Driver assistance systems

Abstract

This system provides a driver assistance system that can reduce the possibility of a towing vehicle getting caught in a moving object when turning at an intersection. [Solution] A vehicle driving assistance system 10 is provided, in which, when a vehicle is towing a towed vehicle, the driver of the vehicle operates a turn signal, and while the operated turn signal is active there is a moving object in the direction of the operated turn signal, and the width of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is within a threshold, the vehicle's driving position in the vehicle width direction is offset in a direction away from the direction in which the turn signal was operated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving support system for vehicles.

Background Art

[0002] A driving support system for a vehicle is a system that is mounted on a vehicle, equipped with sensors such as cameras and radars, and supports operations such as acceleration, braking, and steering. In addition, the vehicle may be a towing vehicle that tows a towed vehicle. The towed vehicle has, for example, a cargo compartment, a loading platform, etc.

[0003] For example, in Patent Document 1, in a towing vehicle, after either a left turn or a right turn at an intersection, based on whether the towing vehicle can stop within the entry lane without protruding into the adjacent lane adjacent to the entry lane and the intersection behind the preceding vehicle, a driving support system that determines whether to enter the intersection is disclosed.

[0004] According to the driving support system of Patent Document 1, left and right turns can be made at an intersection without disturbing the surrounding traffic.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, compared with a normal vehicle, the above-mentioned towing vehicle has a larger inner wheel difference including the towed vehicle, so there is a high risk of involving moving objects such as pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles when starting at the time of turning at an intersection.

[0007] Furthermore, when turning right or left at an intersection, if the vehicle stops at the stop line of the intersection or sign, or when stopping using the automatic deceleration assistance of a driver assistance system, the position of the vehicle in the width direction relative to the road width is left to the driver. Therefore, for example, if the vehicle stops with an offset in the direction of the turn, the risk of hitting moving objects such as pedestrians, bicycles, and motorcycles increases.

[0008] One possible solution is to offset the vehicle's position away from the direction of the turn when starting to turn at an intersection. However, because towing vehicles, including the towed vehicle, are long, it is difficult to change direction after starting.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a driving assistance system that can reduce the possibility of a towing vehicle becoming entangled with a moving object when turning at an intersection. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The driver assistance system according to the present invention is a driver assistance system for a vehicle, characterized in that, when the vehicle is towing a towed vehicle, the driver of the vehicle operates a turn signal, and while the operated turn signal is active there is a moving object in the direction of the operated turn signal, and the width of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is within a threshold, the vehicle's travel position in the vehicle width direction is offset in a direction away from the direction in which the turn signal was operated. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the driver assistance system of the present invention, when a towing vehicle turns at an intersection, the vehicle's travel position can be offset in a direction away from the direction of the turn, thereby reducing the possibility of entangling a moving object. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows the configuration of a driver assistance system, which is an example of an embodiment. [Figure 2]This is a flowchart showing the flow of driver assistance control, which is one example of an embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the effect of a driver assistance control system, which is one example of an embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. In the following description, specific shapes, materials, directions, numerical values, etc., are examples to facilitate understanding of the present invention and can be appropriately modified according to the application, purpose, specifications, etc.

[0014] [Driving assistance system] The driver assistance system 10 will be explained using Figure 1.

[0015] The driver assistance system 10 is mounted on a vehicle and is equipped with external sensors 20 such as a camera 21 and radar, and is a system that assists in the operation of the accelerator, brakes, steering wheel, etc. The driver assistance system 10 of this embodiment is a system that assists the driver's driving operations, but the present invention is not limited to this. The driver assistance system of the present invention may also be applied to an autonomous driving system.

[0016] According to the driver assistance system 10, as will be explained in more detail later, when a towing vehicle turns at an intersection, the vehicle's position can be offset in a direction away from the direction of the turn to reduce the possibility of it getting caught in the moving object.

[0017] The vehicle in this embodiment is, for example, an electric vehicle (BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)), which runs by rotating a motor using electricity stored in a battery. Although the vehicle in this embodiment is an electric vehicle, the present invention is not limited to this. The vehicle of the present invention may be an engine-powered vehicle, a hybrid vehicle (HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle)), or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle)).

[0018] In addition, the vehicle of the present embodiment is a towing vehicle that tows a towed vehicle (trailer). The towed vehicle may have, for example, a cargo compartment, a loading platform, or the like.

[0019] The driving support system 10 includes in-vehicle devices, a steering actuator 40, and an ECU 50 (Electronic Control Unit), the details of which will be described later.

[0020] The ECU 50 includes an ADAS-ECU 51 (Advanced Driver Assistance System-ECU), a trailer brake control ECU 52, an accessory ECU 53, and a steering ECU 54. The ADAS-ECU 51, the trailer brake control ECU 52, the accessory ECU 53, and the steering ECU 54 are interconnected by a bus 59 to exchange information with each other. Note that the driving support system 10 may include other ECUs in addition to these.

[0021] Each ECU includes a processor represented by a CPU, a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, and an interface with an external device. Programs executed by the processor or data used by the processor for processing are stored in the storage device. Each ECU may include a plurality of processors, storage devices, interfaces, and the like.

[0022] The ADAS-ECU 51 comprehensively controls the advanced driving assistance system. An external sensor 20 that constitutes the in-vehicle device is connected to the ADAS-ECU 51. The external sensor 20 is a group of sensors used to detect the surrounding environment of the vehicle. This external sensor 20 includes, for example, a camera 21 that images the surrounding of the vehicle. The camera 21 includes a vehicle front camera that images the front of the vehicle and a peripheral monitoring camera that monitors the surrounding of the vehicle.

[0023] The external sensor 20 may include a millimeter-wave radar that transmits search waves and receives reflected waves. The millimeter-wave radar may use radio waves (e.g., millimeter waves) to detect objects such as a preceding vehicle that is stationary in front of the vehicle. The millimeter-wave radar may also detect objects by transmitting radio waves around the vehicle and receiving radio waves reflected by the object.

[0024] The external sensor 20 may include a lidar that scans in front of the vehicle. The lidar uses light to detect objects outside the vehicle. The lidar may detect an object by transmitting light around the vehicle and receiving the light reflected by an object to measure the distance to the reflection point.

[0025] The trailer brake control ECU 52 controls the brakes of the towed vehicle (trailer) being towed by the towing vehicle according to the situation. In this embodiment, the trailer brake control ECU 52 confirms whether a towed vehicle is present, that is, whether the vehicle is the towing vehicle.

[0026] The auxiliary ECU 53 controls the operation of various auxiliary devices and receives signals from switches and sensors that drive these devices. The auxiliary ECU 53 also receives a signal from the turn signal switch 22.

[0027] The steering ECU 54 is connected to the steering actuator 40 and controls the steering actuator 40. The steering actuator 40 may be a hydraulic power steering system or an EPS (Electric Power Steering) system.

[0028] As will be described in detail later, the steering ECU 54 controls the steering actuator 40 to offset the vehicle's position in the vehicle width direction away from the direction of the turn signal operation (outward direction from the turning direction) when the vehicle is a towing vehicle towing a towed vehicle, the driver of the vehicle has operated the turn signal, there is a moving object in the direction of the operated turn signal while the turn signal is operating, and the width of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is within a threshold.

[0029] According to the steering ECU54, as will be explained in more detail later, when a vehicle turns at an intersection, it is possible to reduce the possibility of hitting a pedestrian by offsetting the vehicle's position in a direction away from the direction of the turn (outward from the direction of the turn).

[0030] [Driving assistance control] Figure 2 will be used to explain the flow of driver assistance control.

[0031] The driver assistance control is performed by the CPU of each ECU 50 that constitutes the driver assistance system 10 described above, as follows: In step S11, the trailer brake control ECU 52 checks whether the vehicle is a towed vehicle. If the answer in step S11 is YES, the process proceeds to step S12.

[0032] Alternatively, in step S11, instead of using the trailer brake control ECU 52, the ADAS-ECU 51 may detect the towed vehicle behind using the surrounding surveillance camera and confirm whether the vehicle is a towed vehicle.

[0033] In step S12, the auxiliary ECU 53 checks whether the driver has activated the turn signal. If the answer in step S12 is YES, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0034] Alternatively, in step S12, instead of using the auxiliary ECU 53, the ADAS-ECU 51 may use a surrounding surveillance camera to capture images of the road surface paint and confirm whether it is a right-turn-only lane or a left-turn-only lane.

[0035] In step S13, the ADAS-ECU 51 uses the camera 21 to check whether there is a moving object in the direction of the turn signal that was operated in step S12 while the turn signal was in operation. The moving object includes pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. If the answer in step S13 is YES, the system proceeds to step S14.

[0036] In step S14, the ADAS-ECU 51 uses the camera 21 to check whether the width of the road the vehicle is traveling on is within a threshold. If the answer in step S14 is YES, the system proceeds to step S15.

[0037] In step S14, the steering ECU 54 controls the steering actuator 40 so that the vehicle's travel position in the vehicle width direction is offset in a direction away from the direction in which the turn signal was operated in step S12 (outward from the direction of the turn). At this time, the vehicle's travel position is offset so as not to exceed the road width recognized in step S14. This reduces the possibility of the vehicle (tow vehicle) getting caught in a moving object when turning at an intersection.

[0038] The effects of driver assistance control will be explained using Figure 3.

[0039] As shown in Figure 3(A), a vehicle equipped with a driver assistance system 10 and towing a towed vehicle attempts to turn left at an intersection, but attempts to stop because the intersection's traffic light is red. At this time, the driver of the vehicle activates the left turn signal, and while the left turn signal is activated, there is, for example, a pedestrian in the direction of the activated left turn signal.

[0040] In the above case, if the road width on which the vehicle is traveling is within the threshold, the steering actuator 40 steers the vehicle so that its position in the vehicle width direction is offset to the right (outward from the direction of the turn), away from the direction in which the left turn signal was activated, and the vehicle stops at the stop line.

[0041] As shown in Figure 3(B), a vehicle stopped offset to the right of the road width (outward from the direction of the turn) will attempt to make a wide left turn around the intersection. This allows the vehicle to make a left turn around the intersection without involving pedestrians on the left side.

[0042] The above effect is the same even when the traffic light at the intersection is green. The vehicle intends to turn left at the intersection, but slows down because the traffic light at the intersection is green. At this time, the driver of the vehicle activates the left turn signal, and there is a pedestrian in the direction of the activated left turn signal while it is active.

[0043] In the above case, if the road width on which the vehicle is traveling is within the threshold, the steering actuator 40 steers the vehicle so as to offset its position in the vehicle width direction to the right (outward from the direction of the turn), away from the direction in which the left turn signal was activated, while the vehicle decelerates and travels.

[0044] Furthermore, a vehicle traveling offset to the right (outside the direction of the turn) will attempt to make a wide left turn at the intersection. This allows the vehicle to make the left turn at the intersection without hitting pedestrians on the left side.

[0045] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and their modifications described above, and various changes and improvements are possible within the scope of the claims of this application. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 10 Driver assistance system, 20 External sensors, 21 Camera, 22 Turn signal switch, 40 Steering actuator, 50 ECU, 51 ADAS-ECU, 52 Trailer brake control ECU, 53 Auxiliary ECU, 54 Steering ECU, 59 Bus

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle driver assistance system, If the aforementioned vehicle is towing a towed vehicle, and the driver of the aforementioned vehicle operates the turn signal, and there is a moving object in the direction of the operated turn signal while the turn signal is active, and the width of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is within a threshold, then the vehicle's position in the vehicle width direction is offset in a direction away from the direction in which the turn signal was operated. Driver assistance system.

Images