Adaptive Cruise Control Method, Control Device and Control System

Abstract

An adaptive cruise control method, control device, and control system. The adaptive cruise control method includes: obtaining current lane information, where the current lane information includes at least the current lane width; and controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information. This solution can control the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information, which is beneficial to ensuring that the camera obtains longer lane line information, and thus is beneficial to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This document relates to, but is not limited to, vehicle assisted driving technologies, and particularly to an adaptive cruise control method, control device, and control system. Background Art

[0002] By equipping with perception systems such as radars and cameras, vehicles can provide drivers with comprehensive lateral and longitudinal driving assistance functions. The vehicle perception system composed of these sensors can identify the road environment constituted by the driving environment of the vehicle ahead, lane line information, etc., providing longitudinal and lateral driving assistance for the driver, reducing the operation frequency of the driver on the accelerator, brake, steering, etc., and bringing a more convenient and comfortable driving experience to the driver.

[0003] Among them, lateral control usually maintains functions such as keeping the vehicle driving in the center by the camera identifying lane lines. However, due to the limited detection range of the camera, if the distance from the vehicle ahead is too close, the recognition range of the camera and the vehicle ahead form a certain visual blind area (see Figure 1 ), resulting in partial lane line information being blocked and unable to provide effective input for the lateral control system, ultimately causing the lateral control function to be unavailable and losing convenience. Summary of the Invention

[0004] An embodiment of the present application provides an adaptive cruise control method, which can control the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information, facilitating ensuring that the camera obtains longer lane line information, and further facilitating ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides an adaptive cruise control method, including: obtaining current lane information, where the current lane information at least includes the current lane width; controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information.

[0006] On the one hand, the time headway between vehicles is positively correlated with the distance between vehicles, and the distance between vehicles is negatively correlated with the recognition blind area of the camera, that is: the longer the time headway between vehicles, the greater the distance between vehicles, the smaller the recognition blind area of the camera, the longer the obtained lane line information, and the more conducive to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function. On the other hand, the recognition blind area of the camera is also negatively correlated with the current lane width, that is: the smaller the current lane width, the larger the recognition blind area of the camera, the shorter the obtained lane line information, and the less conducive to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0007] Therefore, the adaptive cruise control method provided by the embodiment of the present application obtains the current lane information and controls the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information. This can establish an association between the time headway between vehicles and the lane width, enabling different lane widths to match appropriate time headways between vehicles, and avoiding the situation where the lane line information obtained by the camera is too short when encountering a narrow lane, which affects the use of the lateral control function.

[0008] Therefore, the adaptive cruise control method provided by the embodiments of the present application is beneficial to ensuring that the camera can also obtain long lane line information when the current lane is a narrow lane, which is further beneficial to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment, the controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information includes: based on that the current lane width is less than the set width and the current vehicle speed is within the set low vehicle speed range, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed preset, so that the time headway between vehicles within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of same-direction lanes, and the relationship curve between the preset time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed includes a first time headway control curve for narrow lanes and a second time headway control curve for narrow lanes; the controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the preset time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway between vehicles within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed includes: based on that the number of same-direction lanes is one, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes; based on that the number of same-direction lanes is multiple, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the second time headway control curve for narrow lanes; wherein, the time headway set by the second time headway control curve for narrow lanes is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes at the same vehicle speed.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of same-direction lanes, and the relationship curve between the preset time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed includes a first time headway control curve for narrow lanes and a second time headway control curve for narrow lanes; the controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the preset time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway between vehicles within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed includes: based on that the number of same-direction lanes is one, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes; based on that the number of same-direction lanes is multiple and other vehicles are detected in the adjacent same-direction lane, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the second time headway control curve for narrow lanes; based on that the number of same-direction lanes is multiple and no other vehicles are detected in the adjacent same-direction lane, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes; wherein, the time headway set by the second time headway control curve for narrow lanes is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes at the same vehicle speed.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, the time headway set by the first narrow lane time headway control curve is greater than the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment, the time headway set by the second narrow lane time headway control curve is equal to the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0014] In an exemplary embodiment, the number of lanes in the same direction is determined according to the following method: determining the number of lanes in the same direction according to the high-precision map; or, determining the number of lanes in the same direction according to the acquired lane line information.

[0015] In an exemplary embodiment, the controlling of the time headway according to the current lane information further includes: based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, controlling the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane selected by the user and the vehicle speed; wherein, the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed at least includes a first wide lane time headway control curve and a second wide lane time headway control curve, the time headway set by the first wide lane time headway control curve is the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second wide lane time headway control curve is the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the controlling of the time headway according to the current lane information further includes: based on the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane selected by the user and the vehicle speed, determining the end point of the relationship curve between the preset narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed; based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, controlling the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane selected by the user and the vehicle speed; wherein, the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed at least includes a first wide lane time headway control curve and a second wide lane time headway control curve, the time headway set by the first wide lane time headway control curve is the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second wide lane time headway control curve is the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0017] The embodiment of the present application further provides an adaptive cruise control device, including a processor and a memory storing a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the adaptive cruise control method described in any one of the above embodiments are implemented.

[0018] The embodiment of the present application further provides an adaptive cruise control system, including: a driving environment condition detection device configured to detect the driving environment condition; and an adaptive cruise control device configured to obtain at least part of the current lane information according to the detection result of the driving environment condition detection device, and control the time headway according to the current lane information, where the current lane information at least includes the current lane width.

[0019] In an exemplary embodiment, the adaptive cruise control device includes: a lane width judgment module configured to judge whether the current lane width is less than a set width; and a control module configured to: based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the vehicle speed being within a set low vehicle speed range, control the time headway according to a relationship curve between the preset narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed; based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, control the time headway according to a relationship curve between the wide lane time headway selected by the user and the vehicle speed; where the relationship curve between the wide lane time headway and the vehicle speed at least includes a first wide lane time headway control curve and a second wide lane time headway control curve, the time headway set by the first wide lane time headway control curve is the preset longest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second wide lane time headway control curve is the preset shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0020] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of same-direction lanes, and the preset relationship curve between the narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed includes a first narrow lane time headway control curve and a second narrow lane time headway control curve; the adaptive cruise control device further includes: a same-direction lane judgment module configured to judge whether the number of same-direction lanes is greater than one; the control module is configured to: based on the number of same-direction lanes being one, control the time headway according to the first narrow lane time headway control curve; based on the number of same-direction lanes being multiple, control the time headway according to the second narrow lane time headway control curve; where the time headway set by the second narrow lane time headway control curve is greater than the preset shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first narrow lane time headway control curve at the same vehicle speed.

[0021] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of lanes in the same direction, and the preset relationship curve between the time headway of narrow lanes and the vehicle speed includes a first time headway control curve for narrow lanes and a second time headway control curve for narrow lanes; the adaptive cruise control device further includes: a same-direction lane judgment module configured to judge whether the number of lanes in the same direction is greater than one; the control module is configured to: based on the number of lanes in the same direction being one, control the time headway according to the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes; based on the number of lanes in the same direction being multiple and detecting that there are other vehicles in adjacent lanes in the same direction, control the time headway according to the second time headway control curve for narrow lanes; based on the number of lanes in the same direction being multiple and detecting that there are no other vehicles in adjacent lanes in the same direction, control the time headway according to the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes; wherein, the time headway set by the second time headway control curve for narrow lanes is greater than the preset minimum time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first time headway control curve for narrow lanes at the same vehicle speed.

[0022] In an exemplary embodiment, the control module is further configured to: based on the relationship curve between the time headway of wide lanes and the vehicle speed selected by the user, determine the end point of the preset relationship curve between the time headway of narrow lanes and the vehicle speed; based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway of wide lanes and the vehicle speed selected by the user.

[0023] Other features and advantages of the present application will be described in the subsequent description, and part of them will be obvious from the description, or will be understood by implementing the present application. Other advantages of the present application can be realized and obtained through the solutions described in the description and the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The drawings are used to provide an understanding of the technical solutions of the present application, and constitute a part of the description. They are used together with the embodiments of the present application to explain the technical solutions of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation to the technical solutions of the present application.

[0025] Figure 1 It is a comparison schematic diagram of lane lines that can be recognized at different vehicle headways;

[0026] Figure 2 It is a comparison schematic diagram of lane lines that can be recognized for lanes with different widths;

[0027] Figure 3 It is a schematic flow chart of the adaptive cruise control method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 It is a partial schematic flow chart of the adaptive cruise control method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 Schematic block diagram of an adaptive cruise control device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 Schematic block diagram of a vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 Schematic structural diagram of a vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the same - direction single - lane scenario in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the same - direction multi - lane scenario in an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] Among them, the reference numerals are as follows:

[0035] 101 Turn signal switch, 102 Throttle pedal sensor, 103 Brake pedal sensor, 104 Steering angle sensor, 105 Hand torque sensor, 106 Vehicle speed sensor, 107 Radar sensor, 108 Camera sensor, 109 Yaw rate sensor, 110 Longitudinal acceleration sensor, 111 Lateral acceleration sensor;

[0036] 1071 First radar sensor, 1072 Second radar sensor, 1073 Third radar sensor, 1074 Fourth radar sensor, 1075 Fifth radar sensor, 1076 Sixth radar sensor, 1081 First camera sensor, 1082 Second camera sensor, 1083 Third camera sensor;

[0037] 200 Driving assistance control device, 201 LKS control device, 202 ACC control device, 205 Processor, 206 Memory;

[0038] 301 Engine ECU, 311 Engine, 302 Brake ECU, 312 Brake system, 303 Steering ECU, 313 Steering system, 304 Information display ECU, 314 Information display device;

[0039] 400 Driving environment condition detection device. Detailed implementation manners

[0040] This application describes multiple embodiments, but the description is exemplary rather than restrictive, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that there can be more embodiments and implementation solutions within the scope of the embodiments described in this application. Although many possible combinations of features are shown in the drawings and discussed in the detailed description, many other combinations of the disclosed features are also possible. Unless specifically restricted, any feature or element of any embodiment can be combined with any other feature or element in any other embodiment, or can replace any other feature or element in any other embodiment.

[0041] This application includes and contemplates combinations with features and elements known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments, features, and elements disclosed in this application can also be combined with any conventional features or elements to form unique inventive solutions defined by the claims. Any feature or element of any embodiment can also be combined with features or elements from other inventive solutions to form another unique inventive solution defined by the claims. Therefore, it should be understood that any feature shown and / or discussed in this application can be implemented alone or in any suitable combination. Therefore, the embodiments are not subject to other limitations except those made in accordance with the appended claims and their equivalents. In addition, various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the appended claims.

[0042] In addition, when describing representative embodiments, the specification may have presented the method and / or process as a specific sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not depend on the specific order of the steps described herein, the method or process should not be limited to the specific order of steps described. As will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, other step sequences are possible. Therefore, the specific order of steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as a limitation on the claims. In addition, the claims directed to the method and / or process should not be limited to performing their steps in the order written, and those skilled in the art can easily understand that these orders can be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0043] During the longitudinal control of adaptive cruise, the driver can select several established gears through the human-machine interface to adjust the time headway. As Figure 1 shown, if the vehicle-to-vehicle distance is too close and the detected lane line information is insufficient (the recognizable lane line length m1 < m2), it will cause the lateral control function to be unavailable. Especially when the lane is narrow, compared with a wider lane, the recognition blind area of the camera is larger and the lane line information is less (the recognizable lane line length m3 < m4), as Figure 2 shown, the risk of the lateral control function being unavailable is higher.

[0044] Based on this, the embodiments of the present application provide an adaptive cruise control method, which can at least adjust the time headway according to the current lane width to obtain longer lane line information and ensure the availability of the lateral control function. The following is a detailed explanation with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] As Figure 3 shown, the embodiments of the present application provide an adaptive cruise control method, including:

[0046] Step S102: Obtain the current lane information, where the current lane information at least includes the current lane width;

[0047] Step S104: Control the time headway according to the current lane information.

[0048] On the one hand, the time headway is positively correlated with the distance between vehicles, and the distance between vehicles is negatively correlated with the recognition blind area of the camera, that is: the longer the time headway, the greater the distance between vehicles, the smaller the recognition blind area of the camera, the longer the obtained lane line information, and the more beneficial it is to ensure the availability of the lateral control function. On the other hand, the recognition blind area of the camera is also negatively correlated with the current lane width, that is: the smaller the current lane width, the larger the recognition blind area of the camera, the shorter the obtained lane line information, and the more unfavorable it is to ensure the availability of the lateral control function.

[0049] Therefore, the adaptive cruise control method provided by the embodiments of the present application obtains the current lane information and controls the time headway according to the current lane information. In this way, the time headway can be associated with the lane width, so that different lane widths can match appropriate time headways, avoiding the situation that when encountering a narrow lane, the lane line information obtained by the camera is too short, which affects the use of the lateral control function.

[0050] Therefore, the adaptive cruise control method provided by the embodiments of the present application is beneficial to ensuring that when the current lane is a narrow lane, the camera can also obtain longer lane line information, which is further beneficial to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0051] In an exemplary embodiment, controlling the time headway according to the current lane information includes:

[0052] Based on the fact that the current lane width is less than the set width and the current vehicle speed is within the set low vehicle speed range, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway and the vehicle speed for narrow lanes (abbreviated as the narrow lane time headway control curve), so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed.

[0053] When it is determined that the current lane width is less than the set width, it indicates that the current lane is a narrow lane. When it is determined that the current lane width is greater than the set width, it indicates that the current lane is a wide lane. For a narrow lane, when the vehicle speed is within the set speed range, the system can automatically control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the preset narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0054] Since the vehicle distance is equal to the product of the time headway and the vehicle speed. Therefore, the vehicle distance is positively correlated with the vehicle speed. When the vehicle speed is low, the vehicle distance is relatively small, resulting in a relatively high risk that the camera cannot obtain sufficient lane line information. Therefore, on a narrow lane, for the set low vehicle speed range, by increasing the time headway, the vehicle distance can be increased, thereby reducing the recognition blind area of the camera, which is beneficial to increasing the length of the obtained lane line information, and thus beneficial to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0055] Normally, the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed is the shortest safe time headway. The vehicle distance obtained by multiplying the vehicle speed can ensure that the length of the lane line information obtained by the camera can meet the basic requirements of the lateral control system, and thus ensure the availability of the lateral control system. Therefore, when the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, the length of the lane line information obtained by the camera can meet the basic requirements of the lateral control system, and thus the availability of the lateral system can be ensured.

[0056] In one example, the set width is in the range of 3.5 meters to 3.6 meters. This is the range of the standard lane width in our country.

[0057] Of course, the set width is not limited to the above range and can be adjusted as needed.

[0058] In one example, the set low vehicle speed range can be a range less than 25 km / h. Of course, the set low vehicle speed range is not limited to the above range and can be adjusted as needed.

[0059] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of lanes in the same direction. The preset relationship curve between the narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed includes a first narrow lane time headway control curve and a second narrow lane time headway control curve.

[0060] Controlling the time headway according to the preset relationship curve between the narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, includes:

[0061] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being one, controlling the time headway according to the first narrow lane time headway control curve;

[0062] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being multiple, control the time headway according to the time headway control curve for the second narrowest lane.

[0063] Among them, the time headway set by the time headway control curve for the second narrowest lane is greater than the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and less than the time headway set by the time headway control curve for the first narrowest lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0064] When the number of lanes in the same direction is one, it indicates that the current lane is a single lane in the same direction, and there is no risk of being cut in by other vehicles. Therefore, the time headway can be controlled according to the time headway control curve for the first narrowest lane, so that the time headway can be relatively long. This is beneficial to increasing the vehicle distance, and further beneficial to increasing the length of the lane lines that can be recognized by the camera, and beneficial to further ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0065] When the number of lanes in the same direction is multiple, it indicates that the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction. If the time headway is blindly lengthened, although sufficient lane line information can be guaranteed, it is very easy to be cut in by vehicles in the adjacent lanes in the same direction, which will also bring a bad driving experience to the driver. Therefore, in this case, in order to avoid being cut in by vehicles in the adjacent lanes, the time headway can be controlled according to the time headway control curve for the second narrowest lane, so that the time headway can be relatively short to reduce the risk of being cut in.

[0066] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of lanes in the same direction. The preset relationship curve between the time headway for the narrow lane and the vehicle speed includes the time headway control curve for the first narrowest lane and the time headway control curve for the second narrowest lane.

[0067] Control the time headway according to the preset relationship curve between the time headway for the narrow lane and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway in the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, including:

[0068] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being one, control the time headway according to the time headway control curve for the first narrowest lane;

[0069] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being multiple and detecting that there are other vehicles in the adjacent lanes in the same direction, control the time headway according to the time headway control curve for the second narrowest lane;

[0070] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being multiple and detecting that there are no other vehicles in the adjacent lanes in the same direction, control the time headway according to the time headway control curve for the first narrowest lane.

[0071] Among them, the time headway set by the time headway control curve for the second narrowest lane is greater than the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and less than the time headway set by the time headway control curve for the first narrowest lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0072] When the number of lanes in the same direction is one, it indicates that the current lane is a single-lane in the same direction, and there is no risk of being cut in by other vehicles. Therefore, the time headway between vehicles can be controlled according to the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the first narrow lane, so that the time headway between vehicles can be relatively long. This is beneficial to increasing the distance between vehicles, and further beneficial to increasing the length of the lane lines that can be recognized by the camera, which is beneficial to further ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0073] When the number of lanes in the same direction is multiple, it indicates that the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction. When it is detected that there are vehicles driving in the adjacent lane, if the time headway between vehicles is blindly lengthened, it will lead to too large a distance between vehicles, and there is a greater risk of being cut in, which will bring a bad driving experience to the driver. Therefore, in this case, in order to avoid being cut in by vehicles in the adjacent lane, the time headway between vehicles can be controlled according to the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the second narrow lane, so that the time headway between vehicles can be relatively short to reduce the risk of being cut in.

[0074] When the number of lanes in the same direction is multiple, it indicates that the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction. However, if there are no vehicles driving in the adjacent lane, there is no risk of being cut in. Therefore, in this case, the time headway between vehicles can be controlled according to the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the first narrow lane, so that the time headway between vehicles can be relatively long. This is beneficial to increasing the distance between vehicles, and further beneficial to increasing the length of the lane lines that can be recognized by the camera, which is beneficial to further ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0075] As for whether there are other vehicles in the adjacent lane in the same direction, it can be detected and determined by detection devices such as cameras and radars.

[0076] In an exemplary embodiment, the time headway between vehicles set by the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the first narrow lane is greater than the preset maximum time headway between vehicles in the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0077] This is beneficial to further increasing the distance between vehicles, and further increasing the length of the lane lines that can be obtained by the camera. For example, it can ensure that the recognition distance of the camera is at least greater than the road marking design standard (such as 6 + 9 meters), and further ensure a more stable and convenient lateral control function.

[0078] In an exemplary embodiment, the time headway between vehicles set by the control curve of the time headway between vehicles in the second narrow lane is equal to the preset maximum time headway between vehicles in the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0079] This can keep the time headway between vehicles in the case of low vehicle speed in multi-lanes in the same direction within a suitable range, which is beneficial to both ensuring that the camera can obtain sufficient lane line information and reducing the risk of being cut in.

[0080] Of course, the time headway set by the second narrow lane time headway control curve can also be greater than or less than the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, as long as it can ensure an appropriate vehicle distance to ensure that the camera can obtain sufficient lane line information.

[0081] In an exemplary embodiment, the number of lanes in the same direction is determined according to the following method:

[0082] Determine the number of lanes in the same direction according to the high-precision map; or

[0083] Determine the number of lanes in the same direction according to the obtained lane line information.

[0084] Since the high-precision map can accurately identify the detailed information of the current road, the number of lanes in the same direction can be directly determined according to the high-precision map. For example, it can be obtained by connecting to the network or through the locally stored high-precision map.

[0085] Alternatively, the number of lanes in the same direction can also be determined according to the lane line information obtained by the vehicle's camera. For example, the number of lanes in the same direction can be determined based on factors such as the number, position, and type of the identified lane lines.

[0086] Exemplarily, if the camera identifies three lane lines, where one lane line is the lane line separating the two-way lanes (denoted as the two-way separation lane line), and the other two lane lines are respectively on both sides of the two-way separation lane line, then the current lane is a single lane in the same direction.

[0087] If the camera identifies four lane lines, where one lane line is the two-way separation lane line separating the two-way lanes, taking the two-way separation lane line as the boundary, there are two lane lines on the same side of the two-way separation lane line as the vehicle, and one lane line on the different side of the two-way separation lane line from the vehicle, then the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction.

[0088] In an exemplary embodiment, controlling the time headway according to the current lane information further includes:

[0089] Based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user (abbreviated as the wide lane time headway control curve);

[0090] Among them, the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed at least includes a first wide lane time headway control curve and a second wide lane time headway control curve. The time headway set by the first wide lane time headway control curve is the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second wide lane time headway control curve is the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0091] When it is determined that the current lane width is greater than or equal to the set width, it indicates that the current lane is a wide lane, and the risk of the camera generating an excessive blind area resulting in the unavailability of the lateral control function is relatively low. Therefore, in this case, the time headway between vehicles can be controlled according to the relationship curve of the time headway between vehicles in the wide lane selected by the user.

[0092] In this solution, the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles in the wide lane and the vehicle speed includes multiple time headway control curves for vehicles in the wide lane, which is equivalent to having multiple time headway gears for the user to choose from. Different curves correspond to different gears (such as high gear, medium gear, low gear, etc.). The user can choose according to personal habits and preferences, which is beneficial to meeting the different needs of different users.

[0093] Among them, the time headway set by the second time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane is the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and it is also the shortest safe time headway at the same vehicle speed. The time headway obtained by multiplying the vehicle speed can ensure that the length of the lane line information acquired by the camera can meet the basic requirements of the lateral control system, thereby ensuring the availability of the lateral control system. Therefore, the time headway set by the first time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane and the time headway control curves of other gears for vehicles in the wide lane can also meet the requirements of the lateral control system, thereby ensuring the availability of the lateral control system.

[0094] In an exemplary embodiment, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information further includes:

[0095] Based on the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles in the wide lane selected by the user (abbreviated as the time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane), determine the end point of the relationship curve between the preset time headway between vehicles in the narrow lane and the vehicle speed;

[0096] Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles in the wide lane selected by the user.

[0097] Among them, the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles in the wide lane and the vehicle speed includes at least the first time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane and the second time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane. The time headway set by the first time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane is the preset longest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second time headway control curve for vehicles in the wide lane is the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0098] For the case of relatively high vehicle speeds, multiplying a short time headway between vehicles by a relatively high vehicle speed can also result in a long time headway between vehicles. Therefore, even if the lane is relatively narrow, it is not easy to generate an overly large visual blind area that causes the lateral control function to be unavailable. Therefore, in this case, the time headway between vehicles is still controlled according to the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user, which is conducive to meeting the user's habits and preferences and thus conducive to improving the user experience.

[0099] Regarding the sequence relationship between the above steps and the steps of the foregoing embodiments, there is no limitation.

[0100] In one example, after controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, when controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information, it further includes:

[0101] Based on the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user, determine the end point of the relationship curve between the preset time headway between vehicles on a narrow lane and the vehicle speed;

[0102] Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user.

[0103] In one example, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information includes:

[0104] Based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, control the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user;

[0105] Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being within the set low vehicle speed range, control the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the preset time headway between vehicles on a narrow lane and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway between vehicles within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway between vehicles on a wide lane at the same vehicle speed;

[0106] Based on the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user, determine the end point of the relationship curve between the preset time headway between vehicles on a narrow lane and the vehicle speed;

[0107] Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway between vehicles on a wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user.

[0108] Under normal circumstances, when starting the vehicle, the user will select the corresponding wide-lane time headway control curve according to personal habits or preferences. During driving, the time headway will be reasonably adjusted according to the width of the lane. When the lane is a wide lane, continue to control according to the previously selected wide-lane time headway control curve; when it is determined that the current lane is a narrow lane (i.e., the width of the current lane is less than the set width) and the vehicle speed is within the low vehicle speed range, the time headway will be automatically controlled according to the relationship curve between the preset narrow-lane time headway and the vehicle speed; when the vehicle speed increases beyond the low vehicle speed range, it will automatically return to control the time headway according to the originally selected wide-lane time headway control curve.

[0109] Among them, the intersection points of the same narrow-lane time headway control curve and different wide-lane time headway control curves are different. Therefore, when the user initially selects different wide-lane time headway control curves, the end points of the narrow-lane time headway control curve (i.e., the intersection points of the narrow-lane time headway control curve and the wide-lane time headway control curve initially selected by the user) are different.

[0110] That is to say, when the user initially selects different wide-lane time headway control curves, the upper limit values of the vehicle speed of the set low vehicle speed range corresponding to the narrow-lane time headway control curve are different. For example: when the user initially selects the high-grade wide-lane time headway control curve (i.e., the time headway is relatively long at the same vehicle speed), the vehicle speed at the end point of the narrow-lane time headway control curve is 25 km / h. When the user initially selects the medium-grade wide-lane time headway control curve (i.e., the time headway is relatively moderate at the same vehicle speed), the vehicle speed at the end point of the narrow-lane time headway control curve is 35 km / h. When the user initially selects the low-grade wide-lane time headway control curve (i.e., the time headway is relatively short at the same vehicle speed), the vehicle speed at the end point of the narrow-lane time headway control curve is 45 km / h.

[0111] In this way, regardless of how the lane width changes, the time headway control curve is continuous, and the time headway and the vehicle speed are negatively correlated, and the magnitude of the time headway can also be as close as possible to the user's selection.

[0112] In one embodiment, as Figure 4 shown, the adaptive cruise control method includes:

[0113] Step S402: Determine whether the width of the current lane is less than the set width; if so, execute step S404, if not, execute step S406;

[0114] Step S404: Determine whether the current lane is a one-way single lane; if so, execute step S408, if not, execute step S410;

[0115] Step S406: Control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user;

[0116] Step S408: Control the time headway according to the first narrow lane time headway control curve;

[0117] Step S410: Control the time headway according to the second narrow lane time headway control curve.

[0118] Among them, in steps S408 and S410, they are both control methods in the low vehicle speed range. When the vehicle speed exceeds the vehicle speed range, the time headway is still controlled according to the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user.

[0119] The following combines Figure 8 and Figure 9 for illustration by examples. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the time headway control curve in the same-direction single-lane scenario in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the time headway control curve in the same-direction multi-lane scenario in an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 8 and Figure 9 , the curve indicated by "long time headway" is the first wide lane time headway control curve, which defines the longest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed; the curve indicated by "short time headway" is the second wide lane time headway control curve, which defines the shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0120] For the scenario where the current lane is a same-direction single lane, the time headway can be controlled with reference to the curve in Figure 8 :

[0121] When the lane is a wide lane, if the user selects the high-grade wide lane time headway control curve, the system controls the time headway according to the curve indicated by "long time headway"; if the user selects the low-grade wide lane time headway control curve, the system controls the time headway according to the curve indicated by "short time headway"; if there is a medium-grade (or other grade) wide lane time headway control curve and it is selected by the user, the system controls the time headway according to the medium-grade (or other grade) wide lane time headway control curve.

[0122] When the lane is a narrow lane, within the low-speed range, the system automatically selects the first narrow-lane time headway control curve to control the time headway; if the user previously selected the high-gear wide-lane time headway control curve, when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection point of the first narrow-lane time headway control curve and the curve indicated by "long time headway", it will continue to control the time headway according to the curve indicated by "long time headway"; if the user previously selected the low-gear wide-lane time headway control curve, when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection point of the first narrow-lane time headway control curve and the curve indicated by "short time headway", it will continue to control the time headway according to the curve indicated by "short time headway"; of course, if there is a medium-gear (or other gear) wide-lane time headway control curve and it is selected by the user, when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection point of the first narrow-lane time headway control curve and the medium-gear (or other gear) curve, it will continue to control the time headway according to the curve indicated by the medium-gear (or other gear).

[0123] For the scenario where the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction, the curves in Figure 9 can be referred to for controlling the time headway:

[0124] When the lane is a wide lane, if the user selects the high-gear wide-lane time headway control curve, the system controls the time headway according to the curve indicated by "long time headway"; if the user selects the low-gear wide-lane time headway control curve, the system controls the time headway according to the curve indicated by "short time headway"; if there is a medium-gear (or other gear) wide-lane time headway control curve and it is selected by the user, the system controls the time headway according to the medium-gear (or other gear) wide-lane time headway control curve.

[0125] When the lane is a narrow lane, within the low-speed range, the system automatically selects the second narrow-lane time headway control curve to control the time headway; if the user previously selected the high-gear wide-lane time headway control curve, when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection point of the first narrow-lane time headway control curve and the curve indicated by "long time headway", it will continue to control the time headway according to the curve indicated by "long time headway".

[0126] If the user previously selected the low-gear wide-lane time headway control curve, when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection point of the second narrow-lane time headway control curve and the curve indicated by "short time headway", it will continue to control the time headway according to the curve indicated by "short time headway"; of course, if there is a medium-gear (or other gear) wide-lane time headway control curve and it is selected by the user, when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection point of the second narrow-lane time headway control curve and the medium-gear (or other gear) curve, it will continue to control the time headway according to the curve indicated by the medium-gear (or other gear).

[0127] Since the front section of the time headway control curve for the second narrow lane coincides with the curve indicated by "long time headway". Therefore, for the scenario of multi-lane in the same direction, if the user previously selected the time headway control curve for the high-grade wide lane, regardless of how the lane width changes, the system controls the time headway according to the curve indicated by "long time headway"; if the user previously selected the time headway control curve for the wide lane of other gears, then for the narrow lane situation, the system automatically controls the time headway according to the time headway control curve for the second narrow lane in the low-speed section; when the vehicle speed exceeds the intersection of the time headway control curve for the second narrow lane and the time headway control curve for the wide lane of the gear selected by the user, the system continues to control the time headway according to the time headway control curve for the wide lane of the gear selected by the user.

[0128] Among them, the intersection of the time headway control curve for the narrow lane and the time headway control curve for the wide lane will be adjusted according to the sensor performance and the setting of the time headway length for the wide lane.

[0129] As Figure 5 shown, the embodiment of the present application further provides an adaptive cruise control device, including a processor 205 and a memory 206 storing a computer program. When the processor 205 executes the computer program, it implements the steps of the adaptive cruise control method in any of the above embodiments.

[0130] The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, including a central processing unit (CPU for short), a network processor (NP for short), etc.; it may also be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0131] The embodiment of the present application further provides an adaptive cruise control system, including: a driving environment condition detection device and an adaptive cruise control device.

[0132] Among them, the driving environment condition detection device is configured to detect the driving environment condition.

[0133] The adaptive cruise control device is configured to obtain at least part of the current lane information according to the detection result of the driving environment condition detection device, and control the time headway according to the current lane information. The current lane information at least includes the current lane width.

[0134] The adaptive cruise control system provided by the embodiment of the present application obtains the current lane information and controls the time headway according to the current lane information. In this way, the time headway can be associated with the lane width, so that different lane widths can match appropriate time headways, avoiding the situation where the lane line information obtained by the camera is too short when encountering a narrow lane, which affects the use of the lateral control function.

[0135] Therefore, the adaptive cruise control system provided by the embodiment of the present application is beneficial to ensuring that the camera can also obtain longer lane line information when the current lane is a narrow lane, and further beneficial to ensuring the usability of the lateral control function.

[0136] Among them, as Figure 6 shown, the driving environment condition detection device 400 includes but is not limited to: radar sensor 107, camera sensor 108, lidar sensor, ultrasonic sensor, etc.

[0137] In one example, as Figure 7 shown, the driving environment condition detection device 400 includes: a first radar sensor 1071 for sensing the driving environment directly ahead, a second radar sensor 1072 for sensing the driving environment on the right front, a third radar sensor 1073 for sensing the driving environment on the left front, a first camera sensor 1081 mainly for detecting the driving environment directly ahead, a second camera sensor 1082 mainly for detecting the driving environment on the left side of the vehicle, a third camera sensor 1083 mainly for detecting the driving environment on the right side of the vehicle, a fourth radar sensor 1074 mainly for detecting the driving environment directly behind, a fifth radar sensor 1075 mainly for detecting the driving environment on the right rear, and a sixth radar sensor 1076 mainly for detecting the driving environment on the left rear.

[0138] As long as the driving environment can be detected, there is no requirement for the type of sensor (radar, lidar, ultrasonic sensor, camera sensor 108, etc.). The sensors for detecting the driving environment can detect and identify the speed, relative speed, position, angle, size, etc. of the three-dimensional objects around the vehicle.

[0139] In an exemplary embodiment, the adaptive cruise control device includes: a lane width judgment module and a control module.

[0140] Among them, the lane width judgment module is configured to judge whether the current lane width is less than the set width.

[0141] The control module is configured to: based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the vehicle speed being within the set low vehicle speed range, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the preset narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed; based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the wide lane time headway selected by the user and the vehicle speed.

[0142] Among them, the relationship curve between the wide lane time headway and the vehicle speed at least includes a first wide lane time headway control curve and a second wide lane time headway control curve. The time headway set by the first wide lane time headway control curve is the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second wide lane time headway control curve is the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0143] When it is determined that the current lane width is less than the set width, it indicates that the current lane is a narrow lane. When it is determined that the current lane width is greater than the set width, it indicates that the current lane is a wide lane. For a narrow lane, when the vehicle speed is within the set vehicle speed range, the system can automatically control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the preset narrow lane time headway and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0144] Since the vehicle distance is equal to the product of the time headway and the vehicle speed. Therefore, the vehicle distance is positively correlated with the vehicle speed. When the vehicle speed is low, the vehicle distance is also relatively small, resulting in a relatively high risk that the camera cannot obtain sufficient lane line information. Therefore, on a narrow lane, for the set low vehicle speed range, by increasing the time headway, the vehicle distance can be increased, thereby reducing the recognition blind area of the camera, which is beneficial to increasing the length of the obtained lane line information, and thus beneficial to ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0145] Generally, the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed is the shortest safe time headway, and the vehicle distance obtained by multiplying it by the vehicle speed can ensure that the length of the lane line information obtained by the camera can meet the basic requirements of the lateral control system, thereby ensuring the availability of the lateral control system. Therefore, when the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset minimum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, the length of the lane line information obtained by the camera can meet the basic requirements of the lateral control system, and thus the availability of the lateral system can be ensured.

[0146] When it is determined that the current lane width is greater than or equal to the set width, it indicates that the current lane is a wide lane, resulting in a relatively low risk that the camera generates an excessive blind area and the lateral control function becomes unavailable. Therefore, in this case, the time headway can be controlled according to the relationship curve between the wide lane time headway selected by the user and the number of vehicles.

[0147] In this solution, the relationship curve between the time headway of wide lanes and the vehicle speed includes multiple wide-lane time headway control curves, which is equivalent to having multiple time headway gears for users to choose from. Different curves correspond to different gears (such as high gear, medium gear, low gear, etc.). Users can choose according to their personal habits and preferences, which is beneficial to meeting the different needs of different users.

[0148] Among them, the time headway set by the second wide-lane time headway control curve is the preset shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and it is also the shortest safe time headway at the same vehicle speed. The time headway obtained by multiplying the vehicle speed can ensure that the length of the lane line information acquired by the camera can meet the basic requirements of the lateral control system, thereby ensuring the availability of the lateral control system. Therefore, the time headways set by the first wide-lane time headway control curve and the wide-lane time headway control curves of other gears can also meet the requirements of the lateral control system, thereby ensuring the availability of the lateral control system.

[0149] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of same-direction lanes. The preset relationship curve between the time headway of narrow lanes and the vehicle speed includes a first narrow-lane time headway control curve and a second narrow-lane time headway control curve.

[0150] The adaptive cruise control device further includes: a same-direction lane judgment module configured to judge whether the number of same-direction lanes is greater than one.

[0151] The control module is configured to:

[0152] Based on the number of same-direction lanes being one, control the time headway according to the first narrow-lane time headway control curve;

[0153] Based on the number of same-direction lanes being multiple, control the time headway according to the second narrow-lane time headway control curve;

[0154] Among them, the time headway set by the second narrow-lane time headway control curve is greater than the preset shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first narrow-lane time headway control curve at the same vehicle speed.

[0155] When the number of same-direction lanes is one, it indicates that the current lane is a single same-direction lane, and there is no risk of being cut in by other vehicles. Therefore, the time headway can be controlled according to the first narrow-lane time headway control curve, so that the time headway can be relatively long, which is beneficial to increasing the vehicle distance, and further beneficial to increasing the length of the lane line that can be recognized by the camera, and beneficial to further ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0156] When the number of lanes in the same direction is more than one, it indicates that the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction. If the time headway between vehicles is blindly lengthened, although sufficient lane line information can be ensured, it is very easy for vehicles in adjacent lanes in the same direction to cut in, which will also bring a bad driving experience to the driver. Therefore, in this case, in order to avoid being cut in by vehicles in adjacent lanes, the time headway between vehicles can be controlled according to the second narrow lane time headway control curve, so that the time headway between vehicles can be relatively short to reduce the risk of being cut in.

[0157] In an exemplary embodiment, the current lane information further includes the number of lanes in the same direction. The relationship curve between the preset narrow lane time headway between vehicles and the vehicle speed includes a first narrow lane time headway control curve and a second narrow lane time headway control curve.

[0158] The adaptive cruise control device further includes: a same-direction lane judgment module configured to judge whether the number of lanes in the same direction is greater than one.

[0159] The control module is configured to:

[0160] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being one, control the time headway between vehicles according to the first narrow lane time headway control curve;

[0161] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being more than one and detecting that there are other vehicles in adjacent lanes in the same direction, control the time headway between vehicles according to the second narrow lane time headway control curve;

[0162] Based on the number of lanes in the same direction being more than one and detecting that there are no other vehicles in adjacent lanes in the same direction, control the time headway between vehicles according to the first narrow lane time headway control curve.

[0163] Among them, the time headway between vehicles set by the second narrow lane time headway control curve is greater than the preset shortest time headway between vehicles on a wide lane at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway between vehicles set by the first narrow lane time headway control curve at the same vehicle speed.

[0164] When the number of lanes in the same direction is one, it indicates that the current lane is a single lane in the same direction, and there is no risk of being cut in by other vehicles. Therefore, the time headway between vehicles can be controlled according to the first narrow lane time headway control curve, so that the time headway between vehicles can be relatively long, which is beneficial to increasing the vehicle distance, and further beneficial to increasing the length of the lane line that can be recognized by the camera, and beneficial to further ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0165] When the number of lanes in the same direction is more than one, it indicates that the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction. When it is detected that there are vehicles driving in the adjacent lane, if the time headway is blindly lengthened, the distance between vehicles will be too large, and there is a greater risk of being cut in, which will bring a bad driving experience to the driver. Therefore, in this case, in order to avoid being cut in by vehicles in the adjacent lane, the time headway can be controlled according to the time headway control curve of the second narrow lane, so that the time headway can be relatively short to reduce the risk of being cut in.

[0166] When the number of lanes in the same direction is more than one, it indicates that the current lane is a multi-lane in the same direction. However, if there are no vehicles driving in the adjacent lane, there is no risk of being cut in. Therefore, in this case, the time headway can be controlled according to the time headway control curve of the first narrow lane, so that the time headway can be relatively long, which is beneficial to increasing the distance between vehicles, and then beneficial to increasing the length of the lane lines that can be recognized by the camera, and beneficial to further ensuring the availability of the lateral control function.

[0167] In an exemplary embodiment, the time headway set by the time headway control curve of the first narrow lane is greater than the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0168] This is beneficial to further increasing the distance between vehicles, and then further increasing the length of the lane lines that can be obtained by the camera. For example, it can ensure that the recognition distance of the camera is at least greater than the road marking design standard (such as 6 + 9 meters), and then ensure a more stable and convenient lateral control function.

[0169] In an exemplary embodiment, the time headway set by the time headway control curve of the second narrow lane is equal to the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

[0170] This can keep the time headway in the appropriate range in the case of low vehicle speed on multi-lanes in the same direction, which is beneficial to ensuring that the camera can obtain sufficient lane line information and also beneficial to reducing the risk of being cut in.

[0171] Of course, the time headway set by the time headway control curve of the second narrow lane can also be greater than or less than the preset maximum time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, as long as it can ensure an appropriate distance between vehicles to ensure that the camera can obtain sufficient lane line information.

[0172] In an exemplary embodiment, the control module is further configured to:

[0173] Based on the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane selected by the user and the vehicle speed, determine the end point of the relationship curve between the preset time headway of the narrow lane and the vehicle speed;

[0174] Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway and vehicle speed for wide lanes selected by the user.

[0175] For the case of relatively high vehicle speeds, multiplying a relatively short time headway by a relatively high vehicle speed can also result in a relatively long time headway. Therefore, even if the lane is relatively narrow, it is not easy to generate an overly large visual blind area that causes the lateral control function to be unavailable. Therefore, in this case, still control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway and vehicle speed for wide lanes selected by the user, which is beneficial to meeting the user's habits and preferences, and thus beneficial to improving the user experience.

[0176] As Figure 6 shown, an embodiment of the present application further provides a vehicle, including a driving assistance ECU 200 (i.e., a driving assistance control device). The driving assistance ECU 200 includes the adaptive cruise control device 202 of any one of the above embodiments, and thus has all the above beneficial effects, which will not be elaborated here.

[0177] Among them, the driving assistance ECU 200 further includes a lane keeping control device (i.e., an LKS control device 201). The vehicle further includes a signal input system, a signal output system, and an execution system.

[0178] As Figure 6 shown, the signal input system is set to: input signals to the lane keeping control device 201 of the assisted driving system. The signal output system is set to: receive the output signals of the lane keeping control device 201 and control the execution system to perform corresponding operations according to the output signals.

[0179] Among them, as Figure 6 shown, the signal input system may include: a turn signal switch 101 that can detect the driver's turn signal operation, an accelerator pedal sensor 102 that detects the driver's accelerator operation, a brake pedal sensor 103 that detects the driver's braking operation, a steering angle sensor 104 that detects the driver's steering operation, a hand torque sensor 105 that detects the driver's steering operation force, a vehicle speed sensor 106 that detects the vehicle speed, a yaw rate sensor 109 that detects the vehicle's motion state, a longitudinal acceleration sensor 110, a lateral acceleration sensor 111, and a driving environment condition detection device 400 (such as a camera sensor 108 and a radar sensor 107 for detecting the surrounding environment).

[0180] The signal output system may include: an engine ECU 301, a brake ECU 302, a steering ECU 303, and an information display ECU 304.

[0181] The execution system may include: an engine 311, a braking system 312, a steering system 313, and an information display device 314. The engine ECU 301 controls the engine 311 according to the output signal, mainly performing acceleration control. The braking ECU 302 controls the braking system 312, mainly performing deceleration control. The steering ECU 303 controls the steering system 313, mainly performing lateral steering control. The information display ECU 304 controls the information display device 314, mainly providing the display of vehicle status and function control status information to the driver.

[0182] In any one or more of the above exemplary embodiments, the described functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes and executed by a hardware-based processing unit. The computer-readable medium may include a computer-readable storage medium corresponding to a tangible medium such as a data storage medium, or a communication medium including any medium that facilitates a computer program, such as according to a communication protocol, to be transmitted from one place to another. In this way, the computer-readable medium generally corresponds to a non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium or a communication medium such as a signal or a carrier wave. The data storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by one or more computers or one or more processors to retrieve instructions, codes, and / or data structures for implementing the techniques described in this disclosure. A computer program product may include a computer-readable medium.

[0183] By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if instructions are transmitted using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave from a website, server, or other remote source, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. However, it should be understood that the computer-readable storage medium and the data storage medium do not include connections, carrier waves, signals, or other transient media, but rather are directed to non-transitory tangible storage media. As used herein, disk and optical disk include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, or Blu-ray disc, etc., where disks generally reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks use lasers to reproduce data optically. The above combinations should also be included within the scope of the computer-readable medium.

[0184] For example, the instructions may be executed by one or more processors, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), general purpose microprocessors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry. Thus, as used herein, the term "processor" may refer to any one of the foregoing structures or any other structure suitable for implementing the techniques described herein. Additionally, in some aspects, the functionality described herein may be provided within dedicated hardware and / or software modules configured for encoding and decoding, or incorporated in a combined codec. Also, the techniques may be implemented entirely in one or more circuits or logic elements.

[0185] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in a wide variety of devices or apparatuses, including wireless handsets, integrated circuits (ICs) or a group of ICs (e.g., a chipset). Various components, modules, or units described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are emphasized to highlight the functional aspects of the apparatuses configured to perform the described techniques, but do not necessarily need to be implemented by different hardware units. Rather, as described above, the various units may be combined in a codec hardware unit or provided by a collection of interoperating hardware units, including one or more processors as described above, in conjunction with appropriate software and / or firmware.

Claims

1. An adaptive cruise control method, characterized in that, Including: Obtain current lane information, where the current lane information at least includes the current lane width; Control the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information; Among them, the controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information includes: based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being within the set low vehicle speed range, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed preset, so that the time headway between vehicles within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed; The current lane information further includes the number of same-direction lanes, and the preset relationship curve between the time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed includes a first control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes and a second control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes; the controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the preset relationship curve between the time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway between vehicles within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed includes: based on the number of same-direction lanes being one, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the first control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes; based on the number of same-direction lanes being multiple and detecting that there are other vehicles in the adjacent same-direction lane, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the second control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes; based on the number of same-direction lanes being multiple and detecting that there are no other vehicles in the adjacent same-direction lane, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the first control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes; Among them, the time headway set by the second control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes is greater than the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes at the same vehicle speed.

2. The adaptive cruise control method according to claim 1, characterized in that The time headway set by the first control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes is greater than the preset longest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed.

3. The adaptive cruise control method according to claim 1, characterized in that The time headway set by the second control curve for the time headway of narrow lanes is equal to the preset longest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed.

4. The adaptive cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein Determine the number of same-direction lanes according to the following method: Determine the number of same-direction lanes according to the high-precision map; or Determine the number of same-direction lanes according to the obtained lane line information.

5. The adaptive cruise control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information further includes: Based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the relationship curve between the time headway for wide lanes and the vehicle speed selected by the user; Among them, the relationship curve between the time headway for wide lanes and the vehicle speed at least includes a first control curve for the time headway of wide lanes and a second control curve for the time headway of wide lanes, the time headway set by the first control curve for the time headway of wide lanes is the preset longest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second control curve for the time headway of wide lanes is the preset shortest time headway for wide lanes at the same vehicle speed.

6. The adaptive cruise control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The controlling the time headway between vehicles according to the current lane information further includes: Based on the relationship curve between the time headway for wide lanes and the vehicle speed selected by the user, determine the end point of the preset relationship curve between the time headway for narrow lanes and the vehicle speed; Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the wide-lane time headway and the vehicle speed selected by the user; Among them, the relationship curve between the wide-lane time headway and the vehicle speed at least includes a first wide-lane time headway control curve and a second wide-lane time headway control curve. The time headway set by the first wide-lane time headway control curve is the preset longest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second wide-lane time headway control curve is the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

7. An adaptive cruise control device, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a memory storing a computer program. When the processor executes the computer program, it realizes the steps of the adaptive cruise control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. An adaptive cruise control system, characterized in that, It includes: A driving environment condition detection device configured to detect the driving environment condition; and An adaptive cruise control device configured to obtain at least part of the current lane information according to the detection result of the driving environment condition detection device and control the time headway according to the current lane information. The current lane information at least includes the current lane width; Among them, the adaptive cruise control device includes: a lane width judgment module configured to judge whether the current lane width is less than the set width; and a control module configured to: based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the vehicle speed being within the set low vehicle speed range, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the preset narrow-lane time headway and the vehicle speed, so that the time headway within the set low vehicle speed range is greater than the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed; The current lane information further includes the number of same-direction lanes. The preset relationship curve between the narrow-lane time headway and the vehicle speed includes a first narrow-lane time headway control curve and a second narrow-lane time headway control curve; The adaptive cruise control device further includes: a same-direction lane judgment module configured to judge whether the number of same-direction lanes is greater than one; the control module is configured to: based on the number of same-direction lanes being one, control the time headway according to the first narrow-lane time headway control curve; based on the number of same-direction lanes being multiple and detecting that there are other vehicles in the adjacent same-direction lanes, control the time headway according to the second narrow-lane time headway control curve; based on the number of same-direction lanes being multiple and detecting that there are no other vehicles in the adjacent same-direction lanes, control the time headway according to the first narrow-lane time headway control curve; Among them, the time headway set by the second narrow-lane time headway control curve is greater than the preset shortest time headway for the wide lane at the same vehicle speed and less than the time headway set by the first narrow-lane time headway control curve at the same vehicle speed.

9. The adaptive cruise control system according to claim 8, wherein The control module is further configured to: based on the current lane width being greater than or equal to the set width, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the wide-lane time headway and the vehicle speed selected by the user; Among them, the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed at least includes a first control curve of the time headway of the wide lane and a second control curve of the time headway of the wide lane. The time headway set by the first control curve of the time headway of the wide lane is the preset longest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed, and the time headway set by the second control curve of the time headway of the wide lane is the preset shortest time headway of the wide lane at the same vehicle speed.

10. The adaptive cruise control system according to claim 9, wherein The control module is further configured to: Based on the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user, determine the end point of the relationship curve between the preset time headway of the narrow lane and the vehicle speed; Based on the current lane width being less than the set width and the current vehicle speed being higher than the vehicle speed at the end point, control the time headway according to the relationship curve between the time headway of the wide lane and the vehicle speed selected by the user.

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