Control device, driving support method, and computer program

Abstract

To suppress providing of an unnecessary driving support to a driver.SOLUTION: A control device 5 which performs a driving support for a vehicle is configured to detect that a moving object existing around the vehicle has entered a supporting area set around the vehicle, and to perform the driving support based on a positional relationship between a front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on a positional relationship between the moving object and an iris reference line set for each vehicle when the moving object enters the supporting area from the front.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a driving support method, and a computer program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a blind spot monitor as a conventional alert device that detects other vehicles traveling in an alert area that is a blind spot area of the driver and alerts the driver.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the above-described conventional alert device, when the host vehicle overtakes another vehicle, an alert is issued when the rear end portion of the other vehicle enters the alert area. Therefore, for example, when overtaking another vehicle, especially a long vehicle such as a truck or a bus, even though the driver can visually recognize the other vehicle, there is a possibility that an unnecessary alert may be issued to the driver because the rear end portion of the other vehicle enters the alert area.

[0005] The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and an object thereof is to suppress unnecessary driving support for the driver.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, a control device according to an aspect of the present invention detects that a moving object existing around a vehicle has entered a support area set around the vehicle, and when the moving object enters the support area from the front of the support area, it is configured to perform driving support based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on the positional relationship between the moving object and an ellipse reference line set for each vehicle.

[0007] Further, a driving support method by a control device for performing driving support of a vehicle according to an aspect of the present invention detects that a moving object existing around the vehicle has entered a support area set around the vehicle, and when the moving object enters the support area from the front of the support area, driving support is performed based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on the positional relationship between the moving object and an ellipse reference line set for each vehicle. Driving support method.

[0008] Further, a computer program according to an aspect of the present invention detects that a moving object existing around a vehicle has entered a support area set around the vehicle, and when the moving object enters the support area from the front of the support area, causes a computer to execute processing for performing driving support based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on the positional relationship between the moving object and an ellipse reference line set for each vehicle.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to these aspects of the present invention, since driving support can be performed after determining to what extent the moving object is visible from the host vehicle, it is possible to suppress performing unnecessary driving support on the driver of the host vehicle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7A

Figure 7B

Figure 8

Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to similar components.

[0012] (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a driving support device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The driving support device 100 includes a peripheral sensor 1, a vehicle sensor 2, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 3, an actuator 4, and a control device 5. The peripheral sensor 1, the vehicle sensor 2, the HMI 3, the actuator 4, and the control device 5 are communicably connected via an in-vehicle network 7 compliant with a standard such as a controller area network.

[0014] The peripheral sensor 1 is a sensor for generating peripheral data representing the situation around a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "own vehicle") for which driving support is performed by the driving support device 100. In the present embodiment, the peripheral sensor 1 includes a distance measuring sensor 11 that measures the distance to an object such as a vehicle or a pedestrian existing around the own vehicle.

[0015] The distance measuring sensor 11 horizontally and parallelly irradiates a plurality of laser lights, radio waves, or ultrasonic waves with different irradiation angles Θ as shown in Fig. 2(A) to a distance measuring area around the own vehicle (front, side, and rear), and receives the reflected light of each irradiated laser light or the reflected wave of each irradiated radio wave or each ultrasonic wave. In Fig. 2, in order to prevent the drawing from being complicated and facilitate understanding, a state in which a plurality of laser lights are irradiated in front of the own vehicle is shown. Then, based on the received reflected light or reflected wave, the distance measuring sensor 11 measures the distance to a road or an obstacle existing in the distance measuring area (for example, a building, a preceding vehicle or a following vehicle, an adjacent vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, a stopped vehicle, a curb, a falling object, and a pedestrian on the road, etc.). The distance to this road or obstacle is obtained for each reflection point (irradiation point) as shown in Fig. 2(B), and the distance measuring sensor 11 associates the distance to each reflection point with the coordinate information of each reflection point, and then transmits them to the control device 5 as peripheral data (distance measuring data).

[0016] Examples of the distance measurement sensor 11 that irradiates laser light include a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). Examples of the distance measurement sensor 11 that irradiates radio waves include a millimeter-wave radar sensor. Examples of the distance measurement sensor 11 that irradiates ultrasonic waves include a sonar. Fig. 2 shows an example in which a LiDAR as the distance measurement sensor 11 is attached to the roof of the host vehicle. However, the attachment location of the distance measurement sensor 11 is not limited to the roof, and it may be, for example, the front bumper or rear bumper of the host vehicle. Further, the distance measurement sensor 11 may be composed of, for example, a plurality of LiDARs or a plurality of millimeter-wave radar sensors. In addition to the distance measurement sensor 11, the host vehicle may be provided with a camera or the like that captures targets such as vehicles and pedestrians existing around the host vehicle as the peripheral sensor 1.

[0017] The vehicle sensor 2 is a sensor for generating vehicle data representing the situation of the host vehicle. In the present embodiment, as the vehicle sensor 2, for example, a speed sensor 21 that generates speed data indicating the traveling speed of the host vehicle, and a positioning sensor 22 that generates current position data indicating the current position of the host vehicle, such as latitude and longitude, are provided. However, the vehicle sensor 2 is not limited to these sensors. The vehicle sensor 2 transmits each acquired data (for example, speed data or current position data) to the control device 5 as vehicle data.

[0018] The HMI 3 is a user interface for information exchange between the host vehicle and its occupants. The HMI 3 includes an output device 31 for notifying the vehicle occupants through the physical sensations (for example, vision, hearing, and touch) of the vehicle occupants, and an input device 32 for the vehicle occupants to perform input operations and response operations. In the present embodiment, as the output device 31, displays (for example, a meter display, a center display, a head-up display, etc.) 311 and a speaker 312 are provided, and as the input device 32, a touch panel 321 and a microphone 322 are provided.

[0019] The HMI 3 displays information (such as character information and image information) corresponding to the display signal received from the control device 5 on the displays 311, and outputs the sound corresponding to the sound signal from the speaker 312. Further, the HMI 3 transmits data (hereinafter referred to as "occupant input data") panel-input or voice-input by the vehicle occupant via the input device 32 to the control device 5.

[0020] The HMI 3 may be pre-mounted on the host vehicle, or may be a terminal such as a smartphone owned by the vehicle occupant. In the latter case, for example, information exchange may be performed by communicating via short-range wireless communication between the host vehicle and the vehicle occupant's terminal, or communication may be performed between the vehicle occupant's terminal and an external server (not shown), and information exchange may be performed indirectly via the server.

[0021] The actuator 4 is a device used for the travel control of the host vehicle. In the present embodiment, as the actuator 4, an acceleration actuator 41 that performs acceleration control of the host vehicle (for example, at least one of an engine and a motor), a brake actuator 42 that performs brake control of the host vehicle (for example, a hydraulic actuator), and a steering actuator 43 that performs steering control of the host vehicle (for example, a steering motor) are provided.

[0022] The control device 5 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) including a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a processing unit 53.

[0023] The communication unit 51 includes an interface circuit for connecting the control device 5 to the in-vehicle network 7. The communication unit 51 supplies various data received from each sensor 1, 2, the HMI 3, etc. to the processing unit 53. Further, the communication unit 51 outputs various signals output from the processing unit 53 to the HMI 3, the actuator 4, etc.

[0024] The storage unit 52 has a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid Disk Drive), or a semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs, data, etc. used in the processing by the processing unit 53.

[0025] The processing unit 53 has one or a plurality of CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits, and executes various computer programs stored in the storage unit 52. The processing unit 53 is, for example, a processor. The processing unit 53 may further have other arithmetic circuits such as a logical arithmetic unit, a numerical arithmetic unit, or a graphic processing unit. By executing processing according to a computer program, the processing unit 53 functions as the target detection unit 61 and the driving support unit 62, and operates as a functional unit (module) that realizes a predetermined function. In the following description, when explaining the processing with the respective functional units 61, 62 as the subject, it indicates that the processing unit 53 is executing the program that realizes the respective functional units 61, 62.

[0026] Hereinafter, the content of the specific processing implemented in the control device 5 will be described. That is, the content of each of the functional units 61, 62 realized by the processing unit 53 executing processing according to a program will be described.

[0027] The target detection unit 61 recognizes other vehicles existing around the host vehicle based on the surrounding data. In the present embodiment, the target detection unit 61 groups the reflection points that satisfy a predetermined condition among the plurality of reflection points detected by the distance measurement sensor 11 as reflection points such as laser light reflected from the same object, thereby recognizing other vehicles existing around the host vehicle. Then, the target detection unit 61 calculates the position and speed of the target by tracking the recognized other vehicles along the time series. Note that the method for detecting the target is not limited to such a method, and various known methods may be used for detection.

[0028] When the object detection unit 61 recognizes that another vehicle has entered the driving support area (see Fig. 3) preset around the host vehicle, the driving support unit 62 performs driving support for the driver. As driving support for the driver, the driving support unit 62 can perform various notifications (for example, notifications by lighting or blinking an indicator, notifications by a message, notifications by voice, etc.) that there is another vehicle in the driving support area by the HMI 3. Further, as driving support for the driver, the driving support unit 62 can also perform driving control (for example, acceleration, deceleration, avoidance, etc.) of the host vehicle by the actuator 4 in addition to the notification by the HMI 3. In the present embodiment, as driving support for the driver, the driving support unit 62 gives a warning notification to the driver by blinking an indicator on the meter display.

[0029] Hereinafter, with reference to Figs. 3 to 7B, the driving support by the driving support unit 62 will be described in more detail.

[0030] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a driving support area preset around the host vehicle.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 3, the driving support area is an area on the side and rear of the host vehicle that is difficult for the driver to directly visually recognize. In the present embodiment, the front end position of the driving support area is set at the same position as the front end position of the host vehicle.

[0032] Here, when another vehicle approaches from behind the host vehicle (when another vehicle enters the driving support area from behind the driving support area), it is desirable to notify the driver of the presence of the other vehicle as early as possible. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 4, when another vehicle X1 enters the driving support area from behind the driving support area, it is desirable to give a warning notification to the driver when the front end portion of the other vehicle X1 enters the driving support area.

[0033] On the other hand, when the host vehicle overtakes a preceding other vehicle (when the other vehicle enters the driving assistance area from in front of the driving assistance area), the driver is aware of the presence of the other vehicle. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when the other vehicle X2 enters the driving assistance area from in front of the driving assistance area, if a notification for alerting is given to the driver when the rear end portion of the other vehicle X2 enters the driving assistance area, although the driver can visually recognize the other vehicle X2, the notification for alerting is given, and there is a possibility that some drivers may feel bothered by the notification.

[0034] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when an other vehicle enters the driving assistance area from in front of the driving assistance area, a notification for alerting is given based on the positional relationship between the front end portion of the other vehicle and the host vehicle. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, after the front end portion of the other vehicle X2 reaches the front end position of the driving assistance area determined according to the position of the host vehicle, a notification for alerting is given. In other words, until the front end portion of the other vehicle X2 reaches the front end position of the driving assistance area, the implementation of the notification for alerting is restricted. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, details of the driving assistance control according to the present embodiment performed by the driving assistance unit 62 and thus the control device 5 will be described.

[0035] FIG. 7A is a flowchart for explaining details of driving assistance control for an other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle. The control device 5 repeatedly executes this routine at a predetermined calculation cycle.

[0036] In step S1, the control device 5 recognizes other vehicles existing around the host vehicle.

[0037] In step S2, the control device 5 determines whether or not the first flag F1 is set to 0. The first flag F1 is a flag that is set to 1 when driving assistance is being performed for an other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle, and its initial value is set to 0. If the control device 5 determines that the first flag F is 0, the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the control device 5 determines that the first flag F is 1, the process proceeds to step S5.

[0038] In step S3, the control device 5 determines whether the recognized other vehicle has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the front end portion of the rear other vehicle X1 recognized by grouping reaches the rear end of the driving assistance area, the control device 5 can determine that the other vehicle X1 has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle. If the recognized other vehicle has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle, the control device 5 proceeds to the process of step S4. On the other hand, if the recognized other vehicle has not entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle, the control device 5 ends the current process.

[0039] In step S4, the control device 5 starts driving assistance for the driver and sets the first flag F1 to 1. As described above, in the present embodiment, the control device 5 gives a notification for alerting the driver to the driver via the HMI 3 as driving assistance for the driver.

[0040] In step S5, the control device 5 determines whether the other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle has exited the driving assistance area. In the present embodiment, the control device 5 determines that the other vehicle has exited the driving assistance area if the rear end of the other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from behind the host vehicle is positioned in front of the front end of the driving assistance area, or if the front end of the other vehicle is positioned behind the rear end of the driving assistance area, and proceeds to the process of step S6. Otherwise, the control device 5 ends the current process and continues the driving assistance.

[0041] In step S6, the control device 5 ends the driving assistance for the driver and returns the first flag F1 to 0.

[0042] FIG. 7B is a flowchart for explaining the details of the driving assistance control for the other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from the front of the host vehicle. The control device 5 repeatedly executes this routine at a predetermined calculation cycle.

[0043] In step S11, the control device 5 recognizes other vehicles existing around the host vehicle.

[0044] In step S12, the control device 5 determines whether the second flag F2 is set to 0. The second flag F2 is a flag that is set to 1 when performing driving support for other vehicles that have entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle, and its initial value is set to 0. If the second flag F2 is 0, the control device 5 proceeds to the process of step S13. On the other hand, if the second flag F2 is 1, the control device 5 proceeds to the process of step S16.

[0045] In step S13, the control device 5 determines whether the recognized other vehicle has entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the control device 5 can determine that the other vehicle X2 has entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle when the rear end portion of the recognized front other vehicle X2 reaches the front end of the driving support area by grouping. If the recognized other vehicle has entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle, the control device 5 proceeds to the process of step S14. On the other hand, if the recognized other vehicle has not entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle, the control device 5 ends the current process.

[0046] In step S14, the control device 5 determines whether the other vehicle that has entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle is within the driving support area. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the control device 5 can determine that the other vehicle X2 is within the driving support area when the front end portion of the recognized front other vehicle X2 reaches the front end of the driving support area by grouping. If the other vehicle that has entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle is within the driving support area, the control device 5 proceeds to the process of step S15. On the other hand, if the other vehicle that has entered the driving support area from the front of the host vehicle is not within the driving support area, the control device 5 ends the current process. That is, the implementation of the warning notification is restricted.

[0047] Whether the front end portion of another vehicle has reached the front end of the driving assistance area can be determined, for example, by the following method. That is, the total length [m] of the preceding other vehicle X2 recognized by grouping is divided by the relative speed [m / s] between the host vehicle and the other vehicle X2 after the other vehicle X2 has entered the driving assistance area, thereby calculating the predicted time [s] from when the other vehicle X2 has entered the driving assistance area until the front end portion of the other vehicle X2 reaches the front end of the driving assistance area. Therefore, when the predicted time has elapsed from the current time, it can be determined that the front end portion of the other vehicle X2 has reached the front end of the driving assistance area. Also, for example, by tracking (tracking) the other vehicle X2 that has entered the driving assistance area from in front of the host vehicle in time series, when the other vehicle X2 cannot be detected at the front end portion of the driving assistance area after entering the driving area, it can also be determined that the front end portion of the other vehicle X2 has reached the front end of the driving assistance area.

[0048] In step S15, the control device 5 starts driving assistance for the driver and sets the second flag F2 to 1. As described above, in this embodiment, the control device 5 gives a notification to the driver to arouse attention via the HMI 3 as driving assistance for the driver.

[0049] In step S16, the control device 5 determines whether the other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from in front of the host vehicle has exited the driving assistance area. In this embodiment, the control device 5 determines that the other vehicle has exited the driving assistance area if the front end of the other vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from in front of the host vehicle is located behind the rear end of the driving assistance area, or if the rear end of the other vehicle is located in front of the front end of the driving assistance area (or if the front end of the other vehicle is located in front of the front end of the driving assistance area), and proceeds to the process of step S17; otherwise, the current process ends and the driving assistance continues.

[0050] In step S17, the control device 5 ends the driving assistance for the driver and returns the second flag F2 to 0.

[0051] The control device 5 according to the present embodiment described above detects that another vehicle (a moving object) existing around the host vehicle has entered an operation support area (support area) set around the host vehicle, and when the other vehicle enters the operation support area from the front of the operation support area, it is configured to perform operation support based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the other vehicle and the host vehicle.

[0052] Accordingly, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform operation support after determining to what extent the other vehicle is visible from the host vehicle based on the front end position of the other vehicle, so that appropriate operation support can be performed for the driver of the host vehicle.

[0053] In particular, in the present embodiment, the front end position of the operation support area is the same as the front end position of the host vehicle, and the control device 5 is configured to perform operation support when the other vehicle is within the operation support area, that is, when the front end position of the other vehicle and the front end position of the operation support area are the same position, and as the operation support, it is configured to perform a notification for alerting the driver via the HMI 3 (notification device) that notifies the driver of the host vehicle.

[0054] Therefore, it is possible to suppress the notification for alerting the driver from being performed when the driver of the host vehicle can sufficiently see the other vehicle.

[0055] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that when another vehicle enters the operation support area from the front of the host vehicle, operation support (notification for alerting) for the driver is started based on the iris reference line that is the reference for the driver's field of view. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

[0056] As described above with reference to FIG. 5, when the host vehicle overtakes the preceding other vehicle X2 (when the other vehicle enters the driving support area from in front of the driving support area), since the driver can recognize the presence of the other vehicle X2, if a notification for alerting is issued despite the driver being able to visually recognize the other vehicle X2, there is a possibility that the driver may feel bothered by the notification.

[0057] Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, it is determined whether to start driving support (notification for alerting) for the driver based on the ellipse reference line that serves as a reference for the driver's field of view.

[0058] Note that an ellipse is an ellipse representing the eye ranges of the driver's right eye and left eye (which statistically represents the distribution of the positions of the driver's eyes) defined in ISO 4513 in a side view and a plan view. The ellipse reference line in the present embodiment is a reference line in the vehicle width direction (left - right direction) shown on the ellipse. The ellipse reference line can be set for each vehicle type, for example, in accordance with Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS D 0021; Driver Eye Range of Automobiles).

[0059] As shown in FIG. 8(A), when the host vehicle overtakes the preceding other vehicle X2, when the other vehicle X2 is located in front of the ellipse reference line, that is, when the rear end of the other vehicle X2 is located in front of the ellipse reference line, the driver can visually recognize the entire other vehicle X2. Therefore, when the rear end of the other vehicle X2 is located in front of the ellipse reference line, a notification for alerting is not necessary.

[0060] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 8(B), when the host vehicle overtakes the preceding other vehicle X2, if the other vehicle X2 is located on the eclipse reference line, although the driver cannot visually recognize the entire other vehicle X2, a part of it can be visually recognized. Therefore, when the other vehicle X2 is located on the eclipse reference line, a notification for alerting is not essential. Therefore, the state where the other vehicle X2 is located on the eclipse reference line can be said to be a state where, in consideration of the balance between safety and the annoyance of the notification for alerting, the notification for alerting may be implemented at an arbitrary timing as necessary.

[0061] Then, as shown in Fig. 8(C), when the host vehicle overtakes the preceding other vehicle X2, when the other vehicle X2 is located behind the eclipse reference line, that is, when the front end of the other vehicle X2 is located behind the eclipse reference line, the driver can no longer visually recognize the other vehicle X2. Therefore, when the front end of the other vehicle X2 is located behind the eclipse reference line, a notification for alerting is essential.

[0062] Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the other vehicle enters the driving support area from in front of the driving support area, it is decided to implement the notification for alerting when the front end of the other vehicle X2 reaches the eclipse reference line. In other words, when the other vehicle enters the driving support area from in front of the driving support area, the implementation of the notification for alerting is restricted until the front end of the other vehicle X2 reaches the eclipse reference line.

[0063] Fig. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the details of the driving support control for the other vehicle that has entered the driving support area from in front of the host vehicle. The control device 5 repeatedly executes this routine at a predetermined calculation cycle. In Fig. 9, since the contents of the processes in steps S11 to S13, S15 to S17 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the explanation thereof is omitted here.

[0064] In step S21, the control device 5 determines whether a vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from the front of the host vehicle is located behind the Eclipse reference line, that is, whether the front end of the vehicle has reached the Eclipse reference line. If the front end of a vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from the front of the host vehicle has reached the Eclipse reference line, the control device 5 proceeds to the process of step S15. On the other hand, if the front end of a vehicle that has entered the driving assistance area from the front of the host vehicle has not reached the Eclipse reference line, the control device 5 ends the current process. That is, the execution of the notification for alerting is restricted.

[0065] As described above, the control device 5 according to the present embodiment detects that a vehicle (moving object) existing around the host vehicle has entered the driving assistance area set around the host vehicle, and when the vehicle enters the driving assistance area from the front of the driving assistance area, the control device 5 is configured to perform driving assistance based on the positional relationship between the vehicle and the Eclipse reference line set according to the type (vehicle type) of the host vehicle.

[0066] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to perform driving assistance after determining to what extent the vehicle is visible from the host vehicle based on the positional relationship between the vehicle and the Eclipse reference line of the host vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate driving assistance for the driver of the host vehicle.

[0067] In particular, when the control device 5 according to the present embodiment determines that the vehicle is located behind the Eclipse reference line, that is, when the front end position of the vehicle and the Eclipse reference line of the host vehicle are at the same position, the control device 5 is configured to perform driving assistance and, as the driving assistance, is configured to perform a notification for alerting the driver via the HMI 3 (notification device) that notifies the driver of the host vehicle.

[0068] Therefore, it is possible to suppress the situation where a notification for alerting the driver is performed when the driver of the host vehicle can see the vehicle.

[0069] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the above embodiments merely show some application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

[0070] For example, in the above first embodiment, when another vehicle enters the driving assistance area from the front of the host vehicle, the control device 5 is configured to perform driving assistance when the front end position of the other vehicle and the front end position of the driving assistance area are at the same position. However, the control device 5 may be configured to perform driving assistance when the interval in the vehicle longitudinal direction between the front end position of the other vehicle and the front end position of the driving assistance area becomes equal to or less than a predetermined interval. That is, considering risks such as when the driver overlooks another vehicle, the notification for alerting may be made slightly earlier compared to the first embodiment. Thereby, while achieving a balance between safety and the annoyance of the notification for alerting, it is possible to notify the driver for alerting.

[0071] Also, for example, in the above first embodiment, the front end position of the driving assistance area is set to the same position as the front end position of the host vehicle. However, the front end position of the driving assistance area may be set to any position from the front end position of the host vehicle to the Ailipusi reference line.

[0072] Also, for example, in the above second embodiment, when another vehicle enters the driving assistance area from the front of the host vehicle, driving assistance is performed when the front end of the other vehicle reaches the Ailipusi reference line. However, considering risks such as when the driver overlooks another vehicle, driving assistance may be performed at any timing when the other vehicle is located on the Ailipusi reference line. Thereby, while achieving a balance between safety and the annoyance of the notification for alerting, it is possible to notify the driver for alerting.

[0073] Further, in the above-described embodiment, the computer program (for example, driving support control) executed in the control device 5 may be provided in a form recorded on a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium.

Explanation of Signs

[0074] 5 Control device

Claims

1. A control device configured to detect that a moving object existing around a vehicle has entered a support area set around the vehicle, and when the moving object enters the support area from the front of the support area, perform driving support based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on the positional relationship between the moving object and an ellipse reference line set for each vehicle. A control device configured to perform driving support when the front end position of the moving object and the front end position of the support area are in the same position. The control device according to claim 1.

2. The control device according to claim 1, configured to perform driving support when the front end position of the moving object and the front end position of the support area are in the same position. The control device according to claim 1.

3. The control device according to claim 1, configured to perform driving support when the moving object is within the support area. The control device according to claim 1.

4. The control device according to claim 3, configured to determine that the moving object is within the support area when the front end position of the moving object and the front end position of the support area are in the same position. The control device according to claim 3.

5. The control device according to claim 1, configured to perform driving support when the interval in the vehicle longitudinal direction between the front end position of the moving object and the front end position of the support area is equal to or less than a predetermined interval. The control device according to claim 1.

6. The front end position of the support area is in the same position as the front end position of the vehicle. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The front end of the support area is located between the front end position of the vehicle and the ellipse reference line set for each vehicle. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. The control device according to claim 1, configured to perform driving support when the moving object is located on the ellipse reference line. The control device according to claim 1.

9. The control device according to claim 1, configured to perform driving support when the front end position of the moving object and the ellipse reference line are in the same position. The control device according to claim 1.

10. The control device according to claim 1, configured to perform driving support when the moving object is located behind the ellipse reference line. The control device according to claim 1.

11. The control device according to claim 10, configured to determine that the moving object is located behind the ellipse reference line when the front end position of the moving object and the ellipse reference line are in the same position. The control device according to claim 10.

12. As the driving support, it is configured to give a warning notice to the driver of the vehicle via a notification device that gives a notice. The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and claims 8 to 11.

13. A driving support method by a control device that performs driving support for a vehicle, detecting that a moving object existing around the vehicle has entered a support area set around the vehicle, when the moving object enters the support area from the front of the support area, performing driving support based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on the positional relationship between the moving object and an ellipse reference line set for each of the moving object and the vehicle. Driving support method.

14. detecting that a moving object existing around the vehicle has entered a support area set around the vehicle, when the moving object enters the support area from the front of the support area, a computer program that causes a computer to execute a process of performing driving support based on the positional relationship between the front end position of the moving object and the vehicle, or based on the positional relationship between the moving object and an ellipse reference line set for each of the moving object and the vehicle.

Images