Vehicular control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicular control device that can perform collision prevention control at a proper timing.SOLUTION: A rear collision prevention control device 2 according to the present invention executes rear collision prevention control in areas A and C close to a vehicle 1 and areas B and D away from the vehicle as ranges where the control is executed, where the ranges of the areas B and D are changed in accordance with speed (backward running speed) of the vehicle 1. A rearward pedestrian collision prevention control part 6a2 determines whether a pedestrian walking behind the vehicle 1 exists in any of the areas A-D or not, on the basis of image data on a rear side of the vehicle obtained with a rear-side camera 10c. When it is determined that the pedestrian exists in any of the areas A-D, alarm sound control and automatic brake operation control are executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that performs collision prevention control when a moving object enters a predetermined area from the host vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Some vehicles perform collision damage mitigation control to prevent or mitigate collision damage by sounding an alarm or activating automatic brakes when the possibility of the vehicle colliding with a moving object behind the vehicle increases. For example, in the vehicle driving support device described in Patent Document 1, a rear vehicle distance sensor detects the distance between the vehicle and other vehicles or objects behind the vehicle, and a vehicle speed sensor detects the vehicle speed. When sounding an alarm, the phrase of the alarm is determined according to the distance between the vehicle and the object, and the tempo of the alarm is determined according to the vehicle speed. This allows the occupants to The alarm sound allows the driver to grasp the vehicle speed and the distance to the object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-208370 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As a similar device to the vehicle driving assistance device described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, there is also a rear collision prevention device that sounds an alarm when a target detected by sonar comes within a specified distance. However, with this type of device, there is a risk that the alarm will not be sounded in time if the relative speed between the vehicle and a moving target such as another vehicle or object is fast.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a vehicle control device that can perform collision prevention control at appropriate timing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the vehicle control device of the present invention is a vehicle control device that performs collision prevention control when a moving target enters a predetermined area from the host vehicle, and is equipped with a single external environment recognition sensor that detects the distance between the host vehicle and the moving target, and a control unit that executes collision prevention control, the predetermined area is a range in which the distance is detected by the single external environment recognition sensor, and has a first range that is fixed at a predetermined range from the host vehicle, and a second range that is a range farther from the host vehicle than the first range and is variable, and the control unit is characterized in that it is equipped with a control range change unit that changes the second range in accordance with the host vehicle speed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to this configuration, the second range is changed by the control range change unit in accordance with the vehicle speed. Then, when a moving object falls within the second range changed in accordance with the vehicle speed, collision prevention control is performed. In this way, in the second range, collision prevention control can be performed at an appropriate timing according to the host vehicle speed. Also, in the first range, which is closer to the host vehicle than the second range, the external recognition sensor has high detection accuracy for the distance between the host vehicle and the moving target. Therefore, in the first range, collision prevention control can be reliably performed based on the distance between the host vehicle and the moving target detected by the external recognition sensor. Therefore, a vehicle control device that can perform collision prevention control at an appropriate timing can be provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a rear collision prevention control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram for explaining a warning area of ​​the rear collision prevention control device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram for explaining a brake application area of ​​the rear collision prevention control device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4]4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the warning activation range, which determines the extent of the warning area B in FIG. 2, and the vehicle speed, and the relationship between the brake activation range, which determines the extent of the brake activation area D in FIG. 3, and the vehicle speed. FIG. [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a warning output process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a brake actuation process according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] <Embodiment> A rear collision prevention control device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a rear collision prevention control device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] (Outline of rear collision prevention control system) A rear collision prevention control device 2 (corresponding to the "vehicle control device" of the present invention) according to an embodiment of the present application is disposed in a vehicle 1, and performs collision prevention control when a moving object such as a pedestrian present behind the vehicle 1 enters a predetermined area from the vehicle. Here, the collision prevention control includes, for example, control related to sounding an alarm and control related to automatic braking that are performed when a moving object enters a predetermined area.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the rear collision prevention control device 2 includes a rear camera 10c, a rear camera ECU 4, an integrated cockpit ECU 5, a stereo camera ECU 6, a meter ECU 7, a VSC-ECU 8, a vehicle speed sensor 11, and a shift sensor 12.

[0012] The rear camera 10c is provided at the rear of the vehicle 1, such as a rear bumper or a back door attached to the lower end of the back door of the vehicle 1, and captures a rear image of the vehicle 1. The rear camera 10c is connected to the rear camera ECU 4, and the rear image data captured by the rear camera 10c can be acquired by the rear camera ECU 4. A wide-angle lens such as a fisheye lens is used for the rear camera 10c. The rear image data captured by the rear camera 10c, together with the image data captured by the front camera 10a and the side camera 10b, is used to generate a periphery monitoring image of the vehicle 1 (for example, a bird's-eye view image of the vehicle 1 seen from directly above) that is displayed on a monitor, for example, when parking or leaving a parking lot. The rear image data captured by the rear camera 10c is also used for rear collision prevention control, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the rear camera 10c is configured as a single camera (for example, a monocular camera).

[0013] The rear camera ECU 4 is configured, for example, by a SOC (System On Chip) including a CPU that performs various calculations.

[0014] The rear camera ECU 4 transmits rear image data acquired from the rear camera 10c to the integrated cockpit ECU 5. The rear camera ECU 4 also determines whether or not a moving object such as a pedestrian (person), another vehicle, or a motorcycle is present behind the vehicle based on the rear image data acquired from the rear camera 10c. The type of moving object can be determined by image processing such as pattern matching. When the rear camera ECU 4 determines that a moving object is present behind the vehicle, the rear camera ECU 4 calculates the longitudinal position and lateral position of the moving object relative to the vehicle 1, for example, by performing image processing on the rear image data. Here, the longitudinal position is the position from the center position of the rear end of the vehicle 1 (see position P in FIG. 2) in a direction parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, and the lateral position is the position from the center position of the rear end of the vehicle 1 (see position P in FIG. 2) in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (vehicle width direction). Hereinafter, position P will be referred to as rear end position P.

[0015] When the rear camera ECU 4 determines that there is a moving target behind, it transmits to the stereo camera ECU 6 information on the type of the moving target and information indicating the vertical and horizontal positions of the moving target.

[0016] In addition, each ECU arranged in the vehicle 1, such as the vehicle speed sensor 11, the shift sensor 12, the rear camera ECU 4, the stereo camera ECU 6, the integrated cockpit ECU 5, the meter ECU 7, and the VSC-ECU 8, is connected to an in-vehicle network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), and each ECU can send and receive various information.

[0017] The integrated cockpit ECU 5 is configured, for example, by a microcomputer including a CPU that performs various calculations, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that store various control programs and data.

[0018] The integrated cockpit ECU 5 generates images for monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle 1 and overhead images from surrounding image data acquired from the front camera 10a, the side camera 10b, the rear camera 10c, etc., and displays the images on the in-vehicle monitor 14.

[0019] The image for periphery monitoring is an image for showing the driver the state of the periphery of the vehicle 1, including obstacles or pedestrians present around the vehicle 1, for example, when parking or exiting the vehicle. The image for periphery monitoring is generated based on images captured by the front camera 10a, the side camera 10b, and the rear camera 10c. The overhead image is a composite image showing 360° around the vehicle 1 with the vehicle 1 (own vehicle) icon at the center, and is used for driving assistance, for example, when parking or exiting the vehicle. When generating an overhead image, the integrated cockpit ECU 5 acquires image data from the front camera 10a and the side camera 10b, and transmits a synchronization signal to the rear camera ECU 4. When the rear camera ECU 4 receives the synchronization signal, it transmits image data acquired from the rear camera 10c to the integrated cockpit ECU 5. This allows the overhead image to be generated based on image data from the cameras 10a to 10c acquired at the same time.

[0020] Furthermore, the integrated cockpit ECU 5 generates the various images described above when the speed of the vehicle 1 based on the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 11 is less than a predetermined speed, or when the shift position of the vehicle 1 based on the detection result of the shift sensor 12 is in reverse, etc. The predetermined speed of the vehicle 1 at which the integrated cockpit ECU 5 starts the image generation process can be a very low speed, for example, less than 10 km / h to 15 km / h.

[0021] The front camera 10a is disposed in front of the vehicle 1, such as on a front bumper, and captures a front image of the vehicle 1. The side camera 10b is disposed in the right and left sides of the vehicle 1, such as on the left and right door mirrors, and captures images of the left and right sides of the vehicle 1. The front camera 10a and the side camera 10b each use a wide-angle lens, such as a fisheye lens. The front camera 10a and the side camera 10b are each connected by a cable, such as an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface: registered trademark) cable. As a result, the captured image is converted into a digital signal and transmitted to the integrated cockpit ECU 5.

[0022] Furthermore, when the integrated cockpit ECU 5 receives an alarm request signal from the stereo camera ECU 6, the integrated cockpit ECU 5 transmits a control signal to the meter ECU 7 to sound an alarm from the speaker 13.

[0023] The stereo camera ECU 6 is configured by, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU 6a that performs various calculations, a ROM 6b (Read Only Memory) that stores various control programs and data, and a RAM 6c (Random Access Memory).

[0024] The stereo camera ECU 6 has a front collision damage reduction control unit 6a1 that performs control related to driving suppression control such as alarm sounding control and automatic brake control to reduce collision damage with targets such as other vehicles and motorcycles in front, a rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 that performs control related to driving suppression control such as alarm sounding control and automatic brake control to prevent collision with moving targets such as pedestrians in the rear, and a rear vehicle etc. warning control unit 6a3 that performs control related to alarm sounding control to sound an alarm when the possibility of collision with moving targets such as other vehicles and motorcycles in the rear increases. The front collision damage reduction control unit 6a1, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2, and the rear vehicle etc. warning control unit 6a3 are all configured by the CPU 6a.

[0025] The forward collision damage mitigation control unit 6a1 acquires forward image data of the vehicle 1 acquired by the stereo camera 9. In addition, the forward collision damage mitigation control unit 6a1 calculates a collision time (so-called TTC [s]) indicating a possibility of a collision with a target such as another vehicle present in front of the vehicle 1 based on the forward image data and each piece of information received via an in-vehicle network such as a CAN, and determines the start timing of an alarm or automatic brake control based on the TTC [s]. The start timing of the automatic brake control can be, for example, when the TTC [s] becomes shorter than a predetermined threshold (first threshold). In addition, the start timing of the alarm can be, for example, when the TTC [s] becomes shorter than a threshold (second threshold) that is longer by a predetermined value than the first threshold of the TTC [s] that determines the start timing of the automatic brake control.

[0026] Since the calculation method of TTC[s] is well known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, the above-mentioned method of determining the start timing of the alarm sounding control and the start timing of the automatic brake control is an example, and can be changed as appropriate. TTC[s] is calculated, for example, at a predetermined period (for example, 50 ms), and each time, the forward collision damage reduction control unit 6a1 judges whether or not it is the start timing.

[0027] When the forward collision damage mitigation control unit 6a1 determines that the TTC [s] is shorter than the second threshold, it determines that it is time to start the alarm sounding control, and at that timing transmits an alarm request signal to the integrated cockpit ECU 5. The integrated cockpit ECU 5 that receives the signal transmits a signal requesting the start of alarm sounding to the meter ECU 7, and the meter ECU 7 that receives the signal causes the speaker 13 to sound the alarm.

[0028] Furthermore, when the forward collision damage mitigation control unit 6a1 determines that the TTC [s] is shorter than the first threshold, it determines that it is time to start the automatic brake control, and transmits a brake request signal to the VSC-ECU 8 at that timing to perform the automatic brake. The VSC-ECU 8 that receives the signal executes the automatic brake control. At this time, the forward collision damage mitigation control unit 6a1 calculates the deceleration of the vehicle 1 when performing the automatic brake control.

[0029] The rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 performs control (rear collision prevention control) to prevent a collision with a pedestrian, based on information on the longitudinal and lateral positions of a pedestrian transmitted from the rear camera ECU 4 and information on the speed of the host vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11. This rear collision prevention control will be described later.

[0030] The rear vehicle etc. warning control unit 6a3 determines the start timing of control (for example, RTCA (rear cross traffic alert)) for sounding an alarm to the occupants when the possibility of collision between the vehicle 1 and a target such as another vehicle behind the vehicle 1 and the vehicle's own vehicle (vehicle 1) increases. The possibility of collision between the rear target and the vehicle's own vehicle (vehicle 1) is determined by a method similar to the collision damage mitigation control by the forward collision damage mitigation control unit 6a1. Specifically, the rear vehicle etc. warning control unit 6a3 calculates the TTC [s] between the vehicle 1 and the rear target, and when the TTC [s] becomes shorter than a predetermined threshold, transmits an alarm request signal to the integrated cockpit ECU 5 to sound an alarm. The integrated cockpit ECU 5 that receives the signal transmits a signal to the meter ECU 7 that requests the start of sounding an alarm, and the meter ECU 7 that receives the signal sounds an alarm from the speaker 13. In addition, the distance and relative speed to the rear target used in calculating the TTC[s] can be detected using, for example, a rear radar (e.g., a millimeter wave radar) used in a monitor that assists in checking behind the vehicle when changing lanes (a so-called blind spot monitor).

[0031] The meter ECU 7 is configured, for example, with a microcomputer including a CPU that performs various calculations, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that store various control programs and data. When the meter ECU 7 receives a signal from the integrated cockpit ECU 5 to sound an alarm, the meter ECU 7 executes control to sound an alarm from the speaker 13.

[0032] The VSC-ECU 8 is configured, for example, with a microcomputer including a CPU that performs various calculations, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that store various control programs and data. When the VSC-ECU 8 receives a signal from the stereo camera ECU 6 to perform automatic brake control, the VSC-ECU 8 executes automatic brake control by controlling the brake actuator 15, etc.

[0033] Next, rear collision prevention control executed by rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 and the like will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining the warning area of ​​the rear collision prevention control device, Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining the brake application area of ​​the rear collision prevention control device, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the warning application range that determines the range of warning area B and the vehicle speed, and the relationship between the brake application range that determines the range of brake application area D and the vehicle speed.

[0034] (Rear Collision Prevention Control) As described above, in this embodiment, as an example of rear collision prevention control, an alarm is sounded and an automatic brake is activated. In addition, in this embodiment, the rear collision prevention control is performed when a pedestrian (moving object) enters a predetermined area from the host vehicle (vehicle 1) while the reverse speed of the vehicle 1 is 10 km / h or less.

[0035] Here, it is possible to set the predetermined range to, for example, a single range. In this case, the predetermined range is generally determined as follows. That is, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is slow, the vehicle 1 stops in a short distance when the brake operation is performed, so there is no problem even if the predetermined range is set narrow. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 is fast, the distance from when the brake operation is performed until the vehicle 1 stops is long, so the predetermined range needs to be set wider than when the vehicle speed is slow. In such a case, the predetermined range is set wider in accordance with the case where the vehicle speed is fast. However, according to such a method of setting the predetermined range, when the actual reverse speed of the vehicle (vehicle 1) is slow, it is expected that unnecessary operations such as an alarm or automatic braking will be performed even though the driver is in a situation where he or she can avoid a collision with a moving object behind.

[0036] Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent such unnecessary operation, two types of ranges (areas) are set for the range in which pedestrian collision prevention control is performed, the range in which alarm sounding control is performed, and the range in which automatic brake control is performed.

[0037] Below, with reference to Figures 2 and 4, we will explain the alarm sounding control along with the range in which the alarm sounding control is performed, and then with reference to Figures 3 and 4, we will explain the automatic brake operation control along with the range in which the automatic brake operation control is performed.

[0038] (Alarm sound control) As shown in Figure 2, the area in which alarm sounding control is performed is divided into alarm area A, which is an area closer to the host vehicle (vehicle 1), and alarm area B, which is an area farther away from the host vehicle (vehicle 1) than alarm area A.

[0039] The range of the warning area A in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (z direction in FIG. 2) is set to a distance of 0 m to 5 m from the rear end position P of the vehicle (vehicle 1). The range of the warning area A in the vehicle width direction (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction) of the vehicle 1 is set to ±A from the rear end position P. The warning area A is a fixed range that does not change. The length of the warning area A in the vehicle width direction = 2A can be changed as appropriate as long as it is set to a value longer than the vehicle width of the vehicle 1. Information regarding the range of the warning area A is stored in the warning area A storage area 6b1 of the ROM 6b.

[0040] The warning area B is a range that varies depending on the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1 within a range of 0 km / h to 10 km / h. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4, the minimum distance (minimum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) of the warning area B from the rear end position P of the vehicle 1 is set to 5 m, and the maximum distance (minimum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P varies within a range of 5 m to 10 m depending on the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1.

[0041] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, when the reverse speed of the vehicle 1 is 0 km / h, the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the warning area B (the maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) is set to 5 m. In this case, the warning area A is the only area.

[0042] Furthermore, when the reverse speed of the vehicle 1 is 10 km / h, the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the warning area B (the maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) is set to 10 m. Therefore, the range of the warning area B in this case (the range in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) is 5 m to 10 m.

[0043] In addition, when the speed (reverse speed) of vehicle 1 is faster than 0 km / h and slower than 10 km / h, as shown in Figure 4, the maximum distance from the rear end position P of warning area B (maximum distance in the traveling direction of vehicle 1) is set to increase linearly between 5 m and 10 m depending on the speed.

[0044] On the other hand, in this embodiment, the range of the warning area B in the vehicle width direction (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction) is a fixed range (2A) regardless of the reverse speed of the vehicle 1. Note that data showing the relationship between the reverse speed of the vehicle 1 and the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the warning area B (maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) shown in Fig. 4 is stored as a map in the warning area A storage region 6b1 of the ROM 6b.

[0045] The rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 judges whether a moving target such as a pedestrian is present within the range of the warning area A based on information on the vertical and horizontal positions of the moving target received from the rear camera ECU 4. If it is judged that the moving target is present within the range of the warning area A, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits an alarm request signal requesting control of sounding an alarm to the integrated cockpit ECU 5 regardless of the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1. The integrated cockpit ECU 5, which receives the signal, transmits a request signal to sound an alarm from the speaker 13 to the meter ECU 7, and the meter ECU 7, which receives the signal, controls the speaker 13 to sound an alarm.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when a moving target is present in the warning area A, the warning sounding pattern is configured to differ depending on the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1. For example, when the vehicle 1 is stopped, the warning is sounded only three times and then terminated. On the other hand, when the vehicle 1 is moving, the warning is sounded repeatedly. In this way, an appropriate warning can be issued according to the risk of collision with the moving target.

[0047] In addition, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines the range of the warning area B based on information on the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11, and then determines whether or not a pedestrian (moving target) is present in the warning area B based on information on the vertical and horizontal positions of the pedestrian (moving target) received from the rear camera ECU 4. If it is determined that the pedestrian (moving target) is present in the range of the warning area B, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits an alarm request signal requesting control of sounding an alarm to the integrated cockpit ECU 5. The integrated cockpit ECU 5, which receives the signal, transmits a request signal to sound an alarm from the speaker 13 to the meter ECU 7, and the meter ECU 7, which receives the signal, controls the speaker 13 to sound an alarm. In this case, the sounding pattern is different from that in the warning area A, and one type of sounding pattern in which an alarm is sounded repeatedly is used.

[0048] In addition, when there are multiple pieces of information regarding the vertical and horizontal positions of a moving object transmitted by the rear camera ECU 4, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines whether each moving object is located in warning area A and whether it is located in warning area B.

[0049] (Automatic brake operation control) As shown in Figure 3, the area in which automatic brake activation control is performed is divided into a brake activation area C, which is an area closer to the host vehicle (vehicle 1), and a brake activation area D, which is an area farther away from the host vehicle (vehicle 1) than area C.

[0050] The range of the brake application area C in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (z direction in FIG. 2) is set to a distance of 0 m to Qm from the rear end position P of the vehicle (vehicle 1). Here, Qm is set to a value (e.g., 4 m) that is a specific distance shorter than the 5 m of the warning area A. The range of the brake application area C in the vehicle width direction (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction) of the vehicle 1 is set to ±A from the rear end position P. Note that the brake application area C is a fixed range that does not change. Also, the length of the brake application area C in the vehicle width direction = 2A can be changed as appropriate as long as it is set to a value longer than the vehicle width of the vehicle 1. Information regarding the range of the brake application area C is stored in the brake area C storage area 6b3 of the ROM 6b.

[0051] The brake application area D is a range that varies depending on the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1 when the speed (reverse speed) is in the range of 0 km / h to 10 km / h. In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the minimum distance (minimum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P of the vehicle 1 is set to Q [m], and the maximum distance (maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P of the vehicle 1 varies depending on the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, when the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1 is 0 km / h, the maximum distance (maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P of the brake application area D is set to Q [m]. In this case, there is substantially only the brake application area C.

[0052] Furthermore, when the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1 is 10 km / h, the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the brake application area D (the maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) is set to R [m]. Therefore, the range of the brake application area D (the range in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) in this case is Q [m] to R [m]. Here, R [m] is set to a value (e.g., 9 m) that is a predetermined distance shorter than 10 m, which is the maximum distance (the maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P when the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1 in the warning area B is 10 km / h.

[0053] When the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1 is faster than 0 km / h and slower than 10 km / h, the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the brake application area D (the maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) is set to increase linearly within the range of Q [m] to R [m] according to the speed (reverse speed), as shown in FIG. 4. Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the range of the brake application area D in the vehicle width direction (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction) is set to a fixed range (2A) regardless of the reverse speed of the vehicle 1. Note that data showing the relationship between the reverse speed of the vehicle 1 and the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the brake application area D (the maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) shown in FIG. 4 is stored as a map in the brake application map storage area 6b4 of the ROM 6b.

[0054] The rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 judges whether or not a moving object such as a pedestrian is present within the brake application area C, based on information on the vertical and horizontal positions of the moving object received from the rear camera ECU 4. If it is judged that the moving object is present within the brake application area C, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits a brake request signal requesting automatic brake control to the VSC-ECU 8, regardless of the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle 1. The VSC-ECU 8 that receives the signal controls the brake actuator 15, thereby performing automatic brake control.

[0055] The rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines the range of the brake application area D based on information about the speed (reverse speed) of the vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11, and then determines whether or not a pedestrian (moving object) is present in the brake application area D based on information about the vertical and horizontal positions of the pedestrian (moving object) received from the rear camera ECU 4. If it is determined that the pedestrian (moving object) is present in the brake application area D, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits a brake request signal requesting automatic brake control to the VSC-ECU 8. The VSC-ECU 8 that receives the signal controls the brake actuator 15, thereby performing automatic brake control.

[0056] When it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is present in either of the brake application areas C and D, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines the deceleration of the vehicle 1 in the automatic brake control. The deceleration at this time may be determined based on the backward acceleration of the vehicle 1. Alternatively, it may be a predetermined fixed value. The rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits information about the determined deceleration to the integrated cockpit ECU 5 together with a brake request signal.

[0057] In addition, when there are multiple pedestrians (moving objects) transmitted by the rear camera ECU 4, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines whether or not each pedestrian (moving object) is present in the brake application area C and whether or not each pedestrian is present in the brake application area D.

[0058] (Warning output processing) Next, an example of the warning output process executed by the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 and the like will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the warning output process of this embodiment.

[0059] First, when the shift position acquired from the shift sensor 12 is the "R (rear) position," the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines the range of the warning area B based on the vehicle speed (reverse speed) of the host vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11 and the map (see Fig. 1 and Fig. 4) stored in the warning activation map storage area 6b2 (step S1). Specifically, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 extracts from the map the maximum distance (maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P of the warning area B corresponding to the vehicle speed (reverse speed) of the host vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11, and determines the range of the warning area B by setting the maximum distance as the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the warning area B. The range of the warning area B is determined at a predetermined cycle (for example, 50 ms).

[0060] Next, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 judges whether or not a pedestrian (moving target) is present in the warning area A (step S2). This judgment is made based on information on the vertical and horizontal positions of the pedestrian (moving target) acquired from the rear camera ECU 4 and the data of the warning area A storage area 6b1 stored in the ROM 6b. Then, when it is judged that the pedestrian (moving target) is not present in the warning area A (NO in step S2), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 judges whether or not the pedestrian (moving target) is present in the warning area B determined in step S1 (step S4).

[0061] Here, if it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is present in the warning area B (YES in step S4), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits an alarm request signal to the integrated cockpit ECU 5, and the integrated cockpit ECU 5 that receives the signal controls the sounding of an alarm by sounding the speaker 13 via the meter ECU 7 (step S5), and ends the warning output process. On the other hand, if it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is not present in the warning area B (NO in step S4), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 does not control the sounding of an alarm and ends the warning output process.

[0062] In step S2, when it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is present in the warning area A (YES in step S2), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits an alarm request signal to the integrated cockpit ECU 5, and the integrated cockpit ECU 5, which receives the signal, controls the speaker 13 to sound an alarm via the meter ECU 7 (step S3), and ends the warning output process. When transmitting the alarm request signal to the integrated cockpit ECU 5, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 also transmits information regarding the type of warning pattern to be sounded based on whether the vehicle 1 is stopped or not to the integrated cockpit ECU 5. As a result, a warning is issued using a warning pattern depending on whether the vehicle 1 is moving or stopped.

[0063] (Brake operation processing) Next, an example of the brake actuation process executed by the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 and the like will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the brake actuation process of this embodiment.

[0064] First, when the shift position acquired from the shift sensor 12 is the "R (rear) position," the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines the range of the brake application area D based on the vehicle speed (reverse speed) of the host vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11 and the map (see FIG. 4) stored in the brake application map storage area 6b4 (step S11). Specifically, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 extracts from the map the maximum distance (maximum distance in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1) from the rear end position P of the brake application area D according to the vehicle speed (reverse speed) of the host vehicle (vehicle 1) acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 11. Then, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines the range of the brake application area D by setting the extracted maximum distance as the maximum distance from the rear end position P of the brake application area D. The range of the brake application area D is determined at a predetermined cycle (for example, 50 ms).

[0065] Next, the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines whether or not a pedestrian (moving target) is present in the brake application area C (step S12). This determination is made based on information on the vertical and horizontal positions of the pedestrian (moving target) acquired from the rear camera ECU 4 and data on the brake area C storage area 6b3 stored in the ROM 6b. Then, when it is determined that the pedestrian (moving target) is not present in the brake application area C (NO in step S12), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 determines whether or not the pedestrian (moving target) is present in the brake application area D determined in step S11 (step S14).

[0066] Here, when it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is present in the brake application area D (YES in step S14), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits a brake application request signal to the VSC-ECU 8, and the VSC-ECU 8 that receives the signal controls the brake actuator 15 to perform automatic brake control (step S15), and ends the brake application process. On the other hand, when it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is not present in the brake application area D (NO in step S14), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 does not perform automatic brake control and ends the brake application process.

[0067] In step S12, when it is determined that a pedestrian (moving object) is present in the brake application area C (YES in step S12), the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 transmits a brake application request signal to the VSC-ECU 8, and the VSC-ECU 8 that receives the signal performs automatic brake control by controlling the brake actuator 15 (step S13), and ends the brake application process. The warning output process ends.

[0068] Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the ranges of the warning area B and the brake activation area D are changed by the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2 depending on the vehicle speed (reverse speed) of the host vehicle (vehicle 1). Then, whether or not a pedestrian (moving object) is present in the changed areas B and D is determined based on the longitudinal and lateral positions of the pedestrian (moving object), and if present, rear collision prevention control including alarm sounding control and automatic brake activation control is performed. In this way, rear collision prevention control can be executed at an appropriate timing according to the vehicle speed (reverse speed) of the host vehicle (vehicle 1).

[0069] Furthermore, in a configuration in which the start timing of collision prevention control is determined by the conventional TTC [s], it is necessary to calculate the speed of the pedestrian (moving target) in order to calculate the relative speed between the host vehicle (vehicle 1) and the pedestrian (moving target). When calculating the speed of a moving target such as a pedestrian whose overall shape changes due to the movement of the hands and feet, an expensive sensor is required to ensure the accuracy required for performing rear collision prevention control. In contrast, in this embodiment, the start timing of rear collision prevention control can be determined without calculating the relative speed between the host vehicle (vehicle 1) and the pedestrian (moving target). Therefore, a single rear camera 10c can be used as an external environment recognition sensor for performing rear collision prevention control, instead of an expensive sensor.

[0070] In addition, in the warning area A and the brake application area C, which are areas closer to the vehicle 1, whether or not rear collision prevention control is performed is determined depending on whether or not the longitudinal and lateral positions of a pedestrian (moving object) are present in the areas A and C. Because the warning area A and the brake application area C are in the close range of the vehicle 1, the position detection accuracy of the pedestrian (moving object) required for determining whether or not rear collision prevention control is performed can be ensured using only the rear camera 10c. Therefore, in the warning area A, rear collision prevention control can be reliably performed based on the information from the rear camera 10c.

[0071] As described above, in this embodiment, unlike the case where the timing to start collision prevention control is determined by TTC[s], an expensive sensor is not required, and rear collision prevention control including alarm sounding control and automatic brake control can be appropriately performed using a single rear camera 10c. As a result, it is possible to provide a rear collision prevention control device 2 that can perform rear collision prevention control at appropriate timing with an inexpensive configuration.

[0072] In addition, in this embodiment, the rear camera 10c used for monitoring the periphery of the vehicle 1 is also used as an external recognition sensor for rear collision prevention control, so that the cost of the rear collision prevention control device 2 can be further reduced.

[0073] Furthermore, when determining the start timing of collision prevention control using the conventional TTC[s], if there are multiple moving targets behind the vehicle, it is necessary to calculate the relative speed and TTC[s] for each moving target. In contrast, in this embodiment, there is no need to calculate the relative speed or TTC[s], and the start timing of collision prevention control can be determined simply by executing a process to determine whether each moving target is in areas A to D. This reduces the processing load of the rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit 6a2.

[0074] As described above, in the embodiment, the vehicle 1 corresponds to the "host vehicle" of the present invention, the pedestrian corresponds to an example of the "moving target" of the present invention, the warning areas A and B and the brake activation areas C and D each correspond to a "predetermined range" of the present invention, the alarm sounding control and the automatic brake activation control correspond to an example of the "collision prevention control" of the present invention, the rear collision prevention control device 2 corresponds to an example of the "vehicle control device" of the present invention, the rear camera 10c corresponds to an example of the "external environment recognition sensor" of the present invention, the rear camera ECU4, the stereo camera ECU 6, the integrated cockpit ECU 5, the meter ECU 7 and the VSC-ECU 8 which are responsible for executing the rear collision prevention control correspond to the "control unit" of the present invention, and the rear pedestrian collision prevention control device 6a2 which changes the range of the warning area B and the brake activation area D corresponds to the "control range change unit" of the present invention. Moreover, the warning area A and the brake application area C each correspond to the "first range" of the present invention, and the warning area B and the brake application area D each correspond to the "second range" of the present invention.

[0075] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the pedestrian collision prevention control is performed when the reverse speed of the vehicle 1 is 10 km / h or less, but the control can be modified as appropriate, for example, to be performed when the reverse speed is 15 km / h or less. In this case, the maps that determine the ranges of the warning area B and the brake application area D should be modified according to the applicable speed ranges.

[0076] In addition, in this embodiment, the case has been described where the moving object that is the target of rear-end collision prevention control is a pedestrian, but the present invention can also be applied to moving objects such as other vehicles and moving bodies that have at least the characteristics of a human (including motorcycles, senior cars, etc.).

[0077] In this embodiment, the rear camera 10c is described as an example of an external environment recognition sensor that recognizes the surrounding situation behind the vehicle 1, but the external environment recognition sensor is not limited to this and can be changed as appropriate, for example, to a radar. Also, a stereo camera (compound eye camera) may be used as the rear camera 10c. In this case, the calculation accuracy of the relative speed and the like is improved.

[0078] In addition, in this embodiment, examples of rear collision prevention control include alarm sounding control and brake activation control, but this is not limited to these. For example, it may be possible to perform driving suppression control such as controlling the strength of the brakes or suppressing and controlling the opening of the engine throttle (driving force of the drive source).

[0079] In this embodiment, the case of collision prevention control for a moving target behind has been described, but the present invention may be applied to collision prevention control for a moving target ahead. In this case, for example, at least one of the stereo camera 9 and the front camera 10a may be adopted as an external recognition sensor for recognizing the surrounding situation (moving target) ahead of the vehicle 1, and the rear collision prevention control may be performed by the rear camera ECU 4 or the stereo camera ECU 6.

[0080] Furthermore, the present invention can be adopted in various vehicle control devices that perform collision prevention control when a moving object enters a predetermined area from the vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1: Vehicle (own vehicle) 2: Rear collision prevention control device (vehicle control device) 4: Rear camera ECU (control unit) 5: Integrated cockpit ECU (control unit) 6: Stereo camera ECU (control unit) 6a2: Rear pedestrian collision prevention control unit (control range change unit) 7: Meter ECU (control unit) 8:VSC-ECU (control unit) 10c: Rear camera (external recognition sensor)

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle control device that performs collision prevention control when a moving object enters a predetermined area from a host vehicle, A single external environment recognition sensor that detects a distance between the host vehicle and the moving target; A control unit that executes the collision prevention control; Equipped with The predetermined area is a range in which the distance is detected by the single external environment recognition sensor, and includes a first range that is fixed within a predetermined range from the vehicle, and a second range that is farther away from the vehicle than the first range and is variable; The control unit includes a control range changing unit that changes the second range in accordance with a vehicle speed.

Images