JPH10320691A - Automatic traveling vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the automatic traveling vehicle to smoothly enter a trunk road at the junction of the trunk road and a branch road by deciding the position relation between the vehicle and the junction part of the roads and varying at least one of the travel speed and vehicle-to-vehicle distance of the vehicle. SOLUTION: It is decided which of the trunk and branch roads the vehicle is traveling on through a vehicle communication carried out between a leakage coaxial cable L and a vehicle communication device C2 . When the vehicle is in a junction section, data on the positions and speeds of other vehicles on the trunk road are obtained from data on other vehicles obtained by the vehicle communication. Then the entering time when the vehicle reaches the junction part is estimated on the basis of the position and speed of the vehicle and which positions on the trunk roads other vehicles will be at the entering time is estimated on the basis of the positions and speeds of the vehicles on the trunk road. When the distance to the specific vehicle at the head at the position closest to the junction part is larger than the specific value, the vehicle will enter the trunk road before the specific vehicle. When the distance is not more the specific value, the vehicle will travels after the specific vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle based on information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication with information transmitting means provided around a road and information obtained by inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle. The present invention relates to an automatic traveling vehicle provided with traveling control means for automatically traveling the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such an automatic traveling vehicle has already been proposed by the present applicant (see Japanese Patent Application No. 7-283973).

[0003]

When an automatic traveling vehicle traveling on a main line and an automatic traveling vehicle traveling on a branch line merge at a junction of a road, the traveling state of the vehicle on the main line and the traveling state of the vehicle on the branch line are reduced. Since both traveling states affect the merging timing, smooth merging cannot be achieved unless the traveling states of both vehicles are controlled in cooperation with each other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to smoothly merge an automatic traveling vehicle at a junction of a main line and a branch line.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 provides information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication with information transmitting means provided around a road and other vehicles. An automatic traveling vehicle equipped with traveling control means for automatically traveling the own vehicle based on information obtained by the inter-vehicle communication between the vehicle and the vehicle, and whether the own vehicle is traveling on the main line just before the junction of the road Driving road determining means for determining whether the vehicle is traveling on a branch line, wherein the driving control means changes at least one of the running speed and the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle based on the determination result of the running road determining means. It is characterized by.

According to the above configuration, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling on a main line or a branch line before the junction of the road, and at least one of the traveling speed and the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle is changed. Therefore, merging from the branch line to the main line can be performed smoothly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the traveling road determination means determines that the own vehicle is traveling on the main line, the travel control means includes It is characterized in that the traveling speed is fixed.

According to the above configuration, since the traveling speed of the vehicle traveling on the main line is fixed, the speed control when the vehicle traveling on the branch line joins the main line becomes easy.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the traveling road determination means determines that the own vehicle is traveling on the main line, the travel control means includes It is characterized by increasing the distance between vehicles.

[0010] According to the above configuration, the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle traveling on the main line increases before the junction, so that the vehicle traveling on the branch line can join the main line with a margin.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the traveling road determination means determines that the own vehicle is traveling on a branch line, the travel control means includes a main line. Based on information obtained by inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle or a group of other vehicles running on the vehicle, the distance from the other vehicle to the junction or the possibility of interference with the own vehicle at the junction. Calculate the distance from a specific other vehicle in the group of vehicles to the junction, and if the distance is less than a predetermined value, drive the own vehicle to merge the other vehicle or the rear of the specific other vehicle. It is characterized by controlling the speed.

According to the above configuration, if another vehicle or another specific vehicle in the vehicle group traveling on the main line is located at a position close to the junction, the own vehicle traveling on the branch line will not travel on the main line. Since the vehicle merges behind the specific other vehicle, the vehicle can smoothly merge while minimizing the influence on the other vehicle running on the main line or the specific other vehicle.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, when the traveling road determination means determines that the own vehicle is traveling on a branch line, the travel control means includes a main line. Based on information obtained by inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle or a group of other vehicles running on the vehicle, the distance from the other vehicle to the junction or the possibility of interference with the own vehicle at the junction. Calculate the distance from the specific other vehicle in the vehicle group to the junction, and when the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the traveling speed of the own vehicle so as to merge the own vehicle in front of the other vehicle or the specific other vehicle. Is controlled.

According to the above configuration, if another vehicle or another specific vehicle in the vehicle group traveling on the main line is located at a position far from the junction, the own vehicle traveling on the branch line can be replaced by the other vehicle or the other vehicle traveling on the main line. Since the vehicle merges in front of a specific other vehicle, the vehicle traveling on the branch line can merge in a short time without performing unnecessary deceleration.

It is to be noted that the predetermined value in the invention described in claims 4 and 5 means that when the own vehicle traveling on the branch line reaches the junction, another vehicle traveling on the main line or a specific other vehicle is moved from the junction. If the distance is less than the predetermined value, the own vehicle may interfere with the other vehicle or the specific other vehicle at the time of merging, and if the distance is equal to or more than the predetermined value, the own vehicle may be the other vehicle or The distance is such that there is no possibility of interference with a specific other vehicle.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic traveling vehicle, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of merging, and FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the operation at the time of merging, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation at the time of branching.

The vehicle V shown in FIG. 1 is used independently on an automatic driving road in which magnetic nails N are embedded along the center of the lane and a leaky coaxial cable L is provided along the side of the lane. The vehicle is an automatic traveling vehicle that travels or automatically travels in a vehicle group in which a plurality of vehicles maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance are connected. In order to perform the automatic traveling, the vehicle V includes a communication control unit M1, a traveling control unit M2, a steering control unit M3,
An electronic control unit U including a vehicle speed control means M4 is provided.

The communication control means M1 includes an inter-vehicle communication device C _1.
Performed by the inter-vehicle communication, and road-to-vehicle communication by the leaky coaxial cable L and the road-vehicle communication device C _2, the magnetic nails N ... detection by the magnetic nail sensor S _1. Data such as the position, vehicle speed, longitudinal acceleration, etc. of the vehicle V is exchanged by inter-vehicle communication, and speed command information, road curvature information, traffic congestion information, emergency messages, etc. are received by road-to-vehicle communication. Accordingly, it can be determined whether the vehicle is currently running on the main line of the automatic driving road or on a branch line. The communication control means M1 constitutes a traveling road determination means in the present invention.

The traveling control means M2 is provided to allow a single vehicle or the first vehicle in the vehicle group to perform automatic traveling, to cause the second and subsequent vehicles in the vehicle group to perform automatic traveling (following traveling), A travel control plan is created to automatically perform the merging and branching between the main line and the branch line, and the target traveling state of the own vehicle determined based on the travel control plan and the magnetic nail sensor S
The lateral position deviation and the longitudinal position deviation of the own vehicle are calculated by comparing the actual traveling state detected in step ₁ with the actual traveling state.

The steering control means M3 is provided with a travel control meter means M2.
A steering angle instruction signal is output on the basis of the lateral deviation calculated in step ( ₁₎ to control the steering actuator A1. Automatic travel along the magnetic nails N ... is performed by the control of the steering actuator A _1.

The vehicle speed control means M4 outputs an instruction signal of the vehicle speed based on the longitudinal direction deviation calculated in the travel control unit M2, controls the throttle actuator A ₂ or the brake actuator A _3. These two actuators A
The control of _2, A _3, are driven throttle or brake automatically accelerate or decelerate the vehicle V, automatic traveling is performed conforming to the travel control plan.

Next, the operation when the vehicle merges between the main line and the branch line will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0024] First, determine whether the vehicle in step S1 is traveling on the main lane, whether the vehicle is traveling on a branch, the road-vehicle communication between the leakage coaxial cable L and the road-vehicle communication device C ₂ I do. When the vehicle is on a branch line, in step S2, it is determined whether the vehicle is in a merging section near the merging section.
The determination is made based on the data of the own vehicle position obtained by the road-vehicle communication. When the own vehicle is in the merging section, it is determined in step S3 whether or not another vehicle exists in the merging section on the main line side based on the data of the other vehicle obtained by the road-vehicle communication. As a result, if there is no other vehicle in the merging section on the main line side, there is no possibility of interference with other vehicles at the time of merging.
Then the car will enter the main line as it is. On the other hand, if there is another vehicle in the merging section on the main line side in step S3, in step S4, data exchange is performed between the vehicles running alone or in a group of vehicles on the main line by inter-vehicle communication. , Thereby obtaining data on the position and speed of the vehicle on the main line.

Since there is a slight error in the vehicle position data obtained by the road-vehicle communication, the position correction means is provided a predetermined distance before the merging portion, so that the vehicle position data obtained by the road-vehicle communication can be obtained. Is corrected to detect an accurate position of the own vehicle. Since the own vehicle position is corrected for both the vehicle on the main line and the vehicle on the branch line, the position data of the other vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication is also accurate. The position correction is performed by imaging a mark such as a bar code drawn on the road surface with a CCD camera, detecting a magnetic mark embedded in the road surface with a magnetic sensor, and transmitting means provided near the road. It can be performed by performing communication between them.

Next, in step S5, when the own vehicle on the branch line merges with another vehicle on the main line at the junction, a specific other vehicle that may interfere with the own vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a specific vehicle).
To determine. That is, based on the position of the own vehicle and the vehicle speed, the own vehicle estimates the merging time at which the vehicle reaches the merging portion, and based on the position and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle on the main line, at which position on the main line the other vehicle Estimate if it exists. Then, among the plurality of other vehicles located at a position before the merging portion at the merging time, the leading other vehicle closest to the merging portion is determined as the specific vehicle (see FIG. 3).

The specific vehicle on the main line determined in this way is a vehicle that runs alone without forming a vehicle group, or one of a plurality of vehicles that form a vehicle group. There are cases. Then, the own vehicle on the branch line joins the front side or the rear side of the specific vehicle according to the position of the specific vehicle. To further explain this, at the time when the own vehicle reaches the junction, it is estimated how much the specific vehicle is located at the near side from the junction.
If the distance between the junction and the specific vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value,
It is determined that there is no possibility that the own vehicle will interfere with the specific vehicle, and the vehicle joins the front side of the specific vehicle (see FIG. 4A). Thus, the vehicle can join the main line in a short time without performing unnecessary deceleration. If the distance is less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the own vehicle may interfere with the specific vehicle, and the vehicle joins the rear side of the specific vehicle (see FIG. 4B). As a result, the own vehicle can smoothly join the main line without interfering with other vehicles.

If it is determined in step S6 that the position where the vehicle joins is in the vehicle group, the vehicle is fixed or accelerated / decelerated in step S7, and enters the main line in step S11. If the position where the own vehicle joins in step S8 is the front side of the vehicle traveling alone or the leading vehicle of the vehicle group, the speed of the own vehicle is fixed or accelerated in step S9.
If the position where the own vehicle joins in step 8 is behind the vehicle running alone or the trailing vehicle in the group of vehicles, the speed of the own vehicle is fixed or decelerated in step S10, and the vehicle enters the main line in step S11.

On the other hand, if the vehicle is traveling on the main line in step S1, it is determined in step S12 whether or not the vehicle is in the merging section of the main line. In step S13, it is determined whether or not another vehicle is present in the merging section of the branch line. As a result, if another vehicle exists in the branch line merging section, in step S14, data exchange is performed with the vehicle traveling on the branch line by inter-vehicle communication,
Thereby, data on the position and the speed of the vehicle on the branch line is obtained.

Next, in step S15, it is determined whether or not a vehicle that joins immediately before the own vehicle is present on the branch line at the junction. If such a vehicle exists, the vehicle joins the main line. In step S16, the own vehicle is decelerated to increase the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle so as to be easy. Note that if the own vehicle is a single vehicle or a leading vehicle of a vehicle group and the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle is sufficiently ensured, the inter-vehicle distance is not necessarily increased. Thereafter, in step S17, the vehicle speed of the own vehicle traveling on the main line is fixed so as not to affect the vehicle speed control of the vehicle traveling on the branch line.

Next, in step S18, it is determined whether or not another vehicle on the branch line can join ahead of the own vehicle on the main line.
The increase in the inter-vehicle distance and the fixation of the vehicle speed of the own vehicle make it possible in principle to join, but if the join is impossible, step S
At 19, the own vehicle is decelerated so that other vehicles can join.

Next, control for branching a branch line from the main line will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the vehicle is traveling automatically on the main line,
First the road-vehicle communication between the leakage coaxial cable L and the road-vehicle communication device C ₂ in step S21, determines whether the front of the branching portion of the vehicle is present. When the branch exists, if the driver issues a branch command by, for example, a switch operation in step S22, the magnetic nail N of a branch branching from the branch is detected in step S23, or a signal from the leaky coaxial cable L is detected. , Vehicle speed control and steering control for entering the branch line are executed in step S24.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling on a main line or a branch line before the junction of the road. The traveling control unit changes at least one of the traveling speed and the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle based on the determination result of the traveling road determination unit. Can be smoothly merged.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
When the traveling road determination unit determines that the vehicle is traveling on the main line, the traveling control unit fixes the traveling speed, so that speed control when a vehicle traveling on a branch line joins the main line is easy. become.

According to the invention described in claim 3,
When the traveling road determination unit determines that the own vehicle is traveling on the main line, the traveling control unit increases the inter-vehicle distance, so that the vehicle traveling on the branch line may join the main line with a margin. It becomes possible.

According to the invention described in claim 4,
When it is determined that the own vehicle is traveling on a branch line by the traveling road determination unit, the traveling control unit uses information obtained by inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle or a group of other vehicles traveling on the main line. Based on the calculated distance, the distance from the other vehicle to the junction, or the distance from a specific other vehicle in the group of other vehicles that may interfere with the own vehicle at the junction, to the junction is calculated. If the value is less than the value, the traveling speed of the own vehicle is controlled so that the own vehicle joins behind the other vehicle or the specific other vehicle. Smooth merging can be performed while minimizing.

According to the invention described in claim 5,
When it is determined that the own vehicle is traveling on a branch line by the traveling road determination unit, the traveling control unit uses information obtained by inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle or a group of other vehicles traveling on the main line. Based on the calculated distance, the distance from the other vehicle to the junction, or the distance from a specific other vehicle in the group of other vehicles that may interfere with the own vehicle at the junction, to the junction is calculated. If the value is greater than or equal to the value, the running speed of the own vehicle is controlled so that the own vehicle merges with the other vehicle or the specific other vehicle, so that the own vehicle traveling on the branch line can be merged in a short time without performing unnecessary deceleration. It can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic traveling vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation at the time of merging;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a method for determining a specific vehicle.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operation at the time of merging.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of branching;

[Explanation of symbols]

 L Leaky coaxial cable (information transmission means) M1 communication control means (traveling road determination means) M2 travel control means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on front page (72) Inventor Kazuya Tamura 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. Automatic traveling of an own vehicle based on information obtained by road-to-vehicle communication with an information transmitting means (L) provided around a road and information obtained by inter-vehicle communication with another vehicle. A traveling road determining means (M2) for determining whether the vehicle is traveling on a main line in front of a junction of roads or on a branch line.
1) wherein the traveling control means (M2) changes at least one of the traveling speed and the inter-vehicle distance of the own vehicle based on the determination result of the traveling road determination means (M1). vehicle. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the traveling control unit fixes the traveling speed when the traveling road determination unit (M1) determines that the vehicle is traveling on a main line. The self-driving vehicle as described. 3. The travel control means (M2) increases the inter-vehicle distance when the travel road determination means (M1) determines that the vehicle is traveling on a main line. Item 6. The automatic traveling vehicle according to Item 1. 4. When the traveling road determination means (M1) determines that the vehicle is traveling on a branch line, the traveling control means (M2) determines whether or not another vehicle or another group of vehicles traveling on the main line. Based on the information obtained by the inter-vehicle communication between the vehicle and the distance from the other vehicle to the junction, or from another specific vehicle in a group of other vehicles that may interfere with the own vehicle at the junction. Calculating a distance to the vehicle, and when the distance is less than a predetermined value, controlling a traveling speed of the vehicle to join the vehicle behind the other vehicle or the specific other vehicle. 2. The automatic traveling vehicle according to 1. 5. When the traveling road determination means (M1) determines that the own vehicle is traveling on a branch line, the traveling control means (M2) determines whether or not another vehicle or another group of vehicles traveling on the main line. Based on the information obtained by the inter-vehicle communication between the vehicle and the distance from the other vehicle to the junction, or from another specific vehicle in a group of other vehicles that may interfere with the own vehicle at the junction. Calculating a distance to the vehicle, and when the distance is equal to or more than a predetermined value, controlling a traveling speed of the vehicle to join the vehicle in front of the other vehicle or a specific other vehicle. The self-driving vehicle according to 1.