Driving assistance system

Abstract

To prevent unnecessary driving assistance from being provided to a driver.SOLUTION: A driving assistance device for a vehicle is configured to: issue a primary warning when a predetermined target present around the own vehicle enters an assistance area set around the own vehicle; issue a secondary warning when a direction indicator of the own vehicle is operated while the primary warning is being performed; and change the content of the secondary warning depending on whether or not the own vehicle lane and an adjacent lane on the indicated direction side of the direction indicator are congested.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a blind spot monitor device that notifies the driver of the presence of another vehicle in the area behind the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2012 / 172591 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane are congested and the driver changes lanes to the adjacent lane and cuts in between the vehicle ahead and the vehicle behind the adjacent lane, the driver is likely to be aware of the vehicle behind. In addition, because the traffic is congested and both the vehicle and the vehicle in the adjacent lane are traveling at very slow speeds, the risk of contact when cutting in is low.

[0005] Therefore, with conventional blind spot monitor devices, when changing lanes into an adjacent lane when the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane are congested, there is a risk that unnecessary warnings that the driver may find annoying may be issued.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has an object to prevent unnecessary warnings from being given to the driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, a vehicle driving assistance device according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to issue a primary warning when a predetermined target present around the vehicle enters an assistance area set around the vehicle, issue a secondary warning when the vehicle's turn signal is operated while the primary warning is being issued, and change the content of the secondary warning depending on whether the vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested or not.

[0008] Furthermore, a vehicle driving assistance device according to one aspect of the present invention is configured to issue a primary warning when a predetermined target present around the vehicle enters an assistance area set around the vehicle, and if the vehicle's turn signal is operated while the primary warning is being issued, issue a secondary warning different from the primary warning if the vehicle's lane and adjacent lanes in the direction indicated by the turn signal are not congested, and continue issuing the primary warning if the vehicle's lane and adjacent lanes in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to these aspects of the present invention, when the vehicle's own lane and adjacent lanes are congested, the content of the secondary warning is changed or the primary warning is continued compared to when there is no congestion, thereby preventing unnecessary warnings from being issued to the driver. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a driving assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a driving assistance area that is set in advance around a vehicle. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene in which a lane change is performed when the current lane and adjacent lanes are congested. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart illustrating driving assistance control according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, like components are designated by like reference numerals.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a driving assistance device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The driving assistance device 100 includes a surrounding sensor 1, a vehicle sensor 2, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 3, and a control device 4. The surrounding sensor 1, the vehicle sensor 2, the HMI 3, and the control device 4 are communicably connected to each other via an in-vehicle network 7 that complies with a standard such as a controller area network.

[0014] The surrounding sensor 1 is a sensor for generating surrounding data that represents the situation around a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "host vehicle") for which driving assistance is provided by the driving assistance device 100. In this embodiment, the surrounding sensor 1 includes one or more external cameras 11 for capturing images of the surroundings of the host vehicle including the area ahead of the host vehicle, and one or more distance measuring sensors 12 for measuring distances to various targets such as other vehicles, pedestrians, and buildings that exist around the host vehicle.

[0015] The external camera 11 captures the surroundings of the vehicle at a predetermined frame rate (for example, 10 [Hz] to 40 [Hz]) and generates a surrounding image showing the surroundings of the vehicle. Every time the external camera 11 generates a surrounding image, it transmits the generated surrounding image to the control device 4 as surrounding data.

[0016] The distance measurement sensor 12 irradiates a distance measurement area around the vehicle (forward, side, and rearward) with laser light, radio waves, ultrasonic waves, or the like, and receives reflected light of the irradiated laser light or reflected waves of the irradiated radio waves or ultrasonic waves. The distance measurement sensor 12 then measures the distance to various targets present within the distance measurement area based on the received reflected light or reflected waves. The distance measurement sensor 12 transmits distance measurement data, which associates the distance to each target with coordinate information of each target, to the control device 4 as peripheral data. Examples of the distance measurement sensor 12 include a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) that irradiates radar light and measures distance based on the reflected light, and a millimeter-wave radar sensor that irradiates radio waves and measures distance based on the reflected waves.

[0017] The vehicle sensor 2 is a sensor for generating vehicle data that indicates the status of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the vehicle sensor 2 includes a speed sensor 21 that generates speed data that indicates the traveling speed of the vehicle, and a turn signal operation sensor 22 that generates turn signal operation data that indicates the operation state of the turn signal (blinker) of the vehicle. However, the vehicle sensor 2 is not limited to these sensors. The vehicle sensor 2 transmits each acquired data to the control device 4 as vehicle data.

[0018] The HMI 3 is a user interface for exchanging information between the vehicle and its occupants. The HMI 3 includes an output device 31 for notifying the vehicle occupant through the vehicle occupant's bodily senses (for example, sight, hearing, touch, etc.), and an input device 32 for the vehicle occupant to perform input operations and response operations. In this embodiment, the output device 31 includes displays (for example, a meter display, a center display, a head-up display, etc.) 311, a speaker 312, and an LED indicator lamp 313, and the input device 32 includes a touch panel 321 and a microphone 322.

[0019] The HMI 3 displays information (e.g., text information or image information) corresponding to a display signal received from the control device 4 on a display 311, and outputs sound corresponding to a sound signal from a speaker 312. The HMI 3 also transmits data input by a vehicle occupant via a panel or voice input (hereinafter referred to as "occupant input data") to the control device 4 via the input device 32.

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

[0021] The control device 4 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) including a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, and a processing unit 43.

[0022] The communication unit 41 includes an interface circuit for connecting the control device 4 to the in-vehicle network 7. The communication unit 41 supplies various data received from the sensors 1 and 2, the HMI 3, etc. to the processing unit 43. The communication unit 41 also outputs various signals output from the processing unit 43 to the HMI 3, etc.

[0023] The storage unit 42 has a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid disk drive (SSD), or a semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used for processing by the processing unit 43.

[0024] The processing unit 43 has one or more central processing units (CPUs) and their peripheral circuits, and executes various computer programs stored in the storage unit 42. The processing unit 43 is, for example, a processor. The processing unit 43 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logic operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphics processing unit. The processing unit 43 executes processing in accordance with the computer programs, thereby functioning as a feature detection unit 51, a target detection unit 52, and a driving assistance unit 53, and operates as functional units (modules) that realize predetermined functions. In the following description, when processing is described using each of the functional units 51 to 53 as the subject, it indicates that the processing unit 43 is executing a program that realizes each of the functional units 51 to 53.

[0025] The following describes the specific processing carried out by the control device 4. That is, the details of the functional units 51 to 53 realized by the processing unit 43 executing processing according to a program will be described.

[0026] The feature detection unit 51 detects features based on the surrounding data received from the surrounding sensor 1. In this embodiment, the feature detection unit 51 detects lane markings, such as the current lane and adjacent lanes, based on the surrounding images received from the external camera 11. The feature detection unit 51 can detect lane markings, such as the current lane, based on the surrounding images received from the external camera 11, using image recognition techniques such as edge detection and semantic segmentation. The feature detection unit 51 can also detect lane markings, such as the current lane, by inputting the surrounding images received from the external camera 11 into a classifier that has been trained in advance to detect lane markings. The classifier can be, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) having multiple convolution layers connected in series from the input side to the output side. Images containing lane markings are input to the CNN in advance as training data, and the CNN operates as a classifier that detects lane markings. Note that the method for detecting features is not limited to this method, and various known methods may be used for detection.

[0027] The target detection unit 52 detects other vehicles present around the host vehicle based on the surrounding data received from the surrounding sensor 1. The target detection unit 52 can detect other vehicles present around the host vehicle, for example, by grouping, among multiple reflection points detected by the distance measurement sensor 12, reflection points that satisfy a predetermined condition as reflection points of laser light or the like reflected from the same object. The target detection unit 52 then calculates the position and speed of the other vehicles by tracking the detected other vehicles in chronological order. The target detection unit 52 can also detect other vehicles by, for example, inputting the surrounding images received from the external camera 11 into a classifier (e.g., CNN) that has been trained in advance to detect other vehicles. Note that the method for detecting other vehicles is not limited to this method, and various known detection methods may be used.

[0028] When another vehicle recognized by the target detection unit 52 enters a driving assistance area (see FIG. 2 ) set in advance around the vehicle, the driving assistance unit 53 issues a primary warning to the driver via the HMI 3 to notify the driver that another vehicle is present in the driving assistance area. Furthermore, when a turn signal of the vehicle is operated while the primary warning is being issued, the driving assistance unit 53 issues a secondary warning, which is basically at a higher warning level than the primary warning, via the HMI 3. Examples of the primary and secondary warnings that can be implemented include a warning by lighting or flashing an LED indicator, a warning by a message, a warning by voice, and a physical warning by vibrating the steering wheel.

[0029] Hereinafter, the driving assistance provided by the driving assistance unit 53 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

[0030] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a driving assistance area that is set in advance around the vehicle. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a lane change is performed when the vehicle's lane and adjacent lanes are congested. Note that Fig. 3 shows only the driving assistance area on the right side of the vehicle to avoid cluttering the drawing.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2, the driving assistance area is an area on the side and rear of the vehicle that is difficult for the driver to see directly.

[0032] 3, when the own vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane are congested, if the driver changes lanes to the adjacent lane on the right side of the own vehicle's lane and cuts in between another vehicle V1 in front and another vehicle V2 behind the own vehicle, the driver is likely to be aware of the other vehicle V2 behind the own vehicle. In addition, because the congestion is such that both the own vehicle and the other vehicles V1 and V2 in the adjacent lane are traveling at very slow speeds, the risk of contact when cutting in is low.

[0033] In such a case, if a secondary warning with a higher warning level than the primary warning is issued due to the turn signal being operated, some drivers may find the secondary warning annoying. Therefore, in this embodiment, the content of the secondary warning is changed depending on whether the own lane and adjacent lanes are congested or not.

[0034] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the driving assistance control according to this embodiment, which is performed by the driving assistance unit 53 and, in turn, the control device 4. The control device 4 repeatedly executes this routine at a predetermined calculation period ΔT.

[0035] In step S1, the control device 4 determines whether or not another vehicle is present in the driving assistance area. If another vehicle is present in the driving assistance area, the control device 4 proceeds to the processing of step S2. On the other hand, if another vehicle is not present in the driving assistance area, the control device 4 ends this processing.

[0036] In step S2, the control device 4 issues a primary warning. In this embodiment, as the primary warning, the control device 4 turns on the LED indicator lamp 313. The installation position of the LED indicator lamp 313 is not particularly limited as long as it is a position visible to the driver, but in this embodiment, the LED indicator lamp 313 is provided on the mirror surface side of the outer rearview mirror (also called a side mirror or door mirror).

[0037] In step S3, the control device 4 determines whether the turn indicator is operating based on the turn indicator operation data. If the turn indicator is operating, the control device 4 proceeds to the processing of step S4. On the other hand, if the turn indicator is not operating, the control device 4 ends this processing.

[0038] In step S4, the control device 4 determines whether the host vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested. In this embodiment, the control device 4 determines that the host vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested if the host vehicle's traveling speed is within a predetermined slow speed range, there are other vehicles in front of and behind the host vehicle's lane that are traveling within the slow speed range, and there are other vehicles in front of and behind the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn signal that are traveling within the slow speed range. In this embodiment, the slow speed range is a speed range from 5 km / h to 10 km / h, but it is not limited to this speed range and can be set as appropriate.

[0039] If the current vehicle lane and the adjacent lane on the side indicated by the turn signal are congested, the control device 4 proceeds to the process of step S5. On the other hand, if the current vehicle lane and the adjacent lane on the side indicated by the turn signal are not congested, the control device 4 proceeds to the process of step S6.

[0040] In step S5, the control device 4 issues a secondary warning for when there is a traffic jam. The secondary warning for when there is a traffic jam according to this embodiment is a warning with a higher warning level than the primary warning, but is a warning with a lower warning level than the secondary warning for when there is no traffic jam, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the control device 4 flashes the LED indicator lamp that was turned on for the primary warning as the secondary warning for when there is a traffic jam.

[0041] However, in another embodiment, the secondary warning for traffic congestion may be set to the same warning level as the primary warning. That is, when the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested, the primary warning may be continued.

[0042] In step S6, the control device 4 issues a secondary warning for non-congestion situations. The secondary warning for non-congestion situations is set to a warning with a higher warning level than the primary warning and the secondary warning for congestion situations. In this embodiment, the control device 4 issues the secondary warning for non-congestion situations by flashing the LED indicator lamp that was turned on for the primary warning and by issuing an audio warning (for example, sounding a buzzer). Of course, instead of or in addition to the audio warning, a physical warning such as vibrating the steering wheel may be issued.

[0043] The vehicle driving assistance device 100 according to the present embodiment described above is configured to issue a primary warning when a predetermined target present in the vicinity of the vehicle enters a driving assistance area set around the vehicle, issue a secondary warning when the turn signal of the vehicle is operated while the primary warning is being issued, and change the content of the secondary warning depending on whether the vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested or not.

[0044] This allows a secondary warning appropriate for a traffic jam to be implemented during traffic congestion, and a secondary warning appropriate for a non-traffic jam to be implemented during non-traffic congestion, thereby preventing the driver from feeling bothered by the secondary warning. In other words, it is possible to prevent unnecessary warnings that the driver finds bothersome from being implemented.

[0045] Specifically, in this embodiment, the driving assistance device 100 is configured to lower the warning level of the secondary warning when the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side indicated by the turn signal are congested compared to when there is no congestion. The secondary warning for congestion issued when the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side indicated by the turn signal are congested has a higher warning level than the primary warning.

[0046] Therefore, while the primary warning alerts the driver that another vehicle is in the driving assistance area, excessive secondary warnings can be prevented when changing lanes during congestion. Furthermore, since the secondary warning, which has a higher warning level than the primary warning, can be issued when changing lanes, the risk of a collision when changing lanes can be reduced.

[0047] In another embodiment, the driving assistance device 100 is configured to issue a secondary warning similar to the primary warning when the host vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn indicator are congested, and to issue a secondary warning with a higher warning level than the primary warning when the host vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn indicator are not congested. In other words, in another embodiment, the driving assistance device 100 is configured to issue a primary warning when a predetermined object existing around the host vehicle enters an assistance area set around the host vehicle, and to issue a secondary warning different from the primary warning when the host vehicle's turn indicator is operated while the primary warning is being issued if the host vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn indicator are not congested, and to continue the primary warning if the host vehicle's lane and the adjacent lane in the direction indicated by the turn indicator are congested.

[0048] With this configuration, the secondary warning, which has a higher warning level than the primary warning, is issued when there is no congestion, reducing the risk of a collision when changing lanes, and the primary warning can be continued when there is congestion, preventing the driver from feeling that the secondary warning is annoying. In other words, it is possible to prevent the issuance of unnecessary warnings that the driver finds annoying.

[0049] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments merely illustrate some of the application examples of the present invention, and it is not intended that the technical scope of the present invention be limited to the specific configurations of the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the computer program executed in the control device 4 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 symbols]

[0050] 100 Driving assistance device

Claims

1. A driving assistance device for a vehicle, issuing a primary warning when a predetermined target present around the vehicle enters a support area set around the vehicle; When a turn signal of the vehicle is operated while the first warning is being given, a second warning is given; The content of the secondary warning is changed depending on whether the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side of the direction indicated by the turn indicator are congested or not. Driving assistance device.

2. When the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side of the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested, the warning level of the secondary warning is lowered compared to when the vehicle is not congested. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 .

3. The secondary warning, which is issued when the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side of the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested, has a warning level higher than that of the primary warning. The driving assistance device according to claim 2 .

4. When the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side of the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested, a warning similar to the primary warning is given as the secondary warning, When the vehicle's own lane and the adjacent lane on the side of the direction indicated by the turn indicator are not congested, a warning with a higher warning level than the primary warning is implemented as the secondary warning. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 .

5. A driving assistance device for a vehicle, issuing a primary warning when a predetermined target present around the vehicle enters a support area set around the vehicle; When a turn signal of the vehicle is operated while the primary warning is being given, if the vehicle's own lane and adjacent lanes in the direction indicated by the turn signal are not congested, a secondary warning different from the primary warning is given, and if the vehicle's own lane and adjacent lanes in the direction indicated by the turn signal are congested, the primary warning is continued. Driving assistance device.

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