JP6257989B2 - Driving assistance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support apparatus for a vehicle.

  Detects the relative distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and the other vehicle, calculates the collision risk when the host vehicle changes lanes based on the relative distance and relative speed, and calculates the risk of collision with the other vehicle based on the relative distance and relative speed. If the target space to change lanes is determined and it is determined that there is a space in the target space where the lane can be changed, the target speed is determined toward the lane changeable position and the throttle is adjusted so that the speed of the host vehicle becomes the target speed. A travel support device that controls a control device and a brake control device is disclosed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-78735 A

  However, since the above-described travel support device automatically controls the throttle and the brake when changing the lane, it is recommended to change the lane when the driver of the own vehicle changes the lane to a predetermined position. There was a problem that it was impossible to grasp the speed.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a driving support device capable of grasping the recommended speed for changing the lane when the driver changes the lane.

  The present invention calculates the lane changeable region of the own vehicle based on the vehicle speed of the own vehicle and the state of the other vehicle, and the own vehicle enters the lane changeable region based on the vehicle speed of the own vehicle and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle. The above-mentioned problem is solved by calculating the recommended speed of the host vehicle at the time and displaying the lane changeable area and the recommended speed on the display means.

  In the present invention, when the lane change is performed, the target position of the lane change and the target speed when changing the lane to the position are displayed on the display means. By checking the screen, it is possible to easily grasp the recommended speed when changing lanes.

It is a block diagram of the driving assistance device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the vehicle for demonstrating the installation position of the camera of FIG. 1, and a monitor. It is a block diagram of the driving assistance device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the monitor of FIG. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the monitor of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the display screen of the monitor of FIG. It is a display screen of the monitor of FIG. 1, (a) is a near image, (b) is a figure which shows a speedometer. It is a figure which shows a neighborhood image among the display screens of the monitor of FIG. It is a figure which shows a neighborhood image among the display screens of the monitor of FIG. It is a figure which shows a neighborhood image among the display screens of the monitor of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure of the control apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the monitor of the driving assistance device which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<< First Embodiment >>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a driving support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the structure shown in FIG. 1 has shown the structure relevant to the driving assistance apparatus 100 among the structures of a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving assistance device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a control device 10, four cameras 1a to 1d fixed outside the host vehicle, a radar 2, a vehicle speed sensor 3, a steering angle sensor 4, a turn A signal switch 5, a monitor 6, and a navigation system 20 are provided. Each of these devices is connected by a CAN (Controller Area Network) or other in-vehicle LAN, and can exchange information with each other.

  The cameras 1a to 1d are in-vehicle cameras for imaging the vicinity of the host vehicle, and are respectively installed at different positions outside the vehicle, and respectively capture images in four directions around the vehicle. FIG. 2 shows an arrangement example of the cameras 1a to 1d. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a camera 1a installed at a predetermined position in front of the vehicle such as near the front grill picks up an image (front view image) of a predetermined imaging area in front of the vehicle. The camera 1b installed at a predetermined position on the left side of the vehicle such as the left side mirror captures an image (left side view image) of a predetermined imaging area on the left side of the vehicle. A camera installed at a predetermined position behind the vehicle, such as a roof spoiler, captures an image (rear view image) of a predetermined imaging area behind the vehicle. A camera 1d installed at a predetermined position on the right side of the vehicle such as a right side mirror captures an image (right side view image) of a predetermined imaging area on the right side of the vehicle. These four cameras 1a to 1d send captured images to the control device 10 at a predetermined cycle. The control apparatus 10 acquires captured images from the cameras 1a to 1d, respectively. The cameras 1a to 1d are composed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) camera. These cameras 1 a to 1 d take an image of the periphery of the vehicle at a predetermined cycle, and output the obtained captured image to the control device 10.

  The radar 2 is a device that transmits a millimeter wave radar or the like and measures a reflected signal of the transmitted radio wave, and is provided at a position where the radio wave can be transmitted to the outside of the vehicle. The radar 2 detects obstacles such as other vehicles that run around the host vehicle, power poles, walls, and the like by measuring reflected waves from structures arranged around the host vehicle. The radar 2 outputs a detection signal to the control device 10.

  The vehicle speed sensor 3 and the steering angle sensor 4 detect the behavior of the host vehicle. Specifically, the vehicle speed sensor 2 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The steering angle sensor 4 detects the steering angle of the vehicle's steering wheel. The turn signal switch 5 is a switch for operating the direction indicator by the operation of the driver.

  The detection of the vehicle speed and the detection of the steering angle by the vehicle speed sensor 3 and the steering angle sensor 4 are repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. The vehicle speed sensor 3 and the steering angle sensor 4 output a vehicle speed signal and a steering angle signal to the control device 10. Further, the turn signal switch 5 outputs a switch operation signal to the control device 10. The sensor that detects the behavior of the host vehicle is not limited to the vehicle speed sensor 3 and the like, and may be another sensor.

  The driving support device 100 of the present embodiment includes a monitor 6 that presents various information for supporting driving operations to the driver. The monitor 6 displays on the display screen images from the vicinity of the host vehicle to the distance. As shown in FIG. 2, the monitor 6 is provided on an instrument panel in front of the driver. The monitor 6 also serves as a tachometer and speedometer display. The display screen of the display 6 will be described later.

  The control device 10 functions as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 in which various programs are stored, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 as an operation circuit for executing the programs stored in the ROM 12, and an accessible storage device. A random access memory (RAM) 13.

  The navigation system 20 is a system that supports driving by measuring the current location of the vehicle, searching for a travel route to the destination, and displaying the route on the monitor 6. The navigation system 20 includes a database 21, a receiver 22, and a CPU 23. The database 21 is a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive, and stores map data and the like. The receiver 22 is an antenna for receiving satellites, an antenna for receiving road traffic information such as traffic jams and traffic restrictions, and the like. The CPU 23 is a controller that guides the route to the current location and destination of the vehicle by combining the map data recorded in the database 21 and the global position system by satellite communication using the receiver 22. Further, the CPU 23 notifies the traffic information received by the receiver 22 by displaying on the monitor 6 or the like. Control signals from the navigation system 20 are output to the monitor 6 and the control device 10.

  Next, control of the display screen displayed on the monitor 6 by the driving assistance apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. The control device 10 generates a display image and displays the generated image on the monitor 6 in order to display a captured image acquisition function, an image conversion function, an image generation function, a white line detection function, a map data acquisition function, It has a lane change support function and a display control function. The control device 10 can execute each function by cooperation of software for realizing the above functions and the hardware described above.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the driving support device 100. In FIG. 3, the structure for exhibiting the said function among the control apparatuses 10 is shown. 4 is a diagram for explaining a display screen of the monitor 6, and is an enlarged view of a portion of the monitor 6 in FIG. FIG. 5 shows an example of a display screen obtained by removing the speedometer from the display screen of the monitor 6 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 10 includes a neighborhood image control unit 110, a connection image generation unit 120, a distant image control unit 130, an image combination unit 140, a lane change control unit 150, and a speedometer control unit 160. ing. The neighborhood image control unit 110 detects the generated image while generating a neighborhood image indicating the neighborhood of the host vehicle based on the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d.

  Here, before describing each configuration shown in FIG. 3, a display screen generated by the driving support device 100 and displayed on the monitor 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The display screen generated by the driving support device 100 of the present example and displayed on the monitor 6 includes an image showing an external situation from the vicinity of the host vehicle to a distant place and an image showing a speedometer. The image indicating the external situation includes a near image 201, a connection image 202, and a far image 203.

  The neighborhood image 201 is a bird's-eye view image looking down at the host vehicle and its surroundings from a virtual viewpoint above the host vehicle, and displays the left and right surroundings of the host vehicle and the vicinity of the front and rear of the vehicle. In the neighborhood image 201, the distances ahead and behind the host vehicle A are set, for example, in the detection range of the radar 2, and are about several tens of meters.

  The far image 203 is an image showing a position farther from the vicinity of the host vehicle, and represents a position farther than a connection image 202 described later. The distant image 203 is an image generated from map data used in the navigation system, and shows a position of several hundred meters from the position of the own vehicle toward the traveling direction. While the neighborhood image 201 shows the surroundings of the host vehicle as an image, the distant image 202 shows a road shape such as an intersection (road alignment) and a target on the travel route (for example, a route change such as a right or left turn) The image shows the building that will serve as a landmark during the event.

  The connection image 202 is a virtual image that represents a distance from the position indicated by the neighborhood image 201 and a neighborhood from the position indicated by the distance image 203, and connects the neighborhood image 201 and the far image 203. The connection image 202 is for displaying the near image 201 and the far image in the plane on the display screen when the near image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 are displayed on the monitor 6. It is an image. The near image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 are each formed in a rectangle in plan view. However, when the side image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 are displayed on the monitor 6, each image is displayed as a single continuous image without a joint.

  As described above, the vicinity image 201 and the distant image 203 are different in the represented positions. Therefore, in order to display the vicinity image 201 and the distant image 203 on one screen, the vicinity image 201 and the distant image 203 are An image that is smoothly connected, in other words, connected as a continuous image is required. This image corresponds to the connection image 202. Then, on the display screen of the monitor 6, the neighborhood image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 are arranged in this order from the side closer to the driver.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lane displayed by the neighborhood image 201 and the lane in the front-rear direction (direction along the traveling direction of the host vehicle A) of the far-field image 203 indicate the same lane. This lane is located at the center of the display screen, and the width of the lane indicated by the neighborhood image 201 is wider than the width of the lane indicated by the distant image 203. The connection image 202 is a curved line such that the distance between the white line a and the white line b located on both sides of the lane gradually narrows in order to smoothly connect the lane of the near image 201 and the lane of the far image 203. The white lines a and b are drawn. Also, the center line of the driving lane of two lanes (dotted line c in FIG. 5), the center line of the driving lane opposite to the own vehicle A (dotted line d in FIG. 5), and the driving lane on the opposite side of the driving lane of the own vehicle A Similarly, the boundary line (dotted line e in FIG. 5) is also drawn with a curve.

  Further, with respect to the shapes of the curves a to e, the inclination at the contact point of each curve increases as the distance from the neighboring image 201 increases, the amount of increase in the inclination gradually decreases, and the inclination is a point near the center of the curve. Thus, the curves a to e are drawn so that the amount of decrease in the slope gradually increases and further decreases from the increase to the decrease. In other words, the curve (line indicating the lane) displayed on the connection image is a center line (center line along the traveling direction of the vehicle A) from the near image 201 toward the distant image 203. It is drawn to converge.

  The display screen of the monitor 6 is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. The angle formed between the horizontal surface and the inclined surface is an acute angle. Then, when the near image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 are displayed on this inclined surface, the driver displays an image on the side close to the driver (an image on the near side) of the display screen of the monitor 6. Recognize as a near image, and the farther the position of the display screen of the motor 6, the farther the image is recognized.

  When the vehicle travels, the intersection displayed in the distant image 203 in FIG. Therefore, the position of the intersection of the distant image 203 moves from the distant image 203 to the connection image 202 on the screen of the monitor 6 as the vehicle travels, and further from the connection image 202 to the near image 201 as the vehicle travels. Moving. Thereby, the road alignment displayed in the distant image is displayed so as to approach the host vehicle A as the vehicle travels. The road linear movement speed on the display screen corresponds to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle A.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the neighborhood image 201, the road width of the traveling lane on which the host vehicle A travels is larger than the road width of the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling vehicle. Thereby, the user of the vehicle can easily recognize the situation of the road in the traveling lane of the own vehicle A and the situation of the road in the traveling lane traveling in the same direction as the traveling direction of the own vehicle A.

  The speedometer is arranged on the left side of the road image including the neighborhood image 201 and the like. The speedometer displays the current vehicle speed and the recommended speed when changing lanes. The recommended speed for changing lanes will be described later.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the neighborhood image control unit 110 includes a neighborhood image generation unit 111 and a first connection point setting unit 112. The neighborhood image generation unit 111 generates a neighborhood image of the host vehicle from the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d, the detection value of the radar 2, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3, and the generated neighborhood image is a first connection. The data is output to the point setting unit 112 and the image combining unit 140.

  The neighborhood image generation unit 111 acquires captured images from the respective cameras 1a to 1d, converts them into a bird's-eye view image looking down at the host vehicle and the host vehicle from a virtual viewpoint above the host vehicle, One composite overhead image is generated. Specifically, the control device 10 refers to the conversion table indicating the correspondence between the captured image acquired by the cameras 1a to 1d at different positions and the pixel address of each captured image and the address in the synthesized overhead image. , Convert to the coordinates of the composite overhead image.

  In addition, when the neighborhood image generation unit 111 converts the coordinate to the synthesized bird's-eye image, the traveling direction of the host vehicle A and the road width of the traveling lane traveling in the same direction are made larger than the width of the opposite lane. Generate an image. Then, the control device 10 connects the captured images that have undergone coordinate conversion, and generates one composite overhead image that shows the surroundings of the host vehicle.

  Further, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 represents the structure detected by the radar 2 as an image, and further synthesizes it with the overhead image synthesized above. Thereby, the neighborhood image 201 shown in FIG. 5 is generated. The cameras 1a to 1d capture images at a predetermined cycle while the vehicle is traveling. Then, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 generates a composite image so that the combined image moves on the monitor 6 at the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3 in order to generate an image during the imaging cycle. ing.

  The first connection point setting unit 112 sets a first connection point on a first connection line that connects the neighborhood image 201 generated by the neighborhood image generation unit 111 and the connection image 202. The first connection point is a reference point (start point) of a curve drawn in the connection image 202, in other words, a reference point (start point) of a center line or a boundary line indicating a road in the connection image 202. The first connection point is a point on the connection line between the neighborhood image 201 and the connection image 202.

  The connection point setting control by the first connection point setting unit 112 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows only the road by omitting the own vehicle A and the like from the display screen of FIG. The X direction in FIG. 6 indicates the road width direction of the lane (the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the host vehicle A), and the Y direction indicates the direction parallel to the lane (the traveling direction of the host vehicle A).

In order to set the first connection point, the first connection point setting unit 112 first detects the lanes f _{1 to} f ₅ from the neighborhood image 201 by image recognition. Then, the first connection point setting unit 112 is on the side in contact with the connection screen 202 among the four sides positioned around the vicinity screen 201 and the line (boundary line or center line) indicating the lane detected in the vicinity image 201. The intersection point with one side (L _{1 in the} figure) is set as the first connection point. Lines L ₁ corresponds to the first connection line.

In this example, among the five intersections on the first connection line, the outermost intersection (outside in the Y direction) is defined as the first connection points P ₁ and P _3, and the traveling lane (straight line) of the host vehicle A intersection of f ₁ 2 lane drawn by ~f ₃₎ opposite the traffic lane (2 lanes depicted by a straight line _f 3 ~f ₅₎ and the boundary lines (lane drawn by a straight line _{f 3)} a straight line _{L 1} and it has a first connection point _{P 2.} That is, the first connection points (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) respectively indicate two points on both ends of the line segment corresponding to the road width of the traveling lane. Here, the traveling lane is not necessarily limited to one lane, and may be a plurality of lanes. The lane is not limited to a lane in one direction, and may be a plurality of lanes including lanes in opposite directions.

The first connection points (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) are represented by coordinates on the display screen. Then, the first connection point setting unit 112 outputs information on the set first connection points (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) to the connection image generation unit 120.

  The far image control unit 130 includes a far image generation unit 131 and a second connection point setting unit 132. The far image generation unit 131 generates a far image 203 from the map data stored in the database 21 of the navigation system 20. The distance to the road alignment displayed in the distant image 203 is determined in advance with respect to the position of the host vehicle. Therefore, the distant image generation unit 131 extracts map data in the image displayed as the distant image 203 with respect to the position of the host vehicle from the database 21. Then, the distant image generation unit 131 creates the distant image 203 from the road alignment data and the target data included in the distant image map data. A road alignment and a target are arranged in the distant image. Thereby, the far image 203 is generated. The far image generation unit 131 outputs the far image 203 to the second connection point setting unit 132 and the image combining unit 140.

  The second connection point setting unit 132 sets a second connection point on the second connection line that connects the far image 203 generated by the far image generation unit 131 and the connection image 202. The second connection point is a reference point (end point) of a curve drawn in the connection image 202, in other words, a reference point (end point) of a center line or a boundary line indicating a road in the connection image 202. The second connection point is a point on the connection line between the neighborhood image 203 and the connection image 202.

Control of connection point setting by the second connection point setting unit 132 will be described. The second connection point setting unit 132 specifies a connection line (corresponding to the second connection line L < _b > ₂ ) connected to the connection screen 202 among the four sides positioned around the far image 203. The second connection point setting unit 132, the position of the second middle point of the connection line _{L 2,} sets a second connecting point _{Q 2.} Further, the second connection point setting unit 132 sets the second connection points Q ₁ and Q ₃ on the second connection line L ₂ at positions spaced apart from the second connection point Q ₂ by a predetermined distance. . The predetermined interval corresponds to the road width (road width in the X direction) of the lane parallel to the center line of the display screen on the far screen 203.

That is, the second connection points (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) respectively indicate two points on both ends of the line segment corresponding to the road width of the traveling lane. The interval between the second connection points Q ₁ and Q ₂ and the interval between the second connection points Q ₂ and Q ₃ may be set according to the width of the lane along the center line on the display screen. It may be set so that each interval becomes wider as the width of is wider. However, the distance between the second connection points Q ₁ and Q ₂ and the distance between the second connection points Q ₂ and Q ₃ are the same as the distance between the first connection points P ₁ and P ₂ and the second connection point. It is narrower than the distance between the P ₂ and _{P 3.} The second connection points (Q _{1 to} Q ₃ ) are represented by coordinates on the display screen. Then, the second connection point setting unit 132 outputs information on the set second connection points (Q _{1 to} Q ₃ ) to the connection image generation unit 120.

The connection image generation unit 120 generates a connection image in which the first connection points (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) and the second connection points (Q _{1 to} Q ₃ ) are connected by a continuous curve.

A conversion formula for representing the curve g is determined in advance, and the locus of the curve g is changed by changing a variable of the conversion formula. Also as a feature of the start and end points of the curve g, a connection point between the straight line _L 1 ~L ₅ and the curve _g 1 to g ₅ showing the center line or the boundary line of the neighboring images 201, and, along the Y direction of the distant images 203 A conversion formula or a formula representing a locus of the curve g is set so that it does not become a bending point at the connection point between the straight line indicating the center line or the boundary line and the curves g _{1 to} g ₅ .

Since the length in the Y direction is fixed among the curves g drawn in the connection image 202, the curve g is drawn by compressing the length in the X direction. Regarding the coordinates of the first connection point (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) and the second connection point (Q _{1 to} Q ₃ ) corresponding to the start point and the end point of the curve g, the Y direction component is fixed, and the X direction component Changes. Therefore, the X component coordinates of the first connection points (P _{1 to} P ₃ ) are connected by the curve g so that the end point of the curve g becomes the X component coordinates of the second connection points (Q _{1 to} Q ₃ ). Furthermore, the connection image generation unit 120 calculates the curve g by substituting the variables and the coordinates of the connection points into the conversion formula of the curve g. Setting the variable in the connection image generation unit 120 is equivalent to setting the compression rate of the curve g in the X direction.

In the example of FIG. 6, since the first connection points (P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ ) correspond to the second connection points (Q ₁ , Q ₂ , Q ₃ ), the connection image generation unit 120 Then, the variable g ₁ is calculated by substituting a variable such that the first connection point (P ₁ ) is the start point and the end point of the curve is the second connection point (Q ₁ ) into the conversion equation. The connection image generation unit 120 similarly calculates the curves g ₂ and g ₃ connecting the first connection points (P ₂ and P ₃ ) and the second connection points (Q ₂ and Q ₃ ). Further, for the curve g ₂ between the curves g ₁ and g ₃ (the curve connected to the straight line f ₂ ), the connection image generation unit 120 calculates a curve from the locus of the midpoint between the curves g ₁ and g _3. To do. Similarly, for the curve g ₄ between the curves g ₁ and g ₅ (the curve connected to the straight line f ₄ ), the connection image generation unit 120 calculates a curve from the locus of the midpoint between the curves g ₃ and g _5. To do. Thus, the curves (g ₁ , g ₃ , g ₅ ) are connected to the first connection point (P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ ) and the second connection point (Q ₁ , Q ₂ , Q ₃ ), respectively. The road width of the traveling lane is represented by an interval between a plurality of curves (g ₁ , g ₃ , g ₅ ).

  Then, the connection image generation unit 120 generates a composite image so that the calculated curve g is displayed on the display screen. In addition, when displaying the road alignment of the intersection generated by the distant image control unit 130, the connection image generation unit 120 continuously moves in the connection image according to the vehicle speed of the vehicle. Next, a road alignment image is generated. Thereby, the connection image 202 is generated. The connection image generation unit 120 outputs the generated connection image 202 to the image combination unit 140.

  The image combining unit 140 combines the images in the order of the neighborhood image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 along the Y direction in FIG. 6, and outputs the combined image to the monitor 6. The monitor 6 displays the image shown in FIG. 4 by displaying the image combined by the image combining unit 140.

  Furthermore, the neighborhood image control unit 110 synthesizes an image for assisting driving in the lane change with the neighborhood image 201 when the host vehicle changes the lane. An image for driving support for lane change is generated by the lane change control unit 150.

  Next, control of the lane change support function by the control device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7 to 10. FIG. 7A shows a neighborhood image 201, and FIG. 7B shows a speedometer. In FIG. 7A, the vehicle A indicates the own vehicle, and the vehicle X indicates another vehicle. 8 to 10 show a case where the host vehicle and another vehicle are traveling in a state different from that in FIG.

  The lane change control unit 150 includes an area calculation unit 151 and a recommended speed calculation unit 152. The lane change control unit 150 detects a lane change request from the driver of the own vehicle based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle speed sensor 3, the position of the own vehicle managed by the navigation system 20, and the operation signal of the turn signal switch 5. Then, control for supporting the lane change is started. For example, when the turn signal switch 5 is operated when the host vehicle is traveling at a high speed on a road without an intersection, the driver is likely to change lanes. Therefore, when detecting that the driver has operated the turn signal switch 5 based on the operation signal of the turn signal switch 5, the lane change control unit 150 starts the lane change support control as follows.

  Based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3 and the state of the other vehicle detected from the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d, the area calculation unit 151 is on an adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle. Then, the lane changeable area of the host vehicle is calculated. The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the recommended speed of the host vehicle when the host vehicle changes the lane to the lane changeable region based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle.

  First, control for detecting the state of another vehicle will be described. When acquiring the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d, the lane change control unit 150 identifies the vehicle by image recognition from the captured images indicating the surroundings of the host vehicle. Further, the lane change control unit 150 can measure the distance from the size of the vehicle shown in the captured image to the other vehicle shown in the captured image. And the vehicle change control part 150 detects the other vehicle which is drive | working an adjacent lane by acquiring the information of the driving lane of the own vehicle, and the adjacent lane adjacent to a driving lane from the map data of the navigation system 20. can do. Further, the navigation system 20 manages the position of the host vehicle. The lane change control unit 150 can also detect the position of the other vehicle and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle from the images periodically captured by the cameras 1a to 1d and the map data.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7A, the other vehicle X appears in the captured image of the camera 1a and the captured image of the camera 1d. Therefore, the lane change control unit 150 determines the state of the other vehicle X from these captured images as other The vehicle position and vehicle speed are detected. The lane change control unit 150 may detect the state of the other vehicle using the detection value of the radar 2.

  Next, control for specifying a lane changeable area after detecting another vehicle will be described. When it is detected that another vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane, the area calculation unit 151 calculates the approach degree of the other vehicle. The degree of approach is a value indicating how far the host vehicle is approaching the other vehicle. The higher the degree of approach, the closer the host vehicle is to the target other vehicle. . The degree of approach is calculated by dividing the relative speed of the host vehicle with respect to the other vehicle from the relative distance of the host vehicle with respect to the other vehicle.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7, the control when one other vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane will be described. In the example shown in FIG. 7A, the area calculation unit 151 calculates a relative distance from the position of the host vehicle A and the position of the other vehicle X, and calculates the relative speed from the speed of the host vehicle A and the speed of the other vehicle X. calculate. And the area | region calculation part 151 calculates the approach degree of the other vehicle X by dividing a relative speed from a relative distance. For example, in the example of FIG. 7A, when the speed difference between the own vehicle A and the other vehicle X is small, the closer the position of the other vehicle is to the position of the own vehicle, the higher the degree of approach. For example, when the relative distance between the other vehicle and the host vehicle is a constant distance, the faster the host vehicle A is faster than the other vehicle X, in other words, the higher the relative speed of the host vehicle with respect to the other vehicle is, The degree of approach increases.

  After calculating the approach degree, the area calculating unit 151 specifies an approach area corresponding to the approach degree on the map data. An approach area shows an area with high possibility of colliding with another vehicle. The approach area is an area located in front of and behind the target other vehicle. The higher the degree of approach, the greater the length of the approach area in the front and rear. The front of the approach area corresponds to the traveling direction of the vehicle. When the own vehicle A changes its lane to the front or rear position of the other vehicle X and the position of the own vehicle A is within the approach area of the other vehicle X, the distance between the own vehicle A and the other vehicle X is short. As a result, the safety of traveling is impaired. In addition, the higher the degree of approach, the wider the approach area so that the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle after the lane change and the other vehicle can be sufficiently secured.

  And the area | region calculation part 151 specifies the area which does not belong to an approach area in the front and back of another vehicle as a safety area, after specifying the approach area of another vehicle. The safety area is an area in which a sufficient inter-vehicle distance can be secured with another vehicle even if the host vehicle A moves into the area due to a lane change.

In the example of FIG. 7, AP _f and AP ₁ of FIG. And since the other vehicle is not driving | running | working ahead and back of the other vehicle X, the approach area of other vehicles other than the other vehicle X is not pinpointed by the front and back of the other vehicle X. Therefore, the area calculation unit 151 specifies the safety area (SA _f ) at a position ahead of the approach area (AP _f ), and specifies the safety area (SA _l ) at a position behind the approach area (AP _l ). The length of the safety area (the length in the direction along the traveling direction of the vehicle) is determined in advance.

Next, the area calculation unit 151 identifies the safety area (SA _f , SA _l ) as a lane changeable area. Thereby, the area calculation unit 151 calculates a lane changeable area. Then, the area calculation unit 151 outputs the position information of the lane changeable area to the neighborhood image generation unit 111 and the recommended speed calculation unit 152.

  When the position information of the lane changeable area is acquired, the vicinity image generation unit 111 combines the image of the lane changeable area indicated by the position information with the vicinity image 201. Then, the image combining unit 140 combines the neighborhood image 201 including the lane changeable region, the connection image 202, and the distant image 203 to generate a display image on the monitor 6. By displaying the display screen, the monitor 6 displays a lane changeable area screen in the neighborhood image 201 as shown in FIG. The driver can confirm the target position when changing the lane by checking the position of the lane changeable area on the screen of the monitor 6.

  In this example, when the lane changeable area is displayed on the monitor 6, the recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area is displayed on the speedometer. Hereinafter, the display control of the recommended speed will be described.

  When the recommended speed calculation unit 152 acquires information on the lane changeable region from the region calculation unit 151, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 uses the position of the host vehicle, the position of the other vehicle, and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle to change the lane to the lane changeable region. Calculate the recommended speed. When changing lanes to the front or rear position of another vehicle, the host vehicle first travels to a position adjacent to the lane changeable area, and then the host vehicle maintains a certain distance from the other vehicle, Move from the driving lane of the host vehicle to an adjacent lane located in the lane changeable region.

  Therefore, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 first sets the position of the own vehicle A to a position adjacent to the lane changeable area when the position of the own vehicle and the position of the lane changeable area are shifted in the traveling direction of the vehicle. To calculate the recommended speed.

  Specifically, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 acquires the position of the host vehicle and the position of the lane changeable area. And, when the lane changeable area located in front of the other vehicle is in the position in front of the own vehicle, the own vehicle overtakes the other vehicle and is adjacent to the lane changeable area located in front. The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a speed obtained by adding a predetermined addition speed (first addition speed) to the speed of the other vehicle as a lower limit speed, and calculates an upper limit value of a speed set according to the traveling lane as an upper limit speed. To do. The predetermined addition speed (first addition speed) is a speed set in advance for the host vehicle to pass another vehicle. The upper limit value of the speed set according to the traveling vehicle is, for example, the legal speed of the traveling lane. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as a recommended speed range. The upper limit speed may be a speed obtained by adding a predetermined speed larger than the first addition speed to the vehicle speed of the other vehicle.

  When the own vehicle travels within the recommended speed range from the state where the lane changeable region located in front of the other vehicle is located in front of the own vehicle, and the own vehicle is adjacent to the lane changeable region in front of the other vehicle The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the speed obtained by adding the predetermined addition speed (second addition speed) to the lower limit speed as the upper limit speed, using the speed of the other vehicle as the lower limit speed. The predetermined addition speed (second addition speed) is an allowable speed at which the position of the host vehicle after the lane change enters the lane changeable region even if the speed of the host vehicle is greater than the speed of the other vehicle. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as a recommended speed range.

The above control will be described with reference to (a) of FIG. 7. The recommended speed when changing the lane from the state in which the own vehicle A is traveling behind the other vehicle X to the lane changeable region (SA _f ) is as follows. It is calculated by the above control method.

  In addition, when the lane changeable area behind the other vehicle is in a position behind the own vehicle, the other vehicle overtakes the own vehicle and is adjacent to the lane changeable area where the own vehicle is located behind. In addition, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the speed obtained by subtracting a predetermined subtraction speed (first subtraction speed) from the speed of the other vehicle as the upper limit speed, and sets the lower limit value of the speed set according to the traveling lane as the lower limit speed. Calculate as The predetermined subtraction speed (first subtraction speed) is a speed for causing the other vehicle to pass the own vehicle by decelerating the own vehicle, and is a preset speed. The lower limit value of the speed set in accordance with the traveling vehicle is a speed that is set so as not to affect the traveling of other vehicles traveling in the same lane as the host vehicle even if the speed is decelerated. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as the recommended speed range. The lower limit speed may be a speed obtained by subtracting a predetermined speed larger than the first subtraction speed from the vehicle speed of the other vehicle.

  It is recommended that the vehicle travels within the recommended speed range from the state where the lane changeable area behind the other vehicle is located behind the own vehicle, and that the own vehicle is adjacent to the lane changeable area behind the other vehicle. The speed calculation unit 152 calculates the speed obtained by subtracting a predetermined subtraction speed (second subtraction speed) from the upper limit speed as the upper limit speed, and the speed as the lower limit speed. The predetermined subtraction speed (second subtraction speed) is an allowable speed at which the position of the host vehicle after the lane change enters the lane changeable region even if the speed of the host vehicle is smaller than the speed of the other vehicle. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as a recommended speed range.

The above control will be described with reference to (a) of FIG. 7. The recommended speed when changing the lane from the state in which the own vehicle A is traveling in front of the other vehicle X to the lane changeable region (SA _l ) is as follows. It is calculated by the above control method.

  In addition, when the own vehicle is adjacent to the lane changeable area at the time of acquiring the position of the own vehicle and the position of the lane changeable area, the own vehicle overtakes another vehicle or other Even if the vehicle is not overtaken, it is possible to change the lane of the host vehicle. For this reason, when the host vehicle is adjacent to the lane changeable area ahead of the other vehicle, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the speed of the other vehicle as the lower limit speed and adds the predetermined speed (the first speed) to the lower limit speed. 2) is calculated as the upper limit speed. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as a recommended speed range.

The above control will be described with reference to FIG. 7A. The recommended speed for changing the lane from the state in which the host vehicle A is traveling in front of the other vehicle X to the lane changeable region (SA _f ) is as follows. It is calculated by the above control method.

  When the host vehicle is adjacent to the lane changeable area behind the other vehicle, the speed of the other vehicle is set as the upper limit speed, and a predetermined subtraction speed (second subtraction speed) is subtracted from the upper limit speed. The calculated speed is calculated as the subtraction speed. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as a recommended speed range.

The above control will be described with reference to FIG. 7A. The recommended speed for changing the lane from the state in which the own vehicle A is traveling behind the other vehicle X to the lane changeable area (SA _l ) is as follows. It is calculated by the above control method.

  The recommended speed calculation unit 152 outputs the recommended speed calculated as described above to the speedometer control unit 160. The speedometer control unit 160 controls the display of the speedometer displayed on the monitor 6. The speedometer control unit 160 displays the current speed of the vehicle and the recommended speed range on the speedometer. Further, when displaying a plurality of lane changeable areas, the speedometer control unit 160 displays a plurality of recommended speed ranges on the speedometer in association with the plurality of lane changeable areas. Hereinafter, control when a plurality of recommended speed ranges are displayed on the monitor 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in the case where the host vehicle A is located behind X of the other vehicle and the safety areas are calculated in front and rear of X of the other vehicle, respectively, the lane changeable region Is calculated by the area calculation unit 151 in front of and behind the other vehicle X, respectively. The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed (RS _f ) corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _f ) located in front of the other vehicle X, and the lane changeable area (behind the other vehicle X) ( Corresponding to SA _l ), a recommended speed (RS _r ) is calculated.

If the speed of the host vehicle A is 40 km / h, the lower limit speed of the recommended speed (RS _f ) is higher than 40 km / h because the host vehicle A changes the lane to the position of the lane changeable area (SA _f ). . Then, assuming that the predetermined addition speed (first addition speed) is 10 km / h and the legal speed of the traveling lane of the own vehicle A is 60 km / h, the recommended speed (RS _f ) ranges from 50 km / h to 60 km / h. Become.

Further, when the host vehicle A changes lanes at the position of the lane changeable area (SA _r ), the host vehicle A travels in a position adjacent to the lane changeable area (SA _l ), so the recommended speed ( The upper limit speed of RS ₁ ) is 40 km / h. When the predetermined subtraction speed (second subtraction speed) is 10 km, the recommended speed (RS ₁ ) ranges from 30 km / h to 40 km / h.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the speedometer control unit 160 displays a range of 50 km / h to 60 km / h as the recommended speed (RS _f ) on the speedometer on the display screen of the monitor 6, and the recommended speed ( RS ₁ ) displays a range from 30 km / h to 40 km / h. On the display screen of the speedometer, the recommended speed (RS _f , RS _l ) is displayed outside the number representing the current vehicle speed.

In addition, the area calculation unit 151 outputs the calculated lane changeable area (SA _f , SA _l ) to the neighborhood image generation unit 112. The neighborhood image generation unit 111 synthesizes a plurality of lane changeable areas (SA _f , SA _l ) with the neighborhood image 201. Then, as shown in FIG. 7A, a plurality of lane changeable areas (SA _f , SA _l ) are displayed in the neighborhood image 201. On the display screen of the monitor 6, a plurality of lane change area _(SA f, SA _l) and a plurality of recommended speed _(RS f, RS _l) in order to correspond the, for example, lane change area _(SA f) The recommended speed (RS _f ) is displayed in a common color such as blue, and the lane changeable area (SA _r ) and the recommended speed (RS _r ) are, for example, red, the recommended speed (RS _f ) Displayed in different colors.

  Next, the calculation control of the lane changeable area and the calculation control of the recommended speed in another state will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, two other vehicles X and Y are traveling at an interval in an adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle. The host vehicle A is located ahead of the vehicle X located behind the other of the two other vehicles, but is in a state where the vehicle X is not completely overtaken.

  First, the vehicle change control unit 150 detects the other vehicles X and Y in the adjacent lane based on the captured images of the cameras 1 a to 1 d and the detection value of the radar 2. When a plurality of vehicles are detected in the adjacent lane, the area calculation unit 151 determines whether the vehicle is in front of the plurality of vehicles, behind the plurality of vehicles, or between the plurality of vehicles based on the position of the other vehicle. Determines if there is a minimum space to change lanes. In the example of FIG. 8, the region calculation unit 151 detects a minimum space for the own vehicle to change lanes between the other vehicle X and the other vehicle Y from the positions of the other vehicles X and Y. In addition, the size of the minimum space for the own vehicle to change lanes is determined in advance.

  Next, the area calculation unit 151 calculates the relative distances from the position of the host vehicle A and the positions of the other vehicles X and Y, and calculates the relative speed from the speed of the host vehicle A and the speeds of the other vehicles X and Y. Is calculated. The area calculation unit 151 calculates the respective approach degrees of the other vehicles X and Y by dividing the relative speeds from the relative distances.

After calculating the degree of approach, the area calculation unit 151 specifies the approach areas corresponding to the degrees of approach of the other vehicles X and Y at positions ahead and behind the other vehicles X and Y, respectively. The area calculation unit 151 identifies an area that does not belong to the approaching area of the other vehicle X as a safety area (SA _X ) for the other vehicle X. Further, the area calculation unit 151 identifies an area that does not belong to the approaching area of the other vehicle Y as a safety area (SA _Y ) for the other vehicle Y. In FIG. 8, the other vehicle Y travels ahead of the other vehicle X, but there is a space between the other vehicle X and the other vehicle Y for the other vehicle A to change lanes. Therefore, the area calculation unit 151 identifies the safety area (SA _X ) in front of the other vehicle X and identifies the safety area (SA _Y ) behind the other vehicle Y.

Next, the area calculation unit 151 changes the range including the safety area (SA _X ) and the safety area (SA _Y ) between the other vehicle X and the other vehicle Y to the lane changeable area (shaded area in FIG. 8). As specified. Thereby, the area calculation unit 151 calculates a lane changeable area, and outputs the position information of the lane changeable area to the neighborhood image generation unit 111 and the recommended speed calculation unit 152.

  The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a speed obtained by adding a predetermined addition speed to the vehicle speed of the other vehicle X as the lower limit speed of the recommended speed in order for the host vehicle A to completely overtake the other vehicle X. The predetermined addition speed is the same as the first addition speed. In addition, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a predetermined vehicle speed range centered on the average speed of the vehicle speed of the other vehicle X and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle Y as the recommended speed range. The predetermined vehicle speed range is set in advance according to the length of the lane changeable area (the length along the traveling direction of the vehicle). The longer the lane changeable area is, the longer the predetermined vehicle speed range is. Will grow. At this time, when the lower limit value of the recommended speed having a predetermined vehicle speed range centered on the average speed is lower than the calculated lower limit speed, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the lower limit of the width of the recommended speed. Limit the value to the lower speed limit. On the other hand, when the lower limit value of the recommended speed having a predetermined vehicle speed range centered on the average speed is higher than the calculated lower limit speed, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the recommended speed based on the average speed. There is no limit on the lower limit.

  Accordingly, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area. During the lane change of the host vehicle A, for example, when the vehicle speed of the other vehicle X increases or the vehicle speed of the other vehicle Y decreases, the lane changeable area shown in the hatched portion of FIG. The direction of travel becomes narrower. In this case, since the range of the predetermined vehicle speed centering on the average speed of the other vehicles X and Y is narrowed, the range of the recommended speed is also narrowed. That is, the narrower the vehicle change area, the narrower the recommended speed. On the other hand, during the lane change of the host vehicle A, for example, when the vehicle speed of the other vehicle X decreases or the vehicle speed of the other vehicle Y increases, the lane changeable region is the traveling direction of the vehicle, Become wider. And the range of recommended speed becomes wide, so that a vehicle change area | region becomes large.

  The calculation control of the lane changeable area and the calculation control of the recommended speed in another state will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, the position of the own vehicle is different from the state shown in FIG. 8, and the own vehicle A is located behind the vehicle Y located ahead of the other two vehicles. It is not overtaking completely.

The area calculation unit 151 detects the other vehicles X and Y, and determines that there is a minimum space for the own vehicle to change lanes between the plurality of vehicles based on the positions of the other vehicles. The area calculation unit 151 calculates the approach degree of the other vehicles X and Y, and specifies the approach area based on the approach degree. In addition, the area calculation unit 151 identifies the safety area (SA _X , SA _Y ) from the approach areas of the other vehicles X, Y, and between the other vehicle X and the other vehicle Y, the safety area (SA _X ) and the safety A range including the area (SA _Y ) is specified as a lane changeable region (shaded portion in FIG. 9). The approach degree calculation method, the approach area and safety area identification method, and the lane changeable cool air calculation method are the same as described above.

  The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates, as the upper limit speed of the recommended speed, a speed obtained by subtracting a predetermined subtraction speed from the vehicle speed of the other vehicle Y in order for the host vehicle A to move rearward from the other vehicle Y. The predetermined subtraction speed is the same as the first subtraction speed. In addition, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a range of a predetermined vehicle speed around the average speed of the vehicle speed of the other vehicle X and the vehicle speed of the other vehicle Y as the recommended speed width. The predetermined vehicle speed range is set in advance according to the length of the lane changeable area (the length along the traveling direction of the vehicle). The longer the lane changeable area is, the longer the predetermined vehicle speed range is. Will grow. At this time, when the upper limit value of the recommended speed having a predetermined vehicle speed range centered on the average speed is higher than the calculated upper limit speed, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the upper limit of the recommended speed range. Limit the value to the upper speed limit. On the other hand, when the upper limit value of the recommended speed having a predetermined vehicle speed range centered on the average speed is lower than the calculated upper limit speed, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the recommended speed based on the average speed. There is no limit on the upper limit.

  Accordingly, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area. During the lane change of the own vehicle A, for example, when the vehicle speed of the other vehicle X increases or the vehicle speed of the other vehicle Y decreases, the lane changeable area shown in the hatched portion of FIG. The direction of travel becomes narrower. In this case, since the range of the predetermined vehicle speed centering on the average speed of the other vehicles X and Y is narrowed, the range of the recommended speed is also narrowed. That is, the narrower the vehicle change area, the narrower the recommended speed. Also, the wider the vehicle change area, the wider the recommended speed range.

  The calculation control of the lane changeable area and the calculation control of the recommended speed will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, two other vehicles X and Y are traveling in the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle without leaving a large interval. The host vehicle A is traveling substantially adjacent to the vehicle X located in front of the two other vehicles.

  The area calculation unit 151 detects the other vehicles X and Y, and based on the positions of the other vehicles, there is a minimum space for the own vehicle to change lanes in front of and behind the plurality of vehicles X and Y, respectively. judge.

The area calculation unit 151 calculates the degree of approach of each of the other vehicles X and Y based on the speed of the host vehicle A and the speeds of the other vehicles X and Y. After calculating the degree of approach, the area calculation unit 151 specifies the approach areas corresponding to the degrees of approach of the other vehicles X and Y at positions ahead and behind the other vehicles X and Y, respectively. The area calculation unit 151 identifies an area that does not belong to the approaching area of the other vehicle X as a safety area (SA _X ) for the other vehicle X. At this time, it is determined that the other vehicle Y is traveling in front of the other vehicle X and that there is a minimum space for the own vehicle to change lanes behind the other vehicle X. Therefore, the area calculation unit 151 identifies the safety area (SA _X ) only behind the other vehicle X.

Further, the area calculation unit 151 identifies an area that does not belong to the approaching area of the other vehicle Y as a safety area (SA _Y ) for the other vehicle Y. At this time, it is determined that the other vehicle X is approaching behind the other vehicle Y, and that there is a minimum space for the own vehicle to change lanes ahead of the other vehicle Y. Therefore, the area calculation unit 151 identifies the safety area (SA _Y ) only in front of the other vehicle Y.

Then, the area calculation unit 151 identifies the safety area (SA _X ) and the safety area (SA _Y ) as lane changeable areas.

The recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _X ) and a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _Y ). First, the calculation control of the recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _X ) will be described. The recommended speed calculation unit 152 overtakes the other vehicle X, and because the own vehicle A is adjacent to the lane changeable area (SA _X ), a predetermined subtraction speed (first subtraction speed) from the speed of the other vehicle X The lower limit value of the speed set according to the traveling lane is calculated as the lower limit speed.

When the host vehicle A travels within the recommended speed range and the host vehicle A is adjacent to the lane changeable area (SA _X ), the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the speed of the other vehicle X as the upper limit speed and sets the upper limit speed to the upper limit speed. A speed obtained by subtracting a predetermined subtraction speed (second subtraction speed) is calculated as the lower limit speed.

Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable region (SA _X ) by calculating the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as the recommended speed range.

Next, the calculation control of the recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _Y ) will be described. The recommended speed calculation unit 152 has a predetermined additional speed (first addition) to the speed of the other vehicle Y because the own vehicle A overtakes the other vehicle X and the own vehicle A is adjacent to the lane changeable area (SA _Y ). Speed) is set as the lower limit speed, and the upper limit value of the speed set according to the travel lane is calculated as the upper limit speed.

When the host vehicle A travels within the recommended speed range and the host vehicle A is adjacent to the lane changeable area (SA _Y ), the recommended speed calculation unit 152 sets the speed of the other vehicle Y as the lower limit speed and sets the lower limit speed to the lower limit speed. A speed obtained by adding a predetermined addition speed (second addition speed) is calculated as the upper limit speed.

Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _Y ) by calculating the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed as the recommended speed range. The recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _X ), the lane changeable area (SA _Y ), the recommended lane changeable area (SA _X ), and the recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area (SA _Y ), When displaying on the monitor 6, the control device 10, like FIG. 7, displays a plurality of lane changeable areas (SA _f , SA _l ) and a plurality of recommended speeds (RS _f , RS _l ) is displayed in correspondence with each other.

  Next, the control at the time of assisting the lane change in the control of the control device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control flow of lane change support control of the control device 10.

  Based on the operation signal of the turn signal switch 5, lane change support control is started. First, in step S1, the lane change control unit 150 acquires information on the surroundings of the host vehicle from the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d and the detection value of the radar 2, and detects other vehicles. In step S <b> 2, area calculation unit 151 determines whether there is another vehicle on the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle. The adjacent lane to be determined is the adjacent lane to which the lane is changed, which is indicated by the operation signal of the turn signal switch 5.

  If there is another vehicle, in step S3, the region calculation unit 151 calculates the position and vehicle speed of the other vehicle. In step S <b> 4, the lane change control unit 150 acquires the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 3, and acquires the position of the host vehicle from information managed by the navigation system 20.

  In step S5, the area calculation unit 151 calculates the approach degree of the other vehicle based on the position and vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the position and vehicle speed of the other vehicle. In step S6, the area calculation unit 151 identifies an approach area based on the calculated approach degree. In step S <b> 7, the area calculation unit 151 specifies a safety area based on the specified approach area. When a plurality of other vehicles are traveling in adjacent lanes, the area calculation unit 151 changes the lane of the host vehicle in front of, behind, or between the plurality of vehicles. After identifying the minimum space to do, identify the safety area.

  In step S8, the area calculation unit 151 determines whether there is a safety area. If there is a safe area, in step S9, the region calculation unit 151 determines whether there are two or more safe areas. If there are no two or more safety areas, the area calculation unit 151 calculates the lane changeable area by specifying the safety area as the lane changeable area in step S10. In step S11, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the calculated lane changeable region based on the position and vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the position and vehicle speed of the other vehicle. In step S <b> 12, area calculation unit 151 outputs the calculated lane changeable area information to neighborhood image control unit 110, and recommended speed calculation unit 152 outputs the calculated recommended speed information to speedometer control unit 160. To do. Then, the image combining unit 140 displays the neighborhood image 201 including the lane changeable area on the monitor 6, and the speedometer control unit 160 monitors the speedometer image including the recommended speed and the current vehicle speed of the host vehicle 6. To display.

  In step S <b> 13, the lane change control unit 150 determines whether or not the lane change of the host vehicle has ended from the current position of the host vehicle and the position of the lane changeable area. If the lane change has not ended, in other words, if the position of the host vehicle is outside the lane changeable area, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, when the lane change is finished, the control of this example is finished.

  Returning to step S9, when there are a plurality of safety areas, in step S14, the area calculation unit 151 selects a safety area closest to the host vehicle and a safety area nearest to the second of the two or more safety areas. Identify. When many lane changeable areas are displayed on the monitor 6, it is difficult for the driver who has seen the monitor 6 to determine whether to change the lane to the lane changeable area. Therefore, in this example, the number of lane changeable areas displayed on the monitor 6 is limited by limiting the safety area to two areas close to the position of the host vehicle.

  In step S15, the area calculation unit 151 calculates the lane changeable area by specifying two or more safety areas as the lane changeable area. In step S <b> 16, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates two recommended speeds corresponding to the calculated two lane changeable areas based on the position of the host vehicle, the vehicle speed, the position of the other vehicle, and the vehicle speed.

In step S <b> 17, the control device 10 corresponds the plurality of lane changeable areas (SA _f , SA _l ) and the plurality of recommended speeds (RS _f , RS _l ) on the display screen of the monitor 6. Display, and proceed to step S13.

  Returning to step S8, if there is no safety area, in step S18, the lane change control unit 150 displays on the monitor 6 that the lane cannot be changed, and ends the control of this example.

  Returning to step S2, if there is no other vehicle, in step S19, the lane change control unit 150 displays on the monitor 6 that the lane can be changed, and ends the control of this example.

  As described above, this example calculates the lane changeable region on the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the own vehicle based on the vehicle speed of the own vehicle and the state of the other vehicle, and the vehicle speed of the own vehicle and the other vehicle. Based on the vehicle speed, the recommended speed of the host vehicle when changing the lane to the lane changeable area is calculated, and the lane changeable area and the recommended speed are displayed on the monitor 6. As a result, the target position of the lane change and the target speed when changing the lane to the position are displayed on the monitor 6, so that the driver can easily check the display screen of the monitor 6. The recommended speed when changing lanes can be grasped.

  In this example, the presence or absence of other vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane is determined, and when the other vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane, the lane changeable area is set in at least one of the front or rear of the other vehicle. calculate. Thereby, the driver can grasp | ascertain the area | region suitable for a lane change on the monitor 6 in the position of the front or back of another vehicle.

  Further, in this example, when the lane changeable region is calculated at a position in front of another vehicle traveling on an adjacent vehicle, the lower limit speed is calculated based on the speed of the other vehicle, and the second additional speed is added to the lower limit speed. Is calculated as the upper limit speed, and the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed is calculated as the recommended speed range. Thus, the driver can confirm the target speed when changing the lane to a position ahead of the other vehicle.

  Further, in this example, when the lane changeable area is calculated at a position behind the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent vehicle, the upper limit speed is calculated based on the speed of the other vehicle, and the second subtraction speed is calculated as the upper limit speed. Is calculated as the lower limit speed, and the range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed is calculated as the recommended speed range. Thereby, the driver can confirm the target speed when changing the lane to a position behind the other vehicle.

  In addition, this example calculates the lane changeable area between the other vehicle traveling in front and the other vehicle traveling behind, so that the recommended speed range becomes narrower as the lane changeable area becomes smaller. Calculate the recommended speed. In this example, the recommended speed is calculated so that the range of the recommended speed becomes wider as the lane changeable area becomes wider. As a result, even when the vehicle speed of the other vehicle changes during the lane change, the target speed can be set in accordance with the change in the vehicle speed.

  In this example, a plurality of lane changeable areas corresponding to a plurality of positions on adjacent lanes are calculated, and a plurality of recommended speeds respectively corresponding to the plurality of lane changeable areas are calculated. Accordingly, the driver can grasp a plurality of positions where the lane can be changed, and can confirm target speeds corresponding to the plurality of positions.

  In this example, a plurality of lane changeable areas and a plurality of recommended speeds are displayed on the monitor 6 in association with each other. Thereby, the driver can easily grasp the position of each region where the lane can be changed and the target speed corresponding to the position on the monitor 6.

  In this example, when the driver of the host vehicle operates the turn signal switch 5, the lane changeable region and the recommended speed are displayed on the monitor 6. Thereby, the target position and vehicle speed of the lane change can be displayed on the monitor 6 in accordance with the timing of changing the lane.

  In this example, the lane changeable region is included in the neighborhood image and displayed on the monitor 6. Thereby, the driver can grasp the position where the lane can be changed around the host vehicle.

  In this example, the first connection point on the first connection line that connects the neighborhood image 201 and the connection image 202 and the second connection point on the second connection line that connects the far image 203 and the connection image 202 are continuously connected. A connection image connected by the curved lines is generated, and the near image 201, the connection image 202, and the far image 203 are successively connected and displayed on the monitor 6. Thereby, while displaying the vicinity part of the own vehicle A and the distant part of the own vehicle A simultaneously on the monitor 6, the connection image 202 smoothly connects the vicinity image 201 and the distant image 203 representing these parts, It can be displayed on the monitor 6. As a result, for example, even when the host vehicle moves greatly in the left-right direction or when the host vehicle speed is high, an image including the far-field image 203 and the near-field image 201 is displayed as one continuous image. Can be displayed as an image. Further, by including the lane changeable area in the vicinity image 201, the driver can grasp the position where the lane can be changed around the host vehicle.

  As a modification of the present invention, the control device 10 may detect the skill of the driver from the detection value of the steering angle sensor 4, and the range of the recommended speed may be narrowed as the skill is low. For example, the control device 10 calculates the number of steering operations from the detection value of the steering angle sensor 4. For example, when the displacement amount of the detected value of the steering angle sensor per unit time is larger than a predetermined displacement amount, the number of steering operations may be counted as one operation. When the skill is low, the actual vehicle speed is likely to be out of the recommended speed range. For this reason, in this example, the recommended range is narrowed in advance on the display screen on the monitor 6, so that driving can be supported so that the vehicle speed is optimal for lane change.

  In this example, the lane change support control is started based on the operation signal of the turn signal switch 5. However, the lane change support control may be started based on the position of the host vehicle, for example. Usually, when the vehicle is traveling in the traveling lane, the vehicle is traveling near the center of the lane. On the other hand, when changing lanes, the vehicle is brought closer to the lane boundary. Therefore, the lane change control unit 150 detects a lane boundary line from the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d, and calculates a distance from the position of the host vehicle managed by the navigation system 20 to the boundary line. The lane change control unit 150 detects a lane change of the host vehicle when the calculated distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance threshold value, and starts lane change support control. Thereby, this example can display on the monitor 6 the position and vehicle speed used as the target of a lane change according to the timing which changes a lane.

  The method for detecting the lane change is not limited to the above method, and other methods may be used. For example, it is detected from the map data of the navigation 20 and the position of the own vehicle that the lane restriction is performed in front of the traveling lane of the own vehicle, or the number of lanes in front is decreased. By doing so, a lane change may be detected.

  In this example, the degree of approach is calculated by dividing the relative speed of the host vehicle with respect to the other vehicle from the relative distance of the host vehicle with respect to the other vehicle. A value obtained by dividing the value may be used as the degree of approach. Alternatively, the value obtained by dividing the relative speed of the host vehicle relative to the other vehicle from the relative distance of the host vehicle relative to the other vehicle is added to the value obtained by adding the value obtained by dividing the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from the relative distance of the host vehicle relative to the other vehicle. It may be a degree, and the value to be added may be weighted.

  In this example, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 may generate the neighborhood image 201 from the captured images of at least one of the cameras 1a to 1d.

  The vehicle speed sensor 3 corresponds to the “vehicle speed detection means” of the present invention, the cameras 1a to 1d or the radar 2 correspond to “other vehicle detection means” of the present invention, and the area calculation unit 151 corresponds to the “lane change” of the present invention. The recommended speed calculation unit 152 corresponds to “recommended speed calculation means” of the present invention, and the monitor 6 corresponds to “display means” of the present invention. Further, the steering angle sensor 4 and a part of the control device 10 that detects the skill of the driver based on the detected value of the steering angle sensor 4 correspond to the “skill calculation means” of the present invention. Further, the neighborhood image control unit 110 and the speedometer control unit 160 correspond to the “control unit” of the present invention. Further, the navigation system 20 and a part of the control device 10 that detects a lane change based on information managed by the navigation system 20 correspond to the “lane change detection means” of the present invention. The neighborhood image generation unit 111 corresponds to the “neighboring image generation unit” of the present invention.

<< Second Embodiment >>
FIG. 12 shows a display screen of the monitor 6 of the driving assistance apparatus 100 according to another embodiment of the invention. In this example, the display form for supporting the lane change displayed in the near image 201 and the far image 203 is different from the first embodiment described above. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment described above, and the description of the first embodiment is incorporated as appropriate. In addition, the structure of a driving assistance device uses FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 suitably.

  When the navigation system 20 acquires a destination based on a user input, the navigation system 20 calculates a travel route to the destination. Then, the navigation system 20 outputs information indicating the calculated travel route to the neighborhood image generation unit 111, the distant image generation unit 131, and the region calculation unit 151.

  When generating the far image 203, the far image generation unit 131 adds the travel direction indicated by the travel route to the far image 203. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the travel route to the destination indicates that the left turn at the intersection of the distant image 203, the distant image generation unit 131 displays the guidance indicating the left turn at the intersection. 203 a is synthesized with the far image 203.

  In addition, the distant image generation unit 131 arranges, for example, a target display 203b such as a fueling facility (gas station) at the intersection as a mark of an intersection that turns left.

  The neighborhood image generation unit 201 displays the guidance display 201a on the neighborhood image 201 with the lane corresponding to the traveling direction of the intersection indicated by the travel route as the lane that recommends traveling. The travel route shows a left turn at the intersection of the distant image 203. Since the driving lane of the neighborhood image 201 is two lanes, in order to turn left at the intersection of the distant image 203, it is better for the own vehicle A to travel in the left lane of the two lanes. On the other hand, in the state shown in FIG. 12, the host vehicle A is traveling in the right lane of the two lanes. That is, the lane suitable for the traveling direction (left turn direction) of the intersection indicated by the traveling route (the leftmost lane among the lanes displayed in the neighborhood image 201) is different from the traveling lane of the host vehicle. Therefore, the neighborhood image generation unit 201 displays a lane that recommends traveling among a plurality of lanes as a neighborhood image 201a by displaying the guidance display 201a.

  Further, when the lane suitable for the traveling direction of the intersection indicated by the traveling route is different from the traveling lane of the own vehicle A, and the distance from the own vehicle to the intersection indicated by the distant image 203 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance threshold. The area calculation unit 151 calculates the lane changeable area 201b on the lane suitable for the traveling direction of the intersection. The predetermined distance threshold is a value set in advance so that the timing for displaying the guidance on the monitor 6 is an optimal timing when guiding to the lane suitable for the traveling direction of the intersection.

  Then, the region calculation unit 151 outputs the calculated information of the lane changeable region 201b to the neighborhood image generation unit 111 so that the lane changeable region 201b is included in the neighborhood image 201 and displayed. Also, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 calculates a recommended speed corresponding to the lane changeable area 201b. Then, the recommended speed calculation unit 152 outputs information of the calculated recommended speed to the speedometer controller 160 so that the recommended speed is displayed on the speedometer of the monitor 6.

  As described above, in this example, the lane suitable for the traveling direction of the intersection indicated by the traveling route is different from the traveling lane of the own vehicle, and the distance from the own vehicle to the intersection is not more than a predetermined distance threshold. In this case, the lane changeable area and the recommended speed are displayed on the monitor 6. Thereby, the target position and vehicle speed of the lane change can be displayed on the monitor 6 in accordance with the timing of changing the lane.

  The navigation system 20 described above corresponds to the “traveling route calculation means” of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a-1d ... Camera 2 ... Radar 6 ... Monitor 10 ... Control apparatus 20 ... Navigation system 110 ... Proximity image control part 111 ... Proximity image generation part 112 ... First connection point setting part 120 ... Connection image generation part 131 ... Distant image generation Unit 132 ... second connection point setting unit 140 ... image combining unit 150 ... lane change control unit 151 ... area calculation unit 152 ... recommended speed calculation unit 160 ... speedometer control unit

Claims (13)

Vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle;
Other vehicle detection means for detecting the state of the other vehicle traveling around the host vehicle;
Based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detection unit and the state of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle detection unit, on the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle, A lane changeable area calculating means for calculating a lane changeable area indicating a lane changeable area;
A recommended speed calculating means for calculating a recommended speed of the host vehicle when the host vehicle enters the lane changeable region based on a vehicle speed of the other vehicle;
The recommended speed calculation means is:
A driving assistance device that calculates a range of the recommended speed based on a vehicle speed of the other vehicle. The driving support device according to claim 1,
The lane changeable area calculating means is
Determining the presence or absence of the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane;
When the other vehicle is traveling in the adjacent lane, the driving support device calculates the lane changeable region at at least one position in front of or behind the other vehicle. The driving support device according to claim 1 or 2,
The recommended speed calculation means is:
When the lane changeable area is calculated at a position in front of the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane,
Calculate the lower limit speed based on the speed of the other vehicle,
Calculate a speed obtained by adding a predetermined speed to the lower limit speed as an upper limit speed,
A driving assistance device, wherein a speed range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed is calculated as the recommended speed range. The driving support device according to claim 1 or 2,
The recommended speed calculation means is:
When the lane changeable area is calculated at a position behind the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane,
An upper limit speed is calculated based on the speed of the other vehicle,
Calculate a speed obtained by subtracting a predetermined speed from the upper limit speed as a lower limit speed,
A driving assistance device, wherein a speed range from the lower limit speed to the upper limit speed is calculated as the recommended speed range. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The other vehicle detection means includes
Detecting the state of the first other vehicle traveling on the adjacent lane and the state of the second other vehicle traveling behind the first other vehicle on the adjacent lane;
The lane changeable area calculating means is
Calculating the lane changeable region between the first other vehicle and the second other vehicle;
The recommended speed calculation means is:
The range of the recommended speed is narrowed as the lane changeable region is narrowed. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The other vehicle detection means includes
Detecting the state of the first other vehicle traveling on the adjacent lane and the state of the second other vehicle traveling behind the first other vehicle on the adjacent lane;
The lane changeable area calculating means is
The recommended speed calculation means for calculating the lane changeable area between the first other vehicle and the second other vehicle,
The driving assistance device characterized in that the range of the recommended speed is widened as the lane changeable region becomes wider. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The lane changeable area calculating means is
A first lane changeable area corresponding to a position ahead of the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane and a second lane changeable area corresponding to a position behind the other vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane are calculated respectively. And
The recommended speed calculation means is:
A driving support device that calculates a first recommended speed corresponding to the first lane changeable area and a second recommended speed corresponding to the second lane changeable area and different from the first recommended speed, respectively. . Vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle;
Other vehicle detection means for detecting the state of the other vehicle traveling around the host vehicle;
Based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detection unit and the state of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle detection unit, on the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle, A lane changeable area calculating means for calculating a lane changeable area indicating a lane changeable area;
Based on the vehicle speed of the other vehicle, recommended speed calculation means for calculating a recommended speed of the host vehicle when the host vehicle enters the lane changeable region;
The lane changeable area calculated by the lane changeable area calculation means, and a display means for displaying the recommended speed calculated by the recommended speed calculation means,
The lane changeable area calculating means is
Calculate the corresponding lane changeable area corresponding to a plurality of positions on the adjacent lane,
The recommended speed calculation means is:
Calculating a plurality of the recommended speeds respectively corresponding to the plurality of lane changeable areas;
The display means includes
The driving support device, wherein the plurality of lane changeable areas and the plurality of recommended speeds are displayed in association with each other. Vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle;
Other vehicle detection means for detecting the state of the other vehicle traveling around the host vehicle;
Based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detection unit and the state of the other vehicle detected by the other vehicle detection unit, on the adjacent lane adjacent to the traveling lane of the host vehicle, A lane changeable area calculating means for calculating a lane changeable area indicating a lane changeable area;
Based on the vehicle speed of the other vehicle, recommended speed calculation means for calculating a recommended speed of the host vehicle when the host vehicle enters the lane changeable region;
Skill calculation means for calculating the skill of the driver traveling the vehicle,
The recommended speed calculation means is:
The driving assistance apparatus characterized by narrowing the range of the recommended speed as the skill calculated by the skill calculation means is lower. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
Display means for displaying the lane changeable area calculated by the lane changeable area calculating means and the recommended speed calculated by the recommended speed calculating means;
Control means for controlling the display means,
The control means includes
When the driver of the host vehicle operates a switch of a direction indicator, the lane changeable region and the recommended speed are displayed on the display means. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
Display means for displaying the lane changeable area calculated by the lane changeable area calculating means and the recommended speed calculated by the recommended speed calculating means;
A travel route calculating means for calculating a travel route to the destination;
Control means for controlling the display means,
The control means includes
The lane change is performed when the lane suitable for the traveling direction of the intersection indicated by the traveling route is different from the traveling lane of the own vehicle and the distance from the own vehicle to the intersection is equal to or less than a predetermined distance threshold. A driving assistance apparatus, wherein the display unit displays a possible area and the recommended speed. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
Display means for displaying the lane changeable area calculated by the lane changeable area calculating means and the recommended speed calculated by the recommended speed calculating means;
Lane change detection means for detecting a lane change of the host vehicle;
Control means for controlling the display means,
The control means includes
When the lane change is detected by the lane change detection means, the lane change possible area and the recommended speed are displayed on the display means. The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 12,
Imaging means for imaging the surroundings of the host vehicle;
Neighborhood image generation means for generating a neighborhood image indicating the vicinity of the host vehicle from an image taken by the imaging means;
The lane changeable area calculated by the lane changeable area calculation means; and display means for displaying the recommended speed calculated by the recommended speed calculation means;
Control means for controlling the display means,
The control means includes
The driving support apparatus, wherein the lane changeable region is included in the vicinity image and displayed on the display means.

Images