JPH1145398A - Self-lane object detection device and vehicle travel controller provided with the device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely detect the preceding vehicle of a target by converting the position of a detection object into the position of a straight road and judging that the object whose probability of existence in a self-lane is not less than a prescribed value and whose distance with a self-vehicle is not more than the prescribed value exists in the self-lane. SOLUTION: A CPU in a laser radar groups data considered to be the same object from data on an obtained direction and the distance and extracts the objects 300, 400 and 500. It detects the positions (Xc and Z) on the objects 300 and 400 except for a static object 500. CPU receives estimated curve radius data from vehicle distance control ECU and converts it into the positions (Xs and Z) of the detection objects. Then, probability that the object exists in the self-lane is calculated from the position in the straight road. When the self-lane existence probability extracts the object of not less than the prescribed threshold and the extracted object is one, the object is judged to be the preceding vehicle. When plural extracted objects exist, the object having the shortest distance Z with the self-vehicle is judged to be the following preceding vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle lane object detection device and a vehicle travel control device provided with the same, and more particularly to the detection of a vehicle lane object on a curved road.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a technique for detecting a preceding vehicle using a laser radar or the like. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 150195 discloses a technique for improving the recognition rate by increasing the presence probability of a target if the past target and the target detected this time are the same.

[0003]

On the other hand, it is also very important to detect whether the detected target (preceding vehicle) exists on the own lane, and the necessity is particularly large on a curved road. This is because it is likely that a vehicle existing in an adjacent lane is erroneously recognized as a preceding vehicle on the own lane, or conversely, a target existing on a preceding lane on the own lane is not recognized, and control becomes unstable.

In order to determine whether or not a target detected on a curved road is present on the own lane, for example, the radius of a curve running based on the steering speed or the own vehicle speed is calculated, and based on this curve radius. Although it is conceivable to make a determination, an error is also included in the calculation of the curve radius, so a process that takes this error into consideration is necessary.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus capable of reliably detecting a preceding vehicle as a target, and to provide a more reliable apparatus using the apparatus. The purpose is to realize travel control.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a self-lane object detecting device, which detects objects existing in the own lane from objects around the own vehicle detected by a radar device. An apparatus for detecting, a conversion means for converting the position of the detected object into a position on a straight road, a probability calculation means for calculating a probability of being in the own lane based on the converted position, and wherein the probability is a predetermined value. Determining means for determining an object whose distance to the own vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value as an object existing in the own lane.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the predetermined value is set according to a curve radius.

In a third aspect based on the first and second aspects, the probability calculating means weights a current probability determined according to the converted position and a previously obtained probability. The present invention is characterized in that the own lane existence probability is calculated by the average, and the weight of the weighted average is changed according to the distance of the detected object.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle traveling control device including the own lane object detecting device according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, wherein the distance between the detected own lane object and the detected own lane object is maintained at a predetermined value. In order to control the vehicle speed, control means is provided.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description,
"Cruise control" or "cruise function" means that if there is a preceding vehicle, the vehicle follows the vehicle while keeping the distance to the preceding vehicle at the target distance, and if there is no preceding vehicle, it is set by the driver This means running at a constant speed at the vehicle speed.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the present embodiment. A scanning type laser radar 10 is provided on a front bumper of the vehicle, and sends a laser beam forward, and a distance and a direction from a reflected light to an object ahead,
Detect relative speed. An inter-vehicle control ECU (electronic control unit) 12 is connected to the scan type laser radar 10 to determine a vehicle to follow based on data from the laser radar 10 so that an interval with the following vehicle becomes a target interval. The acceleration (or deceleration) is determined. Vehicle control EC
An engine ECU 14 is connected to U12, and implements a cruise control function based on data from the headway control ECU12. Specifically, this engine EC
U14 has an electronic throttle actuator 24 and EC
A T (electronic control transmission) solenoid 26 is connected to drive an electronic throttle actuator in accordance with a target acceleration supplied from the headway control ECU 12 or in response to a downshift request (deceleration request) supplied from the headway control ECU 12. The shift is changed to a low speed side to cause engine braking.

The engine ECU 14 has an ECT mode switch 16, a cruise control switch 18,
A stop lamp switch 20 and a vehicle speed sensor 22 are connected. The cruise control switch 18 is for performing each operation of ON / OFF of the cruise function of the engine ECU 14, setting of the vehicle speed, acceleration, deceleration, and control cancellation, and details thereof will be described later. EC
The T mode switch 16 is a switch for the driver to set an ECT mode (for example, a power mode or a snow mode). When the driver sets the ECT mode to a snow mode (a mode in which the vehicle can start in a second gear). Means that the engine ECU 14 cancels the cruise function. This is to prevent the cruise control from being performed on slippery roads such as snowy roads and icy roads. The cruise function can be canceled by canceling the cruise function in operation or by turning on the cruise function using the cruise control switch 18. This includes prohibiting the transition to the cruise function even at times. Note that the driver does not operate the ECT mode switch 16 but the engine ECU 14
It detects that the wheel is slipping based on the wheel speed and the output from the G sensor inside, determines that the road is a low friction road (low μ road), and automatically sets the engine and transmission to the same as the ECT snow mode. Also in the case of control, it is desirable to cancel the cruise function simultaneously with the determination. The stop lamp switch 20 is for detecting the brake operation by the driver, and when the driver performs the brake operation, the engine ECU 14 cancels the cruise function.

A VSC (vehicle attitude stabilization control) -ECU 28 is connected to the engine ECU 14.
A steering sensor 30 and a warning buzzer 32 are connected to the C-ECU 28. When the VSC-ECU 28 detects that the vehicle has over-steered or under-steered based on the detection from the steering sensor 30, the VSC-ECU 28 lowers the output of the engine and applies a braking force to the front wheels or the rear wheels to stabilize the turning motion of the vehicle. When the system operates, the warning buzzer 32 is driven to alert the driver. However, if the inter-vehicle distance with the following vehicle is too close during the cruise function, the engine ECU 14 sets the VSC-. The alarm buzzer 32 is driven via the ECU 28 to call the driver's attention (for example,
(E.g., an audible alarm sounds). That is, the alarm buzzer 32 has both functions of the VSC operation alarm and the inter-vehicle alarm during the cruise function. The steering angle detected by the steering sensor 30 is used for the VSC and is also supplied to the engine ECU 14 to be used particularly for a cruise function on a curved road. Various devices are connected to the engine ECU 14 via a body multiplex communication system 34. Specifically, a tail lamp switch 36, a wiper switch 38, and a meter 40 are connected. The tail lamp switch 36 is for detecting the lighting of the tail lamp, that is, night running, and when the tail lamp switch is in the ON state, the engine ECU 14
Sets the target inter-vehicle distance longer than during the day. A specific setting method will be described later. Wiper switch 3
Numeral 8 is for detecting the operating state of the wiper, that is, running in rainy weather. When the wiper switch 38 is ON, the engine ECU 14 cancels the cruise function. The meter display 40 is one of the features of the present embodiment, and displays information specific to the cruise function in addition to the normal speed and the engine speed. The information specific to the cruise function includes detection of a preceding vehicle, an inter-vehicle time representing an inter-vehicle distance, a set vehicle speed, a state of the cruise function, a fail mode, and the like. The inter-vehicle time is a physical quantity expressing the inter-vehicle distance by time, and has a relation of inter-vehicle time = inter-vehicle distance / vehicle speed.
Therefore, there is a target inter-vehicle time corresponding to the target inter-vehicle distance that is the target of the follow-up control at a ratio of 1: 1. In this embodiment, the inter-vehicle time switch 44 is provided so that the driver can appropriately adjust the target inter-vehicle time. . The inter-vehicle time switch 44 is connected to the meter display 40, and the inter-vehicle time set by the driver is displayed on the display as it is, and is supplied to the engine ECU 14 via the body multiplex communication system 34 and used for cruise control. As the inter-vehicle time that can be set by the driver, three stages of long, medium and short are prepared as follows.

Long: 2.4 (sec) Medium: 2.0 (sec) Short: 1.8 (sec) When the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 80 km / h, the time between vehicles can be represented by a distance. Length is about 55m, inside is about 45
m and short are about 40 m. These inter-vehicle times are
It is displayed on the display 40 so that it is possible to see at a glance which inter-vehicle time is currently set. In the above description, when the tail lamp switch 36 is in the ON state, the inter-vehicle distance is set to be longer than during the day. Change the length of 2.4 (sec) to 2.4 + α1 (sec), and change it to 2.0 (sec)
c) is changed to 2.0 + α2 (sec), and 1.8 (α) is changed to 1.8 + α3 (sec) in a short time of 1.8 (sec).
To change. Α according to the long, middle, short
It is preferable to change the above constants so that 1>α2> α3. Further, these α1, α2, and α3 may be selected in advance by the driver.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the laser radar 10. The light emitting circuit 10b pulse-drives the laser diode LD10c based on a command from the CPU 10a. The pulse laser light from the laser diode LD10c is shaped by the lens 10d, reflected by the mirror 10e, and enters the polygon mirror f. The polygon mirror has six surfaces and rotates around a rotation axis. The rotation of the polygon mirror 10f scans a pulse laser beam in a horizontal plane (in the horizontal direction with respect to the traveling direction). Further, each surface of the polygon mirror 10f has a different inclination angle sequentially, and scans the pulse laser light in the vertical direction with respect to the traveling direction each time the incident surface of the pulse laser light changes.

On the other hand, when there is a preceding vehicle, the pulse laser beam reflected by the preceding vehicle enters the photodiode 10h via the light receiving lens 10g, is converted into an electric signal, and is supplied to the light receiving circuit 10i. The received light pulse signal is further supplied to a time measurement IC 10j, and the time from when the pulse laser light is transmitted to the time when it is reflected and received by the preceding vehicle is measured, and supplied to the CPU 10a to detect the distance to the preceding vehicle. And a relative speed as a time change is detected. The detected inter-vehicle distance and relative speed are supplied to the CPU 10k, and the CPU 10k supplies these detection data to the inter-vehicle control ECU 12.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a scan range 100 of the laser radar 10. Polygon mirror 10
The pulsed laser light scans in a horizontal plane in a horizontal direction with respect to the traveling direction by being reflected on one of the six reflecting surfaces f. Also, the polygon mirror 10
By scanning off the other reflecting surface of f, scanning is performed in the horizontal direction in a different horizontal plane. The pulsed laser light in the vertical direction has a total of 6 corresponding to each of the reflection surfaces of the polygon mirror.
There are a total of 105 books in the left-right direction corresponding to the rotation angle in one reflection surface. The reach of the laser beam is about 100 m in fine weather. Therefore, if there is a preceding vehicle within 100 m, there is a preceding vehicle, and if it is more than 100 m, there is no preceding vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a layout diagram of the vicinity of the steering wheel 50 in the vehicle interior. A lever-shaped cruise control switch 18 is provided on the right side of the steering shaft, and an inter-vehicle time switch 44 is provided on the steering wheel 50. As described above, the cruise control switch 18 has a function to set ON / OFF of the cruise function, a vehicle speed at the time of constant speed running (when no preceding vehicle is present) and an upper limit vehicle speed at the time of following running, and acceleration / deceleration without using the accelerator pedal. It has a function to perform, a resume function to return from the control non-operation state to the operation state, and the like. The inter-vehicle time changeover switch switches a target inter-vehicle time during follow-up traveling (in this embodiment, three stages of long, medium, and short) Have.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the cruise control switch 18. The cruise control switch 18 is in the form of a lever and can be operated up and down. A main switch 18a which can be pushed (in the direction of arrow a in the figure) is provided on the side. By depressing the main switch 18a, the engine ECU 14
Cruise power is turned on. The power ON state is a standby state of the cruise function, and the driver shifts to the actual cruise function when the driver sets the cruise function after the set vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle time are set. The setting of the cruise function (SET) is executed by lowering the cruise control switch 18. As described above, even when the main switch 18a is pressed, the cruise power is not turned on but remains off during the ECT snow mode or the wiper operation. Further, when it is desired to increase the set vehicle speed, the cruise control switch is kept up, and when it is desired to decrease the set vehicle speed, the cruise control switch is kept down.
These data are supplied to the CU 14. When the driver performs the brake pedal operation during the control operation, that is, during the cruise operation, the control is not operated (the cruise function is cancelled). (Resume function).

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the inter-vehicle time changeover switch 44. The inter-vehicle time switch 44 is composed of three switches, a mode (MODE) switch 44a for switching the inter-vehicle time in three stages, and a display 4
Function switch 44 for switching 0 (FUNCTION)
b and a reset switch. The inter-vehicle time is always set to be long in the initial state of the engine ON, and is switched from long to middle and further short by operating the mode switch 44a. When the vehicle becomes shorter and further operations are performed, the inter-vehicle time returns to a longer time. The reason why the inter-vehicle time is uniformly initialized in the initial state when the engine is ON is to ensure safety when the vehicle shifts to the following running.
The function switch 44b is for switching between a cruise state display and other displays (for example, an alarm display) on the display 40, and the engine E is turned on during cruise control.
The CU 14 displays the control state (presence / absence of a preceding vehicle and a set vehicle speed). When the driver operates the switch 44b, the display changes to a warning display screen or a drive monitor screen. However, if any change occurs in the cruise state (for example, whether the preceding vehicle is detected or the set vehicle speed changes) while the warning display screen is displayed, the display is automatically switched from the warning screen to the cruise state screen. Switch to

FIG. 7 shows a display example of the meter display 40. The speed is displayed on the center left side, the engine speed is displayed on the center right side, and the cruise state screen 41 is displayed on the lower part. This screen 41 can be composed of, for example, liquid crystal. An alarm lamp 42 is provided on the left side of the cruise status screen 41, and a cruise power lamp 43 is further provided on the right side.
Is provided. On the cruise state screen 41, the detected preceding vehicle, target inter-vehicle time, own vehicle, and set vehicle speed are displayed. As described above, when the driver operates the function switch 44b of the inter-vehicle time changeover switch 44, this screen is switched to another screen (warning screen or drive monitor screen). In addition, in order to adjust so that the inter-vehicle time is increased when the tail lamp is lit, it is also preferable that when the tail lamp is lit, the screen 41 has a screen color different from the daytime to notify the driver that the inter-vehicle time is adjusted to be increased. is there. If the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle abnormally while following the preceding vehicle, a warning is given to the driver using the warning buzzer 32 of the VSC. At this time, the engine ECU 4 displays the screen 41 so as to repeat the inversion of light and dark. It is also preferred to control and visually alert the driver.

The alarm lamp 42 is lit when an abnormality occurs in the cruise function. In this case, the engine ECU 14 cancels the cruise function and displays the details of the abnormality on the screen 41. Of course, the alarm buzzer 32
A warning sound can be used to notify the driver. As the warning sound, for example, a "pawn" or the like can be considered to distinguish it from the warning sound "pipipipi" at the time of following the preceding vehicle.

The configuration of this embodiment is as described above, and the operation will be described in more detail below.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the cruise control process executed by the following control ECU 12 and the engine ECU 14. When the driver sets the cruise function using the cruise control switch 18 (turns the main switch ON and sets the switch 18 down), the engine ECU 14 determines whether or not the cruise function has been canceled (S101). If the vehicle has not been cancelled, the following control ECU 12 determines whether or not a preceding vehicle has been detected, and if there is a preceding vehicle, the following control ECU 12 and the engine ECU 14 execute the following cruise control (S103). ). If there is no preceding vehicle, the engine ECU 14 compares the current vehicle speed Vn with the set vehicle speed Vm (S104) and determines that Vn <
If it is Vm, acceleration control is performed to set the vehicle speed (S10
5) If the current vehicle speed Vn is substantially equal to the set vehicle speed Vm, a constant speed cruise control for maintaining the current vehicle speed is executed (S106). If the wiper is activated in rainy weather or EC
When shifting to the snow mode of T, when the driver operates the cruise control switch 18 to cancel, when the driver operates the brake, when the vehicle speed falls below a predetermined value (for example, 40 km / h), the cruise function is activated. If an abnormality occurs, for example, YES is determined in S101, and the engine ECU 14 cancels the cruise function (S107).

FIG. 9 shows a detailed flowchart of the inter-vehicle cruise executed in S103. First, the laser radar 10 detects the inter-vehicle distance and the relative speed with the preceding vehicle (S201), and the inter-vehicle control ECU 12 calculates the inter-vehicle deviation between the target inter-vehicle time and the current inter-vehicle time (S202).
Then, the control acceleration (target acceleration) required to reduce the inter-vehicle deviation to zero is calculated (S203), and the engine E
Supply to CU14. The engine ECU 14 controls the electronic throttle actuator 24 to obtain this control acceleration.
Is driven to control the engine output (S204). If the calculated control acceleration is a large negative value, that is, a large deceleration side, the engine ECU 14 cuts off the overdrive and shifts down by receiving the downshift request supplied from the headway control ECU. Decelerate with the brakes.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the above processing contents. (A) shows a case where there is no preceding vehicle (100
m, and the vehicle runs at a constant speed at the vehicle speed set by the driver (S106 in FIG. 8).
Constant speed cruise in). (B) is a case where a preceding vehicle that is slower than the set vehicle speed is detected during traveling at a constant speed, and deceleration control is performed so as not to abnormally approach the preceding vehicle (inter-vehicle cruise in S103 in FIG. 8). (C) is a case where the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle, and acceleration / deceleration control is performed such that the inter-vehicle time with the preceding vehicle becomes the target inter-vehicle time with the set vehicle speed as an upper limit (S103 in FIG. 8).
Cruise between vehicles in). (D) is a case where the preceding vehicle has entered the interchange or the service area and is no longer present. In this case, the vehicle gradually accelerates to the set vehicle speed (constant speed cruise in S106 in FIG. 8). The reason why the vehicle gradually accelerates to the set vehicle speed when the preceding vehicle no longer exists is that if the vehicle ahead enters the interchange or the service area and the preceding vehicle disappears, the vehicle rapidly accelerates to the set vehicle speed. This is in consideration of undesirable effects.

As described above, when the preceding vehicle is present, the inter-vehicle cruise is executed, but as a prerequisite, the preceding vehicle existing in the own lane must be reliably detected. When the own vehicle is traveling on a straight road, the scan range and the own lane width are known, so whether or not the vehicle detected by the laser radar 10 is the preceding vehicle existing in the own lane is determined. Although it is easy, when traveling on a curved road, it must be determined whether or not the detected vehicle is present in the own lane in consideration of a curve radius and the like.

FIG. 11 shows the positional relationship between the host vehicle 200 and the preceding vehicles 300 and 400 when traveling on a curved road. When a predetermined range is scanned by the laser radar 10 mounted on the own vehicle 200, the vehicles 300 and 400 traveling ahead and, in some cases, a road sign 500
Is detected. Among them, the road sign 500 is excluded from the magnitude of the relative speed (if the relative speed is equal to or more than a certain value, it can be determined as a stationary object), and any of the preceding vehicles 300 and 400 is the preceding vehicle existing in the own lane. (In the case of the figure, the preceding traveling vehicle 300 is the preceding vehicle in the own lane). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the preceding vehicle 300 is detected as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 12, the CPU 10a in the laser radar 10 extracts objects 300, 400 and 500 by grouping data considered to be the same object from the obtained data on the direction and the distance. Among them, object 5
00 is excluded because it can be determined as a stationary object as described above, and the position (Xc, Z) of the objects 300 and 400
Is detected. Here, the Z axis is set in the traveling direction of the own vehicle,
The X axis is set in a direction perpendicular to the Z axis (the width direction of the vehicle) in the road surface.

Next, the CPU 10a controls the headway control ECU 12
From the estimated curve radius data, and converts the position (Xc, Z) of the detected object into a position (Xs, Z) on a straight road based on the data. Specifically, the headway control ECU
12 calculates the curve radius R based on the vehicle speed V and the steering angle θ.

R = KR (1 + αV ² + βV ³ ) / θ Here, KR, α and β are constants. Then, the CPU 10a of the laser radar 10 calculates the position Xs on the straight road based on the estimated curve radius R.

Xs = Xc−Z ² / 2R After the position of the object on the curved road is converted into the position on the straight road, the probability of being present in the own lane is calculated from the position on the straight road. The calculation of the probability is performed based on a probability map created in advance.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the probability map stored in the memory of the CPU 10a. The horizontal axis is X
s, and is represented by X in the figure for simplicity. The vertical axis is Z
Axis. The coordinate origin of the X axis and the Z axis is (0, 0),
This is the position of the vehicle. It is divided into a plurality of areas by straight lines or curves a to f and a ′ to f ′ (a ′ to
f ′ is a straight line or a curve obtained by folding a to f symmetrically with respect to the Z axis).

The area surrounded by the curves a and a 'is A, the area surrounded by the curves b and b' (excluding the area A) is B, and the area surrounded by the curves c and c '(the area A , B)
C, the area surrounded by the curves d and d 'is D, and the straight lines e and e'
Assuming that a region surrounded by a straight line of Z and Z = 60 is E, the instantaneous lane probability Poi in each region is determined as follows.

Having any area D: Poi = 100% Center exists in area A: Poi = 80% Center exists in area B: Poi = 60% Center exists in area E: Poi = 60% The center exists in the area C: Poi = 30% Even the area E is at least: Poi = 30% Areas A to F are not satisfied: Poi = 0% The object is located in any area as described above. Then, the instantaneous lane probability Poi of the object is determined, and the weighted average value is used as the own lane existence probability Pi of the object. That is,

## EQU3 ## Pi = Pi (t-1) .alpha. + Poi.multidot. (1-.alpha.) Here, Pi (t-1) is the previous lane existence probability, and its initial value is 0%. Α is a weight,
It is preferable to change the weight according to the distance to the object (Z may be used). Specifically, the smaller the distance to the object, the smaller the setting. Thereby, the closer the object is,
The responsiveness can be increased by increasing the weight of the current detection result Poi.

After determining the own lane existence probability of the object, the CPU 10a of the laser radar 10 extracts an object whose own lane existence probability is equal to or more than a predetermined threshold value (for example, 50%). If there is only one extracted object, the object is determined to be the preceding vehicle to follow, and if there are a plurality of extracted objects, the one with the shortest distance Z to the vehicle is selected. It is determined that the preceding vehicle to follow. Thus, for example, in the case of FIG. 12, the own lane existence probabilities of the forward traveling vehicles 300 and 400 become 60% and 30%, respectively, and only the forward traveling vehicle 300 is determined to be the preceding vehicle. Even if the third vehicle exists before the traveling vehicle and its own lane existence probability is about 60%, the forward traveling vehicle 300 with a short distance Z is determined to be the preceding vehicle.

Also, as shown in FIG. 14A, when a preceding vehicle a exists on the own lane, and the vehicle b attempts to enter the own lane from an adjacent lane, the respective existence probabilities are ( As shown in B), they are 90% and 60%, both of which are equal to or larger than the threshold value and the distance of the vehicle b is shorter, so that the vehicle b is recognized as a preceding vehicle to be followed. As a result, it is possible to quickly control a more urgent near vehicle.

It is preferable that the threshold value for extracting the preceding vehicle is changed according to the radius of the curve. The reason is that the position of the object uses a value converted from a curved road to a straight road, and the reliability (error) of the converted value depends on the value of the curve radius. Specifically, it is desirable to lower the threshold value as the curve radius R is smaller. For example, 1000m ≦ R: threshold probability = 50% 500m ≦ R <1000m: threshold probability = 45% R <500m: threshold probability = 40% Thus, it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition such as losing the leading vehicle on an arbitrary curved road and to correctly determine the leading vehicle.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The preceding vehicle that is the target of the control can be reliably detected, and thus the traveling control can be reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a laser radar according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a scan range of the laser radar according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an arrangement in the vicinity of a steering according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the cruise control switch of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an inter-vehicle time switch according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a display according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an overall processing flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an inter-vehicle control flowchart of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a processing mode according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of radar detection on a curved road according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) of radar detection on a curved road according to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a map for calculating an existence probability according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the existence probability at the time of vehicle interruption according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 laser radar, 12 inter-vehicle control ECU, 14 engine ECU, 16 ECT mode switch, 18 cruise control switch (hand operation means), 20 stop lamp switch, 22 vehicle speed sensor, 24 electronic throttle actuator, 26 ECT solenoid,
28 VSC-ECU, 30 steering sensor, 3
2 Alarm buzzer, 34 body multiplex communication, 36 tail lamp switch, 38 wiper switch, 40 display, 44 inter-vehicle time switch.

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI G01S 17/93 G01S 17/88 A (72) Inventor Tsuneo Miyakoshi 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Sato 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Denso Corporation (72) Inventor Eiji Teramura 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Denso Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A device for detecting an object existing in a vehicle lane from objects around the vehicle detected by a radar device, comprising: conversion means for converting the position of the detected object into a position on a straight road; A probability calculating means for calculating a probability of being in the own lane based on the position; and determining an object whose probability is equal to or more than a predetermined value and whose distance to the own vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value as an object existing in the own lane. A self-lane object detection device, comprising: a determination unit. 2. The vehicle lane object detecting device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value is set according to a curve radius. 3. The probability calculation means calculates the own lane existence probability by a weighted average of a current probability determined according to the converted position and a probability obtained last time, and detects the detected object lane. The self-lane object detection device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the weight of the weighted average is changed according to the distance of the vehicle. 4. A vehicle lane object detecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling the vehicle speed so as to maintain a distance between the detected vehicle lane object and the vehicle lane object at a predetermined value. Vehicle travel control device.