Driving support device

Abstract

To enable driving support that allows a vehicle to pass through intersections appropriately according to traffic conditions near the intersections.SOLUTION: A driving support device 100 includes: first determination means 101 for determining whether an own vehicle 1 is near an intersection 3; second determination means 102 for determining whether a preceding vehicle 2 located ahead of the own vehicle 1 is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state; third determination means 103 for determining whether the positional relationship between the preceding vehicle 2 and the intersection 3 satisfies predetermined conditions; and control means 104 for performing predetermined control when it is determined that the own vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3, and the preceding vehicle 2 is either stopped or in the predetermined deceleration state, and the predetermined conditions are satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device that assists in driving a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a driving assistance device that includes a first driving assistance means that prompts the vehicle to accelerate in the section before the traffic light so that the vehicle can pass through the traffic light when the light is green, and a second driving assistance means that prompts the vehicle to decelerate in the section before the traffic light when it is estimated from the current driving state of the vehicle that the vehicle will enter the traffic light when the light is red. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-191518 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In Patent Document 1, the traffic conditions near the intersection are not taken into consideration, and even if there is congestion ahead of the intersection, there is a possibility that the vehicle will be prompted to accelerate in the section before the traffic light so that the vehicle can pass through the green light. However, there may be a situation where the vehicle has no choice but to stop within the intersection due to congestion ahead of the intersection.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide driving assistance that enables a vehicle to pass through an intersection appropriately in accordance with the traffic conditions near the intersection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The driving assistance device of the present invention is characterized by comprising a first determination means for determining whether the host vehicle is near an intersection, a second determination means for determining whether a preceding vehicle located in front of the host vehicle is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state, a third determination means for determining whether the positional relationship between the preceding vehicle and the intersection satisfies a predetermined condition, and a control means for performing a predetermined control when it is determined that the host vehicle is near an intersection and the preceding vehicle is stopped or in the predetermined deceleration state and the predetermined condition is satisfied. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize driving assistance that enables a vehicle to pass through an intersection appropriately in accordance with the traffic conditions near the intersection. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a driving assistance device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by a driving assistance device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a process executed by the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A driving assistance device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a first determination means 101 for determining whether the host vehicle 1 is near an intersection 3, a second determination means 102 for determining whether a preceding vehicle 2 located in front of the host vehicle 1 is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state, a third determination means 103 for determining whether the positional relationship between the preceding vehicle 2 and the intersection 3 satisfies predetermined conditions, and a control means 104 for performing predetermined control when it is determined that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3, the preceding vehicle 2 is stopped or in the predetermined deceleration state, and the predetermined conditions are satisfied. This makes it possible to realize driving assistance that enables the vehicle 1 to pass through the intersection 3 appropriately in accordance with the traffic conditions around the intersection 3. [Example]

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the driving support device 100. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the driving support device 100. Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining processing executed by the driving support device 100. 3, 1 is the host vehicle and 2 is a forward vehicle. The forward vehicle 2 refers to the vehicle traveling in the same lane as the host vehicle 1 and located in front of the host vehicle 1 and closest to the host vehicle 1.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, a driving assistance device 100 mounted on a vehicle 1 is connected to an infrastructure sensor 201, a vehicle-to-vehicle distance sensor 202, and a vehicle speed sensor 203. The infrastructure sensor 201 detects that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3. The infrastructure sensor 201 may detect that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 by, for example, image recognition using an in-vehicle camera. Alternatively, the infrastructure sensor 201 may detect that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 based on map information using GPS. Alternatively, the infrastructure sensor 201 may detect that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 by communication with infrastructure, etc. (V2X (Vehicle to X)).

[0012] The inter-vehicle sensor 202 detects the inter-vehicle distance γ between the host vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 2. The inter-vehicle sensor 202 also detects the illumination of the stop lamps (brake lamps) 2a of the preceding vehicle 2. The inter-vehicle sensor 202 may measure the inter-vehicle distance and detect the illumination of the stop lamps 2a by image recognition using a dual camera. The inter-vehicle sensor 202 may also measure the inter-vehicle distance by radar and detect the illumination of the stop lamps 2a by image recognition using an on-board camera.

[0013] The vehicle speed sensor 203 detects the speed of the host vehicle 1 .

[0014] Furthermore, the driving assistance device 100 is connected to a notification device 301 and a braking device 302 . The notification device 301 may be any device that notifies the driver of the vehicle 1, and may be, for example, a device that notifies auditorily by sound, or a device that notifies visually by a meter, a head-up display, or the like. The braking device 302 decelerates the host vehicle 1. Automatic deceleration can be achieved in conjunction with a preceding vehicle following control (adaptive cruise) device. It can also be incorporated as part of an automatic driving function. Although this embodiment is configured to include both the notification device 301 and the braking device 302, as will be described below, it is also possible to include only one of them.

[0015] The driving assistance device 100 includes a vehicle position determination unit 101, a forward vehicle driving state determination unit 102, a forward vehicle position determination unit 103, and a control unit 104, and assists driving by at least one of notifying the driver of the vehicle 1 and automatically decelerating the vehicle 1.

[0016] The host vehicle position determination unit 101 determines whether the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 based on the detection result of the infrastructure sensor 201. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the host vehicle position determination unit 101 determines that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 when the host vehicle 1 is before the intersection 3 and the distance α between the host vehicle 1 and the traffic light 3a at the end of the intersection (the traffic light 3a on the far side of the intersection 3 relative to the host vehicle 1) is within a predetermined distance. The host vehicle position determination unit 101 also calculates the horizontal distance β between the host vehicle 1 and the traffic light 3a at the end of the intersection. In this example, the position of the traffic light 3a at the end of the intersection is set as the reference position of the intersection 3. In this example, the host vehicle position determination unit 101 functions as a first determination means as defined in the present invention.

[0017] The forward vehicle traveling state determination unit 102 determines whether the forward vehicle 2 is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state based on the detection result of the vehicle-to-vehicle distance sensor 202. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3(b), when the vehicle-to-vehicle distance sensor 202 detects that the stop lamps 2a of the forward vehicle 2 are illuminated, the forward vehicle traveling state determination unit 102 calculates the relative speed between the host vehicle 1 and the forward vehicle 2 based on the inter-vehicle distance γ detected by the vehicle-to-vehicle distance sensor 202. Then, the forward vehicle traveling state determination unit 102 determines whether the forward vehicle 2 is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state based on the speed of the host vehicle 1 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 203 and the relative speed. For example, the relative speed of the host vehicle 1 with respect to the forward vehicle 2 is calculated. In this case, assuming that the speed of the host vehicle 1 is 30 km / h, if the speed of the forward vehicle 2 is 30 km / h, the relative speed is 0 km / h, and if the speed of the forward vehicle 2 is 20 km / h, the relative speed is 10 km / h. When the speed of the host vehicle 1 matches the relative speed, the vehicle 2 ahead is stopped. When the relative speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined speed, the vehicle 2 ahead is in a predetermined deceleration state. In the predetermined deceleration state, the vehicle 2 ahead is slower than the vehicle 1 ahead due to deceleration, and the vehicle 1 ahead is approaching the vehicle 2 ahead. In this embodiment, the vehicle ahead travel state determination unit 102 functions as the second determination means of the present invention.

[0018] The forward vehicle position determination unit 103 determines whether the positional relationship between the forward vehicle 2 and the intersection 3 satisfies a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is determined from the viewpoint that the forward vehicle 2 is within the intersection 3 or beyond the intersection 3, and therefore the host vehicle 1 is likely to stop within the intersection 3. Specifically, the forward vehicle position determination unit 103 determines whether the absolute value of the difference between the horizontal distance β between the host vehicle 1 and a traffic light 3a beyond the intersection and the inter-vehicle distance γ between the host vehicle 1 and the forward vehicle 2 is within a predetermined distance. When the absolute value of the difference between the horizontal distance β and the inter-vehicle distance γ is within the predetermined distance, the forward vehicle 2 is located near directly below the traffic light 3a, and therefore the host vehicle 1 is likely to stop within the intersection 3. In this embodiment, the forward vehicle position determination unit 103 functions as the third determination means of the present invention.

[0019] The control unit 104 performs predetermined control when the determination units 101 to 103 determine that the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3, the preceding vehicle 2 is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state, and the positional relationship between the preceding vehicle 2 and the intersection 3 satisfies predetermined conditions. As the predetermined control, for example, a predetermined notification is given to the driver of the host vehicle 1 using the notification device 301. The predetermined notification is to urge the host vehicle 1 to stop before the intersection 3 because there is a possibility that the host vehicle 1 will stop in the intersection 3 if it continues on its current path. Furthermore, as the predetermined control, in addition to or instead of giving the predetermined notification, a predetermined braking may be performed using the braking device 302. The predetermined braking is to decelerate the host vehicle 1 and stop it before the intersection 3 because there is a possibility that the host vehicle 1 will stop in the intersection 3 if it continues on its current path. In this embodiment, the control unit 104 functions as a control means as defined in the present invention.

[0020] The driving assistance device 100 configured as described above is configured by a computer device including, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The functions of the driving assistance device 100 may be realized as part of the functions of an existing electronic control device.

[0021] Next, an example of the process executed by the driving assistance device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S1, the vehicle position determination unit 101 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 based on the detection result of the infrastructure sensor 201. As shown in FIG. 3(a), the vehicle position determination unit 101 determines that the vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3 when the vehicle 1 is before the intersection 3 and the distance α between the vehicle 1 and the traffic light 3a at the end of the intersection is within a predetermined distance. If it is determined that the vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3, the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3, the process returns to step S1.

[0022] In step S2, the vehicle position determination unit 101 determines the horizontal distance β between the vehicle 1 and the traffic light 3a ahead of the intersection.

[0023] In step S3, the forward vehicle driving state determination unit 102 determines whether or not the inter-vehicle sensor 202 has detected the illumination of the stop lamps 2a of the forward vehicle 2, as shown in FIG. 3(b). Detecting the illumination of the stop lamps 2a indicates that the forward vehicle 2 has detected an intention to transition to a deceleration state. If the illumination of the stop lamps 2a of the forward vehicle 2 has been detected, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the illumination of the stop lamps 2a of the forward vehicle 2 has not been detected, the process returns to step S1.

[0024] In step S4, the forward vehicle driving state determination unit 102 calculates the relative speed between the host vehicle 1 and the forward vehicle 2 based on the inter-vehicle distance γ detected by the inter-vehicle sensor 202, as shown in Fig. 3(b). As described above, the relative speed of the host vehicle 1 with respect to the forward vehicle 2 is calculated.

[0025] In step S5, the forward vehicle driving state determination unit 102 determines whether the speed of the subject vehicle 1 matches the relative speed based on the speed of the subject vehicle 1 detected by the vehicle speed sensor 203 and the relative speed calculated in step S4. If the speed of the subject vehicle 1 matches the relative speed, as shown in Fig. 3(b), the subject vehicle 2 is considered to be stopped, and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the speed of the subject vehicle 1 does not match the relative speed, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0026] In step S6, the forward vehicle travel state determination unit 102 determines whether the relative speed calculated in step S4 is equal to or greater than a predetermined speed. If the relative speed is equal to or greater than the predetermined speed, it is determined that the forward vehicle 2 is in a predetermined deceleration state, and the process proceeds to step S7. In the predetermined deceleration state, as shown in FIG. 3(c), the forward vehicle 2 is slower than the host vehicle 1 due to deceleration, and the host vehicle 1 is approaching the forward vehicle 2. On the other hand, if the relative speed is smaller than the predetermined speed, it is assumed that there is enough room to stop beyond the intersection 3, and the forward vehicle 2 is traveling at a certain speed (for example, a speed similar to that of the host vehicle 1, a speed faster than the host vehicle 1, or a speed slightly slower than the host vehicle 1), as shown in FIG. 3(d).

[0027] In step S7, the forward vehicle position determination unit 103 determines whether the absolute value |β-γ| of the difference between the horizontal distance β between the host vehicle 1 and the traffic light 3a at the end of the intersection and the inter-vehicle distance γ between the host vehicle 1 and the forward vehicle 2 is within a predetermined distance x. If |β-γ|≦x, the forward vehicle 2 is located near directly below the traffic light 3a, as shown in Figure 3(b), and the process proceeds to step S8. If |β-γ|≦x is not true, the process returns to step S1.

[0028] In step S8, the control unit 104 issues a predetermined notification to the driver of the host vehicle 1 using the notification device 301. The predetermined notification is intended to urge the driver to stop before the intersection 3 because there is a possibility that the host vehicle 1 will stop within the intersection 3 if it continues on its current course. Note that in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the predetermined notification is issued in step S8, but in addition to or instead of issuing the predetermined notification, a predetermined braking may be performed using the braking device 302. The predetermined braking is intended to decelerate the host vehicle 1 and stop it before the intersection 3 because there is a possibility that the host vehicle 1 will stop within the intersection 3 if it continues on its current course.

[0029] As described above, when the host vehicle 1 is near the intersection 3, the vehicle 2 ahead is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state, and it is determined that the positional relationship between the vehicle ahead 2 and the intersection 3 satisfies predetermined conditions, there is a possibility that the host vehicle 1 will stop within the intersection 3 if it continues on this path. Therefore, at least one of the following controls is performed: the notification device 301 is used to issue a notification urging the host vehicle 1 to stop before the intersection 3, and the braking device 302 is used to apply the brakes so that the host vehicle 1 stops before the intersection 3. In this way, driving assistance can be realized that enables the host vehicle 1 to pass through the intersection 3 appropriately in accordance with the traffic conditions near the intersection 3.

[0030] Furthermore, when the illumination of the stop lamp 2a of the vehicle ahead 2 is detected, it is determined whether the vehicle ahead 2 is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state based on the speed of the vehicle 1 and the relative speed between the vehicle ahead 1 and the vehicle ahead 2 (steps S3 to S6), so that the traveling state of the vehicle ahead 2 can be accurately determined.

[0031] Furthermore, even when illumination of the stop lamps 2a of the preceding vehicle 2 is detected, if the relative speed is lower than a predetermined speed, the predetermined notification is not made (No in step S6). In this case, as shown in FIG. 3(d), it is assumed that there is enough room to stop beyond the intersection 3, and the preceding vehicle 2 is traveling at a certain speed (for example, a speed similar to that of the host vehicle 1, a speed higher than that of the host vehicle 1, or a speed slightly lower than that of the host vehicle 1). Therefore, the host vehicle 1 is unlikely to stop within the intersection 3, and the predetermined notification is not made, thereby avoiding unnecessary notifications. Step S6 determines whether the speed of the host vehicle 1 is greater than the speed of the preceding vehicle 2 by a predetermined speed or more. In this embodiment, the relative speed of the host vehicle 1 with respect to the preceding vehicle 2 is calculated, but the relative speed of the preceding vehicle 2 with respect to the host vehicle 1 may also be calculated. In this case, assuming that the speed of the host vehicle 1 is 30 km / h, if the speed of the preceding vehicle 2 is 30 km / h, the relative speed will be 0 km / h, and if the speed of the preceding vehicle 2 is 20 km / h, the relative speed will be -10 km / h, and so in step S6, it may be determined whether the relative speed is equal to or less than a predetermined speed.

[0032] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, each embodiment merely shows a specific example of how the present invention can be implemented. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to each embodiment. Various modifications of the present invention are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention, and these modifications are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. Although this embodiment is directed to an intersection, the present invention can also be applied to a crosswalk or a railroad crossing. In this case, a notification is given to encourage the vehicle 1 to stop before the crosswalk or railroad crossing so that the vehicle 1 does not stop on the crosswalk or in the railroad crossing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1: own vehicle, 2: forward vehicle, 2a: stop lamp, 3: intersection, 3a: traffic light, 100: driving assistance device, 101: own vehicle position determination unit, 102: forward vehicle driving state determination unit, 103: forward vehicle position determination unit, 104: control unit, 201: infrastructure sensor, 202: vehicle distance sensor, 203: vehicle speed sensor, 301: notification device, 302: braking device

Claims

1. a first determination means for determining whether the vehicle is near an intersection; a second determination means for determining whether a preceding vehicle located in front of the host vehicle is stopped or in a predetermined deceleration state; a third determination means for determining whether a positional relationship between the forward vehicle and the intersection satisfies a predetermined condition; a control means for performing a predetermined control when it is determined that the host vehicle is near an intersection, the preceding vehicle is stopped or in the predetermined deceleration state, and the predetermined conditions are satisfied.

2. 2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the second determination means, when detecting that the stop lamps of the forward vehicle are illuminated, determines whether the forward vehicle is stopped or in the predetermined deceleration state based on the speed of the host vehicle and the relative speed between the host vehicle and the forward vehicle.

3. 3. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the third determination means determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied when an absolute value of a difference between a horizontal distance between the host vehicle and a reference position of the intersection and a vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is within a predetermined distance.

4. 3. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined deceleration state is a state in which the speed of the host vehicle is greater than the speed of the preceding vehicle by a predetermined speed or more.

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