JP3376863B2 - Vehicle ahead detection device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting an object (preferably a preceding vehicle) in front of an own vehicle, such as an inter-vehicle distance control for properly maintaining an inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle. The present invention relates to a preceding vehicle detection device applied to.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A vehicle traveling control device for measuring a distance to a preceding vehicle and a relative speed to keep the distance constant is always equipped with a preceding vehicle detecting device for measuring a distance to the preceding vehicle. There is. A scanning laser radar that scans a laser beam within a predetermined range has been proposed as such a preceding vehicle detection device. Furthermore, equipped with a curve detection function,
A preceding vehicle determination that determines whether the obstacle detected by the scanning laser radar is a vehicle on the same lane as the own vehicle is also considered.

For example, in the inter-vehicle distance control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-279099, the concept of own lane probability is introduced to find the probability that a detected object exists in the own lane. Specifically, the own lane probability map (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a map) as shown in FIG. 10 is introduced, the coordinates of the detected object are arranged on this map, and the own lane probability is calculated. In this map, the horizontal axis is the left and right direction of the vehicle,
The vertical axis represents the front-back direction of the vehicle. For example, if the location of the detected object is 1 m laterally and 50 m ahead of the vehicle, it means that the vehicle is in the area b, and the probability of 60% corresponding to the area b is the vehicle lane probability of the object (to be exact, the instantaneous vehicle Lane probability P0)
Becomes When it is detected that the vehicle is traveling on a curved road based on the steering angle or the like, the detection result is converted to a straight road and then arranged on the map. Details of the own lane probability map will be described later.

[0004]

In the preceding vehicle detection apparatus represented by the above publication, the mounting position of the portion for transmitting / receiving the laser beam (hereinafter referred to as the transmitting / receiving section) in the vehicle is not taken into consideration. This will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the vehicle A traveling on a right curve with a radius R as seen from above, and the upper side is the front of the vehicle A in this figure. As shown in the figure, when the host vehicle A turns, it runs on an arc centered on a point P on the extension of the rear wheel shaft. On the other hand, the receiver S
In most cases, it is installed in front of the vehicle. That is,
There is a deviation of ΔY between the rear wheel shaft and the receiving unit S. When the position of the host vehicle A is represented by the midpoint Q of the two rear wheels, the preceding vehicle B in front of the host vehicle A along the curve is displaced to the right by Δε for the receiver S. Will be in.

In fact, the transmitter / receiver S may be offset in the left-right direction of the vehicle A due to the design or the like, and this offset also causes a shift in the detection position. In this case, proper detection cannot be performed even when traveling on a straight road. This is not limited to the preceding vehicle detection process using the map and own lane probability,
The same occurs in a preceding vehicle detection device that scans a laser beam or the like within a predetermined angle range in the width direction to detect an object in front.

The present invention has been made in view of this problem, and the present invention according to claim 1 and claim 2 accurately travels along a straight road regardless of the mounting position of the transmitting / receiving section S. The purpose is to be able to detect an object in front. According to a third aspect of the invention, further, an object to be able to detect accurately in front of the object even in the curved road.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, by using a lane probability mentioned above, better accuracy, and aims to enable detecting whether or not being in the vehicle and the same lane. According to a fifth aspect of the invention is to propose a manner of inter-vehicle distance control with the preceding vehicle detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

The present invention according to claim 6 is intended to be adaptable to various vehicles having different mounting positions of the transmitting / receiving section S.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
In the invention described in (1), when the object recognition means calculates the relative position of the object detected by the distance measurement means , the offset amount ΔY from the axis of the rear wheel of the vehicle of the irradiation means to the front side is added.
Taste and correct the relative position. The irradiating means scans and irradiates a transmission wave or a laser beam in a predetermined angle range in the width direction of the own vehicle, and corresponds to the transmitting / receiving section S described above. Since it is determined whether or not the detected object is in the same lane as the own vehicle (hereinafter, also referred to as the own lane) based on the corrected relative position, the object in front can be accurately detected. Claim
In the invention described in 2, the distance is detected by the distance measuring means.
When the object recognition means calculates the relative position of the
The axis of the rear wheel of the irradiation means with respect to the left-right center of the vehicle of the means
From the relative position, taking into account the offset amount ΔX from the front
To fix. Based on the corrected relative position,
Determine if the detected object is in the same lane as your vehicle
Therefore, the object in front can be accurately detected.

However, as shown in FIG. 11, when the vehicle travels on a curved road, the deviation amount varies depending on the radius of the curve and the like. Corresponding to this, in order to accurately determine whether or not the object is in the own lane even on a curved road, the invention according to claim 3 may be adopted. That is, the vehicle includes a curve detection unit that obtains curve data including the radius of the curve of the traveling path of the own vehicle, and the own lane determination unit further considers the curve data detected by the curve detection unit to determine the relative position of the object. Correct and determine whether you are in your lane.

In this way, it is possible to accurately determine whether the object ahead is in the vehicle lane not only on a straight road but also on a curved road. Further, with respect to the third aspect of the present invention, by introducing a lane probability described above, may be in the embodiment described in claim 4. This makes it possible to detect whether or not the vehicle is in the same lane as the vehicle with higher accuracy.

As described above, if the relative position calculated by the object recognizing means is corrected in consideration of the mounting position of the irradiation means,
Since it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the vehicle is the preceding vehicle as compared with the conventional technique, when applied to the inter-vehicle distance control as in the present invention according to claim 5 , the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane precedes. Appropriate inter-vehicle distance control can be performed without erroneously detecting a vehicle.

In the present invention according to claim 6 , at least:
The irradiation position is provided with a mounting position storage means in which the mounting position in the own vehicle is stored in advance, and the own lane determining means is based on at least the mounting position stored in the mounting position storage means, and the relative position described above. Correction of.

Therefore, if a mounting position storage means for storing the mounting position of the irradiation means in each vehicle type is prepared in advance for various vehicle types, these various vehicles can be supported. In addition, in order to correspond to a vehicle type having a different wheel base, the wheel base may be stored in addition to the mounting position of the irradiation unit.

[0016]

1 is a system block diagram of an embodiment applied to an inter-vehicle distance control device 2 as an embodiment of the present invention. The inter-vehicle distance control device 2 is a device that is mounted on an automobile driven by a gasoline internal combustion engine, and keeps an appropriate inter-vehicle distance when a preceding vehicle is caught during constant-speed traveling control.

The inter-vehicle distance control device 2 is mainly composed of a computer 4, and has a scanning range finder 6, a steering sensor 8, a vehicle speed sensor 10, a cruise control switch 12, a display device 14, an automatic transmission controller 16, and a brake section. 18 and a throttle unit 20.

Here, the scanning range finder 6 is provided with a transmitting / receiving section 6a corresponding to the irradiating means of the present invention and a distance / angle calculating section 6b corresponding to the distance measuring means of the present invention. The laser light is scanned and output within a predetermined angle range, the reflected light is detected, and the relative speed and distance of the object in front are based on the time until the reflected light is captured by the distance / angle calculation unit 6b. Further, it is a device for detecting its position coordinates. Since such a device is already well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Instead of using laser light, radio waves such as microwaves and ultrasonic waves may be used. Further, the angle can be obtained from the phase difference of the signal other than the scan.

The computer 4 includes a central processing unit 4a, a non-volatile memory 4b, an input / output interface (not shown), and various drive circuits and detection circuits. Various processes described later are executed in the central processing unit 4a. The non-volatile memory 4b corresponds to the mounting position storage means of the present invention, in which the mounting position of the transmitting / receiving unit 6a in the vehicle in which the inter-vehicle distance control device 2 is mounted is stored, and the wheel of the vehicle is also stored. The base is also remembered. Since these hardware configurations are general ones, detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the central processing unit 4a performs constant-speed traveling control that maintains the vehicle speed at the set speed when the preceding vehicle is not selected, in addition to the inter-vehicle distance control described later.

The steering sensor 8 detects the amount of change in the steering angle of the steering wheel, and can detect the relative steering angle from the value. Therefore, when the power supply of the inter-vehicle distance control device 2 is turned on, "0" is set in the steering angle storage address on the memory, and the relative steering is calculated by integrating the steering angle change amount detected thereafter. The corner is determined. In addition, the steering angle of the steering wheel when going straight is obtained by the process described later, and is used as the reference value for detecting the curve data. The steering sensor 8 used in this embodiment has a resolution of 2.25 deg.

The vehicle speed sensor 10 is a sensor for detecting a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheel, and corresponds to vehicle speed detecting means. The cruise control switch 12 includes a main switch 12a, a set switch 12b, a resume switch 12c, a cancel switch 12d, and a tap switch 12e. The main switch 12a is a switch for starting cruise control. When the main switch 12a is turned on, the constant speed traveling control is started and the inter-vehicle distance control processing is also executed within the constant speed traveling control. R. Set switch 12b
Is a switch that, when pressed, captures the vehicle speed Vn at that time, sets the vehicle speed Vn to the target speed Vm, and performs constant speed traveling control. The resume switch 12c keeps the target vehicle speed V
When m is stored and is pressed, the vehicle speed is returned from the current vehicle speed to the target vehicle speed Vm. The cancel switch 12d is for canceling the constant speed running control when it is pressed during the constant speed running control. The tap switch 12e is for setting a distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle as described later.

The display device 14 includes a set vehicle speed display device 14a, a current inter-vehicle distance display device 14b, a set inter-vehicle time display device 14c and a sensor abnormality display device 14d. The set vehicle speed display 14a displays the set vehicle speed for constant speed control, and the current inter-vehicle distance display 14b represents the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle selected by the process described later based on the measurement result of the scanning range finder 6, The set inter-vehicle time indicator 14c displays the inter-vehicle time set in the time dimension to control the inter-vehicle distance in the process described later, and the sensor abnormality indicator 14d.
Indicates an abnormality of various sensors such as the scanning rangefinder 6.

The automatic transmission controller 16 is the computer 4
According to an instruction from the side, the gear position of the automatic transmission, which is necessary for controlling the speed of the vehicle, is selected. The brake unit 18 includes a brake driver 18a and a brake switch 18b. If necessary for avoiding a danger, the brake driver 18a operates according to an instruction from the computer 4 to adjust the brake pressure. Further, the depression of the brake pedal by the driver is detected by the brake switch 18b.

The throttle unit 20 is the throttle driver 2
0a and a throttle opening sensor 20b, the throttle driver 20a operates according to an instruction from the computer 4 in speed control, the opening of the throttle valve of the internal combustion engine is adjusted, and the engine output is controlled. The throttle opening is detected by the throttle opening sensor 20b.

The computer 4 also includes a power switch (not shown), which is turned on to supply power to start a predetermined process. Next, an inter-vehicle distance control process executed by the central processing unit 4a will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIG. FIG. 2 shows the process of the whole vehicle distance control. This process is repeatedly executed at a control cycle of 0.2 seconds.

When this process is started, first, in step (hereinafter referred to as S) 1000, the distance / angle measurement data by the scanning range finder 6 is read. Next, the process of recognizing the front obstacle is performed (S2000). The process of recognizing the front obstacle corresponds to the object recognizing means of the present invention, and the recognition type of the front object, the object width W, the object based on the vehicle speed Vn and the result of scanning the front object. The center position XY coordinates and the relative speed Vr of are calculated. The recognition type can be recognized as a moving object, for example, when the relative position of the object hardly changes even though the vehicle is traveling. Also, an object that is gradually moving away can be recognized as a moving object. When the relative position of the object approaches the own vehicle at the same speed (absolute value) as the own vehicle speed, it can be recognized as a stationary object. Other objects, such as an object that has not been recognized for a long time since it appeared, are recognized as unknown objects. The process of recognizing the front obstacle itself is well known to those skilled in the art.

Next, a curve detection process is executed (S3).
000). The details of this processing are shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, the filtering process, that is, the averaging process of the steering angle θ0 detected by the steering sensor 8 is performed (S3100). (1) This steering angle averaging process is performed by the following process repeated every control cycle.

Learning prohibition counter Cgs <25 described later
Then, when the vehicle speed Vn> 20 km / h, the average steering angle θa0 is calculated by the equation 1. θa0 ← θa0 × 0.7 + θ0 × 0.3 (1) When the learning inhibition counter Cgs ≧ 25 described later and the own vehicle speed Vn> 20 km / h, the average steering angle θ in Equation 2
Find a0.

Θa0 ← θa0 × 0.3 + θ0 × 0.7 (2) When the vehicle speed Vn ≦ 20 km / h, the average steering angle θa0 is calculated by the equation 3. θa0 ← θ0 (3) When the vehicle speed is 20 km / h or more and the steering angle is stable (Cgs <25), the time averaging process (weighted average) is performed with a low followability with respect to the detected steering angle θ0. ) Is performed to calculate a new average steering angle θa0. If the steering angle is not stable (Cgs ≧ 25), a new average steering angle θa0 is calculated with higher followability. This means that when there is a large change in the steering angle at the entrance and exit of the curve, the average steering angle θa0 is quickly changed according to the detected steering angle θ0. This is because the quicker change is when the steering wheel is being rotated, so that the steering angle is accurately expressed.

On the other hand, in the case of a straight road or in the middle of a curve, lowering the followability allows the steering angle to be expressed accurately without being affected by the shake of the steering wheel. This makes it possible to obtain an accurate average steering angle θa0 in any steering state.

Timing charts of specific examples of the average steering angle θa0 are shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 shows the shape of the traveling road, and time points T0 to T3 indicate the points passed at that time point. 6 (1) shows the steering angle θ0, and FIG. 6 (2) shows the actual S3.
The average steering angle θa0 obtained by the processing of 100, FIG.
(3) shows the average steering angle θa0 calculated only by the formula 1, and FIG. 6 (4) shows the average steering angle θa0 calculated only by the formula 2. The case of only Expression 3 is the same as that of FIG. 6 (1). It can be seen that the desired followability has been achieved.

The learning prohibition counter Cgs is set to the next S3.
This is a counter in which a count value is set under a predetermined condition at 200 and is decremented every control cycle (0.2 seconds). Next, when S3100 ends, the neutral learning process of the steering sensor 8 shown in FIG. 4, that is, the learning process of the steering angle of the neutral position of the steering sensor 8 is performed (S).
3200). The neutral position means the steering angle θc in the straight traveling state of the vehicle.

First, the check steering angle θck is calculated (S3210). (2) Here, the check steering angle θck is determined as follows. Learning prohibition counter Cgs <25 and own vehicle speed Vn> 2
When it is 0 km / h, the steering angle for checking θck in Equation 4 is used.
Ask for.

Θck ← θck × 0.99 + θ0 × 0.01 (4) Learning prohibition counter Cgs ≧ 25 and own vehicle speed Vn> 2
When it is 0 km / h, the steering angle for checking θck is calculated by the equation (5).
Ask for. θck ← θck × 0.3 + θ0 × 0.7 (5) When the vehicle speed Vn ≦ 20 km / h, the check steering angle θck is calculated by the equation 6.

Θck ← θck × 0.5 + θ0 × 0.5 (6) That is, when the steering angle θ0 is stable, the steering angle θ0 is weighted to the steering angle θ0 as shown in Expression 4. If the steering angle θ0 is extremely low by reducing the steering angle θ0 and the steering angle θ0 is unstable, the steering angle θ0 is weighted to increase the tracking ability as shown in Equation 5. In other cases, the intermediate followability is obtained as shown in Expression 6.

FIG. 7 shows a timing chart of a specific example of the check steering angle θck. It is assumed that the vehicle has traveled on the same traveling path as in FIG. FIG. 7 (1) shows the steering angle θ0, FIG. 7 (2)
Is a check steering angle θck actually obtained by properly using Equations 4 to 6 according to the conditions, FIG. 7 (3) is a check steering angle θck calculated only by Equation 4, and FIG. 7 (4) is an equation. 5 shows the check steering angle θck when calculated only by 5, and FIG. 7 (5) shows the check steering angle θck calculated by only Equation 6. It can be seen that the desired followability has been achieved.

Next, it is judged whether or not the setting condition of the learning prohibition counter Cgs is satisfied (S3220). The set condition of the learning prohibition counter Cgs is that the vehicle speed is> 20.
km / h, and | θck-θ0 |> 2.25 × 4 deg
Is the case. If this condition is satisfied, "50" is set to the learning inhibition counter Cgs (S3230). Since the control cycle of the inter-vehicle distance control processing is 0.2 seconds, this 50 is 1
It corresponds to 0 seconds.

When the condition is not satisfied, it is determined whether or not the learning inhibition counter Cgs = 0 (S324).
0). Unless the learning prohibition counter Cgs = 0, the learning prohibition counter Cgs is decremented (S3250). If the learning inhibition counter Cgs = 0, the learning inhibition counter C
gs is maintained as it is.

Next, it is determined whether or not the learning condition for the learning steering angle θc is satisfied (S3260). This learning condition is
If all the following conditions (a), (b), and (c) are satisfied, it is considered that the conditions are satisfied. (A) Own vehicle speed> 30 km / h (b) Learning prohibition counter Cgs = 0 (c) | θck-θ0 | <2.25 × 2deg If these learning conditions are satisfied, the learning calculation of the neutral point is performed by the following equation. 7 (S3270).

Θc ← θc × (1−K) + θ0 × K (7) Here, K is represented by the following equation 8. K ← α / Cst (8) This α is determined in accordance with the vehicle speed Vn as shown in Table 1, and the learning degree counter Cst is calculated every control cycle as shown in Expression 9.

[0041]

[Table 1]

Cst ← Cst + α (9) However, the initial value of Cst is “0” and the upper limit is “50,
000 ". There is no upper limit. However, due to hardware limitations, there may be cases where an upper limit must be set.

Since the calculation of equations 7 to 9 is repeated every control cycle (0.2 seconds) under the learning condition, K is gradually calculated.
The value of becomes smaller. That is, if learning progresses, θc
Changes little. Therefore, θc may be fixed when learning progresses to some extent. However, it is preferable to leave it in a state in which it is slightly modified by θ 0, because the modification will be effective if you learn by mistake.

After the neutral point learning calculation (S3270) or when the learning condition is not satisfied, the process of S3200 is terminated and the actual steering angle θ is calculated (S33).
00). (5) The actual steering angle is obtained as follows.

Vehicle speed> 20 km / h, and Cst ≧ 6
At this time, the actual steering angle θ is calculated by Expression 10. θ ← θa0−θc (10) When the conditions other than the above are satisfied, the actual steering angle θ is calculated by the equation 11.

In the case of θ ← 0 (11), a steep curve is likely to appear even at a small steering amount at low speed, so the value of θ is cleared. Even if it is not cleared in this way, the value of θ obtained by the expression 10 may be used after being corrected.

After S3300, the calculation process of the curve radius R is performed as shown in Expression 12. R ← f (Vn) / θ (12) where f (Vn) is a function determined from the motion characteristics of the vehicle, and the curve radius R is calculated from the steering angle and the wheel base stored in the nonvolatile memory 4b. Since it is generally known as a function to be obtained, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

When the curve radius R is obtained in this way, the curve detection process (S3000) is terminated, and the process proceeds to the own lane probability calculation process (S4000). In this process, the probability that the object detected in S2000 is in the own lane is calculated by also considering the mounting position of the transmission / reception unit 6a stored in the nonvolatile memory 4b. That is, the processing of S4000 corresponds to the own lane determining means of the present invention. Here, as the mounting position, the offset amount ΔX of the transmitter / receiver 6a (denoted by S in this figure) with respect to the left-right center Cc of the vehicle as shown in FIG. 8, and the transmitter / receiver from the rear wheel axis shown in FIG. The offset amount ΔY of 6a is added.

Own lane probability calculation process shown in FIG. 9 (S400
In 0), first, the instantaneous own lane probability is calculated (S4).
010). In the instantaneous own lane probability calculation, first, the center position / object width data (X0, Y0, W0) of all the objects obtained in the front obstacle recognition processing (S2000) is converted into a straight path. That is, curve detection processing (S3000)
On the basis of the radius R of the curve obtained in step 1, the coordinates of the object are obtained when the curve is straight. The conversion is
It is calculated by the following equations 13 to 15 in consideration of ΔX and ΔY stored in the non-volatile memory 4b.

X ← X0-((Y0 + ΔY) ∧2 / 2R) -ΔX (13) Y ← Y0 (14) W ← W0 (15) Here, "∧2" represents the square. That is, here, substantially only the X coordinate is converted. When the vehicle is traveling on a straight road, the detected curve radius R becomes extremely large (for example, 10 km). Therefore, the second term of the equation 13 becomes almost zero and the following is obtained.

X ← X0-ΔX (13 ') This equation 13' is obtained by the scanning operation unit 6 in FIG.
However, this is a formula for compensating for the erroneous detection that the preceding vehicle B in front is on the left by ΔX from the center. That is, it is possible to handle a straight road.

In this way, the center position / object width data (X, Y, W) obtained by converting to a straight path is arranged on the own lane probability map shown in FIG. The lane probability, that is, the probability that the object exists in the own lane at that time is obtained. The probability exists because there is an error between the curve radius R obtained from the steering angle and the actual curve radius. In order to perform control in consideration of the error, the instantaneous own lane of each object is used here. Find the probability.

In FIG. 10, the horizontal axis represents the X axis, that is, the horizontal direction of the vehicle, and the vertical axis represents the Y axis, that is, the front of the vehicle. In this embodiment, 5 m on the left and 100 m on the front
The area up to is shown. Here, the areas are area a (own vehicle lane probability 80%), area b (own lane probability 60%), area c.
(Own lane probability 30%), area d (Own lane probability 100
%) And other areas (probability of own lane 0%). The setting of this area is determined by actual measurement.
In particular, the area d is an area set by considering the case where the preceding vehicle interrupts just before the own vehicle.

A boundary line La which divides the regions a, b, c and d,
Lb, Lc, and Ld are given by the following equations 16 to 19, for example. The boundary lines La ′, Lb ′, L
c ′ and Ld ′ are boundary lines La, Lb, Lc and L, respectively.
It has a symmetrical relationship with d on the Y axis. La: X = 0.7 + (1.75-0.7) ・ (Y / 100) ・ (Y / 100)… (16) Lb: X = 0.7 + (3.5-0.7) ・ (Y / 100) ・ (Y / 100) … (17) Lc: X = 1.0 + (5.0-1.0) ・ (Y / 100) ・ (Y / 100) ・ ・ ・ (18) Ld: X = 1.5 ・ (1-Y / 60)… (19) When expressed by a general formula, the following formulas 20 to 24 are obtained.

La: X = A1 + B1 · (Y / C1) · (Y / C1) (20) Lb: X = A2 + B2 · (Y / C2) · (Y / C2)… (21) Lc : X = A3 + B3 ・ (Y / C3) ・ (Y / C3) (22) Ld: X = A4 ・ (B4-Y / C4) (24) From these equations 20 to 24, in general, The area is set so as to satisfy the following expressions 24 to 26. The actual numerical value is determined by experiment.

A1 ≦ A2 ≦ A3 <A4 (24) B1 ≦ B2 ≦ B3 and B4 = 1 (25) C1 = C2 = C3 (no restriction on C4) (26) The boundary line La in FIG. , Lb, Lc, La ', L
Although b'and Lc 'are parabolic in terms of calculation processing speed, it is better to represent them by arcs if the processing speed allows. If the processing speed permits, the boundary lines Ld and Ld ′ are also preferably represented by a parabola or arc that bulges outward.

(6) The instantaneous vehicle lane probability P0 of each object is determined as follows. Object with a little area d → P0 = 100% Object with center in area a → P0 = 80% Object with center in area b → P0 = 60% Object with center in area c → P0 = 30% An object which does not satisfy the above-mentioned → P0 = 0% Next, the instantaneous own lane probability P0 of each object thus obtained is time-averaged by the following equations 27 and 28 to obtain the own lane probability P. Ask. That is, filter processing is performed (S402).
0). However, the initial value of the own lane probability P is “0%”.

P ← P × 0.8 + P0 × 0.2 (however P0 <90%) ... (27) P ← P × 0.7 + P0 × 0.3 (however P0 ≧ 90%) ... (28) Instant own lane probability above 90% It has high followability to
This is so that, in particular, if there is an interrupting vehicle ahead of the own vehicle, it can be dealt with promptly.

Next, a limit is set for the own lane probability and the final own lane probability P is determined (S4030). (7) The limit is set as follows. When the recognition type is a moving object, the own lane probability P is the same as that calculated by Expression 27 or Expression 28.

When the recognition type is a stationary object, the following (a)-
(E) If either condition is satisfied, the maximum value of the own lane probability P is set to 20%. (A) Y0> 40m and W0 <1.4m (b) Y0> 30m and W0 <1.2m (c) Y0> 20m and W0 <1.0m (d) Less than 1 second after recognition (scan) (Even less than 5 times) (e) Among other moving objects, there is an object that has a lane probability of P ≧ 50% and is recognized longer than itself.

As described above, the own lane probability of each object is obtained in S4000. Next, from within this object,
A preceding vehicle selection process (S5000) of selecting a preceding vehicle is performed. This processing is described in the inter-vehicle distance control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-279099, and will not be described here.

When the preceding vehicle detection process (S5000) is completed in this way, the process goes to the following distance control process (S6000).
Here, the throttle driver 20a is set according to the speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 10 so that the distance between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle detected in S5000 becomes the target inter-vehicle distance set through the tap switch 12e. It is done by issuing a command to. When the processing of S6000 ends,
All the processes of the inter-vehicle distance control are finished.

Since the inter-vehicle distance control device 2 is configured as described above, when calculating the coordinates of each front object converted to a straight path based on the curve radius R, transmission / reception is performed as shown in Expression 13. The mounting positions ΔX and ΔY of the portion 6a are also taken into consideration. Applying these coordinates to the own lane probability map of a straight road that has been set in advance, the own lane probability of each object is obtained, the preceding vehicle is determined from the state of the own lane probability, and the positional relationship with the preceding vehicle is determined. Based on this, the vehicle speed is adjusted to control the inter-vehicle distance. Therefore, regardless of the mounting position of the transmitting / receiving unit 6a, the preceding vehicle can be appropriately selected by using the scanning range finder 6, and the inter-vehicle distance can be controlled for the preceding vehicle.

Moreover, the mounting positions ΔX and ΔY of the transmitter / receiver 6a
Is stored in the non-volatile memory 4b, and therefore, in the inter-vehicle distance control device 2, if the non-volatile memory 4b is replaced, it can be applied to vehicles having different mounting positions.
Although the inter-vehicle distance control device 2 has been described as one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can be implemented in various modes without changing the gist.

For example, the fact that the preceding vehicle can be accurately recognized may be used to perform other than the inter-vehicle distance control.
These include detecting the behavior such as the preceding vehicle depressing the brake, turning on the hazard lamp, and the like. If these can be detected, it is conceivable to perform automatic control such as narrowing the throttle valve of the vehicle in the former case, and in the latter case, a display for warning the driver or a warning sound is displayed on the display unit 14. It is possible to put it out. Conventionally, these lamps are lit (or flashed)
However, it was not possible to accurately determine whether or not the vehicle was a leading vehicle. In this respect, by applying the preceding vehicle detection device of the present invention, appropriate control and alerting can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an inter-vehicle distance control device as one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process of an entire vehicle distance control.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of curve detection processing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of neutral learning processing.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of neutral learning processing.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart of a steering angle θ0 and an average steering angle θa0.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart of a steering angle θ0 and a check steering angle θck.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional deviation with a detected object that occurs when going straight.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of own lane probability calculation processing.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a vehicle lane probability map.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional shift between the detected object and the transmission / reception unit S that occurs during cornering.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Inter-vehicle distance control device 4 ... Computer 4a ... Central processing unit 4b ... Non-volatile memory 6 ... Scanning range finder 6a ... Transceiver unit 6b ...
Distance / angle calculator 8 ... Steering sensor 10 ... Vehicle speed sensor 12 ... Cruise control switch 12a ... Main switch 12b ... Set switch 12c ... Resume switch 12d ... Cancel switch 12e ... Tap switch 14 ... Indicator 14a ... Set vehicle speed indicator 14b ... Current inter-vehicle distance indicator 14c ... Set inter-vehicle time indicator 14d ... Sensor abnormality indicator 16 ... Automatic transmission controller 18 ... Brake unit 18a ... Brake driver 18b ... Brake switch 20 ... Throttle unit 20a ... Throttle driver 20b ... Throttle Position sensor

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor, Tsukasa Miyake, 1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya, Aichi, DENSO CORPORATION (72) Inventor, Takamasa Shirai, 1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya, Aichi, DENSO, Ltd. (56) Reference References JP-A-8-279099 (JP, A) JP-A-5-126948 (JP, A) JP-B-51-7892 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01S 7/00-7/51 G01S 13/00-13/95 G01S 17/00-17/95 G08G 1/00-9/02 B60R 21/00-21/34

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. An irradiation unit for scanning and irradiating a transmission wave or a laser beam within a predetermined angle range in the width direction of the own vehicle, and a reflection in which the transmission wave or the laser beam emitted by the irradiation unit is reflected back to an object. Distance measuring means capable of detecting the distance between the vehicle and the front object in correspondence with the scan angle based on the waves or the reflected light, and the distance measuring means detecting the distance detected by the distance measuring means and the corresponding scan angle. An object recognition unit that calculates the relative position of the object with respect to the vehicle, and a own lane that determines whether the object is in the same lane as the own vehicle, based on the relative position of the object calculated by the object recognition unit In the preceding vehicle detection device including a determination means, the own lane determination means is an offset of the irradiation means forward from an axis of a rear wheel of the own vehicle.
A preceding vehicle detection device, characterized in that the relative position calculated by the object recognition means is corrected in consideration of the amount ΔY to determine whether the object is in the same lane as the own vehicle. 2. The own lane judging means, Offset amount Δ of the irradiation means with respect to the left and right center of the vehicle
The phase calculated by the object recognizing means by taking X into consideration.
Correct the pair position and see if the object is in the same lane as your vehicle.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it is to determine whether or not it is.
The preceding vehicle detection device. 3. A curve detecting means for obtaining curve data including at least a radius of a curve of a traveling path of the own vehicle, wherein the own lane determining means at least includes the curve data obtained by the curve detecting means. , And the relative position calculated by the object recognition means based on the mounting position of the irradiation means in the own vehicle, and determining whether or not the object is in the same lane as the own vehicle. The preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 1 or 2 . 4. The own lane determining means calculates, by the object recognizing means, a two-dimensional map showing a probability that an object existing ahead in a straight road exists on the own lane, according to a relative position of the object. A straight path conversion means for converting the relative position of the object, based on the curve data obtained by the curve detection means and the mounting position of the irradiation means in the own vehicle, to a relative position corresponding to a straight path. Collating means for collating the relative position of the object converted by the straight-path converting means with the two-dimensional map to determine whether the object is in the same lane as the own vehicle. The preceding vehicle detection device according to claim 3 . 5. A vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the own vehicle and a speed of the own vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detecting means are adjusted, and the own lane judging means judges that the vehicle is in the same lane as the own vehicle. The preceding vehicle detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising: a distance control unit that controls a distance to the removed object. 6. A mounting position storage means for storing at least the mounting position of the irradiation means in the own vehicle in advance, wherein the own lane determining means includes at least the mounting position stored in the mounting position storage means. The relative position calculated by the object recognition means is corrected based on the above, and it is determined whether or not the object is on the same lane as the own vehicle. The preceding vehicle detection device according to any one of 5 to 5 .