering assist control is periodically adjusted to a different value intentionally to alert the driver to the assist torque. By confirming the driver's reaction to the adjustment of the driver, it is possible to confirm the proper involvement of the driver in driving. Then, when there is no response from the driver for a predetermined period from the start of adjustment of the assist torque, the driver can be monitored again for driving by the steering assist control by alerting the driver.

In this way, it is possible to detect an appropriate relationship of the driver during the execution of the steering assist control, and to suppress the abandonment of monitoring for the driver's steering assist control.
According to the steering assist control apparatus of the second aspect, when the driver's reaction is detected within a predetermined period from the start of the assist torque adjustment, the assist torque is set to the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting means. By returning, normal steering assist control can be promptly restored.

According to the steering assist control apparatus of the third aspect, when the driver's reaction does not occur even if the assist torque is adjusted, the driver can be alerted by issuing a warning to the driver by the alarm device.
According to the steering assist control device of the fourth aspect, the steering assist control is stopped when the driver's reaction does not occur even if the assist torque is adjusted, so that the steering assist is reduced in a state where the driver's attention is reduced. It is possible to eliminate the continuation of control at an early stage.

According to the steering assist control device of the fifth aspect, since the driver's reaction is detected by the driver directly operating the switch, the driver's reaction can be reliably detected.
According to the steering assist control device of the sixth aspect, by detecting the driver's reaction from the voice uttered by the driver, the driver's reaction can be easily detected without the need for direct operation by the driver. it can.

  According to the steering assist control device of the seventh aspect, by detecting the driver's reaction based on the steering, the driver's reaction can be easily detected without providing a new device or the like.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a steering assist control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a setting map of the assist torque of the steering assist control device in one embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart showing the driving | running | working monitoring confirmation control routine which steering assist ECU of the steering assist control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention performs.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a steering assist control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an assist torque setting map, which will be described based on these diagrams.
A steering assist ECU (electronic control unit) 1 shown in FIG. 1 is one of various ECUs mounted on a vehicle, and is a control device that performs steering assist control. Here, the steering assist control is control for generating assist torque for assisting the steering operation of the driver. For example, there is steering assist control in a lane keeping assist system (LKAS) that recognizes the position of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and generates assist torque so as to guide steering in the direction of traveling in the center position of the lane. Specifically, the steering assist ECU 1 includes an input / output device (not shown), a storage device (ROM, RAM, nonvolatile RAM, etc.), a central processing unit (CPU), and the like.

  Various devices such as a vehicle speed sensor 2, a CCD camera 4, a lane keeping support operation unit 6, an attention monitoring unit 8, a response switch 10, a microphone 12, and a steering angle sensor 14 are connected to the input side of the steering assist ECU 1. . Various devices such as a steering actuator 20 for steering and an alarm device 22 (attention calling means) are connected to the output side.

Specifically, the vehicle speed sensor 2 is a sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, and the CCD camera 4 captures the front of the host vehicle and detects a lane position represented by a white line or a yellow line on the road on both sides of the host vehicle. To do.
The lane keeping support operation unit 6 is provided in the driver's seat and can be set by the driver to switch the lane keeping support system between ON and OFF.

The attention monitoring unit 8 determines the level of the driver's driving attention by comprehensively judging from, for example, vehicle wobbling, driver's correction steering, winker operation, and the like.
The response switch 10 and the microphone 12 are respectively provided in the driver's seat. The response switch 10 is a switch that can be switched ON and OFF by a driver's pressing operation, and the microphone 12 detects sound in the vehicle. The steering angle sensor 14 detects a steering angle of a steering wheel (not shown).

The response switch 10, the microphone 12, and the steering angle sensor 14 are means (driver response detection means) for detecting the driver's reaction. Since the response switch 10 detects the driver's reaction by the driver's direct operation, the driver's reaction can be reliably detected, and the microphone 12 is easy without the driver's direct operation or the like. The steering angle sensor 14 can easily detect the driver's reaction while using existing equipment. Further, as a driver's response to the steering assist torque adjustment, the driver is highly likely to steer the steering wheel, and the steering angle sensor 14 can detect the response to the assist torque adjustment at an early stage.

  The steering actuator 20 generates assist torque for the steering wheel. The steering actuator 20 is, for example, an electric motor for so-called electric power steering. The steering assist ECU 1 adjusts the assist torque generated by the steering actuator 20 and performs steering assist control.

The alarm device 22 includes an indicator lamp displayed on a meter portion of a driver's seat and a speaker that emits a warning sound so as to visually give a warning to the driver.
Here, the internal configuration of the steering assist ECU 1 will be described in detail.
1, the internal configuration of the steering assist ECU 1 is conceptually shown. As shown in FIG. 1, the steering assist ECU 1 includes a target assist torque setting unit 30 (target assist torque setting means) and a monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 ( Assist torque adjusting means), a timer 34, and a driver reaction detecting unit 36 (driver response detecting means).

The target assist torque setting unit 30 includes the vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 2, the lane position detected by the CCD camera 4, and the lane maintenance support system set by the driver in the lane maintenance support operation unit 6. ON / OFF information and the like are input.
The target assist torque setting unit 30 determines the relative distance between the host vehicle and the center position in the left and right lanes from the lane position detected by the CCD camera 4 when the lane keeping support system is turned on by the lane keeping support operating unit 6. calculate. And the target assist torque according to the relative distance with this center position is set.

  Specifically, it is set based on a map for setting the target assist torque according to the relative distance between the center position in the lane and the host vehicle as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the map has a parabolic shape so that the target assist torque added to the steering toward the center position side is set larger as the own vehicle is away from the center position, that is, as the left or right white line is approached. It becomes a graph to draw. That is, when the host vehicle moves away from the center position, the steering toward the leaving direction becomes heavy and the steering toward the center side becomes light. Further, the target assist torque may be changed according to the vehicle speed. For example, the target assist torque may be set to decrease as the vehicle speed increases. Then, the target assist torque information set by the target assist torque setting unit 30 is output to the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32.

The monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 includes target assist torque information set by the target assist torque setting unit 30, timing information by the timer 34, driver attention level information determined by the attention monitoring unit 8, and driver response detection. The driver's reaction information from the unit 36 is input.
The monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 confirms whether or not the driver is appropriately involved in driving, that is, whether or not there is monitoring / supervision for the automatic driving control driving at a predetermined time counted by the timer 34 from the start of the lane keeping support system. (Hereinafter referred to as operation monitoring). Specifically, the confirmation of the driver's driving monitoring is performed by adjusting the assist torque to a value different from the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting unit 30 and performing steering assist control with the assist torque for monitoring presence / absence confirmation. This is done by switching. For example, there is a timing change as a different value, and the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 sets the timing for adding the assist torque to the magnitude of the deviation from the center of the torque sensor of the steering, compared with the timing for adding the target assist torque. Delay.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, in the assist torque setting map, when driving monitoring is confirmed, switching to the driving torque checking assist torque setting map that draws a parabola that extends outward from the parabola at the normal time is performed. Then, the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting unit 30 is decreased. That is, the setting map of the assist torque for driving monitoring confirmation is a map in which the effectiveness of the assist torque is reduced more than usual, and for example, the degree of lane keeping support is suppressed in the range of 10 to 30 cm. As a result, even when the vehicle position is the same as the center position, the assist torque at the time of confirming the driving monitoring is smaller than the assist torque at the normal time, and the vehicle is likely to wobble from side to side.

  In this way, during steering assist control, the assist torque is adjusted from the target assist torque based on the steering assist control to a different value, and the driver's proper involvement in driving is confirmed by whether or not the driver notices this adjustment. To do. The degree of adjustment from the target assist torque is set in accordance with the attention level determined by the attention monitoring unit 8. For example, when the attention level is low, that is, when the driver is less conscious of driving. Considering that it is difficult for the driver to notice, the degree of adjustment is set to be large. Or the said adjustment degree may be set according to a vehicle speed, for example, you may set so that it may become a large adjustment degree, so that a vehicle speed is high.

  Then, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 switches to the steering assist control based on the target assist torque again when the driver's reaction is detected by the driver reaction detection unit 36. On the other hand, if there is no response from the driver for a certain period after the start of assist torque adjustment, the alarm device 22 is used to warn the driver or force steering assist control to alert the driver. To stop automatically. Note that the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 controls the steering actuator 20 as it is based on the target assist torque input from the target assist torque setting unit 30 at a time other than the predetermined time for confirming driving monitoring.

The driver response detection unit 36 receives various information from the response switch 10, the microphone 12, and the steering angle sensor 14, and detects the driver's reaction from these information. That is, the response switch 10 is pressed by the driver within a certain period after the adjustment of the target assist torque by the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 is started, or a predetermined utterance by the driver is detected by the microphone 12, the If the steering operation is detected by the driver by the steering sensor 14, as there is a reaction of the driver, and outputs the monitoring existence confirmation section 32.

The steering assist ECU 1 configured as described above regularly adjusts the assist torque by the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 while performing the steering assist control using the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting unit 30 in a normal state. Thus, the driver's reaction detection unit 36 confirms the proper relation to the driver's driving.
Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the steering assist control device according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart representing a driving monitoring confirmation control routine executed by the steering assist ECU of the steering assist control device according to the embodiment of the present invention, which will be described below. The driving monitoring confirmation control routine shown in FIG. 3 is mainly executed in the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 of the steering assist ECU 1 at the same time when the lane keeping support system is started.

  As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S1, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 determines whether or not a first predetermined time for confirming the driver's attention has elapsed. For example, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 uses the timer 34 to measure the time from the start of the lane keeping support system or the confirmation execution of the previous driving monitoring, and the time has passed a first predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes). It is determined by whether or not. If the determination result is false (No), step S1 is repeated again. If the first predetermined time has elapsed and the result is true (Yes), the process proceeds to the next step S2.

In step S <b> 2, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 resets the time measurement of the first predetermined time by the timer 34.
In subsequent step S3, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 acquires the attention level determination level from the attention level monitoring unit 8, and sets the assist torque for driving monitoring confirmation with the degree of adjustment of the assist torque according to the attention level determination level. The assist torque for operation monitoring confirmation is performed by switching the setting map for operation monitoring confirmation as described above with reference to FIG.

In step S4, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 adjusts the assist torque of the steering actuator 20 from the target assist torque set in the target assist torque setting unit 30 to the assist torque for driving monitoring confirmation.
In step S5, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 adjusts the assist torque for driving monitoring confirmation to reduce the assist torque, and the vehicle is likely to be staggered. . The driver's reaction is determined based on information from the driver response detector 36, that is, the response switch 10 is pressed, the driver's predetermined utterance is detected by the microphone 12, and the steering angle sensor 14 is steered. The presence or absence of the driver's reaction is detected from the above. If the determination result is false (No), that is, if the driver's reaction is detected, the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 resets the timer 34 and then controls the steering actuator 20 to return the assist torque of the steering actuator 20 to the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting unit 30. Return the routine.
On the other hand, when the determination result of step S5 is true (Yes), that is, when there is no driver's reaction, the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, the monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 determines whether or not a second predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) has elapsed since the reset of the timer 34 in step S2, that is, after adjusting the assist torque. If the determination result is false (No), the process returns to step S5 to check the driver's reaction. On the other hand, if the determination result is true (Yes), that is, if the driver still does not respond within a predetermined period after the second predetermined time has elapsed after adjusting the assist torque to the assist torque for driving monitoring confirmation, Proceed to S8.

  The monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit 32 adjusts the assist torque set by the target assist torque setting unit 30, and the fact that the driver does not react even after the second predetermined time has elapsed means that the driver falls asleep. It is determined that the vehicle is not involved in driving, and in step S8, a warning display and a warning sound are generated by the alarm device 22, and the steering assist control is turned off, and the routine is terminated.

  As described above, the steering assist ECU 1 adjusts the assist torque from the target assist torque based on the normal steering assist control to the assist torque for driving monitoring confirmation at every elapse of the first predetermined time during the steering assist control. The attention of the person. If the driver's reaction is not detected within a predetermined period from the adjustment of the assist torque until the second predetermined time elapses, the warning by the alarm device 22 and the steering assist control are stopped and the driver's attention is paid. Arouse.

  In this way, even during the steering assist control that reduces the driving burden on the driver, the assist torque in the steering assist control is periodically intentionally adjusted to alert the driver, and the driver for adjusting the assist torque By confirming the reaction, it is possible to confirm the driving monitoring of the driver. When the driver does not respond for a predetermined period after the adjustment of the assist torque, the driver can be concentrated on driving again by alerting the driver.

On the other hand, when the driver's reaction is detected, the assist torque is returned to the target assist torque, so that the normal steering assist control can be quickly returned.
Further, by stopping the steering assist control when there is no response from the driver, it is possible to quickly eliminate the continued steering assist control in a state where the driver's attention is reduced.

From these things, the steering assist control device according to the embodiment of the present invention can confirm the proper relation to the driving of the driver during the execution of the steering assist control, and can suppress the monitoring abandonment for the steering assist control of the driver. .
Although the description of the embodiment of the steering assist control device according to the present invention is finished above, the embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the degree of adjustment from the target assist torque is increased as the attention level is lower, but conversely, the driver's attention is reduced to increase the preventive effect of the driver's attention being reduced. The degree of adjustment of the assist torque may be increased as the level of attention is higher so that attention can be drawn in stages.
In the above-described embodiment, the alarm device 22 including an indicator lamp and a speaker is used as the alerting means. However, the alerting means is not limited to this, and for example, a device that generates vibration in the driver's seat is used. You may use.

1 Steering assist ECU
2 Vehicle speed sensor 4 CCD camera 6 Lane maintenance support operation section 8 Attention monitoring section 10 Response switch (driver response detection means)
12 Microphone (Driver reaction detection means)
14 Steering angle sensor (Driver reaction detection means)
20 Steering actuator 22 Alarm (attention warning means)
30 Target assist torque setting unit (target assist torque setting means)
32 Monitoring presence / absence confirmation unit (assist torque adjustment means)
34 Timer 36 Driver reaction detection unit (driver response detection means)

Claims (7)

A steering assist control device that performs steering assist control for adjusting assist torque for assisting steering of a vehicle,
Target assist torque setting means for setting target assist torque in the steering assist control;
Assist torque adjusting means for adjusting the assist torque to a value different from the target assist torque set by the target assist torque setting means at a predetermined time during the steering assist control;
Driver response detection means for detecting a driver's response to the adjusted assist torque;
An alerting means for alerting the driver when a driver's reaction by the driver response detecting means is not detected within a predetermined period from the start of adjustment of the assist torque;
A steering assist control device comprising:   The assist torque adjusting means sets the assist torque by the target assist torque setting means when a driver reaction is detected by the driver response detecting means within a predetermined period from the start of adjustment of the assist torque. 2. The steering assist control device according to claim 1, wherein the steering assist control device returns to the target assist torque.   3. The steering assist control device according to claim 1, wherein the alerting means is an alarm device that alerts a driver by issuing a warning. 4.   4. The steering assist control device according to claim 1, wherein the alerting means is a steering assist control stopping unit that alerts by stopping the steering assist control. 5.   5. The steering assist control device according to claim 1, wherein the driver response detection unit is a switch that detects a response of the driver by a switch operation of the driver. 6.   The steering assist control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the driver reaction detection unit is a sound receiving unit that detects a reaction of the driver based on a voice uttered by the driver.   The steering assist control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the driver reaction detection unit is a steering detection unit that detects a response of the driver based on steering by the driver.

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