JP6395115B2 - Inter-vehicle distance control device and inter-vehicle distance control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inter-vehicle distance control device and an inter-vehicle distance control method.

  An inter-vehicle distance control system (ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control) that measures the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle using sensors such as a camera and laser radar, and automatically performs acceleration / deceleration control so that the inter-vehicle distance becomes a set value. ) Has already been put into practical use (commercialized).

  More specifically, the set value of the inter-vehicle distance of the inter-vehicle distance control system is determined based on the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle (equal to the vehicle speed of the own vehicle when the vehicle travels with a certain inter-vehicle distance). Then, the acceleration / deceleration control of the host vehicle is performed so that the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle physically measured using the sensor matches the set value based on the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle.

  Here, it is known that humans recognize the speed stronger than the actual vehicle speed as the vehicle speed increases. As a result, nonlinear characteristics also exist in the relationship between the actual vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance experienced by humans. There is also a non-linear characteristic that the longer the inter-vehicle distance is, the shorter the actual inter-vehicle distance, the human recognizes the inter-vehicle distance. The existence of these nonlinear characteristics is known as Weber-Fechner's law, and has already been taken into account in the vehicle control technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2010-274838 A

  The present inventor has intensively studied the inter-vehicle distance experienced by humans, particularly the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling a sense of security that the driver is safe. The inter-vehicle distance experienced by humans is greatly influenced not only by the speed of the preceding vehicle (which is also the speed of the host vehicle when traveling at a constant inter-vehicle distance), but also by the type of the preceding vehicle and the road environment. I found out.

  The present invention has been created based on the above background. An object of the present invention is to provide an inter-vehicle distance control device that takes into account not only the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle (which is also the vehicle speed of the host vehicle when traveling at a constant inter-vehicle distance), but also the type of the preceding vehicle and the traveling road environment. It is to provide a vehicle distance control method.

The present invention relates to a preceding vehicle type discriminating device for discriminating the type of a preceding vehicle, a vehicle speed measuring device for measuring the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or the own vehicle, and a current inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle. An inter-vehicle distance measuring device for measuring a road condition, a road condition determining device for determining a road condition, a type of a preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device, and a vehicle speed measured by the vehicle speed measuring device An acceleration / deceleration control device for controlling acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle based on the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device and the road condition determined by the road condition determining device. This is an inter-vehicle distance control device.

According to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device, it is possible to continue driving while feeling a sense of security that the driver is safe. The distance can be provided with higher reliability. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the road condition determined by the road condition determination device, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling a sense of security. Can be provided with higher reliability.

  Specifically, for example, the preceding vehicle type discriminating device discriminates whether the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or a small vehicle, and the acceleration / deceleration control device is discriminated by the preceding vehicle type discriminating device. When the type of the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle is relatively increased compared to the case where the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determination device is a small vehicle. It controls the acceleration / deceleration of the car.

  According to the knowledge of the present inventor, the inter-vehicle distance felt by humans feels shorter than the actual inter-vehicle distance when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle as compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle. In other words, compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle, when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling a sense of security is relatively It is big. The control mode described in the preceding paragraph is consistent with the driver's cognitive characteristics, and thus can give the driver a sense of security with higher reliability.

Also, specifically, for example, road condition determination apparatus, road conditions are adapted to determine whether it is within a tunnel, the deceleration control device, road conditions are determined by the road condition determination device When the vehicle is in the tunnel, the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled so that the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is relatively large compared to the case where the road condition determined by the road condition determination device is not in the tunnel. It is supposed to be.

  According to the knowledge of the present inventors, the inter-vehicle distance felt by humans feels shorter than the actual inter-vehicle distance when the road condition is in a tunnel. In other words, compared to the case where the road condition is not in the tunnel, when the road condition is in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance at which driving can be continued while the driver feels safe is relatively It is that it is big. The control mode described in the preceding paragraph is consistent with the driver's cognitive characteristics, and thus can give the driver a sense of security with higher reliability.

The present invention also includes a preceding vehicle type determining step for determining the type of the preceding vehicle, a vehicle speed measuring step for measuring the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or the own vehicle, and a current inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle. Vehicle distance measurement step, road condition determination step for determining road conditions, type of preceding vehicle determined in the preceding vehicle type determination step, vehicle speed measured in the vehicle speed measurement step, and the inter-vehicle distance An inter-vehicle distance comprising: an inter-vehicle distance measured in the measuring step ; and an acceleration / deceleration control step for controlling acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle based on the road status determined in the road status determining step. It is a control method.

According to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the type of the preceding vehicle determined in the preceding vehicle type determining step, it is possible to continue driving while feeling a sense of security that the driver is safe. The distance can be provided with higher reliability. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the road condition determined in the road condition determination step, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling safe. Can be provided with higher reliability.

  Specifically, for example, in the preceding vehicle type determination step, it is determined whether the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or a small vehicle, and in the acceleration / deceleration control step, in the preceding vehicle type determination step When the type of the preceding vehicle determined is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle is relatively large compared to the case where the type of the preceding vehicle determined in the preceding vehicle type determination step is a small vehicle. Thus, the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle is controlled.

  According to the knowledge of the present inventor, the inter-vehicle distance felt by humans feels shorter than the actual inter-vehicle distance when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle as compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle. In other words, compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle, when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling a sense of security is relatively It is big. The control mode described in the preceding paragraph is consistent with the driver's cognitive characteristics, and thus can give the driver a sense of security with higher reliability.

Also, specifically, for example, in a road condition determination step, road conditions are so whether the tunnel is determined, in the deceleration control process, it is determined in the road condition determination step If the road condition in the tunnel is in the tunnel, the vehicle is added so that the inter-vehicle distance relative to the preceding vehicle is relatively large compared to the case in which the road condition determined by the road condition determination device is not in the tunnel. Deceleration is controlled.

  According to the knowledge of the present inventors, the inter-vehicle distance felt by humans feels shorter than the actual inter-vehicle distance when the road condition is in a tunnel. In other words, compared to the case where the road condition is not in the tunnel, when the road condition is in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance at which driving can be continued while the driver feels safe is relatively It is big. The control mode described in the preceding paragraph is consistent with the driver's cognitive characteristics, and thus can give the driver a sense of security with higher reliability.

According to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device, it is possible to continue driving while feeling a sense of security that the driver is safe. The distance can be provided with higher reliability. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the road condition determined by the road condition determination device, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling a sense of security. Can be provided with higher reliability.

Alternatively, according to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the type of the preceding vehicle determined in the preceding vehicle type determining step, the driving is continued while feeling a sense of security that the driver is safe. The possible inter-vehicle distance can be provided with higher reliability. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled based on the road condition determined in the road condition determination step, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling safe. Can be provided with higher reliability.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the inter-vehicle distance control apparatus of one embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which compared the inter-vehicle distance which a driver | operator can be relieved by the case where a preceding vehicle is a small vehicle and the case where a preceding vehicle is a large vehicle. FIG. 3 is a correspondence example of speed-vehicle distance reflecting the characteristics of FIG. 2. FIG. It is the figure which compared the inter-vehicle distance which a driver | operator can be relieved by when the road condition is not in the tunnel and when the road condition is in the tunnel. FIG. 5 is a correspondence example of speed-vehicle distance reflecting the characteristics of FIG. 4. FIG. It is a schematic flowchart which shows the inter-vehicle distance control method of one embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an inter-vehicle distance control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the inter-vehicle distance control device 10 of the present embodiment includes a preceding vehicle type discriminating device 11 for discriminating the type of the preceding vehicle, and a vehicle speed measurement for measuring the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or the own vehicle. By the device 12, the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13 for measuring the current inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle, the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device 11, and the vehicle speed measuring device 12 An acceleration / deceleration control device 14 for controlling acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle based on the measured vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13 is provided.

  The preceding vehicle type discriminating device 11 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, a camera and an image processing device, discriminates whether or not there is a preceding vehicle, and discriminates whether the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or a small vehicle. It has become. Then, the acceleration / deceleration control device 14 of the present embodiment, when the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device 11 is a large vehicle, the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device 11 Compared with the case where the vehicle is a small vehicle, the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle becomes relatively large.

  According to the knowledge of the present inventor, the inter-vehicle distance felt by humans feels shorter than the actual inter-vehicle distance when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle as compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle. In other words, compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle, when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling a sense of security is relatively It is big.

  Such a phenomenon will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2A is an example of a state in which a certain driver recognizes that the distance between the vehicles is safe when the vehicle travels with a certain distance from the preceding vehicle, which is a small car. Yes, FIG. 2 (b) shows a state in which the same driver recognizes that the inter-vehicle distance is safe when traveling with a certain inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle that is a large vehicle. It is an example. As is obvious when comparing FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the driver is safer when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle as compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle. The distance between vehicles that can continue driving while feeling a sense of security is relatively large.

  For each type of preceding vehicle (large and small vehicles), many drivers are asked to conduct a driving experiment with a certain distance between vehicles while maintaining the recognition that it is safe. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the result of collecting data relating to the inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the vehicle speed if the vehicle speed is constant. As shown in FIG. 3, at each speed, when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving with a sense of security that the driver is safe compared to the case where the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle. Is relatively large.

  Then, the acceleration / deceleration control device 14 according to the present embodiment selects the preceding vehicle when the speed of the preceding vehicle is equal to or lower than the set speed of the own vehicle (in a state where the speed of the preceding vehicle exceeds the set speed of the own vehicle). The vehicle is switched to a traveling state without chasing and no preceding vehicle (inter-vehicle distance control is not performed), and the vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle satisfies the graph of FIG. 3 while keeping the speed of the own vehicle following the speed of the preceding vehicle. It controls the acceleration / deceleration of the car. Such a control mode is consistent with the driver's recognition characteristics, and can be expected to provide a sense of security regarding the inter-vehicle distance with higher reliability.

  On the other hand, the inter-vehicle distance control device 10 of the present embodiment further includes a road condition determination device 15 for determining a road condition. The road situation determination device 15 also includes a camera and an image processing device, for example. The acceleration / deceleration control apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment controls the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle in consideration of the road condition determined by the road condition determination apparatus 15.

  The road condition discriminating apparatus 15 according to the present embodiment discriminates whether or not the road condition is in a tunnel. Then, in the acceleration / deceleration control device 10 of the present embodiment, when the road condition determined by the road condition determination device 15 is in the tunnel, the road condition determined by the road condition determination device 15 is not in the tunnel. Compared to the case, the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle becomes relatively large.

  According to the knowledge of the present inventors, the inter-vehicle distance felt by humans feels shorter than the actual inter-vehicle distance when the road condition is in a tunnel. In other words, compared to the case where the road condition is not in the tunnel, when the road condition is in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance at which driving can be continued while the driver feels safe is relatively It is that it is big.

  Such a phenomenon will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A shows a state in which a certain driver recognizes that the distance between the vehicles is safe when the vehicle is traveling with a certain distance from the preceding vehicle in a road condition that is not in the tunnel. FIG. 4B recognizes that the same inter-vehicle distance is safe when the same driver is traveling with a certain inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in the tunnel. This is an example of the state. As is obvious from a comparison between FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the driver is safer when the road condition is in the tunnel than in the case where the road condition is not in the tunnel. The inter-vehicle distance that allows driving to continue while feeling a sense of security is relatively large.

  For each type of road condition (inside and outside the tunnel), many drivers were asked to conduct a driving experiment with a certain distance between vehicles while maintaining the recognition that it was safe. FIG. 5 is a graph showing a result of collecting data relating to the inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the vehicle speed if the distance is constant. As shown in FIG. 5, at each speed, when the road condition is not in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling secure that the driver is safe when the road condition is in the tunnel. Is relatively large.

  Then, the acceleration / deceleration control device 14 according to the present embodiment selects the preceding vehicle when the speed of the preceding vehicle is equal to or lower than the set speed of the own vehicle (in a state where the speed of the preceding vehicle exceeds the set speed of the own vehicle). The vehicle is switched to a traveling state without chasing and no preceding vehicle (inter-vehicle distance control is not performed), and the vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle satisfies the graph of FIG. 5 while keeping the speed of the own vehicle following the speed of the preceding vehicle. It controls the acceleration / deceleration of the car. Such a control mode is consistent with the driver's recognition characteristics, and can be expected to provide a sense of security regarding the inter-vehicle distance with higher reliability.

  As the other functional configuration of the acceleration / deceleration control device 14, the functional configuration of the conventional ACC acceleration / deceleration control device can be used. As the vehicle speed measuring device 12, various known vehicle speed measuring devices can be used to measure the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or the vehicle speed of the own vehicle. Which measurement value is used depends on the request from the acceleration / deceleration control device 14 side. As the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13, various known inter-vehicle distance measuring devices including sensors such as a camera and a laser radar can be used.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment as described above, that is, an embodiment of the inter-vehicle distance control method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart showing the inter-vehicle distance control method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  When the execution of the ACC function is selected (STEP 01), the driver set vehicle speed Vset is set in various ways known in the art (STEP 02).

  Then, the preceding vehicle type discriminating device 11 of the present embodiment detects the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle, for example, every predetermined sampling time (STEP 03). Recognition (discrimination) of the preceding vehicle starts when the vehicle catches up with the preceding vehicle that was running far ahead in the same lane, or when the preceding vehicle that was running in a different lane has changed lanes The

  In STEP03, when there is no preceding vehicle, control unrelated to the inter-vehicle control of the present invention, specifically, constant speed control based on the driver set vehicle speed Vset is performed. Here, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the road condition is in the tunnel by the road condition determination device 15 (STEP 31).

  Then, the acceleration / deceleration control device 10 of the present embodiment corrects the target vehicle speed from the driver set vehicle speed Vset when the road condition determined by the road condition determination device 15 is in the tunnel (STEP 33). This is a control content that takes into account the phenomenon that the speed experienced by the driver is relatively high when the road condition is in the tunnel, compared to the case where the road condition is not in the tunnel, The driver can fully feel a sense of security even in the tunnel, and there is no need to consider the release of the ACC. On the other hand, if the road condition determined by the road condition determination device 15 is not within the tunnel, constant speed control is performed with the target vehicle speed set as the driver set vehicle speed Vset (STEP 32).

  If there is a preceding vehicle in STEP 03, the preceding vehicle type discriminating device 11 discriminates the type of the preceding vehicle (STEP 04). In the present embodiment, whether the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or a small vehicle, whether or not the road condition is in the tunnel is determined by the road condition determination device 15 (STEP 11 and STEP 12).

If the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle and the road condition is not in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance control is performed based on the correspondence relationship indicated by the broken lines in FIGS. 3 and 5 (STEP 12). That is, the vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle (measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13 is determined based on the preceding vehicle measured by the vehicle speed measuring device 12 or the vehicle speed of the own vehicle while the speed of the own vehicle follows the speed of the preceding vehicle. ) Is controlled so as to correspond to the broken line in FIGS. 3 and 5. The correspondence relationship of the broken lines in FIGS. 3 and 5 is expressed by a function y = 18.184e ^0.0169x , where the vehicle speed is x (km / h) and the target inter-vehicle distance is y (m).

On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle and the road condition is in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance control is performed based on the correspondence relationship of the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 (STEP 13). That is, the vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle (measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13 is determined based on the preceding vehicle measured by the vehicle speed measuring device 12 or the vehicle speed of the own vehicle while the speed of the own vehicle follows the speed of the preceding vehicle. ) Is controlled so that the relationship between the two-dot chain lines in FIG. The correspondence relationship between the two-dot chain lines in FIG. 5 is represented by a function y = 18.594e ^0.0222x , where the vehicle speed is x (km / h) and the target inter-vehicle distance is y (m).

Further, when the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle and the road condition is not in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance control is performed based on the correspondence relationship of the solid lines in FIGS. 3 and 5 (STEP 22). That is, the vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle (measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13 is determined based on the preceding vehicle measured by the vehicle speed measuring device 12 or the vehicle speed of the own vehicle while the speed of the own vehicle follows the speed of the preceding vehicle. ) Is controlled so that the corresponding relationship in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3 and 5 is represented by a function y = 10.415e ^0.0192x , where the vehicle speed is x (km / h) and the target inter-vehicle distance is y (m).

Finally, when the preceding vehicle is a small vehicle and the road condition is in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance control is performed based on the correspondence relationship of the one-dot chain line in FIG. 5 (STEP 23). That is, the vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle (measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device 13 is determined based on the preceding vehicle measured by the vehicle speed measuring device 12 or the vehicle speed of the own vehicle while the speed of the own vehicle follows the speed of the preceding vehicle. ) Is controlled so as to correspond to the one-dot chain line in FIG. The correspondence relationship of the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 5 is expressed by a function of y = 11.234e ^0.0222x , where the vehicle speed is x (km / h) and the target inter-vehicle distance is y (m).

  After each vehicle distance control (STEP12, STEP13, STEP22, STEP23) or each constant speed control (STEP32, STEP34), it returns to STEP03 through a confirmation step (STEP41) of whether or not ACC is continued. The steps after the determination of the presence / absence of a vehicle are repeated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle is controlled based on the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device 11, a sense of security that the driver is safe. The inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling can be provided with higher reliability.

  As described above, when the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving with a sense of security is relatively Big. The control mode of the present embodiment is consistent with such driver recognition characteristics, and can give the driver a sense of security with higher reliability.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the acceleration / deceleration of the own vehicle is controlled based on the road condition determined by the road condition determination device 15, the driving is continued while feeling a sense of security that the driver is safe. The possible inter-vehicle distance can be provided with higher reliability.

  As mentioned above, when the road condition is not in the tunnel, when the road condition is in the tunnel, the inter-vehicle distance that allows the driver to continue driving while feeling secure that the driver is safe is Relatively large. The control mode of the present embodiment is consistent with such driver recognition characteristics, and can give the driver a sense of security with higher reliability.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Inter-vehicle distance control apparatus 11 Leading vehicle type discrimination device 12 Vehicle speed measurement device 13 Inter-vehicle distance measurement device 14 Acceleration / deceleration control device 15 Road condition discrimination device

Claims (6)

A preceding vehicle type discriminating device for discriminating the type of the preceding vehicle;
A vehicle speed measuring device for measuring the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or own vehicle;
An inter-vehicle distance measuring device for measuring the current inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle;
A road condition discriminating device for discriminating road conditions;
The type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device, the vehicle speed measured by the vehicle speed measuring device, the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring device, and the road determined by the road condition determining device An acceleration / deceleration control device for controlling acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle based on the situation ,
An inter-vehicle distance control device comprising: The preceding vehicle type determination device is configured to determine whether the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or a small vehicle,
In the acceleration / deceleration control device, the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device is a large vehicle, the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device is a small vehicle, and 2. The inter-vehicle distance control device according to claim 1, wherein the inter-vehicle distance is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle is relatively large. The road situation determination device is adapted to determine whether the road situation is in a tunnel,
In the acceleration / deceleration control device, when the road condition determined by the road condition determination device is in the tunnel, the road condition determined by the road condition determination device is compared with the case where the road condition is not in the tunnel. The inter-vehicle distance control device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the vehicle becomes relatively large. A preceding vehicle type determining step for determining the type of the preceding vehicle;
A vehicle speed measurement process for measuring the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle or own vehicle;
An inter-vehicle distance measuring process for measuring the current inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle;
A road condition determination step for determining a road condition;
The type of the preceding vehicle determined in the preceding vehicle type determining step, the vehicle speed measured in the vehicle speed measuring step, the inter-vehicle distance measured in the inter-vehicle distance measuring step, and the road determined in the road condition determining step An acceleration / deceleration control step for controlling acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle based on the situation ,
An inter-vehicle distance control method comprising: In the preceding vehicle type determination step, it is determined whether the preceding vehicle is a large vehicle or a small vehicle,
In the acceleration / deceleration control step, when the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device is a large vehicle, or when the type of the preceding vehicle determined by the preceding vehicle type determining device is a small vehicle 5. The inter-vehicle distance control method according to claim 4 , wherein the acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle is relatively large. In the road situation determination step, it is determined whether the road situation is in a tunnel,
In the acceleration / deceleration control step, when the road condition determined by the road condition determination device is in a tunnel, compared to the case where the road condition determined by the road condition determination device is not in a tunnel, 6. The inter-vehicle distance control method according to claim 4 , wherein acceleration / deceleration of the host vehicle is controlled so that the inter-vehicle distance with respect to the preceding vehicle is relatively large.

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