Collision avoidance support control device

Abstract

Collision avoidance support control device with: a braking device configured to generate a braking force applied to a host vehicle in accordance with a driver's brake pedal actuation; an ambient area detection sensor configured to obtain information about an object located near the host vehicle; and a control unit configured to: Determine whether or not there is a probability of a collision between the host vehicle and an object, based on the information obtained by the ambient area detection sensor; Performing automatic brake control to cause the braking device to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle without requiring the driver to operate the brake pedal in order to avoid a collision when determined to be likely; and Performing steering priority control to determine whether a steering actuation index value indicative of driver steering action satisfies a steering priority condition or not, and to prevent automatic braking control from being performed when it is determined that the steering actuation index value satisfies the steering priority condition, where the control unit is configured to: Determine whether an acceleration actuation index value, indicative of driver acceleration pedal actuation, satisfies a fault pedal actuation determination condition; and Determine that an erroneous pedal actuation has occurred when it is determined that the acceleration actuation index value satisfies the erroneous pedal actuation determination condition, wherein the erroneous pedal actuation is an actuation such that the driver mistakenly acts an accelerator pedal although the driver intends to actuate a brake pedal, characterized by the fact that the control unit is still configured to: Using a strict requirement as the steering priority condition when it is determined that incorrect pedal actuation has occurred, and using a weak requirement as the steering priority condition when it is not determined that incorrect pedal actuation has occurred, wherein the strict requirement is more difficult to satisfy by the steering actuation index value than the weak requirement. Using a first steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has not yet started, in a state where it is not determined that the erroneous pedal actuation has occurred, in order to perform the steering priority control; Using a second steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when automatic brake control is already started, in the state where it is not determined that the erroneous pedal actuation has occurred, in order to perform steering priority control; Inability to perform steering priority control when automatic brake control has not yet been initiated, in a state where erroneous pedal actuation is determined to have occurred; and Using the second steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when automatic brake control is already started, in a state where it is determined that the erroneous pedal actuation has occurred, in order to perform steering priority control.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a collision avoidance assistance control device configured to perform automatic braking control to avoid a collision between a host vehicle and an obstacle. background

[0002] There is a known collision avoidance support control device configured to: Detecting an obstacle having a probability (or high / large possibility, high / large collision possibility) of colliding with a host vehicle using a forward-looking obstacle detection sensor, such as a camera sensor and a radar sensor; and Perform automatic braking control to avoid collision when the obstacle with high / large collision possibility is detected.

[0003] Automatic braking control is a control for generating a braking force applied to the host vehicle to automatically decelerate the host vehicle at a predetermined deceleration / slowdown.

[0004] For automatic braking control, it is preferable to perform it when a driver of the host vehicle is not performing a collision avoidance operation. In view of this, a device (hereinafter referred to as a conventional device) proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-121534 is configured for so-called intervention control. The intervention control is control for prioritizing a driver's operation to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle via automatic braking control when the driver's operation is detected in a case where automatic braking control is assumed to be performed (namely, when the host vehicle has a probability (high / high possibility) of colliding with the obstacle).

[0005] For example, the conventional apparatus is configured to prioritize the driver's brake operation over the automatic brake control (ie, perform the priority control) by prohibiting / hinging the automatic brake control when a driver's brake operation pedal is greater than a threshold value.

[0006] Meanwhile, the conventional device is configured to: Determining that an erroneous pedal operation has been performed when an accelerator pedal operation amount is greater than a threshold value and a rate of change of the accelerator pedal operation amount (or an accelerator pedal operation rate or speed) is greater than a threshold value, wherein the erroneous pedal operation is an operation in which the driver erroneously presses / depresses the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal, although the driver intends to press the brake pedal; and Executing the automatic brake control without performing the priority or intervention control when it is determined that the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation has occurred or has been performed.

[0007] In addition, the conventional device is configured to: Determining that the driver is attempting to avoid the collision by a driver steering operation when a steering operation amount is greater than a threshold; and Prohibit / inhibit automatic braking control by performing priority or intervention control when it is determined that the driver is attempting to avoid the collision by steering operation.

[0008] Furthermore, US 2019 / 0 286 127 A1 describes a vehicle control device that performs driving assistance or automated driving of a self-driving vehicle.A steering controller performs steering control upon manual operation by a driver or automated operation by the vehicle control device, wherein the steering controller accepts a steering input by a manual operation by the driver in addition to a system steering amount by the vehicle control device while the steering control is performed by the vehicle control device, returns a predetermined reaction force to the manual operation when the steering input is accepted, and makes the reaction force to the manual operation larger in a case where the travel is performed in a second state in which a steering wheel grip is not required than in a case where the travel is performed in a first state in which a steering wheel grip is required. Summary

[0009] The conventional device always performs automatic braking control (in other words, it does not perform override control) when it determines that the erroneous pedal operation occurred in the case where the host vehicle has a high probability of colliding with the obstacle, without considering other driver operation conditions. However, there may be cases where automatic braking control should not be performed depending on certain driver operation conditions.

[0010] For example, there may be a case where the driver is steering a steering wheel while pressing the accelerator pedal hard / quickly with the intention of avoiding a collision with an obstacle. In this case, if it is determined that erroneous pedal operation has occurred and therefore automatic braking control is performed, the automatic braking control may interfere with the driver's collision avoidance operation (i.e., collision avoidance operation).

[0011] As understood from the above, the conventional apparatus has room for improving the condition(s) for executing the priority control in a state where there is a possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle.

[0012] The present disclosure is made to address these problems. One of the objects of the present disclosure is to provide a collision avoidance assistance control device capable of appropriately performing priority control in the state where there is a possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle.

[0013] The above object is achieved according to the invention by a collision avoidance assistance control device according to claim 1.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the collision avoidance assistance control device for a host vehicle comprises: a braking device configured to generate a braking force applied to the host vehicle in accordance with (in response to) a brake pedal operation of a driver (20, 21, 22); a surrounding area detection sensor (or at least a front direction detection sensor) configured to obtain information about an object (or object information) located in the vicinity of a host vehicle (50, 60); and a control unit configured to: Determining whether or not there is a probability of a collision between the host vehicle and an object (or a probability of the host vehicle colliding with an object) based on the information obtained by the surrounding area detection sensor; Performing automatic braking control to cause the braking device to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle without requiring the driver's brake pedal operation to avoid the collision when it is determined that the probability exists (11, 13); and Performing a steering priority control to determine whether or not a steering operation index value indicative of (related to) a driver's steering operation satisfies a steering priority condition, and prohibiting the automatic braking control from being performed when it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the steering priority condition (15).

[0015] The control unit is also configured to: Determining whether or not an acceleration operation index value indicative of (related to) an accelerator pedal operation of the driver satisfies a mispedal operation determination condition; Determining that an erroneous pedal operation has occurred when it is determined that the acceleration operation index value satisfies the erroneous pedal operation determination condition, wherein the erroneous pedal operation is an operation in which the driver erroneously presses / depresses an accelerator pedal although the driver intends to press / depress the brake pedal; and Using a strict requirement (S18) as the steering priority condition when it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, and using a weak requirement (S14) as the steering priority condition when it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, wherein the strict requirement is harder (set to be unlikely) to be satisfied by the steering operation index value than the weak requirement.

[0016] In the above embodiment, it can be said that the collision avoidance support control device for the host vehicle comprises: a braking device configured to generate a braking force applied to the host vehicle in accordance with (in response to) a brake pedal operation of a driver (20, 21, 22); an obstacle detection section / sensor configured to detect an obstacle around (in the vicinity of) the host vehicle (50, 60); an automatic brake control section (11, 13) configured to perform automatic brake control to cause the brake device to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle even when there is no brake pedal operation by the driver, in order to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and an obstacle detected by the obstacle detection section / sensor, when it is determined that there is a probability (a high / high possibility) of the collision; and a steering priority control section (15) configured to perform steering priority control to determine whether or not a steering operation index value indicative of (related to) a driver's steering operation satisfies a steering priority condition, and to prohibit the automatic braking control from being performed when it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the steering priority condition.

[0017] The collision avoidance assistance control device further comprises a mispedal operation determining section (16) configured to: Determining whether or not an acceleration operation index value indicative of (related to) an accelerator pedal operation of the driver satisfies a predetermined mispedal operation determination condition; Determining that an erroneous pedal operation has occurred when it is determined that the acceleration operation index value satisfies the erroneous pedal operation determination condition, wherein the erroneous pedal operation is an operation that the driver erroneously operates an accelerator pedal although the driver intends to operate the brake pedal.

[0018] In this embodiment, the steering priority control section (15) is configured to perform the steering priority control (S16) when it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the steering priority condition (S14: ON, S18: ON), which is set to cause the automatic brake control to be harder to inhibit when it is determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred than when it is not determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, in both cases where it is determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred and it is not determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred.

[0019] In some embodiments, the collision avoidance assistance control device for the host vehicle according to the present disclosure includes the braking device, the obstacle detection section / sensor, the automatic braking control section, and the steering priority control section. The braking device generates the braking force applied to the host vehicle (e.g., a torque for stopping the rotation of each of the host vehicle's wheels) according to (in response to) the driver's brake pedal operation. For example, the braking device utilizes brake oil pressure to generate the braking force, which varies depending on the brake pedal operation.

[0020] The obstacle detection section / sensor detects the obstacle located at a location near (e.g., in front of) the host vehicle.

[0021] The automatic braking control section performs the automatic braking control to cause the braking device to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle without requiring the driver's brake pedal operation to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle when it is determined that the possibility of the collision exists.

[0022] The steering priority control section determines whether the steering operation index value indicative of (related to) a driver's steering operation satisfies the steering priority condition. The steering priority control section performs steering priority control to prohibit automatic braking control from being performed when it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the steering priority condition. The steering operation index value may include a steering operation amount (e.g., a steering angle) and a steering operation rate (e.g., a rate of change of the steering angle per unit time).

[0023] The steering priority condition is set as a condition that is satisfied when it is inferred that the steering operation is performed by the driver of the host vehicle to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle. Therefore, in a case where it is inferred that the driver of the host vehicle has performed the steering operation to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle, the braking control is prohibited from being executed because the steering priority condition will be satisfied in this case. In other words, the driver's steering operation to avoid the collision is given priority over the automatic braking control, so the automatic braking control is prohibited.

[0024] In order for the steering priority control section to prohibit the execution of the automatic brake control, the steering priority control section either terminates the automatic brake control when the automatic brake control is currently being executed, or prohibits / inhibits the automatic brake control from being started when the automatic brake control is not currently being executed.

[0025] Accordingly, for example, if the driver performed the steering operation with the intention of avoiding a collision, automatic braking control will not be executed. Therefore, the driver can accelerate the vehicle to perform the collision avoidance operation as intended.

[0026] Brake pedal operation is not necessarily performed according to the driver's intention. For example, the driver may mistakenly or inadvertently press the brake pedal hard immediately after noticing an obstacle in front of the host vehicle.

[0027] In view of this, the collision avoidance assistance control apparatus for the host vehicle according to the present embodiment includes the mispedal operation determining section.

[0028] The mispedal operation determination section is configured to: Determining whether or not the acceleration operation index value indicative of (related to) the driver's brake pedal operation satisfies the predetermined mispedal operation determination condition; and Determine that erroneous pedal operation has occurred when it is determined that the accelerator operation index value meets the mispedal operation determination condition. Erroneous pedal operation is the operation in which the driver erroneously presses the accelerator pedal when they intend to press the brake pedal.

[0029] For example, the acceleration operation index value may include an accelerator pedal operation amount and an accelerator pedal operation rate (e.g., a change amount of the accelerator pedal operation amount per unit time).

[0030] For example, a quick press of the accelerator pedal is considered to be an erroneous pedal press.

[0031] If it is determined / concluded that erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the driver may panic. Therefore, it is desirable that automatic braking control should not be inhibited if it is determined / concluded that erroneous pedal operation has occurred in a case where an obstacle is detected. However, there may be cases where automatic braking control should not be executed depending on the driver's driving operation conditions. For example, there may be a case where the driver operates the steering wheel while strongly depressing the accelerator pedal to avoid collision with the obstacle. In such cases, there may be an event where the driver's accelerator pedal operation is erroneously / improperly determined as the erroneous pedal operation.If this happens and the automatic brake control is performed, the automatic brake control may interfere with the driver's collision avoidance operation.

[0032] In view of this, in the case where it is determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the steering priority control section uses a condition, as the steering priority condition, that is set to make the automatic brake control more difficult to inhibit when it is determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred than when it is not determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred. When it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the steering priority condition, the steering priority control section performs the steering priority control in both the cases where it is determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred and the cases where it is not determined / concluded that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred.

[0033] The collision avoidance assistance control device thus configured can perform the steering priority control in a more appropriate manner even if it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred.

[0034] In some embodiments, the steering priority control section (i.e., the control unit) is configured to: (1) in a state where it is not determined that the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation has occurred Performing the steering priority control (by) using a first steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has not yet been started (S14), Performing the steering priority control (by) using a second steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has already been started (S18); (2) in a state where it is determined that the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation has occurred Failure to start (or inability to start) the steering priority control when the automatic brake control has not yet started (S17: NO); and Performing the steering priority control (by) using the second steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has already been started.

[0035] In this embodiment, in the state where it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the first steering priority determination condition is used as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has not yet been started to perform the steering priority control; and the second steering priority determination condition is used as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has already been started to perform the steering priority control.

[0036] In other words, in the state where it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the control unit is configured to: Performing the steering priority control when the steering operation index value satisfies the first steering priority determination condition before the automatic brake control is started; and Performing the steering priority control when the steering operation index value satisfies the second steering priority determination condition after the automatic brake control is started.

[0037] Performing steering priority control when automatic braking control has not yet started means prohibiting / restricting the starting of automatic braking control. Performing steering priority control when automatic braking control has already started means terminating / completing / aborting automatic braking control.

[0038] On the other hand, in the state where it is determined that the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation has occurred, the steering priority control is not carried out (or prevented from being started) if the automatic brake control has not yet been started; and the second steering priority determination condition is used as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has already been started to perform the steering priority control.

[0039] In other words, in this embodiment, the steering priority determination condition used when the automatic brake control has not yet started and when it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred is set to a condition that makes it more difficult (less likely) for the automatic brake control to be prohibited / inhibited, compared with the steering priority determination condition used when the automatic brake control has not yet started and when it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred.

[0040] In some embodiments, the first steering priority determination condition is a condition that is satisfied when one of a condition that the steering operation amount, which is the steering operation index value, is greater than a steering operation amount threshold, and a condition that a steering operation rate, which is the steering operation index value, is greater than a steering operation rate threshold, is satisfied. Also, in some embodiments, the second steering priority determination condition is a condition that is satisfied when the condition that the steering operation rate is greater than the steering operation rate threshold is satisfied. However, the second steering priority determination condition is not satisfied when the condition that the steering operation amount is greater than the steering operation amount threshold is satisfied.

[0041] In this embodiment, the steering priority control is executed and thus the automatic braking control is prohibited / interrupted if at least one of the two conditions is met, the two conditions including: the condition that the steering operation amount (e.g., the steering angle) is greater than the steering operation amount threshold; and the condition that the steering operation rate (e.g. the amount of change in the steering angle per unit time) is greater than the steering operation rate threshold, wherein the automatic brake control has not yet been started in the situation where it is not determined that the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation has occurred.

[0042] For example, if the steering operation amount is large when automatic braking control has not yet started, it can be considered that the driver has already initiated the collision avoidance operation. Similarly, if the steering operation rate is large when automatic braking control has not yet started, it can also be considered that the driver has already initiated the collision avoidance operation. Thus, in these cases, automatic braking control is prohibited / interrupted in an appropriate or appropriate manner.

[0043] If it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred and the automatic brake control has already started, the steering priority control is executed when the steering operation rate is greater than the steering operation rate threshold. Therefore, the automatic brake control is terminated / completed / cancelled in an appropriate manner.

[0044] In the case where the steering operation is performed at a steering operation rate greater than the steering operation rate threshold after the automatic braking control has already started, it can be considered that the driver has initiated the collision avoidance operation. In this case, the automatic braking control is terminated / completed / cancelled in an appropriate manner by executing the steering priority control.

[0045] On the other hand, if the driver has performed the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation, they may panic. Therefore, the control unit (or the steering priority control section) will not execute the steering priority control if the automatic brake control has not yet started in the situation in which it is determined / concluded that the erroneous or mistaken pedal operation has been performed or occurred. Thus, the automatic brake control is started in an appropriate or expedient manner in this case.

[0046] On the other hand, in the case where the driver attempts to avoid a collision by operating the steering wheel, it may be considered that the driver is performing not only the steering operation but also the accelerator pedal operation. In view of this, if the steering operation is performed at a steering operation rate greater than the steering operation amount threshold, the steering priority control is executed even after the automatic braking control has already started. In this case, the automatic braking control is terminated / completed / cancelled in an appropriate manner by executing the steering priority control.

[0047] It is noteworthy that, in the above description, in order to facilitate understanding of the present disclosure, the components or the like of the disclosure corresponding to those of the embodiments of the disclosure described below are accompanied by parentheses of names and / or symbols used in the embodiments. However, the components of the disclosure are not limited to those in the embodiments defined by the names and / or symbols. Other objects, further features, and associated advantages of the present disclosure will be readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments of the disclosure made with reference to the accompanying drawings. Short description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a collision avoidance assistance control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a control routine for switching automatic braking permission / inhibition. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a mispedal operation determination routine. Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a mispedal operation determination cancellation routine. Fig. 5 is a top view of the host vehicle approaching and passing a vehicle ahead. Detailed description

[0048] With reference to the drawings, a collision avoidance assistance control device (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "the present device") according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0049] The present device is / is applied to a vehicle, which is sometimes referred to as a “host vehicle” to distinguish it from other vehicles. As described in Fig. 1, the present apparatus includes a driving support ECU 10, a brake ECU 20, an engine ECU 30, and an instrument ECU 40.

[0050] ECUs are electronic control units. The ECUs are interconnected via a CAN ("Controller Area Network"), allowing one ECU to transmit information to and receive information from other ECUs. Each ECU has, as a main component, a microcomputer comprising a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a non-volatile memory, and an I / F interface. The CPU performs various functions by executing instructions (i.e., programs / routines) stored in the ROM. Some or all of these ECUs can be integrated into a single ECU.

[0051] The driving support ECU 10 is a main control device for performing driving support controls (or driver support controls for assisting a driver of the host vehicle in driving the host vehicle) and is configured to perform / execute a collision avoidance support control as one of the driving support controls.

[0052] The collision avoidance support control is a control for: Alerting the driver when an obstacle is detected in front of the host vehicle, where the obstacle is an object that has a probability (high / large collision possibility) of a collision between the host vehicle and the object; and Performing automatic braking control when the collision possibility becomes higher compared to the collision possibility at the time the alarm is started in order to avoid the collision.

[0053] The collision avoidance assist control is generally called "PCS control" (PCS: "Pre-Crash Safety Control"), and therefore it is sometimes referred to hereinafter as the "PCS control."

[0054] The driving support ECU 10 is connected to a front direction (forward range) camera sensor 50, a front direction (forward range) radar sensor 60, a vehicle state sensor 70, an operation state sensor 80, and a buzzer 90.

[0055] The front-facing camera sensor 50 is arranged / installed at an upper part of a front windshield and within a passenger compartment of the host vehicle, and is configured to photograph / capture an image (or image data or a photograph) of a scene or area in front of the host vehicle (or ahead of the host vehicle). The front-facing camera sensor 50 is configured to detect a lane marking line such as a white line (or a yellow line) on the roadway as well as a three-dimensional object (or a 3D object) located in front of the host vehicle based on the captured image, and to provide / transmit information about them (i.e., white line information and 3D object information) to the driving support ECU 10 every time a predetermined time elapses. The white line information includes information relevant to a shape (e.g.,Information indicative of the curvature (a bend) of the white line and information indicative of a relative positional relationship between the white line and the host vehicle (in a lane / lane width direction). The 3D object information includes information indicative of a type and size of the detected 3D object located in front of the vehicle and information indicative of a relative positional relationship between the 3D object and the host vehicle. The type of the 3D object can be specified based on machine learning or the like.

[0056] The front-direction radar sensor 60 is arranged / installed at a center of a front side of a vehicle body of the host vehicle and is configured to detect a 3D object located in front of the host vehicle (or ahead of the host vehicle). Specifically, the front-direction radar sensor 60 is configured to radiate a radar wave (i.e., an electric wave referred to as a "millimeter wave") in a millimeter wave range. The 3D object (e.g., another vehicle, a pedestrian, a bicycle, a building, or the like) located in a range where the wave is radiated reflects the radiated millimeter wave. The front-direction radar sensor 60 is configured to receive the reflected millimeter wave.The front-direction radar sensor 60 is configured to obtain 3D object information (or radar information) based on a phase difference between the transmitted millimeter wave and the received millimeter wave, a time difference from the time the millimeter wave is transmitted to the time the reflected millimeter wave is received, an attenuation rate of the received millimeter wave with respect to the transmitted millimeter wave, and the like. The 3D object information includes a distance between the 3D object and the host vehicle, a relative speed of the 3D object with respect to the host vehicle, and a relative position (or direction) of the 3D object with respect to the host vehicle. The front-direction radar sensor 60 is configured to transmit the 3D object information to the driving support ECU 10 every time a predetermined time elapses.

[0057] The driving support ECU 10 synthesizes the 3D object information transmitted from the front-direction camera sensor 50 and the 3D object information transmitted from the front-direction radar sensor 60 to obtain more accurate 3D object information.

[0058] Hereinafter, the front-facing camera sensor 50 and the front-facing radar sensor 60 may sometimes be collectively referred to as a "front-facing sensor" or a "peripheral / surrounding area detection sensor." It can be said that the periphery / surrounding area detection sensor is configured to obtain / acquire information about a 3D object located around (in the vicinity of) the host vehicle. The 3D object information obtained via the front-facing camera sensor 50 and the 3D object information obtained via the front-facing radar sensor 60 may sometimes be collectively referred to as "front-facing sensor information."

[0059] The vehicle state sensor 70 is configured to detect vehicle states (driving states) of the host vehicle and includes, for example, a vehicle speed sensor configured to detect / measure a vehicle speed of the host vehicle, a longitudinal acceleration sensor configured to detect an acceleration of the host vehicle in a front-rear direction, a lateral acceleration sensor configured to detect an acceleration of the host vehicle in a lateral (left-right) direction, and a yaw rate sensor configured to detect a yaw rate of the host vehicle.

[0060] The operation state sensor 80 is configured to detect driving / operation states of the host vehicle performed by the driver of the host vehicle. The operation state sensor 80 includes sensors and switches.Specifically, the operation state sensor 80 includes an acceleration operation amount sensor configured to detect an operation amount of an accelerator pedal, a brake operation amount sensor configured to detect an operation amount of a brake pedal, a brake switch configured to detect presence or absence of an operation of the brake pedal, a steering angle sensor configured to detect a steering angle which is a steering operation amount, a steering torque sensor configured to detect a steering torque, a turn signal switch (indicator switch) configured to detect an operation state of turn signals, and a shift position sensor configured to detect a shift lever position for a transmission.

[0061] The information obtained by the vehicle state sensor 70 and the operation state sensor 80 is referred to as sensor information and is transmitted to the driving support ECU 10 every time a predetermined time elapses.

[0062] The buzzer 90 is configured to generate a sound in response to an instruction (activation instruction). The driving support ECU 10 is configured to transmit the activation instruction to the buzzer 90, causing the buzzer 90 to generate the sound when the driving support ECU 10 needs to alert the driver. This can alert the driver to request (invoke) the driver's attention.

[0063] The brake ECU 20 is connected to a brake actuator 21. The brake actuator 21 is provided in an unillustrated hydraulic circuit between an unillustrated master cylinder and a friction brake mechanism 22 of each of the wheels. The master cylinder pressurizes brake (working) fluid according to a brake pedal pressing force. The friction brake mechanism 22 includes a brake disc 22a attached to each of the wheels and a brake caliper 22b attached to the vehicle body. The brake actuator 21 is configured to vary / adjust oil pressure of the brake fluid applied to an unillustrated wheel cylinder in the brake caliper 22b in response to an instruction transmitted from the brake ECU 20. The wheel cylinder is actuated by the oil pressure to press a brake pad / block (not shown) against the brake disc 22a to generate a frictional braking force.

[0064] The brake ECU 20 is configured to determine a driver request deceleration (or a driver-requested target deceleration) based on the brake pedal operation amount detected by the brake operation amount sensor, and to control the brake actuator 21 such that the host vehicle decelerates at the driver request deceleration. Furthermore, the brake ECU 20 is configured to control the brake actuator 21 such that the host vehicle decelerates at a PCS request deceleration (or a PCS-requested target deceleration) when the brake ECU 20 has received a PCS braking instruction containing the PCS request deceleration transmitted from the drive support ECU 10.

[0065] It should be noted that when the brake pedal is depressed / pressed while the brake ECU 20 has received the PCS instruction, the brake ECU 20 adopts / uses one of the driver request deceleration and the PCS request deceleration as the final requested deceleration (or final target deceleration), whichever is greater in absolute value or magnitude. Namely, if the absolute value or magnitude of the driver request deceleration is greater than the absolute value or magnitude of the PCS request deceleration, the driver request deceleration is selected as the final requested deceleration. Conversely, if the absolute value or amount (magnitude) of the PCS request deceleration is greater than the absolute value or amount (magnitude) of the driver request deceleration, the PCS request deceleration is selected as the final requested deceleration.The brake ECU 20 is configured to control the brake actuator 21 such that the host vehicle decelerates at the final requested deceleration rate. In other words, the brake ECU 20 is configured to perform what is known as brake override control or brake intervention control.

[0066] The engine ECU 30 is connected to an engine actuator 31. The engine actuator 31 is an actuator for changing an operating state of an internal combustion engine 2 and includes a throttle valve actuator for changing the opening degree of the throttle valve. The engine ECU 30 is configured to determine a driver-requested torque and control the engine actuator 31 such that the engine 32 outputs a torque equal to the driver-requested torque.

[0067] When the engine ECU 30 receives a driving force limiting instruction transmitted from the driving support ECU 10, the engine ECU 30 controls the engine actuator 31 to impose a limit on the torque generated / output by the engine 32. Note that the engine actuator 31 may be an electric motor drive device when the host vehicle is an electric vehicle. When the host vehicle is a hybrid vehicle, the engine actuator 31 may include the above-described engine actuator 31 and the electric motor drive device.

[0068] The instrument ECU 40 is connected to a display (or display device) 41 and brake lights 42. The instrument ECU 40 is configured to display various information related to driving assistance on the display 41 in response to instructions transmitted from the driving assistance ECU 10. The instrument ECU 40 is configured to turn on the brake lights in response to an instruction from the brake ECU 20. <pcs-steuerung>

[0069] Next, the PCS control will be described. The driving support ECU 10 includes, in terms of its functions, a collision determination section 11, a notification (alarm) section 12, an automatic brake control section 13, an acceleration priority control section 14, a steering priority control section 15, and a mispedal operation determination section 16.

[0070] The collision determination section 11 determines whether or not the host vehicle is likely to collide with a 3D object located in front of the host vehicle (or ahead of the host vehicle) based on the front direction sensor information provided by the front direction sensor and the vehicle conditions detected by the vehicle condition sensor 70. Specifically, the collision determination section 11 determines whether or not there is a probability that the host vehicle will collide with the 3D object, assuming that the host vehicle maintains its current running (travel) state and the 3D object maintains its moving state (which may be a stopped state if the 3D object is a stationary object).The collision determination section 11 determines / deems the 3D object to be an obstacle when the collision determination section 11 determines that there is a probability of a collision between the host vehicle and the 3D object. It can be said that the collision determination section 11 detects / recognizes the obstacle in this way.

[0071] When the collision determination section 11 detects / recognizes the obstacle, the drive support ECU 10 calculates (obtains by calculation) a time-to-collision (TTC), which is a predicted time period from a current time to a collision time of the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle. The time-to-collision (TTC) is calculated based on the following equation (1) using a distance d between the host vehicle and the obstacle and a relative speed Vr of the obstacle with respect to the host vehicle. TTC = d / Vr

[0072] The time-to-collision (TTC) is used as an index value that indicates the possibility (degree) that the host vehicle will collide with the obstacle (or the imminence or threat of collision). The possibility that the host vehicle will collide with the obstacle (i.e., the possibility or probability of collision) is higher when the time-to-collision (TTC) is smaller / shorter.

[0073] In the PCS control according to the present embodiment, the collision possibility is classified into two stages / levels (i.e., a first stage and a second stage) based on the time-to-collision (TTC). In the first (initial) stage, the notification section 12 alerts the driver with the buzzer 90 and the display 41. In the second stage, where the collision possibility is higher than in the first stage, the automatic braking control section 13 performs automatic braking control to perform collision avoidance assistance.

[0074] Specifically, the collision determination section 11 determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the first level when the time-to-collision TTC has decreased to an alarm threshold TTCw. The collision determination section 11 determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the second level when the time-to-collision TTC has further decreased to an alarm threshold TTCa that is shorter / smaller than the alarm threshold TTCw (ie, TTCa < TTCw).

[0075] The automatic braking control section 13 transmits the PCS braking command when it determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the second level. The braking command contains information indicative of the PCS request deceleration Gpcs.

[0076] For example, the PCS request slowdown Gpcs can be calculated as follows.

[0077] A moving distance X of the host vehicle in a period from the current time to a time at which the host vehicle stops is represented by the following equation (2) using the vehicle speed V at the current time and a deceleration a of the host vehicle (a < 0) and a time duration t of the aforementioned period. X = V⋅t + (1 / 2)⋅a⋅t2

[0078] If the obstacle is not moving, the vehicle speed V is equal to a relative speed between the host vehicle and the obstacle at the current time.

[0079] The time duration t of the period from the current time to the time the host vehicle stops is represented by the following equation (3). t = - V / a

[0080] Therefore, the moving distance X of the host vehicle until it stops is represented by the following equation, which is obtained by substituting the time period t expressed by equation (3) into equation (2). X = -V2 / 2a

[0081] To make the host vehicle stop at a position a distance β (β > 0) ahead of the obstacle, the moving distance X expressed in equation (4) should be a distance (d - β) obtained by subtracting the distance β from the distance d detected by the front direction sensor at the current time to obtain the deceleration a of the host vehicle. It should be noted that when the obstacle is moving, the moving distance X is calculated by using the relative speed between the host vehicle and the obstacle and the relative deceleration instead of the deceleration a.

[0082] The calculated slowdown a is used as the PCS request slowdown Gpcs. Note that an upper limit Gmax (> 0) is imposed on the size of the PCS request slowdown Gpcs. If the calculated PCS request slowdown Gpcs is greater than the upper limit Gmax, the size of the PCS request slowdown Gpcs is set to the upper limit Gmax.

[0083] When the brake ECU 20 receives the PCS braking command, the brake ECU 20 controls the brake actuator 21 such that the host vehicle decelerates at the PCS request deceleration Gpcs (i.e., such that an actual deceleration of the host vehicle matches the PCS request deceleration Gpcs). This can generate frictional braking force in each of the wheels to cause the host vehicle to forcibly decelerate without the driver's brake pedal operation.

[0084] The above-described control for generating the friction braking force in each of the wheels in response to the PCS braking command to decelerate the host vehicle is the automatic braking control.

[0085] The automatic brake control section 13 continuously monitors (continuously determines) whether the time-to-collision TTC has become greater than a final threshold TTCb (TTC > TTCb). The final threshold TTCb is greater than the execution threshold TTCa (TTCb > TTCa). Therefore, it can be said that the automatic brake control section 13 continuously monitors (continuously determines) whether the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle becomes sufficiently low (in other words, whether the collision has been avoided). When the automatic brake control section 13 determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle becomes sufficiently low, the automatic brake control section 13 stops transmission of the PCS brake command. This simultaneously stops / terminates the automatic brake control and the PCS control.

[0086] In addition, the automatic brake control section 13 stops transmitting the PCS brake command even when the host vehicle has stopped due to the automatic brake control. This stops / terminates the automatic brake control. It should be noted that the automatic brake control section 13 transmits a stop state holding command to the brake ECU 20 for a predetermined time (e.g., 2 seconds) after the host vehicle has stopped. During a period in which the brake ECU 20 receives the stop state holding command, the brake ECU 20 controls the brake actuator 21 to apply an oil pressure set to hold a stop state to the wheel cylinder in the friction brake mechanism 22 in each of the wheels. This maintains a stop state of the host vehicle (or keeps the host vehicle in the stopped state) for the predetermined time. The PCS control ends after the host vehicle's stop state is maintained for the predetermined time.In addition, in the period in which the brake ECU 20 executes the automatic brake control and maintains the stop state of the host vehicle, the brake ECU 20 transmits a lighting instruction of the brake lamps to the instrument ECU 40 to light the brake lamps.

[0087] During the period in which the automatic brake control section 13 executes the automatic brake control and / or maintains the stop state of the host vehicle, the automatic brake control section 13 transmits to the engine ECU 30 the driving force limiting instruction for limiting the torque (or engine output torque) generated by the engine 32 (e.g., setting the engine output torque to zero). Therefore, even if the driver depresses the accelerator pedal while the automatic brake control is being executed, the torque requested by the driver is ignored. Thus, the host vehicle does not accelerate in response to the accelerator pedal operation (or acceleration operation) while the automatic brake control is being executed.

[0088] However, there may be a case where the driver depresses the accelerator pedal to try to avoid a collision. In this case, when automatic braking control is performed, the driver may not be able to cause the host vehicle to travel at its intended vehicle speed. It should be noted that depressing the accelerator pedal by the driver means performing the driver's acceleration operation.

[0089] There may be another case where the driver steers the steering wheel to try to avoid a collision. In this case, when automatic braking control is performed, the driver may not be able to cause the host vehicle to travel along its intended trajectory / route. It should be noted that the driver's steering wheel means the driver's execution of the steering operation.

[0090] In view of this, when the driving support ECU 10 determines that the possibility (or probability) of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the second stage (that is, when the time-to-collision TTC has become equal to or shorter than the execution threshold TTCa), the driving support ECU 10 may perform acceleration priority control or acceleration intervention control, which is control to give priority to (or prioritize) the driver's acceleration operation over the automatic braking control to prohibit / inhibit the automatic braking control. This is implemented by an acceleration priority control section 14 for executing the acceleration priority control or the acceleration intervention control.Furthermore, when the driving support ECU 10 determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the second stage (i.e., when the time-to-collision TTC has become equal to or shorter than the execution threshold TTCa), the driving support ECU 10 may execute steering priority control or steering intervention control to prioritize (or prioritize) the driver's steering operation over the automatic braking control to prohibit / inhibit the automatic braking control. This is implemented by a steering priority control section 15 for executing the steering priority control or steering intervention control.

[0091] It should be noted that the control to prohibit / inhibit the automatic brake control means a control to stop the automatic brake control when the automatic brake control is currently being executed, and also means a control to not start the automatic brake control when the automatic brake control is not currently being executed (or has not been started yet).

[0092] The acceleration priority control section 14 stores a predetermined acceleration priority condition (or acceleration priority determination condition) and is configured to determine whether the acceleration priority condition is met or not. The acceleration priority control section 14 performs the acceleration priority control when the acceleration priority condition is met. In other words, the acceleration priority control section 14 is configured to prohibit / inhibit the automatic braking control section 13 from executing the automatic braking control when one or more acceleration operation index values ​​indicative of (related to) a driver's accelerator pedal operation satisfy the acceleration priority condition.

[0093] The steering priority control section 15 stores a predetermined steering priority condition (or steering priority determination condition) and is configured to determine whether the steering priority condition is satisfied. The steering priority determination section 15 performs the steering priority control when the steering priority condition is satisfied.

[0094] In other words, the steering priority control section 15 is configured to prohibit / inhibit the automatic braking control section 13 from executing the automatic braking control when one or more steering operation index values ​​indicative of (related to) a driver's steering operation satisfy the steering priority condition.

[0095] On the other hand, if the acceleration priority control is performed when the driver has mistakenly pressed / operated the accelerator pedal strongly / quickly even though the driver intends to press / operate the brake pedal, the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle cannot be properly avoided. In view of this, the drive support ECU 10 includes the erroneous pedal operation determination section 16 configured to determine whether the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred (that is, whether the driver erroneously presses / depresses the accelerator pedal). As described above, the erroneous pedal operation is an operation in which the driver erroneously presses / depresses the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal even though the driver intends to press / depress the brake pedal.

[0096] The erroneous pedal operation determination section 16 stores a predetermined erroneous pedal operation determination condition and is configured to determine (or infer) that the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred when the erroneous pedal operation determination condition is met. The erroneous pedal operation determination section 16 is configured to transmit a determination result (erroneous pedal operation determination result) indicative of whether the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred to the automatic brake control section 13, the acceleration priority control section 14, and the steering priority control section 15.

[0097] The erroneous pedal operation determining section 16 is configured to determine whether or not the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred based on conditions E1 to E3 described below.

[0098] In other words, the mispedal operation determination condition includes the conditions E1 to E3 described below, and is satisfied when all of the conditions E1 to E3 are satisfied.

[0099] Condition E1: Satisfied when the current time is within a predetermined threshold time (time period, e.g., 0.5 seconds) from / since a time at which (a result of) an accelerator pedal operation rate determination (accelerator operation rate determination) changes to be "ON." The accelerator pedal operation rate determination will be described below. In other words, the determining section 16 determines whether or not an elapsed time since the accelerator pedal operation rate determination became "ON" is equal to or shorter than the threshold time.

[0100] Condition E2: Satisfied when a value of an automatic brake execution determination flag F is "0".

[0101] Condition E3: Satisfied when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than a threshold value APa (ie, AP ≥ APa). The threshold value APa is greater than a threshold value APb described below.

[0102] The erroneous pedal operation determining section 16 is configured to determine that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred when all of the conditions E1, E2, and E3 are met. Hereinafter, the erroneous pedal operation determination result (the erroneous pedal operation determination result) indicating that it has been determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred will be expressed as "erroneous pedal operation determination: ON." On the other hand, the erroneous pedal operation determination result indicating that it has not been determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred will be expressed as "erroneous pedal operation determination: OFF."

[0103] The accelerator pedal operation rate determination (or a result of the accelerator pedal operation rate determination) used in the aforementioned condition E1 is set to "ON" when all of the following operation rate determination conditions E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4 are satisfied. In other words, the accelerator pedal operation rate determination remains "OFF" when at least one of the conditions E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4 is not satisfied. The conditions E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4 may be referred to as the operation rate determination conditions.

[0104] Condition E1-1: Satisfied when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than the threshold APb (ie, AP ≥ APb).

[0105] Condition E1-2: Satisfied when an accelerator pedal operation rate APV is equal to or greater than a threshold APVc (ie, APV ≥ APVc).

[0106] Condition E1-3: Satisfied when a dwell time or duration Tboff, which is a time duration of a case in which the brake switch remains off, is equal to or greater / longer than a threshold value Tx (ie, Tboff ≥ Tx).

[0107] Condition E1-4: Satisfied when a dwell time or duration Twoff, which is a time duration of a case in which the turn signal lights remain off, is equal to or greater than / longer than a threshold value Ty (ie, Twoff ≥ Ty).

[0108] The accelerator pedal operation amount AP refers to the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal and is detected by the accelerator operation amount sensor. The accelerator pedal operation rate (or rate of change of the accelerator pedal operation amount) APv is the amount of increase / decrease of the accelerator pedal operation amount AP per unit time.

[0109] The threshold APb is a threshold value for the accelerator pedal operation amount for determining the occurrence of erroneous pedal operation, and the threshold APVc is a threshold value for the accelerator pedal operation rate for determining the occurrence of erroneous pedal operation. These threshold values ​​have been set to values ​​suitable for detecting rapid / strong accelerator pedal operation. Therefore, the driver's rapid / strong accelerator pedal operation can be detected by conditions E1-1 and E1-2.

[0110] Condition E1-3 is provided to determine whether the duration Tboff of the state in which the driver has not depressed the brake pedal since the last time they depressed the brake pedal is equal to or greater than a lower limit, which is the threshold value Tx. For example, if the driver does not depress the brake pedal for a long period of time, there is a relatively high possibility that they will not correctly distinguish between an accelerator pedal position and a brake pedal position. Therefore, if conditions E1-1 and E1-2 are met in a case where the driver has not depressed the brake pedal for a long period of time, it is more likely that erroneous pedal operation has occurred. This is the reason why condition E1-3 is applied.

[0111] Condition E1-4 is provided to determine whether the duration Twoff of the state in which the turn signal lights have not been activated is equal to or greater than a lower limit, which is the threshold Ty. For example, in a period immediately after a time point (turn signal off time point) at which the right-turn signal lights or the left-turn signal lights that have been activated (intermittently illuminated) are turned off, there is a high possibility that the host vehicle is in the process of passing a preceding vehicle, or a high possibility that the host vehicle is traveling on a curved road. Under these circumstances, the driver frequently depresses the accelerator pedal strongly. Conversely, the erroneous acceleration is more likely to occur.Erroneous pedal operation has occurred (been performed) when conditions E1-1 and E1-2 are met after a relatively long time has passed since the turn signal turn-off time. This is the reason why condition E1-4 is applied.

[0112] Condition E2 is a condition that is satisfied when automatic braking control is not being executed by the automatic braking control section 13. The automatic braking control section 13 outputs the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F, which indicates whether or not it is currently executing automatic braking control. The automatic braking execution determination flag F indicates that automatic braking control is not being executed when the value of the flag F is "0." The automatic braking execution determination flag F indicates that automatic braking control is currently being executed when the value of the flag F is "1." The missed pedal operation determination section 16 determines whether or not automatic braking control is currently being executed based on (by reading or referring to) the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F.

[0113] Condition E3 (together with Condition E1) is a condition for determining whether or not the accelerator pedal operation amount AP has reached (continued to increase) a value equal to or greater than the threshold value APa within a predetermined time from / since the accelerator pedal operation rate determination (the result of which) turned "ON." When the driver has performed the erroneous pedal operation, the accelerator pedal operation amount AP continues to increase even after the accelerator pedal operation rate APV reaches the value equal to or greater than the threshold value APVc (i.e., after Condition E1-2 is satisfied). This is because the driver is likely to panic and press the accelerator pedal hard / rapidly.This is the reason why the condition E3 is applied to determine whether or not the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than the threshold value APa, which has been set to the value greater than the threshold value APb.

[0114] The erroneous pedal operation determining section 16 holds its determination result indicative of the occurrence of the erroneous pedal operation once the erroneous pedal operation determining section 16 determines that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred until it is detected that the erroneous pedal operation is released or returned (ie, until a return operation of the accelerator pedal or a return acceleration operation is detected). For example, the mispedal operation determination section 16 returns / resets the mispedal operation determination result to “Mispedal Operation Determination: OFF” when the mispedal operation determination section 16 detects that the accelerator pedal operation amount AP has decreased to a value equal to or smaller than a return accelerator operation determination threshold APend (e.g.,10% of a full opening amount of the accelerator pedal operation amount). <Fehlpedalbetätigungsbestimmungsroutine>

[0115] Fig. 3 illustrates a flowchart describing a mispedal operation determination routine, showing specific processes performed by the above-described mispedal operation determination section 16. The mispedal operation determination section 16 executes the mispedal operation determination routine every time a predetermined time elapses.

[0116] In step S31, the determining section 16 determines whether the mispedal operation determination result is "mispedal operation determination: OFF" or not, and executes processes of step S32 and subsequent steps when the mispedal operation determination result is "mispedal operation determination: OFF." The mispedal operation determination result is initially set to "mispedal operation determination: OFF."

[0117] The determination section 16 determines whether the above-described conditions E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4 are satisfied or not through steps S32 to S35. Namely, the process of step S32 is to determine whether the condition E1-1 is satisfied or not. The process of step S33 is to determine whether the condition E1-2 is satisfied or not. The process of step S34 is to determine whether the condition E1-3 is satisfied or not. The process of step S35 is to determine whether the condition E1-4 is satisfied or not.

[0118] The determination section 16 temporarily terminates the mispedaling determination routine when at least one of conditions E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4 is not satisfied. If all of conditions E1-1, E1-2, E1-3, and E1-4 are satisfied, the determination section 16 proceeds to step S36 to start measuring an elapsed time T using a timer.

[0119] Subsequently, the determination section 16 determines in step S37 whether the value of the automatic brake execution determination flag F is equal to "0" or not (see condition E2). If the automatic brake execution determination flag F is equal to "0", the determination section 16 determines in step S38 whether the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than the threshold value APa or not (see condition E3).

[0120] If at least one of the determination results in step S37 and step S38 is "NO", the determination section 16 proceeds to step S39 to determine whether or not the elapsed time T measured by the timer is greater than a predetermined set time Tover (e.g., 0.5 seconds). As long as the elapsed time T is equal to or less than the predetermined set time Tover, the determination section 16 returns to step S37 and repeats the processes from steps S37 to S39.

[0121] If both the condition E2 and the condition E3 are satisfied (S37: YES, S38: YES) before the elapsed time T reaches the set time Tover, the determining section 16 stops measuring the elapsed time T in step S40. Then, the determining section 16 sets the missed pedal operation determination result to "missed pedal operation determination: ON" in step S41, and then terminates the missed pedal operation determination routine.

[0122] In contrast, when the elapsed time T becomes larger than the set time Tover before both the condition E2 and the condition E3 are satisfied (S39: YES), the determining section 16 stops measuring the elapsed time T in step S42, and then terminates the mispedal operation determining routine. <Fehlpedalbetätigungsbestimmungs(-ergebnis-)aufhebungsroutine>

[0123] Section 16 introduces a Fig. 4 to execute processes for returning the mispedal operation determination result to "Mispedal Operation Determination: OFF" from "Mispedal Operation Determination: ON". The mispedal operation determination cancellation routine is executed every time the predetermined time elapses, in parallel with the routine shown in Fig. 3 is executed.

[0124] After the determination section 16 starts the mispedal operation determination cancellation routine, the determination section 16 determines in step S51 whether the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal operation determination: NO" or not. If the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal operation determination: OFF", the determination section 16 temporarily ends the mispedal operation determination cancellation routine. On the other hand, if the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal operation determination: ON", the determination section determines in step S52 whether a mispedal operation determination end condition is satisfied. In this example, the determination section 16 determines whether or not the accelerator pedal operation amount AP has decreased to the value equal to or smaller than the return accelerator operation determination threshold APend (e.g.,10% of the full opening amount of the accelerator pedal operation amount). If the accelerator pedal operation amount AP has not decreased to the value equal to or less than the return acceleration operation determination threshold APend, the determination section 16 temporarily terminates the missed pedal operation determination cancellation routine. If the determination section 16 determines that the accelerator pedal operation amount AP has decreased to the value equal to or less than the return acceleration operation determination threshold APend (S52: YES), the determination section 16 returns the missed pedal operation determination result to "missed pedal operation determination: OFF" and then terminates the missed pedal operation determination cancellation routine. <beschleunigungsvorrangsteuerung>

[0125] The acceleration priority control section 14 will be described next. The acceleration priority control section 14 does not execute the acceleration priority control or the acceleration intervention control when the missed pedal operation determination result obtained by the missed pedal operation determination section 16 is "miss pedal operation determination: ON." The acceleration priority control section 14 executes the acceleration priority control (thus prohibiting / inhibiting the automatic braking control section 13 from executing the automatic braking control) when the missed pedal operation determination result obtained by the missed pedal operation determination section 16 is "miss pedal operation determination: OFF" and the acceleration priority condition is met.

[0126] The acceleration priority control section 14 has stored the following conditions AOR1 and AOR2 and determines that the acceleration priority condition is satisfied when at least one of the conditions AOR1 and AOR2 is satisfied.

[0127] Condition AOR1: Satisfied when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is greater than the threshold value APa (ie AP > APa).

[0128] Condition AOR2: Satisfied when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is greater than the threshold APb (ie, AP > APb) and the accelerator pedal operation rate APV is greater than a threshold APVd (ie, APV > APVd > APVC).

[0129] The threshold APa, the threshold APb, and the threshold APVd were determined in consideration of a specific accelerator pedal operation amount and a specific accelerator pedal operation rate for a time / case when the driver's acceleration (accelerator pedal) operation should be given priority over automatic braking control. In the present embodiment, the threshold APVd is greater than the threshold APVc.

[0130] When at least one of the conditions AOR1 and AOR2 is satisfied, the acceleration priority control section 14 sets an acceleration priority determination result to "Acceleration priority determination result: ON." In contrast, when neither the condition AOR1 nor the condition AOR2 is satisfied, the acceleration priority control section 14 sets the acceleration priority determination result to "Acceleration priority determination result: OFF." <lenkungsvorrangsteuerung>

[0131] The steering priority control section 16 uses / makes a first steering priority determination and a second steering priority determination to determine whether to execute the steering priority control and the steering intervention control, respectively (and thus whether to prohibit / restrict the automatic braking control section 13 from executing the automatic braking control).

[0132] A condition for use in the first steering priority determination and a condition for use in the second steering priority determination will be described below when describing a control routine for switching automatic braking permission / inhibition.

[0133] The steering priority control section 15 makes the first steering priority determination based on the conditions / requirements SOR1-1 and SOR1-2 described below.

[0134] Condition SOR1-1: Satisfied when the steering operation amount θ, which is the steering angle (a quantity thereof), is greater than a threshold value θe (ie, θ > θe).

[0135] Condition SOR1-2: Satisfied when a steering operation rate ω (=dθ / dt) (a quantity of this) is greater than a threshold value ωf (i.e., ω > ωf).

[0136] The steering operation amount θ is the magnitude of the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor. In other words, the steering operation amount θ used in the steering priority determination becomes larger as the steering wheel is turned further from its neutral position, regardless of the steering wheel's rotation direction (clockwise or counterclockwise). The steering operation rate ω used in the steering priority determination is an absolute value, or the magnitude of a rate of change of the steering operation amount θ used in the steering priority determination per unit time. The steering operation amount θ and the steering operation rate ω are steering operation index values ​​indicative of (related to) a driver's steering operation.

[0137] The threshold value θe and the threshold value ωf were determined in consideration of a certain steering operation amount and a certain steering operation rate for a time / case when the driver's steering operation should be given priority over the automatic braking control.

[0138] When at least one of the condition SOR1-1 and the condition SOR1-2 is satisfied, the steering priority control section 15 sets a first steering priority determination result to "first steering priority determination result: ON." In contrast, when neither the condition SOR1 nor the condition SOR2 is satisfied, the steering priority control section 15 keeps the first steering priority determination result to "first steering priority determination result: OFF."

[0139] The steering priority determination section 15 makes the second steering priority determination based on the condition / requirement SOR2 described below.

[0140] Condition SOR2: Satisfied when the steering operation rate ω (=dθ / dt) (the magnitude of this) is greater than the threshold ωf (ie, ω > ωf).

[0141] The condition SOR2 is equal to the condition SOR1-2 described above.

[0142] Therefore, the second steering priority determination is made based on the conditions used by the first steering priority determination, with the exception of condition SOR1-1. Thus, the second steering priority determination is harder (more difficult, less likely) to fulfill than the first steering priority determination based on the steering operation index values.

[0143] When the condition SOR2 is satisfied, the steering priority control section 15 sets a second steering priority determination result to "Second steering priority determination result: ON." In contrast, when the condition SOR2 is not satisfied, the steering priority control section 15 keeps the second steering priority determination result to "Second steering priority determination result: OFF."

[0144] The steering priority control section 15 executes the steering priority control when the steering priority control section 15 sets the first steering priority determination result to "First steering priority determination result: ON" (thus prohibiting / restricting the automatic braking control section 13 from executing the automatic braking control). Similarly, the steering priority control section 15 also executes the steering priority control (thus prohibiting / restricting the automatic braking control section 13 from executing the automatic braking control) when the steering priority control section 15 sets the second steering priority determination result to "Second steering priority determination result: ON". <Steuerroutine zum Umschaltens von Automatikbremszulassung / -unterbindung>

[0145] Next, specific processes for automatic brake permission / inhibition switching executed by the drive support ECU 10 will be described. Fig. Figure 2 shows an automatic brake permission / inhibition switching control routine executed by the drive support ECU 10. Hereinafter, the automatic brake permission / inhibition switching control routine may be simply referred to as a switching control routine. The switching control routine is executed by the automatic brake control section 13.

[0146] The switching control routine is repeatedly executed in a period (referred to as an "execution period") from a time point at which an execution start condition described below is satisfied to a time point at which an execution end condition described below is satisfied, every time a predetermined time elapses.

[0147] The execution start condition is a condition that is satisfied when it is determined that the host vehicle has a high possibility (probability) of colliding with the obstacle (namely, when the time-to-collision TTC has reached (or decreased to) a value equal to or less than the execution threshold TTCa). It should be noted that, as described below, when and after one of the priority controls (i.e., the acceleration priority control and the steering priority control) prohibits / inhibits the automatic braking control from being executed, the execution start condition continues to be unsatisfied until the time-to-collision TTC for an obstacle other than the obstacle at which the automatic braking control is prohibited / inhibited reaches (or decreased to) the value equal to or less than the execution threshold TTCa.

[0148] The execution end condition is satisfied at a first time and a second time, whichever comes first. The first time is a time when the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has been avoided (namely, when the time-to-collision TTC becomes greater than the end threshold TTCb). The second time is a time when it is determined that the host vehicle has stopped (due to the automatic braking control). The execution end condition is also satisfied when one of the priority controllers has prohibited / restricted the automatic braking control from being executed.

[0149] When the driving support ECU 10 starts the switching control routine, it executes the mispedal operation determination process in step S11. The mispedal operation determination process is a process for determining whether or not it has been inferred that the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred. Specifically, the driving support ECU 10 makes the mispedal operation determination by reading (retrieving) the mispedal operation determination result obtained by the mispedal operation determination section 16. The driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S12 when the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination Result: OFF." Conversely, the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S17 when the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: ON."

[0150] First, the description is given for the case where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal operation determination: OFF".

[0151] If it has not been concluded / determined that the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the driving support ECU 10 reads the acceleration priority determination result obtained by the acceleration priority control section 14, and determines in step S12 whether the acceleration priority determination result is "acceleration priority determination result: ON" or "acceleration priority determination result: OFF".

[0152] When the acceleration priority determination result is "Acceleration priority determination result: OFF," the drive support ECU 10 determines whether or not the automatic braking control is currently being executed in step S13. Specifically, the drive support ECU 10 reads the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F and determines whether or not the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F is "1."

[0153] When the automatic braking control is not currently being executed (that is, when the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F is "0"), the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the driving support ECU 10 reads the determination result of the first steering priority determination made by the steering priority control section 15 and determines whether the determination result of the first steering priority determination is "First steering priority determination result: ON" or "First steering priority determination result: OFF".

[0154] When the determination result of the first steering priority determination is "First steering priority determination result: OFF", the drive support ECU 10 determines that the driver's collision avoidance operation (driving operation) has not been performed and proceeds to step S15.

[0155] In step S15, the driving support ECU 10 executes the automatic braking control. In this case, the automatic braking control is started because the automatic braking control has not been started. After the driving support ECU 10 starts the automatic braking control, the driving support ECU 10 temporarily terminates the switching control routine and restarts the switching control routine unless the execution end condition is met. When the automatic braking control is started, the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F is changed from "0" to "1."

[0156] The above processes are repeated when neither the driver's erroneous pedal operation nor the driver's collision avoidance operation to avoid the collision (i.e., the acceleration operation to avoid the collision and / or the steering operation to avoid the collision) is detected, so that the braking force continues to be applied to the vehicle due to the execution of the automatic braking control. In this case, the execution end condition is met when it is determined that the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has been avoided (namely, when the time-to-collision TTC becomes greater than the end threshold TTCb) while the driver's collision avoidance operation is not detected, or when it is determined that the host vehicle has stopped (due to the automatic braking control) while the driver's collision avoidance operation is not detected.When the execution end condition is met, the switching control routine is terminated (no longer repeated).

[0157] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S12 that the acceleration priority determination result is "Acceleration priority determination result: ON" (that is, when it is determined that the driver's acceleration (accelerator pedal) operation for avoiding the collision is currently being performed), the drive support ECU 10 proceeds to step S16.

[0158] In step S16, the drive support ECU 10 prohibits / inhibits the automatic brake control. If the drive support ECU 10 has already started the automatic brake control, the drive support ECU 10 terminates the automatic brake control in step S16. Conversely, if the drive support ECU 10 has not yet started the automatic brake control, the drive support ECU 10 maintains a state in which the automatic brake control is not executed in step S16.

[0159] When the drive support ECU 10 terminates the automatic braking control in step S16, the drive support ECU 10 terminates the switching control routine (no longer repeats it). In this case, the switching control routine is not started until a new obstacle is detected that is different from the obstacle currently detected / recognized.

[0160] In addition, when the first steering priority determination result is "First steering priority determination result: ON" (S14: ON) before the automatic braking control is started (S13: NO), the drive support ECU 10 also proceeds to step S16 to prohibit the automatic braking control. As described above, the first steering priority determination result becomes "First steering priority determination result: ON" when the steering operation amount θ (its magnitude) is greater than the threshold θe, or when the steering operation rate ω (its magnitude) is greater than the threshold ωf.

[0161] In this way, if a steering operation condition that makes the first steering priority determination result "First steering priority determination result: ON" has been met while the erroneous pedal operation has not been detected, it can be inferred that the driver's steering operation to avoid the collision is being performed before the automatic brake control is started. In view of this, the drive support ECU 10 prohibits the automatic brake control when the first steering priority determination result is "First steering priority determination result: ON." If the automatic brake control is prohibited, the automatic brake control continues to be prohibited until a new obstacle different from the obstacle just detected is detected.

[0162] In contrast, if the automatic braking control is currently being executed (S13: YES), the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the driving support ECU 10 reads the determination result of the second steering priority determination made by the steering priority control section 15 and determines whether the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "second steering priority determination result: ON" or "second steering priority determination result: OFF." Namely, the driving support ECU 10 determines whether the steering operation rate ω (its magnitude) is greater than the threshold value ωf (ω > ωf) or not.

[0163] When the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "Secondary steering priority determination result: ON" (S18: ON), it can be concluded that the driver's steering operation to avoid the collision is started after the automatic braking control is started. In this case, the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S16 to prohibit / inhibit the automatic braking control (i.e., terminates / stops the automatic braking control). In contrast, when the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "Secondary steering priority determination result: OFF" (S18: OFF), it can be concluded that the driver's steering operation to avoid the obstacle has not been performed. Therefore, in this case, the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S15. Accordingly, the automatic braking control continues to be executed.

[0164] Next, the description will be given for the case where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal operation determination: ON".

[0165] If it is determined / concluded that the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the drive support ECU 10 proceeds from step S11 to step S17 and determines whether or not automatic braking control is currently being executed. Specifically, the drive support ECU 10 reads the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F and determines whether or not the value of the automatic braking execution determination flag F is equal to "1."

[0166] If automatic braking control is not currently being executed, the drive support ECU 10 proceeds to step S15 to execute automatic braking control. Therefore, if the erroneous pedal operation has been detected (or is determined to have occurred), automatic braking control is always started.

[0167] In contrast, when the automatic braking control is currently being executed, the driving support ECU 10 proceeds from step S17 to step S18. In step S18, the driving support ECU 10 reads the determination result of the second steering priority determination made by the steering priority determination section 15 and determines whether the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "second steering priority determination result: ON" or "second steering priority determination result: OFF." Namely, the driving support ECU 10 determines whether the steering operation rate ω (its magnitude) is greater than the threshold value ωf (ω > ωf) or not.

[0168] When the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "Secondary steering priority determination result: OFF" (S18: OFF), the drive support ECU 10 proceeds to step S15 to execute the automatic braking control. In this case, the automatic braking control continues to be executed.

[0169] On the other hand, when the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "Secondary steering priority determination result: ON" (S18: ON), it can be concluded that the driver is steering the steering wheel while strongly depressing the accelerator pedal with the intention of avoiding the collision. In this case, the drive support ECU 10 proceeds from step S18 to step S16 to prohibit the automatic braking control. Therefore, the automatic braking control is terminated at this time.

[0170] As described above, according to the collision avoidance assistance control device of the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the determination result of the second steering priority determination is "Secondary steering priority determination result: ON," even if it is determined that the driver's erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the automatic braking control due to the steering priority control is prohibited if the host vehicle has a high possibility (probability) of colliding with the obstacle. Accordingly, if the driver performs the collision avoidance operation by steering the steering wheel while strongly / quickly depressing the accelerator pedal with the intention of avoiding the collision, the driver's collision avoidance operation is not interfered with (by the automatic braking control).As a result, the driver can cause the host vehicle to travel along its intended trajectory / route.

[0171] For example, as in Fig. As shown in Figure 5, since the host vehicle C1 rapidly approaches (gets closer to) the preceding vehicle C2 when the driver of the host vehicle attempts to pass the preceding vehicle C2 and the host vehicle accelerates, the preceding vehicle C2 can be determined to be the obstacle. In this case, the conventional device continues the automatic braking control regardless of the steering state if it is determined that the driver's rapid acceleration operation is the erroneous pedal operation.In contrast, the collision avoidance assistance control device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure changes the determination result of the second steering priority determination to "Second steering priority determination result: ON" immediately after the driver steers / turns the steering wheel, and therefore immediately terminates the automatic braking control (although the automatic braking control is temporarily executed for one calculation cycle, see steps S17 and S18, the process in step S17 is executed only once, but the ECU 10 proceeds from step S17 to step S18 and then to step S16 one calculation cycle later). Consequently, the driver can cause the host vehicle to travel along his / her intended trajectory / route.

[0172] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the steering priority condition used when it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred is different from the steering priority condition used when it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred. Specifically, compared to the steering priority condition (i.e., the first steering priority determination condition) used when it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the steering priority condition (i.e., the second steering priority determination condition) used when it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred is set such that it is less likely (or more severe) that the automatic brake control is prohibited / inhibited if the automatic brake control is currently being executed.

[0173] For example, if it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the automatic brake control is prohibited from being started (ie, the steering priority control is executed) in either the case where the steering operation amount θ is greater than the threshold θe and the case where the steering operation rate ω is greater than the threshold ωf.

[0174] On the other hand, if it is determined that erroneous pedal operation has occurred, the automatic brake control is not prohibited (i.e., the automatic brake control is executed) if the steering operation rate ω is not greater than the threshold ωf, even if the steering operation amount θ is greater than the threshold θe. This is because there is a possibility that the driver will panic and hold the steering wheel at a maximum steering operation amount if it is determined that erroneous pedal operation has occurred. In such a case, if the automatic brake control is prohibited, the collision with the obstacle cannot be avoided.Since it is not appropriate to conclude that the driver is intentionally performing the collision avoidance operation unless the steering wheel is turned at a high speed, the present embodiment executes automatic braking control. Consequently, the collision with the obstacle can be avoided.

[0175] In the above-mentioned manner, the present embodiment can execute the steering priority control in an appropriate manner when the erroneous pedal operation is performed.

[0176] The collision avoidance assistance control device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiment and may adopt various modifications without departing from the present disclosure.

[0177] For example, in the embodiment, conditions E1 to E3 are used to determine whether the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, but other conditions may be used to determine whether the erroneous pedal operation has occurred. For example, the erroneous pedal operation determining section may be configured to determine that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred when at least two of the conditions are met, one being the condition that is met when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than the threshold APb (AP ≧ APb), and the other being the condition that is met when the accelerator pedal operation rate APV is equal to or greater than a threshold APVc (APV ≧ APVc).

[0178] For example, condition E1 may be a condition that is satisfied when only condition E1-2 (accelerator pedal operation rate determination condition) is satisfied, regardless of conditions E1-1, E1-3, and E1-4. Furthermore, condition E1 may be a condition that is satisfied as long as both conditions E1-2 and E1-1 (accelerator pedal operation rate determination conditions) are satisfied.

[0179] When a drive support ECU determines that an erroneous pedal operation has occurred, it starts automatic braking control, and then terminates the automatic braking control when a steering operation rate ω is greater than a threshold ωf (ω > ωf). On the other hand, when the ECU determines that the erroneous pedal operation has not occurred, it performs steering priority control and does not perform automatic braking control when a steering operation amount θ is greater than a threshold θe or when the steering operation rate ω is greater than the threshold.< / lenkungsvorrangsteuerung> < / beschleunigungsvorrangsteuerung>

Claims

[1] Collision avoidance support control device comprising: a braking device configured to generate a braking force applied to a host vehicle according to a driver's brake pedal operation; a proximity detection sensor configured to obtain information about an object located in the vicinity of the host vehicle; and a control unit configured to: Determining whether or not there is a probability of collision between the host vehicle and an object based on the information obtained by the surrounding area detection sensor; Performing automatic braking control to cause the braking device to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle without requiring the driver's brake pedal operation to avoid the collision when it is determined that the probability exists; and Performing a steering priority control to determine whether a steering operation index value indicative of a driver's steering operation satisfies a steering priority condition or not, and prohibiting the automatic braking control from being performed when it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the steering priority condition, where the control unit is configured to: Determining whether or not an acceleration operation index value indicative of a driver's accelerator pedal operation satisfies a mispedal operation determination condition; and Determining that an erroneous pedal operation has occurred when it is determined that the acceleration operation index value satisfies the erroneous pedal operation determination condition, wherein the erroneous pedal operation is an operation in which the driver erroneously operates an accelerator pedal although the driver intends to operate a brake pedal, characterized by , that the control unit is still configured to: Using a strict requirement as the steering priority condition when it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, and using a weak requirement as the steering priority condition when it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, wherein the strict requirement is harder to satisfy than the weak requirement by the steering operation index value, Using a first steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has not been started yet in a state where it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, to perform the steering priority control; Using a second steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has already been started in the state where it is not determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, to perform the steering priority control; Inability to perform the steering priority control when the automatic brake control has not yet started in a state where it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred; and Using the second steering priority determination condition as the steering priority condition when the automatic brake control has already been started in a state where it is determined that the erroneous pedal operation has occurred, to perform the steering priority control. [2] A collision avoidance assistance control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to: Determining that the first steering priority determination condition is satisfied when one of a condition that a steering operation amount, which is the steering operation index value, is greater than a steering operation amount threshold, and a condition that a steering operation rate, which is also the steering operation index value, is greater than a steering operation rate threshold, is satisfied; and Determining that the second steering priority determination condition is satisfied when the condition that the steering operation rate is greater than the steering operation rate threshold is satisfied, and determining that the second steering priority determination condition is not satisfied even if the condition that the steering operation amount is greater than the steering operation amount threshold is satisfied, unless the condition that the steering operation rate is greater than the steering operation rate threshold is satisfied.

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