JP2017207880A - Support device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain compatibility between vehicle speed control and traffic signal passage support.SOLUTION: A support device (100) comprises: determination means (10) that determines whether a subject vehicle (1) can pass a next traffic light (51) nearest thereto in a travel road of the subject vehicle; and vehicle speed control means (20) that performs such vehicle speed control as to approximate a vehicle speed of the subject vehicle to a set vehicle speed. The support device includes control means (22) that suspends the vehicle speed control or decelerates the subject vehicle if the determination means determines that the subject vehicle cannot pass the next traffic light during performance of the vehicle speed control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to the technical field of support devices.

  As this type of device, for example, an image in front of the vehicle is captured, a traffic signal present in the captured image is detected, and the display signal of the traffic signal is driven when the vehicle and the traffic signal reach a predetermined distance. A device has been proposed that informs a person and decelerates the vehicle when the signal is red (see Patent Document 1).

JP-A-3-201100

  Incidentally, vehicle speed control (for example, cruise control) that automatically maintains the vehicle speed at a set speed is known. In the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, cooperation with vehicle speed control is not considered, and there is room for improvement.

  This invention is made in view of the said fact, and makes it a subject to provide the assistance apparatus which can make vehicle speed control compatible with the signal passage assistance which alert | reports a driver | operator whether the passage of a traffic light is possible.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the support device according to the present invention makes a determination means for determining whether or not the host vehicle can pass the next traffic light on the traveling path of the host vehicle, and brings the vehicle speed of the host vehicle close to a set vehicle speed. Vehicle speed control means for performing vehicle speed control, and when the vehicle is determined to be unable to pass the next traffic light by the determination means during execution of the vehicle speed control, the vehicle speed control means Control means for stopping the control or decelerating the host vehicle is provided.

  If the execution of the vehicle speed control is maintained regardless of whether or not the next traffic light can pass, for example, the speed of the host vehicle is maintained due to the vehicle speed control even though the light color of the next traffic light is red. For example, the driver may feel uncomfortable.

  In the present invention, when it is determined by the determining means that the own vehicle cannot pass the next traffic signal during the vehicle speed control (that is, when the own vehicle reaches the intersection where the next traffic signal is installed, When it is determined that the lamp color is red or yellow), the vehicle speed control is stopped by the control means, or the host vehicle is decelerated. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the condition where a driver | operator feels uncomfortable can be suppressed. Therefore, according to the support device of the present invention, it is possible to achieve both vehicle speed control and signal passing support.

  The “next traffic light” means a traffic light that is considered to be the earliest encounter of the host vehicle on the travel path, in other words, a traffic signal that is closest to the host vehicle on the travel path. The deceleration of the host vehicle by the control means is a concept that includes not only deceleration due to operation of the braking device but also so-called engine braking.

  The effect | action and other gain of this invention are clarified from the form for implementing demonstrated below.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the support switching process which concerns on embodiment. It is a time chart which shows the relationship between ON / OFF of cruise control and the signal passability. It is a flowchart which shows the assistance switching process which concerns on the modification of embodiment.

  An embodiment according to the support device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

(Vehicle configuration)
The configuration of the vehicle according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle according to the embodiment.

  As shown to Fig.1 (a), the vehicle 1 is comprised so that the signal information transmitted from the information transmission means 52 (for example, radio | wireless apparatus, a beacon, etc.) provided in the signal apparatus 51 is receivable. That is, the vehicle 1 is configured to be capable of road-to-vehicle communication.

  The traffic signal information means information related to the traffic signal 51. Specifically, for example, the traffic signal information includes at least one of a start timing and an end timing of a period in which the lamp color of the traffic signal 51 is blue.

  Here, the “time” may be a time, or may be a time from a certain point in time (for example, when signal information is transmitted). That is, the “start time” may be the start time of a period in which the lamp color is blue, or may be the time from a certain point in time to the start point of the period in which the lamp color is blue. The “end time” may be an end time of a period in which the light color is blue, or may be a time from a certain time point to an end time of the period in which the light color is blue.

  2B, the vehicle 1 includes a support device 100, a vehicle speed sensor 31, a display 32, a vehicle speed setting device 33, a brake pedal 34, and a powertrain ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 35. Yes.

  The support device 100 includes a signal passage permission support device 10 and a driving support device 20. The signal passage support device 10 constitutes at least a part of a signal passage support system. The driving support device 20 constitutes at least a part of an adaptive cruise control (ACC) system.

  In addition, since the existing technology can be applied to the basic configuration of the signal passing support system and the adaptive cruise control system, the detailed description thereof is omitted. Only the components shown in FIG. 1 will be described below.

  The signal passage availability support apparatus 10 includes a signal information receiver 11, a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna 12, a signal guidance necessity calculation unit 13, and a signal passage availability calculation unit 14.

  The signal information receiver 11 is configured to be able to receive signal information transmitted from the information transmission means 52. The signal guidance necessity calculation unit 13 estimates the driving behavior of the driver of the vehicle 1 from the vehicle speed based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor 31 and the signal guidance necessity state, and determines whether the signal guidance is necessary.

  The signal guidance necessity state is determined according to the state of an operation member (for example, a switch) that can be operated by the driver. Specifically, when the switch as the operation member is ON, the signal guidance state is “necessary state”, and when the switch is OFF, the signal guidance state is “unnecessary state”.

  When the signal guidance necessity calculator 13 determines that the signal guidance is required, the signal passage availability calculator 14 calculates whether the signal can pass. Specifically, the signal passage availability calculating unit 14 indicates the vehicle speed based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor 31, the traffic signal information received by the signal information receiver 11, and the current position of the vehicle 1 based on the output of the GPS antenna 12. Based on the information, it is calculated whether or not the vehicle 1 can pass through the traffic light 51 within a period when the light color of the traffic light 51 is blue. The calculation of whether or not a signal can pass is described in detail in, for example, International Publication No. 2011/101954.

  The signal passability calculation unit 14 displays information indicating the calculation result on the display 32. When the calculation result can pass the signal, the display 32 displays, for example, a character or an image indicating that the signal can pass through the traffic light 51 and a character or an image indicating the recommended vehicle speed. On the other hand, when the calculation result indicates that the signal cannot pass, a character or an image indicating that the signal cannot pass through the traffic light 51 is displayed on the display 32, for example, “the signal will soon turn red”.

  The driving support device 20 includes a vehicle speed controller 21 and a control determination unit 22. When the cruise control is ON, the vehicle speed controller 21 compares the vehicle speed based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor 31 (that is, the actual vehicle speed) with the set vehicle speed set in the vehicle speed setter 33 by the driver. The vehicle speed controller 21 calculates a driving force that maintains the set vehicle speed based on the comparison result. The cruise control is turned on when a predetermined operation is performed by the driver.

  When the cruise control is ON, the control determination unit 22 outputs the output from the vehicle speed controller 21 (that is, a signal indicating the calculated driving force) to the power train ECU 35 in principle. As a result, the output of the drive source such as the engine is adjusted by the power train ECU 35. However, when the cruise control is ON and the brake pedal 34 is depressed, the control determination unit 22 turns the cruise control OFF (that is, the cruise control is canceled).

(Cooperative control)
When the signal passing permission support device 10 and the driving support device 20 coexist, the adjustment of both becomes a problem. If no measures are taken, the vehicle 1 is set at a set speed due to the driving support device 20 (i.e., cruise control) even though the calculation result by the signal passability support device 10 is that the signal cannot be passed. Accelerate towards the current speed, or maintain the current vehicle speed. That is, the cruise control is maintained until the driver recognizes the change in the light color of the traffic light 51 and the light color is red and depresses the brake pedal 34, for example.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the calculation result by the signal passability calculation unit 14 of the signal passability support device 10 is output to the control determination unit 22 of the driving support device 20. And the control determination part 22 maintains the ON state of cruise control, when the calculation result which shows a signal passage is input when cruise control is ON. On the other hand, when the cruise control is ON, the control determination unit 22 turns the cruise control OFF when a calculation result indicating that a signal cannot pass is input.

  When the cruise control is on, the driver often does not step on an accelerator pedal (not shown). Therefore, when the cruise control is turned off, a so-called accelerator off state is established and the vehicle 1 decelerates.

  Here, the support switching process performed by the control determination unit 22 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The support switching process is repeatedly performed regularly or irregularly when the vehicle 1 is traveling.

  In FIG. 2, the control determination unit 22 determines whether or not the cruise control is ON (step S101). In this determination, when it is determined that the cruise control is not ON (that is, OFF) (step S101: No), the control determination unit 22 once ends the process, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process of step S101 is performed again. To implement.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S101 that the cruise control is ON (step S101: Yes), the control determination unit 22 determines whether or not the calculation result by the signal passage allowance calculation unit 14 has been acquired. (Step S102). In this determination, when it is determined that the calculation result is not acquired (step S102: No), the control determination unit 22 maintains the cruise control ON state (step S105).

  On the other hand, in the determination of step S102, when it is determined that the calculation result has been acquired (step S102: Yes), the control determination unit 22 indicates that the calculation result indicates that the signal cannot pass (corresponding to “red signal intersection approach”). It is determined whether or not (step S103). In this determination, when it is determined that the signal cannot be passed (that is, the signal can be passed) (step S103: No), the control determination unit 22 maintains the cruise control ON state (step S105). For example, at time t <b> 1 in FIG. 3, since the calculation result by the signal passage permission / inhibition calculation unit 14 indicates that the signal can be passed, the control determination unit 22 maintains the cruise control ON state.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that the signal cannot be passed (step S103: Yes), the control determination unit 22 turns off cruise control (step S104). For example, at time t <b> 2 in FIG. 3, the calculation result by the signal passage permission / inhibition calculation unit 14 indicates that signal passage is not possible, so the control determination unit 22 turns cruise control OFF.

  In parallel with the process shown in FIG. 2, a process for determining whether or not to turn off cruise control due to the operation of the brake pedal 34 (so-called override) is performed (not shown).

(Technical effect)
As described above, in the support device 100 according to the embodiment, the control determination unit 22 determines ON / OFF of the cruise control based on the calculation result by the signal passage propriety calculation unit 14. That is, according to the support device 100, it is possible to achieve both vehicle speed control and signal passing support.

  As a result, in the vehicle 1 equipped with the support device 100, the vehicle 1 is accelerated toward the set speed or the current vehicle speed is maintained due to the cruise control even though the signal cannot be passed. Never do. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of the condition where a driver | operator feels uncomfortable can be suppressed.

  The “signal passage permission support device 10”, “driving support device 20”, “control determination unit 22”, and “signal device 51” according to the embodiment are respectively referred to as “determination unit”, “vehicle speed control unit”, It is an example of "control means" and "next traffic light".

<Modification>
Next, a modification of the support device 100 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined in step S103 that the signal cannot be passed (step S103: Yes), the control determination unit 22 turns cruise control OFF (see FIG. 2).

  In the modification, when it is determined in step S103 that the signal cannot be passed (step S103: Yes), the control determination unit 22 indicates deceleration of the vehicle 1 instead of turning off the cruise control. A signal is output to the power train ECU 35 (step S201). As a result, the power train ECU 35 adjusts the output of the driving source such as the engine and operates the braking device.

  When the vehicle 1 is provided with a front monitoring system such as a camera or a radar device that images the front of the vehicle 1, for example, the vehicle 1 is stopped at the stop line in the process of step S201 (preceding). The vehicle 1 may be controlled to stop at a position away from the preceding vehicle by a predetermined distance (when there is no vehicle).

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification. Moreover, it is included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle, 10 ... Signal passage availability support apparatus, 11 ... Signal information receiver, 12 ... GPS antenna, 13 ... Signal guidance necessity calculation part, 14 ... Signal passage availability calculation part, 20 ... Driving assistance apparatus, 21 ... Vehicle speed Control unit 22 ... Control determination unit 31 ... Vehicle speed sensor 32 ... Display 33 ... Vehicle speed setting device 34 ... Brake pedal 35 ... Powertrain ECU 51 ... Signal device 52 ... Information transmission means

Claims (1)

An assisting device comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not the host vehicle can pass a next traffic light on a travel path of the host vehicle; and a vehicle speed control unit that performs a vehicle speed control that brings the vehicle speed of the host vehicle closer to a set vehicle speed. There,
Control means for stopping the vehicle speed control or decelerating the host vehicle when the host vehicle determines that the host vehicle cannot pass the next traffic light during the vehicle speed control. A support device.

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