Retrograde determination device

Abstract

A reverse travel determination device that determines whether a vehicle is traveling in reverse, the reverse travel determination device including a direction indicator determination unit that determines whether there is an operation of a direction indicator of the vehicle, and the reverse travel determination is not performed after a predetermined time elapses from when the direction indicator determination unit determines that there is the operation of the direction indicator or after the vehicle travels a predetermined distance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wrong-way driving determination device. Background Art

[0002] For example, Japanese Patent Gazette No. 2015-121952 describes a wrong-way traffic determination device that identifies an identification symbol showing text or a sign representing a road sign from a camera image taken in front of or behind the vehicle itself, and determines whether the vehicle itself is traveling in the wrong direction based on the probability of successfully identifying the identification symbol. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In the above-mentioned technology, for example, there is a possibility that an identification symbol may be misidentified and a wrong-way determination (determination of whether a vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction) may be made. Therefore, the present disclosure describes a wrong-way determination device that can suppress wrong-way determination.

[0004] A wrong-way determination device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure performs a wrong-way determination to determine whether a vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction. The wrong-way determination device includes a direction indicator determination unit that determines whether there has been an operation on a direction indicator of the vehicle. The wrong-way determination is not performed after a predetermined time has passed since the direction indicator determination unit determined that there has been an operation on the direction indicator, or after the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the direction indicator determination unit determined that there has been an operation on the direction indicator.

[0005] Wrong-way traffic often occurs after a lane change (such as a lane change or a right or left turn) following the operation of a turn signal. In this regard, the wrong-way traffic determination device can limit wrong-way traffic determination to the period from the operation of the turn signal until a predetermined time has passed, or from the operation of the turn signal until the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance. This allows wrong-way traffic determination to be performed in scenarios where wrong-way traffic is common, while reducing the number of unnecessary wrong-way traffic determinations, thereby preventing erroneous wrong-way traffic determinations.

[0006] The wrong-way determination device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may perform wrong-way determination based on the vehicle's external environment or based on the vehicle's position information and map information. In this case, wrong-way determination can be performed using the vehicle's external environment or using the vehicle's position information and map information.

[0007] A wrong-way traffic determination device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may reset the travel time or distance for determination when the direction indicator determination unit determines that the direction indicator has been operated, and add (add) the travel time for determination as time passes or add the travel distance for determination as the vehicle travels. A wrong-way traffic determination is performed when the travel time or distance for determination is less than a predetermined time or distance, and a wrong-way traffic determination is not performed when the travel time or distance for determination is greater than the predetermined time or distance. In this case, it is possible to specifically suppress erroneous wrong-way traffic determinations.

[0008] The wrong-way travel determination device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include an alarm unit that issues an alarm when the wrong-way travel determination device determines that the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction. In this case, the alarm can be used to draw attention to the wrong-way travel of the vehicle.

[0009] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress erroneous determination of wrong-way driving. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the wrong-way traffic determination device according to the first embodiment.

[0011] Figure 2 It shows Figure 1 Flowchart of a processing example of a wrong-way determination device.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a wrong-way traffic determination device according to a second embodiment.

[0013] Figure 4 It shows Figure 3 Flowchart of a processing example of a wrong-way determination device.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a wrong-way traffic determination device according to a third embodiment.

[0015] Figure 6 It shows Figure 5 Flowchart of a processing example of a wrong-way determination device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each of the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[0017] [First embodiment]

[0018] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a wrong-way traffic determination device 1 according to the first embodiment.Figure 1 As shown, the wrong-way determination device 1 is a device that performs wrong-way determination (hereinafter also referred to as "wrong-way determination") to determine whether the vehicle 2 is traveling in the wrong direction. The vehicle 2 is not particularly limited and can be various vehicles. "Wrong-way" refers to, for example, traveling in a direction opposite to the direction of travel set on the road and driving area (parking lot, etc.). The wrong-way determination device 1 is mounted on the vehicle 2. The wrong-way determination device 1 includes a driving distance information acquisition unit 10, a direction indicator information acquisition unit 20, a front image acquisition unit 30, an ECU [Electronic Control Unit] 40 and an alarm unit 50.

[0019] The travel distance information acquisition unit 10 acquires travel distance information, which is information related to the travel distance of the vehicle 2. The travel distance information acquisition unit 10 may include, for example, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle 2. The travel distance information acquisition unit 10 transmits the acquired travel distance information to the ECU 40. The travel distance information acquisition unit 10 is not particularly limited, and various known sensors may be used.

[0020] The direction indicator information acquisition unit 20 acquires direction indicator information, which is information related to the driver of the vehicle 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "driver") operating the direction indicator. The direction indicator information acquisition unit 20 may, for example, include a direction indicator sensor that detects the lighting status of the left and right direction indicators of the vehicle 2. The direction indicator information acquisition unit 20 transmits the acquired direction indicator information to the ECU 40. The direction indicator information acquisition unit 20 is not particularly limited, and various known sensors may be used.

[0021] The front image acquisition unit 30 acquires an image (external environment) in front of the vehicle 2. For example, the front image acquisition unit 30 includes a camera installed behind the windshield of the vehicle 2. The front image acquisition unit 30 transmits the acquired front image to the ECU 40. The front image acquisition unit 30 is not particularly limited, and various known imaging devices can be used.

[0022] The ECU 40 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and memories such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). In the ECU 40, various functions are implemented by, for example, loading programs stored in the ROM into the RAM and having the CPU execute the programs loaded into the RAM. The ECU 40 may also be composed of multiple electronic control units. The ECU 40 includes a direction indicator determination unit 41 and a wrong-way driving determination unit 42 as functional components.

[0023] The direction indicator determination unit 41 determines whether there is an operation on the direction indicator of the vehicle 2 based on the direction indicator information. Here, the direction indicator determination unit 41 determines whether an operation to start the operation of the direction indicator has been generated by the driver. The wrong-way determination unit 42 performs wrong-way determination based on the front image. There is no special limitation on wrong-way determination and it can be implemented using a well-known method. As an example, in the wrong-way determination, road signs (arrow signs, etc.) and road surface markings (road surface arrows, etc.) are extracted from the captured image, and image processing such as pattern matching is used to determine whether the road sign is facing backward and whether the direction of the road surface marking is reversed, and whether there is wrong-way determination based on the determination result.

[0024] Here, in this embodiment, the wrong-way determination unit 42 does not perform wrong-way determination after the vehicle 2 has traveled a predetermined distance since the direction indicator determination unit 41 determined that the direction indicator has been operated. The predetermined distance is not particularly limited and can be set in advance, for example, 1 km to 2 km.

[0025] Specifically, when the direction indicator determination unit 41 determines that the direction indicator has been operated, the wrong-way determination unit 42 resets the determination driving distance to 0. The determination driving distance is the driving distance used to determine whether the wrong-way determination has been implemented or not implemented (not implemented). Furthermore, the wrong-way determination unit 42 adds the determination driving distance as the vehicle 2 travels (that is, using the driving distance information, the driving distance traveled since the reset is added to the determination driving distance). The wrong-way determination unit 42 performs the wrong-way determination when the determination driving distance is less than a predetermined distance, and does not perform (stops) the wrong-way determination when the determination driving distance is greater than the predetermined distance.

[0026] When the wrong-way determination unit 42 determines that the vehicle 2 is traveling in the wrong direction, the alarm unit 50 issues an alarm using at least one of sound and display. The alarm unit 50 can be an interface for inputting and outputting information with the occupants (including the driver) of the vehicle 2, i.e., an HMI (Human Machine Interface).

[0027] Next, refer to Figure 2 An example of the processing performed by the wrong-way traffic determination device 1 is described using the flowchart of FIG.

[0028] The wrong-way traffic determination device 1 periodically performs the following processing, for example, when the vehicle 2 starts traveling or when the driver initiates an operation to start the wrong-way traffic determination device 1. Specifically, the traveling distance information acquisition unit 10 first acquires traveling distance information (step S1). The direction indicator information acquisition unit 20 acquires direction indicator information (step S2).

[0029] The determination by the direction indicator determination section 41 determines whether or not the operation by the driver with respect to the direction indicator has newly occurred, based on the direction indicator information (step S3). In step S3, it is determined whether or not the operation by the driver with respect to the direction indicator has occurred during the period from the previous processing cycle to the current processing cycle. In the case of YES in step S3, the determination-use travel distance is reset (step S4). In the case of NO in step S3, or after step S4, the travel distance traveled by the vehicle 2 during the period from the previous processing cycle to the current processing cycle is added to the determination-use travel distance, based on the travel distance information (step S5). Further, it can be that, in the case of the initial processing cycle, the previous processing cycle is not taken as a reference in steps S3 and S5, but the time when the processing is started is taken as a reference.

[0030] The determination by the reverse travel determination section 42 determines whether or not the determination-use travel distance is less than the predetermined distance (step S6). In the case of YES in step S6, the reverse travel determination is performed by the reverse travel determination section 42 (step S7). On the other hand, in the case of NO in step S6, the reverse travel determination by the reverse travel determination section 42 is set to not be performed (step S8). After step S7 or step S8, the current processing cycle is ended, and the processing moves to step S1 of the next processing cycle.

[0031] In the reverse travel determination device 1 described above, it is possible to limit the reverse travel determination to be performed during the period from the operation with respect to the direction indicator to the travel of the vehicle 2 by the predetermined distance. The reverse travel of the vehicle 2 occurs more often in a scenario in which the vehicle 2 makes a travel road change (lane change or right turn, left turn, or the like) accompanied by the operation with respect to the direction indicator. Therefore, according to the reverse travel determination device 1, it is possible to reduce the performance of the reverse travel determination that is less necessary while maintaining the performance of the reverse travel determination in the scenario in which the reverse travel occurs more often, and to suppress the false determination of the reverse travel determination.

[0032] Further, in the reverse travel determination device 1, it is possible to cope with the situation of the reverse travel on the expressway (reverse travel determination of the following modes (1) to (5)). In the following modes (1) to (5), a change from the travel road to another route is bound to occur, so it is possible to determine the reverse travel using the operation of the direction indicator as a trigger. In the reverse travel determination device 1, it is also possible to cope with the situation of the exit from the parking area on the general road in which the reverse travel occurs more often (for example, the situation in which the road is one-lane on one side and becomes the reverse travel due to the right turn).

[0033] (1) Mode of entry from the exit of the expressway.

[0034] (2) Mode of exit from the entrance of the parking area or service area.

[0035] (3) The mode of exiting a parking area or service area and turning right at the main line merging (merging) point.

[0036] (4) Entering from the toll booth and turning right at the main line junction.

[0037] (5) Entering from a toll booth and exiting from the opposite direction.

[0038] Regarding mode (2), assuming that the parking lot is full and the car park has missed the exit, the car park in the largest service area can be handled by setting the predetermined distance to 1km to 2km, taking into account the size of the parking lot in the largest service area.

[0039] The wrong-way traffic determination device 1 performs wrong-way traffic determination based on an image in front of the vehicle 2. In this case, the wrong-way traffic determination can be performed using the image in front of the vehicle 2. Furthermore, the wrong-way traffic determination device 1 is not limited to having the front image acquisition unit 30 and may instead include a device for acquiring the external environment of the vehicle 2. In this case, the wrong-way traffic determination can be performed using a known method based on the external environment of the vehicle 2.

[0040] When the direction indicator determination unit 41 determines that the direction indicator has been operated, the wrong-way traffic determination device 1 resets the determination travel distance and adds the determination travel distance as the vehicle 2 travels. If the determination travel distance is less than a predetermined distance, a wrong-way traffic determination is performed. If the determination travel distance is greater than the predetermined distance, a wrong-way traffic determination is not performed. In this manner, it is possible to specifically suppress erroneous wrong-way traffic determinations.

[0041] The wrong-way travel determination device 1 includes an alarm unit 50 that issues an alarm when it is determined through wrong-way travel determination that the vehicle 2 is traveling wrong-way. In this case, the alarm can draw attention to the wrong-way travel of the vehicle 2.

[0042] [Second embodiment]

[0043] In the description of this embodiment, the points different from the first embodiment are described, and redundant descriptions are omitted. Figure 3 1 is a diagram showing a wrong-way traffic determination device 101 according to the second embodiment. Figure 3 As shown, the wrong-way traffic determination device 101 replaces the travel distance information acquisition unit 10 and the front image acquisition unit 30 (see Figure 1 ) is different from the first embodiment in that it includes a position information acquisition unit 60 and a map information acquisition unit 70.

[0044] The position information acquisition unit 60 acquires position information related to the current position of the vehicle 2. The position information acquisition unit 60 is configured to include, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. The GPS receiver measures the position of the vehicle 2 (e.g., the latitude and longitude of the vehicle 2) by receiving signals from three or more GPS satellites. The position information acquisition unit 60 transmits the acquired position information to the ECU 40. The position information acquisition unit 60 is not particularly limited, and various known devices can be used.

[0045] The map information acquisition unit 70 acquires map information. The map information includes the location information of roads and driving areas, the travel direction set in the roads and driving areas, information on the road shape (such as curvature information), the location information of intersections and branch intersections, etc. The map information may also include traffic control information such as the legal speed associated with the location information. The map information may also include object information. Objects (object targets) may include road dividing lines, traffic lights, guardrails, road signs, road surface markings, etc. The map information acquisition unit 70 is configured to include, for example, a map database that stores map information. The map database can be formed in a storage device such as an HDD mounted on the vehicle 2, or it can be configured in a server that can communicate with the vehicle 2.

[0046] In addition, the wrong-way determination unit 42 of the present embodiment performs wrong-way determination based on position information and map information. As an example, in the wrong-way determination, "the vehicle 2 is traveling in a parking area or a service area" and "the direction of the travel" are determined based on the position information and map information. When the vehicle 2 is traveling in the opposite direction relative to the set direction of travel, it is determined that the vehicle 2 is traveling in the wrong direction. In addition, as another example, in the wrong-way determination, the current direction of travel of the vehicle 2 is obtained based on the change in position information, and the direction of travel set on the road where the vehicle 2 is located is obtained based on the map information, and whether there is wrong-way travel is determined based on the obtained direction of travel and the direction of travel. In the present embodiment, the wrong-way determination unit 42 adds the driving distance for determination as the vehicle 2 travels (that is, the driving distance obtained based on the change in position information since the above-mentioned reset is added to the driving distance for determination).

[0047] Next, refer to Figure 4 An example of the processing performed by the wrong-way traffic determination device 101 is described using the flowchart of FIG.

[0048] In the reverse travel determination device 101, first, the position information is acquired by the position information acquisition section 60 and the map information is acquired by the map information acquisition section 70 (step Sll). The direction indicator information is acquired by the direction indicator information acquisition section 20 (step S12). Whether or not the operation of the driver with respect to the direction indicator has newly been generated is determined by the direction indicator determination section 41 on the basis of the direction indicator information (step S13). Whether or not the operation of the driver with respect to the direction indicator has been generated in the period from the previous processing cycle to the current processing cycle is determined in step S13.

[0049] In the case where the determination in step S13 is YES, the determination-use travel distance is reset (step S14). In the case where the determination in step S13 is NO or after step S14, the travel distance corresponding to the change in the position information in the period from the previous processing cycle to the current processing cycle is added to the determination-use travel distance (step S15). Further, it can be that, in the case of the initial processing cycle, the previous processing cycle is not taken as a reference in steps S13 and S15, but the time when the processing is started is taken as a reference.

[0050] Whether or not the determination-use travel distance is smaller than the predetermined distance is determined by the reverse travel determination section 42 (step S16). In the case where the determination in step S16 is YES, the reverse travel determination is performed by the reverse travel determination section 42 (step S17). On the other hand, in the case where the determination in step S16 is NO, the reverse travel determination by the reverse travel determination section 42 is set to be not performed (step S18). After step S17 or step S18, the current processing cycle is ended, and the processing is moved to step Sll of the next processing cycle.

[0051] In the above, the reverse travel determination device 101 also has the same effects as the above-described effects, that is, it is possible to reduce the performance of the reverse travel determination that is less necessary while maintaining the performance of the reverse travel determination in the scene where the reverse travel is much, to suppress the false determination of the reverse travel determination, and the like. In addition, it is possible to suppress the case where the reverse travel determination is falsely determined, for example, due to the error in the travel direction caused by the decrease in the accuracy of the position information at the low vehicle speed.

[0052] The reverse travel determination device 101 performs the reverse travel determination on the basis of the position information and the map information of the vehicle 2. In this case, it is possible to perform the reverse travel determination using the position information and the map information of the vehicle 2.

[0053] [3RD EMBODIMENT]

[0054] The 3rd embodiment will be described. In the description of the present embodiment, points different from the 1st embodiment will be described, and the repeated description will be omitted. Figure 5 is a view that shows a reverse travel determination device 201 according to the 3rd embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the reverse travel determination device 201 according to the 3rd embodiment is different from the reverse travel determination device 101 according to the 1st embodiment in that the direction indicator information acquisition section 20 is replaced with a direction indicator information acquisition section 210. Figure 5As shown, the wrong-way traffic determination device 201 includes a travel time information acquisition unit 80 as a travel distance information acquisition unit 10 (see Figure 1 ) is replaced by .

[0055] The travel time information acquisition unit 80 measures the travel time of the vehicle 2 and acquires travel time information related to the travel time. The travel time information acquisition unit 80 transmits the acquired travel time information to the ECU 40. The travel time information acquisition unit 80 is not particularly limited, and various known components can be used. For example, the travel time information acquisition unit 80 may be configured by the ECU 40.

[0056] In the present embodiment, the wrong-way determination unit 42 does not perform a wrong-way determination after a predetermined time has passed since the direction indicator determination unit 41 determined that there was an operation on the direction indicator. The predetermined time is not particularly limited and can be set in advance. Specifically, the wrong-way determination unit 42 resets the determination driving time so that the determination driving time becomes 0 when the direction indicator determination unit 41 determines that there was an operation on the direction indicator. The determination driving time is the driving time used to determine whether the wrong-way determination is implemented or not. In addition, the wrong-way determination unit 42 adds the determination driving time as the vehicle 2 travels (that is, using the driving time information, the driving time traveled since the above reset is added to the determination driving time). The wrong-way determination unit 42 performs a wrong-way determination when the determination driving time is less than the predetermined time, and does not perform a wrong-way determination when the determination driving time is longer than the predetermined time.

[0057] Next, refer to Figure 6 An example of the processing performed by the wrong-way traffic determination device 201 is described in the flowchart of FIG.

[0058] The wrong-way traffic determination device 201 first obtains travel time information through the travel time information acquisition unit 80 (step S21). The direction indicator information acquisition unit 20 obtains direction indicator information (step S22). The direction indicator determination unit 41 determines whether the driver has newly operated the direction indicator based on the direction indicator information (step S23). In step S23, it is determined whether the driver has newly operated the direction indicator between the previous processing cycle and the current processing cycle.

[0059] If the answer is yes in step S23, the determination travel time is reset (step S24). If the answer is no in step S23 or after step S24, the travel time of vehicle 2 from the previous processing cycle to the current processing cycle is added to the determination travel time based on the travel time information (step S25). Alternatively, in the case of the initial processing cycle, steps S23 and S25 may use the time at the start of processing as a reference instead of the previous processing cycle.

[0060] The wrong-way determination unit 42 determines whether the travel time for determination is less than a predetermined time (step S26). If the answer is yes in step S26, the wrong-way determination unit 42 performs a wrong-way determination (step S27). On the other hand, if the answer is no in step S26, the wrong-way determination by the wrong-way determination unit 42 is set to not be performed (step S28). After step S27 or step S28, the current processing cycle ends and the process moves to step S21 of the next processing cycle.

[0061] As described above, the wrong-way traffic determination device 201 can limit wrong-way traffic determination to the period from the time the turn indicator is operated until a predetermined time has passed. Wrong-way traffic of vehicle 2 often occurs after the vehicle 2 changes its route following the operation of the turn indicator. Therefore, the wrong-way traffic determination device 1 can maintain wrong-way traffic determination in scenarios where wrong-way traffic is common, while reducing the number of unnecessary wrong-way traffic determinations, thereby preventing erroneous wrong-way traffic determinations.

[0062] When the direction indicator determination unit 41 determines that the direction indicator has been operated, the wrong-way travel determination device 201 resets the determination travel time and adds the determination travel time as the vehicle 2 travels. If the determination travel time is less than a predetermined time, a wrong-way travel determination is performed. If the determination travel time is greater than the predetermined time, a wrong-way travel determination is not performed. In this case, it is possible to specifically suppress erroneous wrong-way travel determinations.

[0063] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Part of the functions of the above-mentioned ECU 40 may also be executed in an external server. Each component in the above-mentioned embodiment or the above-mentioned modified example can be arbitrarily applied to each component in other embodiments or other modified examples. Part of each component in the above-mentioned embodiment or the above-mentioned modified example can be appropriately omitted within the scope of the gist of a technical solution of the present disclosure. The present disclosure can also be applied to manual driving of a vehicle that can switch between automatic driving and manual driving.

Claims

1. A wrong-way determination device for performing wrong-way determination, wherein the wrong-way determination device determines whether a vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction. The wrong-way traffic determination device includes a direction indicator determination unit that determines whether or not a direction indicator of the vehicle is operated. The wrong-way driving determination is not performed after a predetermined time has passed since the direction indicator determination unit determined that the direction indicator has been operated, or after the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance since the direction indicator determination unit determined that the direction indicator has been operated.

2. The wrong-way traffic determination device according to claim 1, The wrong-way driving determination is performed based on the external environment of the vehicle or based on the position information and map information of the vehicle.

3. The wrong-way traffic determination device according to claim 1, When the direction indicator determination unit determines that the direction indicator has been operated, the determination driving time or the determination driving distance is reset, and the determination driving time is added as time passes or the determination driving distance is added as the vehicle travels. The wrong-way driving determination is performed when the determination travel time or the determination travel distance is less than the predetermined time or distance, and is not performed when the determination travel time or the determination travel distance is greater than the predetermined time or distance.

4. The wrong-way traffic determination device according to claim 2, When the direction indicator determination unit determines that the direction indicator has been operated, the determination driving time or the determination driving distance is reset, and the determination driving time is added as time passes or the determination driving distance is added as the vehicle travels. The wrong-way driving determination is performed when the determination travel time or the determination travel distance is less than the predetermined time or distance, and is not performed when the determination travel time or the determination travel distance is greater than the predetermined time or distance.

5. The wrong-way traffic determination device according to claim 1, An alarm unit is provided for issuing an alarm when it is determined by the wrong-way travel determination that the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction.

6. The wrong-way traffic determination device according to claim 1, A determination is made as to whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction on the highway.

7. The wrong-way traffic determination device according to claim 1, A determination is made as to whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction in the parking lot.

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