Collision avoidance support control device

Abstract

Collision avoidance support control device with: a braking device (20, 21, 22) configured to generate a braking force applied to a host vehicle in accordance with a brake pedal actuation by a driver; an ambient area detection sensor (50, 60) configured to obtain information about an object located near the host vehicle; and a control unit (10) that is configured to: Considering the object as an obstacle when it is determined that the object has a certain probability of an imminent collision between the host vehicle and the object, based on the information obtained by the ambient area detection sensor (50, 60); and Performing automatic brake control to cause the braking device (20, 21, 22) to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle without requiring the driver to operate the brake pedal in order to avoid collision when the object is considered the obstacle, where the control unit (10) is configured to: Determine whether a steering actuation index value (θ; ω) correlated with a steering actuation by the driver satisfies a predetermined collision avoidance steering actuation intent confirmation condition, which is a condition that is satisfied if it can be inferred that the driver made a steering actuation to avoid the imminent collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle; and Delaying the start time of the automatic brake control when it is determined that the correlated steering actuation index value meets the collision avoidance steering actuation intent confirmation condition. characterized by the fact that the control unit (10) remains configured to: Determine whether an acceleration actuation index value correlated with an accelerator pedal actuation by the driver satisfies a predetermined mis-pedal actuation determination condition, which is a condition that is satisfied if it can be inferred that the driver has performed a mis-pedal actuation such that, despite the driver's intention to actuate a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal is mistakenly pressed; Using a first special condition as the collision avoidance steering actuation intent confirmation condition if the acceleration actuation index value has satisfied the faulty pedal actuation determination condition, and using a second special condition as the collision avoidance steering actuation intent confirmation condition if the acceleration actuation index value has not satisfied the faulty pedal actuation determination condition, wherein the first special condition is harder to satisfy by the steering actuation index value than the second special condition; Obtaining both a steering angle and a steering actuation rate as the steering actuation index value; Determine that the steering actuation index value has satisfied the first special condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than a first steering angle threshold that is greater than a second steering angle threshold, and / or in a case where the steering actuation rate is equal to or greater than a first steering actuation rate threshold that is greater than a second steering actuation rate threshold; and Determine that the steering actuation index value has met the second special condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than the second steering angle threshold, and / or in a case where the steering actuation rate is equal to or greater than the second steering actuation rate threshold.

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 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 direction detection sensor, such as a camera sensor and a radar sensor; and Perform automatic braking control to avoid collision between the host vehicle and the detected obstacle.

[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 without requiring braking operation (i.e., driver operation of a brake pedal or driver brake pedal operation).

[0004] If automatic braking control is initiated at an early stage despite the driver's initiation of a collision avoidance operation (e.g., steering operation), the automatic braking control may disturb or inconvenience the driver. A device (hereinafter referred to as the conventional device) disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) JP 2017-114426 A is configured to address this problem.

[0005] Specifically, the conventional device is configured to: Detecting a predetermined driver steering operation as the collision avoidance operation performed by the driver when the automatic braking control is assumed to be performed (i.e., when there is a high / large possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle); and Delaying a start time of the automatic brake control when the predetermined driver steering operation is detected compared to a case where the predetermined driver steering operation is not detected.

[0006] The conventional device configured in this way can prevent the automatic braking control from disturbing or inconveniencing the driver. Hereinafter, a condition for determining that a certain steering operation by the driver is a collision avoidance operation (namely, a condition for confirming / determining a collision avoidance steering operation intention) is referred to as a collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition, which will be abbreviated hereinafter as a "CASOIC condition" (where CASOIC stands for "Collision Avoidance Steering Operation Intention Confirmation").

[0007] Furthermore, DE 11 2016 001 484 T5 discloses a method and a device for controlling an activation timing of a safety device installed in a host vehicle according to a collision probability between the host vehicle and an object located in a traveling direction of the host vehicle. An activation determination device determines whether to activate the safety device when a driver's collision avoidance operation has been performed in the transverse direction of the host vehicle, regardless of a result of a determination as to whether a collision avoidance operation has been performed in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle. Furthermore, US 2012 / 0 179 304 A1 discloses a determination device that detects the occurrence of an erroneous operation of the accelerator pedal instead of the brake. Summary

[0008] However, there may be a case where the driver mistakenly presses the accelerator pedal immediately after noticing the obstacle and intending to press the brake pedal. Such an operation, such that the driver mistakenly presses the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal despite the driver's intention to press the brake pedal, is called mispedaling or erroneous pedaling. In the situation where the erroneous pedaling occurs, the driver may also perform erroneous steering operation. Furthermore, since the host vehicle is rapidly accelerated when the erroneous pedaling occurs, part of a base load is shifted from the front wheels to the rear wheels, and therefore the steering wheel can be operated more easily.For the above reasons, the CASOIC condition is easily satisfied, and therefore the start time of the automatic brake control may be unnecessarily delayed.

[0009] For example, a device may determine that erroneous pedal operation has occurred when a rapid acceleration press operation is detected. This device may be configured so that it does not delay the start time of automatic braking control when it is determined that erroneous pedal operation has occurred. However, according to the device thus configured, delaying the start time of automatic braking control is prohibited even if the driver intends to perform the steering operation to avoid a collision. This may inconvenience the driver because automatic braking control is started at an early stage, contrary to the driver's intention.

[0010] As can be understood from the above, there is room for improvement in a control for delaying the start time of automatic braking control. For the sake of simplicity, the control for delaying the start time of automatic braking control may be referred to as "delay control" or "delay control of automatic braking control."

[0011] The present disclosure is made to address the problems described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a collision avoidance assistance control device capable of appropriately performing deceleration control of the automatic braking control.

[0012] This object is achieved according to the invention by a collision avoidance support control device according to claim 1. Further features and advantageous developments are shown in the subclaim.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the collision avoidance assistance control device comprises: a braking device (20, 21, 22) configured to generate a braking force applied to a host vehicle according to a brake pedal operation of a driver; a surrounding area detection sensor (50, 60) configured to obtain information about an object located in the vicinity of the host vehicle; and a control unit (10) configured to: considering the object as an obstacle if it is determined that the object has a certain (predetermined high / large) probability of an impending collision between the host vehicle and the object based on the information obtained by the surrounding area detection sensor (11); and 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 (13) when the object is considered / determined to be the obstacle, where the control unit is configured to: Determining whether or not a steering operation index value correlated with a driver's steering operation satisfies a predetermined collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition, which is a condition satisfied when it can be determined / inferred that the driver has performed a steering operation to avoid the impending collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle; Delaying a start time of the automatic brake control when it is determined that the correlated steering operation index value satisfies the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition (14); Determining whether or not an acceleration operation index value correlated with an accelerator pedal operation of the driver satisfies a predetermined erroneous pedal operation determination condition, which is a condition that is satisfied when it can be concluded that the driver has performed an erroneous pedal operation in that an accelerator pedal is erroneously depressed despite the driver's intention to depress a brake pedal (16); and Using a first special condition as the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition when the acceleration operation index value has satisfied the missed pedal operation determination condition, and using a second special condition as the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition when the acceleration operation index value has not satisfied the missed pedal operation determination condition, wherein the first special condition is harder to satisfy by the steering operation index value than the second special condition (15, S12, S13).

[0014] In the above embodiment, it can be said that the collision avoidance support control device comprises: a brake control device (20, 21, 22) configured to generate a braking force applied to a host vehicle according to a driver's brake pedal operation; an obstacle detection section (50, 60, 11) configured to detect an obstacle located near the host vehicle; an automatic braking control section (13) configured to perform 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 there is a high possibility that the host vehicle will collide with the obstacle (13); and a delay control section (14) configured to: Determining whether or not a steering operation index value correlated with a driver's steering operation satisfies a predetermined collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition; and Concluding that the driver has performed a steering operation to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle when it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition; and Delaying a start time of the automatic braking control if it is concluded that the driver has performed the steering operation to avoid the collision (14).

[0015] 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 correlated with an accelerator pedal operation of the driver satisfies a predetermined mispedal operation determination condition; and Conclude that the driver has performed erroneous pedal operation in that an accelerator pedal is erroneously depressed despite the driver's intention to depress a brake pedal when it is determined that the acceleration operation index value satisfies the erroneous pedal operation determination condition.

[0016] The collision avoidance assistance control device further comprises an intention determination condition switching section (15, S12, S13) configured to switch the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition between a case / circumstance in which it is determined that the mispedal operation has not been performed and a case / circumstance in which it is determined that the mispedal operation has been performed.

[0017] Here, the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition used / set when it is determined that the mispedal operation has been performed is a condition that is harder / harder (more difficult, less likely) to satisfy than the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition used / set when it is determined that the mispedal operation has not been performed.

[0018] In some embodiments, the collision avoidance assistance control device includes the braking device, the obstacle detection section, the automatic braking control section, and the deceleration control section. The braking device generates the braking force (e.g., a torque for stopping the rotation of each of the host vehicle's wheels) applied to the host vehicle according to (in response to) the driver's brake pedal operation.

[0019] For example, the braking device uses brake oil pressure to generate braking force, which varies depending on the brake pedal operation.

[0020] The obstacle detection section detects an obstacle located around (near, near) the host vehicle.

[0021] The automatic brake control section performs the automatic brake control to cause the brake 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 the automatic brake control section determines that there is a high possibility or probability that the host vehicle will collide with the obstacle.

[0022] The delay control section is configured to: Determining whether or not the steering operation index value correlated with the driver's steering operation satisfies a predetermined collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation (CASOIC) condition; and Concluding that the driver has performed the steering operation to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle if it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the CASOIC condition; and Delaying the start time of the automatic brake control when it is concluded that the driver performed the steering operation to avoid the collision.

[0023] The control for delaying the start time of the automatic brake control, which is executed by the delay control section, may sometimes be referred to as delay control.

[0024] The steering operation index value may include a steering operation amount (e.g., a steering angle) and a steering operation rate (e.g., a steering operation rate that is an amount of change in the steering angle per unit time).

[0025] The collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation (CASOIC) condition is defined as a condition that is satisfied when it can be determined that the driver performed the steering operation to avoid the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle. Such a steering operation can be referred to as a collision avoidance steering operation. If it is inferred / determined that the driver performed the collision avoidance steering operation, the CASOIC condition is satisfied, and consequently, the start timing of the automatic braking control is delayed. Accordingly, it may be possible to prevent the automatic braking control from disturbing or inconveniencing the driver.

[0026] Accelerator pedal operation is not necessarily performed according to the driver's intention. For example, the driver may press the accelerator pedal hard despite his / her intention to press the brake pedal when he / she notices an obstacle immediately in front of the host vehicle.

[0027] In view of the foregoing, in some embodiments, the collision avoidance assistance control device includes the mispedal operation determining section. The mispedal operation determining section determines whether or not the acceleration operation index value correlated with the driver's accelerator pedal operation satisfies the predetermined mispedal operation determining condition, and infers that the driver has performed the mispedal operation by mistakenly depressing the accelerator pedal despite the driver's intention to depress the brake pedal when it is determined that the acceleration operation index value satisfies the mispedal operation determining condition. The acceleration operation index value may include the accelerator pedal operation amount and the accelerator pedal operation rate.- speed, which is the amount of change in the accelerator pedal operation per unit time. For example, rapid depressing of the accelerator pedal can be considered an erroneous or mistaken pedal operation.

[0028] Furthermore, if the erroneous pedal operation occurs, the driver may perform an erroneous steering operation. Furthermore, since the host vehicle is rapidly accelerating when the erroneous pedal operation occurs, part of the base load is shifted from the front wheels to the rear wheels, and therefore the steering wheel can be operated more easily. For the aforementioned reasons, the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation (CASOIC) condition is easily satisfied, and therefore the start time of the automatic braking control may be unnecessarily delayed.

[0029] As can be understood, reliability in determining whether the CASOIC condition is satisfied is reduced when it is concluded that the mispedal operation has occurred. In view of this, the intention determination condition switching section switches the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition between a case / circumstance in which it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed and a case / circumstance in which it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed.Specifically, the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition used / set when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is a condition that is harder / harder (more difficult, less likely) to satisfy than the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition used / set when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed.

[0030] Accordingly, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the collision avoidance assistance control device can appropriately perform the retardation control of the automatic brake control even when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed.

[0031] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to: Obtaining a steering angle as the steering operation index value; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the first specific condition in at least one case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than a first steering angle threshold that is greater than a second steering angle threshold; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the second specific condition in at least one case where the steering angle is greater than or equal to the second steering angle threshold.

[0032] In other words, in some embodiments, the deceleration control section is configured to obtain a steering angle as the steering operation index value, and to determine that the steering operation index value has satisfied the CASOIC condition in at least a case where the steering angle is greater than or equal to a steering angle threshold value (S14, S16).

[0033] The intention determination condition switching section switches the steering angle threshold such that a value of the steering angle threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is larger than a value of the steering angle threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed (S13).

[0034] According to the device thus configured, at least when the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold, it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the CASOIC condition, and the start of automatic braking control is delayed. The value of the steering angle threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is set to a value greater than the value of the steering angle threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed.

[0035] The reliability of the inference regarding the mispedal operation is higher as the steering angle is larger. Therefore, according to the aforementioned embodiment, the start timing of the automatic brake control is delayed when a possibility that the driver has performed the collision-avoidance steering operation is higher in the case where it is inferred that the mispedal operation has occurred. Thus, the delay control of the automatic brake control can be performed appropriately even if it is determined / inferred that the mispedal operation has been performed.

[0036] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to: Obtaining a steering operation rate as the steering operation index value; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the first specific condition in at least one case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than a first steering operation rate threshold that is greater than a second steering operation rate threshold; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the second specific condition in at least one case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than the second steering operation rate threshold.

[0037] In other words, in some embodiments, the deceleration control section is configured to obtain a steering operation rate as the steering operation index value, and to determine that the steering operation index value has satisfied the CASOIC condition in at least a case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than a steering operation rate threshold value (S14, S16).

[0038] The intention determination condition switching section switches the steering operation rate threshold such that a value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is larger than a value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed (S13).

[0039] According to the device thus configured, at least when the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than the steering operation rate threshold, it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the CASOIC condition, and the start of the automatic braking control is delayed. The value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation was performed is set to a value greater than the value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation was not performed.

[0040] The reliability of the inference regarding the mispedal operation is higher as the steering operation rate is higher. Therefore, according to the aforementioned embodiment, the start timing of the automatic brake control is delayed when a possibility that the driver has performed the collision-avoidance steering operation is higher in the case where it is inferred that the mispedal operation has occurred. Thus, the delay control of the automatic brake control can be performed appropriately even if it is determined / inferred that the mispedal operation has been performed.

[0041] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to: Obtaining both a steering angle and a steering operation rate as the steering operation index value; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the first specific condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than a first steering angle threshold that is greater than a second steering angle threshold, and / or in a case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than a first steering operation rate threshold that is greater than a second steering operation rate threshold; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the second specific condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than the second steering angle threshold and / or in a case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than the second steering operation rate threshold.

[0042] In other words, in some embodiments, the deceleration control section is configured to obtain a steering angle and a steering operation rate as the steering operation index value, and to determine that the steering operation index value has satisfied the CASOIC condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than a steering angle threshold value and / or in a case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than a steering operation rate threshold value (S14, S16).

[0043] The intention determination condition switching section switches the steering angle threshold such that a value of the steering angle threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is larger than a value of the steering angle threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed, and such that a value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is larger than a value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed (S13).

[0044] According to the device thus configured, when the steering angle is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold value and / or when the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than the steering operation rate threshold value, it is determined that the steering operation index value satisfies the CASOIC condition, and the start of the automatic braking control is delayed. The value of the steering angle threshold value used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is set to a value greater than the value of the steering angle threshold value used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has not been performed. In addition, the value of the steering operation rate threshold value used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation has been performed is set to a valueset, the greater is the value of the steering operation rate threshold used when it is determined / concluded that the mispedal operation was not performed.

[0045] The reliability of the inference regarding the mispedal operation is higher as the steering angle and steering operation rate are larger. Therefore, according to the aforementioned embodiment, the start timing of the automatic brake control is delayed when a possibility that the driver has performed the collision-avoidance steering operation is higher in the case where it is inferred that the mispedal operation has occurred. Thus, the delay control of the automatic brake control can be performed appropriately even if it is determined / inferred that the mispedal operation has been performed.

[0046] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to: Performing the automatic braking control when a time-to-collision, which is a predicted time period from a current time to a collision time of the impending or threatened collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle, decreases to a value equal to or less than an execution threshold (S17, S18, S19); and Lower the execution threshold to delay the start time of the automatic brake control.

[0047] In other words, in some embodiments, the automatic braking control section is configured to perform the automatic braking control when the time-to-collision (TTC) decreases to an execution threshold (TTCa) (S17, S18, S19).

[0048] The delay control section is configured to delay the start time of the automatic brake control by setting the execution threshold value (TTCa) in a case / circumstance where it delays the start time of the automatic brake control to a value (TTCa2) smaller than a value (TTCa1) in a case / circumstance where it does not delay the start time of the automatic brake control (S18).

[0049] In some embodiments, the automatic braking control section executes automatic braking control when the time-to-collision (TTC) becomes smaller than the execution threshold. Therefore, adjusting the execution threshold may change the start time of automatic braking control. For example, if the execution threshold is set to a large value, automatic braking control may be started earlier. Conversely, if the execution threshold is set to a small value, automatic braking control may be started later.

[0050] The delay control section sets the execution threshold in a case / circumstance where it delays the start time of the automatic braking control to the value smaller than the value in a case / circumstance where it does not delay the start time of the automatic braking control. Therefore, the start time of the automatic braking control is delayed easily and safely.

[0051] 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. Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a PCS control routine. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a mispedal operation determination routine. Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a mispedal operation determination cancellation routine. Detailed description

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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.

[0055] 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.

[0056] 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 / high collision possibility) of an impending or threatened 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.

[0057] 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."

[0058] 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.

[0059] 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 a curvature (or bend) of the white line (or lane marking 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, including a pattern matching method.

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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.

[0062] 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."

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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 to cause the buzzer 90 to generate the sound when the driving support ECU 10 alerts the driver. This can alert the driver to request (invoke) the driver's attention.

[0067] 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.

[0068] 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.

[0069] 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.

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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 or the driving assistance ECU 10. <pcs-steuerung>

[0073] 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, a deceleration control section 14, an intention determination condition switching section 15, and a mispedal operation determination section 16. < Collision Determination Section>

[0074] 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.

[0075] When the collision determination section 11 detects / recognizes the obstacle, the section 11 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

[0076] The time-to-collision (TTC) is used as an index value that indicates (correlates with) a possibility (degree, probability) that the host vehicle will collide with the obstacle (or indicates an imminent or threatened 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] Specifically, the collision determination section 11 determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the first stage when the time-to-collision TTC has decreased to an alert threshold TTCw. The collision determination section 11 determines that the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the second stage when the time-to-collision TTC has further decreased to an alert threshold TTCa that is shorter / smaller than the alert threshold TTCw (ie, TTCa < TTCw). The alert threshold TTCa may be referred to as the alert threshold TTCa.

[0079] One of two values ​​is used as the execution threshold TTCa. One of these is for a case of delaying the start time of the automatic brake control, and the other is for a case of not delaying the start time of the automatic brake control. The delay control section 14 determines which of these is used as the execution threshold TTCa. The execution threshold TTCa with the value for the case of not delaying the start time of the automatic brake control is referred to as the normal execution threshold TTCa1. The execution threshold TTCa with the value for the case of delaying the start time of the automatic brake control is referred to as the delaying execution threshold TTCa2.Each of the normal execution threshold TTCa1 and the delay execution threshold TTCa2 is simply referred to as the execution threshold TTCa when it is not necessary to distinguish the TTCa1 and the TTCa2 from each other.

[0080] The delay execution threshold TTCa2 is set to a value that is smaller than the normal execution threshold TTCa1. <automatikbremssteuerabschnitt>

[0081] The automatic braking control section 13 transmits the PCS braking command when it determines that the possibility or probability of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle has reached the second level. The PCS braking command contains information indicative of the PCS request deceleration.

[0082] The brake ECU 20 controls the brake actuator 21 such that an actual deceleration becomes equal to the PCS request deceleration (or a target PCS request deceleration) when the brake ECU 20 receives the PCS brake command. This generates the friction braking force applied to each of the wheels to forcibly decelerate the host vehicle without requiring the driver's brake pedal operation.

[0083] The above-described control for generating the friction braking force at each of the wheels in response to the PCS braking command to decelerate the host vehicle is the automatic braking control.

[0084] After the automatic brake control section 13 starts the automatic brake control, the section 13 monitors (continuously determines) whether the time-to-collision TTC has become greater than a final threshold TTCb (TTC > TTCb). The final threshold TTCb has been set to a value greater than the execution threshold TTCa (TTCb > TTCa). Therefore, it can be said that the automatic brake control section 13 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 section 13 stops transmission of the PCS brake command. This simultaneously stops / terminates the automatic brake control and the PCS control.

[0085] In addition, the automatic brake control section 13 stops transmitting the PCS brake command 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.

[0086] 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.

[0087] However, there may be a case where the driver performs the steering operation (i.e., steers the host vehicle) to try to avoid a collision. The driver's steering operation with the intention of avoiding a collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle is called collision avoidance steering operation. If the automatic braking control is initiated at an early stage despite the fact that the driver performs the collision avoidance steering operation, the automatic braking control may disturb or inconvenience the driver. <Verzögerungssteuerabschnitt>

[0088] In view of the above, the deceleration control section 14 delays the start timing of the automatic braking control when the driver's collision-avoidance steering operation is detected. The deceleration control section 14 determines whether the collision-avoidance steering operation intention confirmation / intention determination condition (CASOIC condition) is satisfied or not. The deceleration control section 14 determines / infers / presumes that the driver's collision-avoidance steering operation has occurred / has been performed when the CASOIC condition is satisfied (determined as satisfied). The CASOIC condition is satisfied when at least one of the following determination conditions W1 and W2 is satisfied.

[0089] Condition W1: satisfied if the steering angle θ (a magnitude thereof) is equal to or greater than a steering angle threshold value θref (ie θ ≥ θref).

[0090] Condition W2: satisfied when a steering operation rate ω (=dθ / dt) (a magnitude of this) is equal to or greater than a steering operation rate threshold ωref (ie, ω ≥ ωref).

[0091] The aforementioned steering operation amount θ is the magnitude of an actual steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor at a current time. In other words, the steering operation amount θ used in the aforementioned determination becomes larger as the steering wheel is rotated more from its neutral position, regardless of a rotation direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) of the steering wheel. The steering operation rate ω used in the aforementioned determination is the magnitude (or absolute value) of a change amount of the steering operation amount θ used in the aforementioned determination per unit time. The steering operation amount θ and the steering operation rate ω, both used in the determination, are steering operation index values ​​indicative of (correlated with, related to) the driver's steering operation.

[0092] When the CASOIC condition is not met (namely, when the deceleration control section 14 does not determine / conclude that the driver's collision-avoidance steering operation has occurred or has been performed), the section 14 sets the value of the execution threshold TTCa to the normal execution threshold TTCa1 (ie, TTCa ← TTCa1). On the other hand, when the CASOIC condition is met (namely, when the deceleration control section 14 determines / concludes that the driver's collision-avoidance steering operation has occurred or has been performed), the section 14 sets the value of the execution threshold TTCa to the deceleration execution threshold TTCa2 (TTCa ← TTCa2).

[0093] The deceleration execution threshold TTCa2 is set to a value smaller than the normal execution threshold TTCa1. Accordingly, the start time of the automatic brake control is delayed when the value of the execution threshold TTCa is set to the deceleration execution threshold TTCa2, compared to a case where the value of the execution threshold TTCa is set to the normal execution threshold TTCa1.

[0094] However, as stated above, there may be a case where the driver mistakenly or erroneously presses the accelerator pedal when he / she intends to press the brake pedal immediately after noticing the obstacle. Such an operation such that the driver mistakenly or erroneously presses the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal despite the driver's intention to press the brake pedal is referred to as mispedal operation or erroneous or erroneous pedal operation. In the situation where the mispedal operation occurs, the driver may also perform missteering operation or erroneous or erroneous steering operation. Additionally, since the host vehicle accelerates rapidly when the mispedaling has occurred, part of a base load is shifted from the front wheels, which are steered wheels, to the rear wheels, and therefore the steering wheel can be operated more easily.For the above reasons, the CASOIC condition is easier to satisfy, and therefore there may be a case where the start time of the automatic brake control is unnecessarily delayed.

[0095] In other words, if it is concluded that the mispedaling has occurred, a reliability in determining whether the CASOIC condition is satisfied is reduced (ie, a possibility or probability that the CASOIC condition is erroneously determined to be satisfied is relatively high).

[0096] In view of the above, the driving support ECU 10 includes the mispedal operation determination section 16 and the intention determination condition switching section 15. The mispedal operation determination section 16 determines whether or not the mispedal operation has occurred. If it is determined that the mispedal operation has occurred, the intention determination condition switching section 15 switches the CASOIC condition to a condition more appropriate for the case where the mispedal operation has occurred. <Fehlpedalbetätigungsbestimmungsabschnitt>

[0097] The mispedal operation determination section 16 is configured to determine whether or not a mispedal operation determination condition is satisfied, and to determine / conclude that the driver's mispedal operation has occurred when the mispedal operation determination condition is satisfied (determined as satisfied). The determination section 16 determines that the mispedal operation determination condition is satisfied when all of the determination conditions E1 to E3 described below are satisfied. Hereinafter, a mispedal operation determination result indicating that it has been determined that the mispedal operation has occurred will be expressed as "mispedal operation determination: ON." In contrast, a mispedal operation determination result indicating that it has been determined that the mispedal operation has not occurred will be referred to as "mispedal operation determination: OFF."

[0098] 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 is described below.

[0099] Condition E2: Satisfied when a value of an automatic brake execution determination flag F is "0".

[0100] Condition E3: Satisfied when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than a threshold value APa (i.e., AP ≥ APa). The threshold value APa has been set to a value greater than a threshold value APb described below.

[0101] 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.

[0102] Condition E1-1: Satisfied when the accelerator pedal operation amount AP is equal to or greater than the threshold APb (ie, AP ≥ APb).

[0103] Condition E1-2: Satisfied when an accelerator pedal operation rate APV is equal to or greater than a threshold APVc (ie, APV ≥ APVc).

[0104] 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).

[0105] 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).

[0106] 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.

[0107] The threshold APb is a threshold value of the accelerator pedal operation amount for determining the occurrence of erroneous pedal operation, and the threshold APVc is a threshold value of 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 based on conditions E1-1 and E1-2.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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 vehicle in front, 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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 / quickly.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.

[0112] 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>

[0113] 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.

[0114] 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."

[0115] 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.

[0116] 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.

[0117] 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).

[0118] 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.

[0119] 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.

[0120] 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>

[0121] 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.

[0122] 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. <absichtsbestimmungsbedingungsumschaltabschnitt>

[0123] The intention determination condition switching section 15 switches conditions as the CASOIC condition between a case / circumstance where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: ON" (i.e., in a normal state) and a case / circumstance where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: OFF." In other words, the CASOIC condition used by the deceleration control section 14 when the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: ON" is different from the CASOIC condition used by the deceleration control section 14 when the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: OFF."

[0124] Specifically, the CASOIC condition is changed based on the missed pedal operation determination result by changing the value of the steering angle threshold θref and the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref. Namely, the intention determination condition switching section 15 sets the value of the steering angle threshold θref to a normal steering angle threshold θref1 (θref←θref1) when the missed pedal operation result is "miss pedal operation determination: OFF," and sets the value of the steering angle threshold θref to a missed pedal operation steering angle threshold θref2 (θref←θref2) when the missed pedal operation determination result is "miss pedal operation determination: ON." The mispedal steering angle threshold θref2 was / is set to a value that is greater than the normal steering angle threshold θref1.

[0125] The intention determination condition switching section 15 sets the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref to a normal steering operation rate threshold ωref1 (ωref←ωref1) when the missed pedal operation determination result is "miss pedal operation determination: OFF," and sets the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref to a missed pedal operation steering operation rate threshold ωref2 (ωref←ωref2) when the missed pedal operation determination result is "miss pedal operation determination: ON." The missed pedal operation steering operation rate threshold ωref2 has been / is set to a value greater than the normal steering operation rate threshold ωref1.

[0126] Accordingly, the CASOIC condition is harder to satisfy in a case / circumstance where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: ON" than the CASOIC condition in a case / circumstance where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: OFF." In other words, for the CASOIC condition to be satisfied, the driver's faster steering operation and / or the driver's larger steering operation are required when the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: ON" (compared to a case / circumstance where the mispedal operation determination result is "Mispedal Operation Determination: OFF").

[0127] The deceleration control section 14 determines whether the CASOIC condition is satisfied or not using the threshold values ​​(the steering angle threshold θref and the steering operation rate threshold ωref) changed / set by the intention determination condition switching section 15. The deceleration control section 14 determines / concludes that the driver's collision-avoidance steering operation has been performed when the CASOIC condition is satisfied (determined to be satisfied). <pcs-steuerroutine>

[0128] Next, specific processes executed by the driving support ECU 10 will be described. Fig. 2 shows a PCS control routine executed by the drive support ECU 10 (ie, the above-described functional sections 11, 13 to 16). It should be noted that notification control executed by the notification section 12 is not included in the PCS control routine described below.

[0129] When the driving support ECU 10 detects the obstacle located in front of the host vehicle, it starts the PCS control routine.

[0130] In step S11, the driving support ECU 10 determines whether the missing pedal operation determination result obtained by the missing pedal operation determination section 16 is "missing pedal operation determination: ON" or not. If the missing pedal operation determination result is "missing pedal operation determination: OFF", the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S12 to set the value of the steering angle threshold θref to the normal steering angle threshold θref1 (θref←θref1) and set the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref to the normal steering operation rate threshold ωref1 (wref+-wref1).

[0131] On the other hand, when the missed pedal operation determination result is "miss pedal operation determination: ON", the drive support ECU 10 proceeds to step S13 to set the value of the steering angle threshold θref to the missed pedal operation steering angle threshold θref2 (θref←θref2) and set the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref to the missed pedal operation steering operation rate threshold ωref2 (ωref←ωref2).

[0132] After the drive support ECU 10 sets the value of the steering angle threshold θref and the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref in either step S12 or step S13, the drive support ECU 10 proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the drive support ECU 10 determines whether the steering angle θ is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold θref (i.e., θ ≥ θref). Furthermore, in step S14, the drive support ECU 10 determines whether the steering operation rate ω is equal to or greater than the steering operation rate threshold ωref (i.e., ω ≥ ωref).

[0133] When the driving support ECU 10 makes a "NO" determination in step S14 (namely, when the steering angle θ is smaller than the steering angle threshold θref (i.e., θ < θref) and the steering operation rate ω is smaller than the steering operation rate threshold ωref (i.e., ω < ωref)), the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the driving support ECU 10 determines that the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition (CASOIC condition) is not satisfied.

[0134] In contrast, when the driving support ECU 10 makes a determination of "YES" in step S14 (namely, when the steering angle θ is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold θref (i.e., θ ≥ θref) and / or the steering operation rate ω is equal to or greater than the steering operation rate threshold ωref (i.e., ω ≥ ωref)), the driving support ECU 10 proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the driving support ECU 10 determines that the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition (CASOIC condition) is satisfied.

[0135] When the drive support ECU 10 determines that the CASOIC condition is not satisfied, it proceeds to step S17 to determine whether or not the time-to-collision TTC is equal to or smaller / shorter than the normal execution threshold TTCa1.

[0136] On the other hand, when the driving support ECU 10 determines that the CASOIC condition is satisfied, it proceeds to step S18 to determine whether or not the time-to-collision TTC is equal to or smaller / shorter than the deceleration execution threshold TTCa2 (which is smaller than the normal execution threshold TTCa1).

[0137] If the drive support ECU 10 determines in step S17 that the time-to-collision TTC is greater than the normal execution threshold TTCa1 (i.e., TTC > TTCa1), or if the drive support ECU 10 determines in step S18 that the time-to-collision TTC is greater than the deceleration execution threshold TTCa2 (i.e., TTC > TTCa2), it temporarily terminates the PCS control routine. In this case, the automatic braking control is not executed. The drive support ECU 10 repeats the PCS control routine at a short interval (calculation cycle).

[0138] While these processes are repeated, the drive support ECU 10 proceeds to step S19 when it determines that the time-to-collision TTC is equal to or less than the normal execution threshold TTCa1 (i.e., TTC ≤ TTCa1), or when it determines that the time-to-collision TTC is equal to or less than the deceleration execution threshold TTCa2 (i.e., TTC ≤ TTCa2). In step S19, the drive support ECU 10 starts the automatic braking control. Accordingly, the friction braking force is generated and applied to each of the wheels to decelerate the host vehicle, and therefore, the collision with the obstacle is avoided.

[0139] After the drive support ECU 10 starts the automatic brake control, it continues to execute the automatic brake control without restarting the PCS control routine described above until: when it is determined that the collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle is avoided (i.e., when the time-to-collision TTC becomes greater than the final threshold TTCb); or when it is determined that the host vehicle stops due to automatic braking control.

[0140] After the driving support ECU 10 finishes the automatic brake control, it restarts the PCS control routine when a new obstacle is detected.

[0141] As described above, according to the collision avoidance assistance control device of the embodiment, the value of the steering angle threshold θref and the value of the steering operation rate threshold ωref in the case / circumstance where it is determined that the mispedal operation has occurred are set to the respective values ​​larger than those in a case / circumstance where it is not determined that the mispedal operation has occurred. The accuracy of the determination / inference as to whether or not the driver's collision avoidance steering operation has been performed is higher when the steering angle θ is larger and / or when the steering operation rate ω is larger. Therefore, the collision avoidance assistance control device of the embodiment can set the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition (the CASOIC condition, the condition W1, or the condition W2) to appropriate values.appropriate manner, even if it is determined that the mispedal operation has occurred. Therefore, the collision avoidance steering intention determination can be made in an appropriate or appropriate manner, so that the start time of the automatic brake control is not unnecessarily delayed.

[0142] Furthermore, according to the collision avoidance assistance control device of the embodiment, the value of the execution threshold (the deceleration execution threshold TTCa2) for delaying the start time of the automatic braking control is smaller / shorter than the value of the execution threshold (the normal execution threshold TTCa1) for not delaying the start time of the automatic braking control. Therefore, the start time of the automatic braking control is delayed easily and safely.

[0143] The collision avoidance assistance control device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. The present disclosure of the collision avoidance assistance control device is not intended to be limited to the embodiment and may adopt various modifications without departing from the present invention.

[0144] For example, in the aforementioned embodiment, the determination condition W1 and the determination condition W2 are used as the CASOIC condition (ie, the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition), and it is determined that the driver's collision avoidance steering operation has been performed when at least one of the conditions W1 and W2 is satisfied. However, the CASOIC condition is not limited to the aforementioned conditions. For example, the CASOIC condition may include only the determination condition W1 or only the determination condition W2.

[0145] 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).

[0146] 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.

[0147] In the case of mispedal operation determination: ON, the drive support ECU sets a value of a steering angle threshold θref to a value θref2 that is larger than a normal value of the steering angle threshold, and sets a value of a steering operation rate threshold ωref to a value ωref2 that is larger than a normal value of the steering operation rate threshold. When a steering angle θ is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold θref and / or a steering operation rate ω is equal to or greater than the steering operation rate threshold ωref, the ECU delays a start time of automatic braking control by setting a value of an execution threshold TTCa to a delay execution threshold TTCa2 that is smaller than a normal value of the execution threshold TTCa. < / absichtsbestimmungsbedingungsumschaltabschnitt> < / automatikbremssteuerabschnitt>

Claims

[1] Collision avoidance support control device comprising: a braking device (20, 21, 22) configured to generate a braking force applied to a host vehicle according to a brake pedal operation of a driver; a surrounding area detection sensor (50, 60) configured to obtain information about an object located in the vicinity of the host vehicle; and a control unit (10) configured to: considering the object as an obstacle if it is determined that the object has a certain probability of an impending collision between the host vehicle and the object based on the information obtained by the surrounding area detection sensor (50, 60); and Performing automatic braking control to cause the braking device (20, 21, 22) to generate the braking force applied to the host vehicle without requiring the driver's brake pedal operation to avoid the collision when the object is regarded as the obstacle, where the control unit (10) is configured to: Determining whether or not a steering operation index value (θ; ω) correlated with a steering operation of the driver satisfies a predetermined collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition, which is a condition satisfied when it can be concluded that the driver has performed a steering operation to avoid the impending collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle; and Delaying a start time of the automatic brake control when it is determined that the correlated steering operation index value satisfies the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition characterized by that the control unit (10) is further configured to: Determining whether or not an acceleration operation index value correlated with an accelerator pedal operation of the driver satisfies a predetermined mispedal operation determination condition, which is a condition satisfied when it can be concluded that the driver has performed a mispedal operation in that an accelerator pedal is erroneously depressed despite an intention of the driver to depress a brake pedal; Using a first special condition as the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition when the acceleration operation index value has satisfied the missed pedal operation determination condition, and using a second special condition as the collision avoidance steering operation intention confirmation condition when the acceleration operation index value has not satisfied the missed pedal operation determination condition, wherein the first special condition is harder to satisfy by the steering operation index value than the second special condition; Obtaining both a steering angle and a steering operation rate as the steering operation index value; Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the first specific condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than a first steering angle threshold that is greater than a second steering angle threshold, and / or in a case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than a first steering operation rate threshold that is greater than a second steering operation rate threshold; and Determining that the steering operation index value has satisfied the second specific condition in a case where the steering angle is equal to or greater than the second steering angle threshold and / or in a case where the steering operation rate is equal to or greater than the second steering operation rate threshold. [2] A collision avoidance assistance control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit (10) is configured to: Performing the automatic braking control when a time-to-collision, which is a predicted time period from a current time to a collision time of the impending collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle, decreases to a value equal to or less than an execution threshold; and Lower the execution threshold to delay the start time of the automatic brake control.

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