Vehicle control device and vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method and a program which enable driving support without disturbing driving.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device has a processor, wherein the processor controls a reaction force addition mechanism of adding a reaction force to an accelerator pedal on the basis of predetermined driving operation by a driver, and thereby can prevent the reaction force from being applied to the accelerator pedal in a situation where the driver wants to pass a preceding vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device. and vehicles Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle driving assist system that calculates a risk level around the vehicle and increases the accelerator pedal reaction force as the calculated risk level increases. The vehicle driving assist system described in Patent Document 1 is configured to calculate the risk level based on the inter-vehicle distance and relative vehicle speed to a preceding vehicle that the vehicle should follow. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-205760 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, a reaction force may be applied to the accelerator pedal in a situation where the driver of the vehicle wants to overtake. For this reason, there is room for improvement in order to provide driving assistance without interfering with driving.

[0005] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device capable of performing driving assistance without interfering with driving. and vehicles The purpose is to obtain [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device according to claim 1 has a processor, When the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is smaller than a threshold, a reaction force is applied to the accelerator pedal, a reaction force application mechanism that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal is reduced when a predetermined driving operation is performed by the driver, the reaction force application mechanism is controlled so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal is reduced when a driving operation related to acceleration is performed by the driver, and a criterion for determining that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed is changed based on a risk of contact between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and when the risk of contact is low, a driving operation related to acceleration is determined to have been performed when the accelerator pedal depression speed is equal to or greater than a first threshold, and when the risk of contact is high, a driving operation related to acceleration is determined to have been performed when the accelerator pedal depression speed is equal to or greater than a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold. .

[0007] In the vehicle control device according to claim 1, the processor controls a reaction force application mechanism that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal based on a predetermined driving operation by the driver. In this way, not only is the reaction force application mechanism controlled based on the vehicle distance between the vehicle itself and the preceding vehicle, but the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal is changed in consideration of the driver's predetermined driving operation, so that it is possible to suppress the application of a reaction force to the accelerator pedal in situations such as when the driver wants to overtake the preceding vehicle. Note that the "vehicle distance in the vehicle width direction" referred to here is not limited to the vehicle distance in the vehicle width direction, but is a concept that broadly includes the vehicle time.

[0009] Also When the longitudinal distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is smaller than a threshold value, a reaction force is applied to the accelerator pedal by the reaction force application mechanism. This makes it possible to alert the driver that the vehicle is approaching the preceding vehicle. In addition, in the application state, when the driver performs a specified driving operation, the reaction force application mechanism is controlled to reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal, so that the driver is not hindered from accelerating when he or she wishes to do so. Note that "controlling the reaction force application mechanism to reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal" here is a concept that includes a configuration for canceling the state in which a reaction force is applied by the reaction force application mechanism.

[0011] moreover By reducing the reaction force of the accelerator pedal when the driver performs a driving operation related to acceleration, control can be performed that reflects the driver's intentions, thereby improving comfort. Furthermore, the driving operation judgment criteria are changed based on the risk of contact between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Therefore, the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal can be changed based on the risk of contact, and the reaction force of the accelerator pedal can be prevented from becoming small when the risk of contact is high. Conversely, the reaction force of the accelerator pedal can be prevented from becoming small when the risk of contact is low. Note that the "risk of contact" here is an index calculated based on various data on the possibility that the vehicle will contact the preceding vehicle, and is not an index that suggests that the vehicle will actually contact the preceding vehicle. In other words, since it is an index calculated without taking into account the operation of the driving support device and the collision safety device, it does not suggest that the vehicle will contact the preceding vehicle even when the risk of contact is high. In addition, when the risk of contact is high, it is determined that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed only when the accelerator pedal is depressed faster than when the risk of contact is low. This allows the driver to recognize that the risk of contact is high because the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal does not become smaller when the accelerator pedal is depressed at the same speed as when the risk of contact is low.

[0012] Claim 2 The vehicle control device according to the present invention includes: 1 In the method, the processor determines that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed based on the accelerator pedal depression.

[0013] Claim 2In the vehicle control device related to the above, when further depression of the accelerator pedal is detected, for example, it is possible to determine that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed based on the opening degree of the accelerator pedal, and to control the reaction force addition mechanism to reflect the driver's intention to accelerate.

[0014] Claim 3 The vehicle control device according to the present invention includes: 2 to In the vehicle, the processor controls the reaction force application mechanism so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal becomes smaller when a driving operation related to a lane change is performed by the driver.

[0015] Claim 3 In the vehicle control device according to the present invention, when the driver performs a driving operation related to a lane change, the reaction force of the accelerator pedal is reduced, thereby enabling control that takes into account the driver's intentions and improving comfort.

[0016] Claim 4 The vehicle control device according to the present invention includes: 3 In the method, the processor determines that a driving operation related to a lane change has been performed based on information from a turn signal switch.

[0017] Claim 4 In the vehicle control device according to the present invention, it is possible to determine that there is an intention to change lanes when the turn signal switch is turned ON, and it is possible to control the reaction force addition mechanism to reflect the driver's intention to avoid the vehicle ahead.

[0022] Claim 5 The vehicle control device according to the present invention includes: Any one of items 2 to 4 In the method, the processor determines the risk of contact based on the longitudinal distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle.

[0023] Claim 5In the vehicle control device related to the present invention, the risk of contact can be set with greater accuracy compared to when the risk of contact is determined based only on the forward / backward distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, and when the risk of contact is determined only on the relative speed between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

[0024] Claim 6 The vehicle according to the present invention comprises a sensor for detecting a preceding vehicle, a reaction force application mechanism capable of applying a reaction force to an accelerator pedal, and 5 and a vehicle control device according to any one of the above.

[0025] Claim 6 In the vehicle according to the present invention, a sensor detects a preceding vehicle, and a distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is calculated. In addition, the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal can be changed by controlling a reaction force application mechanism based on the calculated distance between the vehicles and a predetermined driving operation by the driver. Effect of the Invention

[0028] As described above, the vehicle control device according to the present invention and vehicles According to this, driving assistance can be performed without interfering with driving. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a host vehicle and a preceding vehicle are traveling on the same lane in a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a leading vehicle is preparing to change lanes following the state shown in FIG. 3; [Diagram 5] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a vehicle control process in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a vehicle control device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a vehicle control process in a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] First Embodiment A vehicle 10 including a vehicle control device 12 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0031] (Hardware configuration of vehicle 10) Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a vehicle 10. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle 10 is equipped with a vehicle control device 12. The vehicle control device 12 is configured to include a CPU (Central Processing Unit: processor) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 22, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, a storage 26, a communication I / F (communication interface) 28, and an input / output I / F (input / output interface) 30. Each component is connected to each other via a bus 32 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0032] The CPU 20 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 20 reads the programs from the ROM 22 or the storage 26, and executes the programs using the RAM 24 as a working area. The CPU 20 also controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing according to the programs recorded in the ROM 22 or the storage 26.

[0033] The ROM 22 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 24 is a non-temporary recording medium that temporarily records programs or data as a working area. The storage 26 is a non-temporary recording medium that is configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) and stores various programs including an operating system and various data. In this embodiment, the storage 26 stores a vehicle control program for performing vehicle control processing, various data, and the like.

[0034] The communication I / F 28 is an interface for the vehicle control device 12 to communicate with a server and other devices, and uses standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network), Ethernet (registered trademark), LTE (Long Term Evolution), FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), and Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0035] A forward sensor 34, an accelerator pedal 36, and a turn signal switch 38 are electrically connected to the input / output I / F 30. The forward sensor 34 is a sensor capable of detecting an obstacle in front of the vehicle, and is configured to include, for example, a camera, a radar, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging or Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), etc. In particular, in this embodiment, the forward sensor 34 is used to detect a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle.

[0036] The accelerator pedal 36 is disposed below the driver's seat, and generates a propulsive force for the vehicle 10 according to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal 36 by the driver. The accelerator pedal 36 is provided with a stroke sensor capable of detecting the depression degree (amount of depression) of the accelerator pedal 36, and the depression degree of the accelerator pedal 36 is constantly detected by the stroke sensor.

[0037] In addition, the accelerator pedal 36 is provided with a reaction force application mechanism 37. The reaction force application mechanism 37 is a mechanism capable of applying a reaction force to the accelerator pedal, and is configured to include, for example, a servo motor connected to the accelerator pedal. When the reaction force application mechanism 37 is activated, a predetermined torque is generated from the servo motor, making it possible to apply any reaction force to the accelerator pedal.

[0038] The turn signal switch 38 is a switch for turning on a winker (also called a turn signal lamp) and is provided around the steering wheel. The vehicle control device 12 is configured to obtain a signal from the turn signal switch 38 so as to detect whether the left and right turn signal switches 38 are in an ON state or an OFF state.

[0039] (Functional configuration of vehicle control device 12) The vehicle control device 12 realizes various functions using the hardware resources shown in Fig. 1. The functional configuration realized by the vehicle control device 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 2.

[0040] 2, the vehicle control device 12 includes, as functional components, a position information acquisition unit 40, a longitudinal distance calculation unit 42, a driving operation detection unit 44, and a reaction force control unit 46. Each functional component is realized by the CPU 20 reading and executing a program recorded in the ROM 22 or the storage 26.

[0041] The position information acquisition unit 40 acquires position information of a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle. Specifically, the position information acquisition unit 40 acquires position information of the preceding vehicle based on information detected by the forward sensor 34.

[0042] Fig. 3 shows a situation in which a preceding vehicle V2 is traveling in the same lane as the host vehicle V1. As shown in Fig. 3, when the preceding vehicle V2 is traveling as an obstacle within the detection range AR of the front sensor 34 provided at the front of the host vehicle V1, the position information acquisition unit 40 acquires the position information of the preceding vehicle V2. For the sake of convenience of explanation, the size of the front sensor 34 is exaggerated in Figs. 3 and 4. Also, 52 in the figures indicates the center line, and 54 in the figures indicates the lane boundary line.

[0043] As shown in Fig. 2, the longitudinal distance calculation unit 42 calculates the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. Specifically, the longitudinal distance calculation unit 42 calculates the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 based on information acquired from the forward sensor 34 by the function of the position information acquisition unit 40. As an example, in Fig. 3, the distance L from the front end of the host vehicle V1 to the rear end of the preceding vehicle V2 is calculated as the longitudinal distance.

[0044] The driving operation detection unit 44 detects a predetermined driving operation by the driver. Specifically, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects an intentional acceleration operation by the driver and an intentional lane change operation by the driver as the predetermined driving operation.

[0045] For example, when the driver further depresses the accelerator pedal 36, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects that an intentional acceleration operation has been performed by acquiring a signal of the opening degree from the accelerator pedal 36. Also, for example, when the driver turns on either the left or right turn signal switch 38, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects that the driver has performed a driving operation related to a lane change.

[0046] As an example, in this embodiment, image information captured by a forward camera that captures an image in front of the vehicle 10 is taken into consideration, and when there is an adjacent lane, if the turn signal switch 38 in the direction of the adjacent lane is turned ON, it may be detected that a driving operation related to a lane change has been performed.

[0047] 2 controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the reaction force control unit 46 does not apply a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 when the vehicle distance L in the vehicle width direction between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 calculated by the function of the front-rear vehicle distance calculation unit 42 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

[0048] Furthermore, the reaction force control unit 46 applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 in principle when the longitudinal distance L between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 calculated by the function of the longitudinal distance calculation unit 42 becomes smaller than a predetermined threshold value. In this embodiment, as an example, the reaction force control unit 46 applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 when the preceding vehicle V2 enters the detection range AR of the front sensor 34. Furthermore, the reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 increases as the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 becomes smaller.

[0049] Furthermore, in a state in which a reaction force is being applied to the accelerator pedal 36, the reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 becomes smaller when the driver performs a predetermined driving operation.

[0050] Fig. 4 illustrates a situation in which the host vehicle V1 overtakes the preceding vehicle V2. As shown in Fig. 4, when the driver turns on the left turn signal switch 38, the left front turn signal lamp 56 and the left rear turn signal lamp 58 of the host vehicle V1 flash. Here, in a situation in which there is another lane to the left of the lane in which the host vehicle V1 is traveling, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects that a driving operation related to a lane change has been performed. In this case, the reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force addition mechanism 37 so that the reaction force added to the accelerator pedal 36 becomes smaller.

[0051] In addition, when the driving operation detection unit 44 detects an intentional acceleration action by the driver, the reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 so as to reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 .

[0052] When the longitudinal distance L between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 becomes equal to or smaller than a distance set as an acceleration prohibition area that is smaller than a threshold value, the safety support device is activated and the reaction force control unit 46 does not control the reaction force. That is, in the acceleration prohibition area, the reaction force control unit 46 does not reduce the reaction force even if a predetermined driving operation by the driver is detected.

[0053] (action) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

[0054] (Vehicle control processing) 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of vehicle control processing by the vehicle control device 12 according to this embodiment. Note that this vehicle control processing is executed by the CPU 20 reading a program from the storage 26 and expanding it in the RAM 24.

[0055] 5, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the preceding vehicle V2 has been detected in step S102. Specifically, if the preceding vehicle V2 has been detected by the front sensor 34, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S102 and proceeds to processing in step S104. On the other hand, if the preceding vehicle V2 has not been detected by the front sensor 34, the vehicle control processing is terminated.

[0056] In step S104, the CPU 20 calculates the distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 in the longitudinal direction.

[0057] In step S106, the CPU 20 determines whether the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 is smaller than the threshold. If the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 is smaller than the threshold, the CPU 20 proceeds to step S108. If the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 is equal to or greater than the threshold, the CPU 20 does not apply a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 and ends the vehicle control process.

[0058] In step S108, the CPU 20 applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the CPU 20 operates the reaction force application mechanism 37 through the function of the reaction force control unit 46, thereby applying a predetermined reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36.

[0059] The CPU 20 determines whether or not intentional acceleration or lane change has been detected in step S110. Specifically, when the CPU 20 detects that an intentional acceleration operation has been performed by acquiring an opening degree signal from the accelerator pedal 36 using the function of the driving operation detection unit 44, the CPU 20 proceeds to processing in step S112. In addition, when either the left or right turn signal switch 38 has been turned ON using the function of the driving operation detection unit 44, and there is a lane in the direction of the turn signal switch 38 that has been turned ON with respect to the host vehicle V1, the CPU 20 detects that an intentional lane change operation has been performed and proceeds to processing in step S112.

[0060] On the other hand, if neither intentional acceleration nor intentional lane change is detected in step S110, the CPU 20 returns to the process of step S104 to calculate the longitudinal inter-vehicle distance.

[0061] In step S112, the CPU 20 reduces the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the CPU 20 reduces the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 by controlling the reaction force application mechanism 37 through the function of the reaction force control unit 46.

[0062] As described above, the vehicle control device 12 according to this embodiment controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 based on the vehicle distance L1 between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 and a predetermined driving operation by the driver. In this way, not only is the reaction force application mechanism 37 controlled based on the vehicle distance L1 between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, but the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 is changed in consideration of the driver's predetermined driving operation, making it possible to suppress the application of a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 in situations such as when the driver wants to overtake the preceding vehicle.

[0063] In this embodiment, when the longitudinal distance L1 between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 is smaller than a threshold value, a reaction force is applied to the accelerator pedal 36 by the reaction force application mechanism 37. This makes it possible to alert the driver that he or she is approaching the preceding vehicle V2. In addition, in the application state, when the driver performs a predetermined driving operation, the reaction force application mechanism 37 is controlled to reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36, thereby preventing the driver from being hindered when he or she wishes to accelerate.

[0064] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the driver performs a driving operation related to acceleration, the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 36 is reduced, so that control can be performed in accordance with the driver's intention, thereby improving comfort. In particular, by determining that a driving operation has been performed when further depression of the accelerator pedal 36 is detected as in this embodiment, the reaction force adding mechanism 37 can be controlled to reflect the driver's intention to accelerate.

[0065] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the driver performs a driving operation related to lane change, the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 36 is reduced, so that control can be performed in accordance with the driver's intention, thereby improving comfort. In particular, by determining that there is an intention to change lanes when the turn signal switch 38 is turned ON as in this embodiment, the reaction force adding mechanism 37 can be controlled to reflect the driver's intention to avoid the vehicle ahead.

[0066] <Second embodiment> Next, a vehicle control device 62 according to a second embodiment will be described. The same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description will be omitted as appropriate. The hardware configuration of the vehicle equipped with the vehicle control device 62 of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0067] (Functional configuration of the vehicle control device 62) The vehicle control device 62 realizes various functions using the hardware resources shown in Fig. 1. The functional configuration realized by the vehicle control device 62 will be described with reference to Fig. 6.

[0068] 6, the vehicle control device 62 of this embodiment includes, as functional components, a position information acquisition unit 40, a longitudinal distance calculation unit 42, a relative speed acquisition unit 64, a contact risk determination unit 66, a driving operation detection unit 44, and a reaction force control unit 46. Each functional component is realized by the CPU 20 reading and executing a program recorded in the ROM 22 or the storage 26.

[0069] The position information acquisition unit 40 acquires position information of the preceding vehicle V2 traveling in front of the host vehicle V1. Specifically, the position information acquisition unit 40 acquires the position information of the preceding vehicle V2 based on information detected by the forward sensor 34.

[0070] The longitudinal distance calculation unit 42 calculates the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. As an example, in Fig. 3, the distance L from the front end of the host vehicle V1 to the rear end of the preceding vehicle V2 is calculated as the longitudinal distance.

[0071] The relative speed acquisition unit 64 acquires the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. Specifically, the relative speed acquisition unit 64 acquires the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 by calculating the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 based on the change over time of the vehicles calculated by the longitudinal distance calculation unit 42.

[0072] The contact risk determination unit 66 sets the contact risk based on the longitudinal distance and the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. In the present embodiment, as an example, the contact risk determination unit 66 sets the contact risk to either low or high. For example, a predetermined score A is set based on the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, and a predetermined score B is set based on the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, and the scores A and B are stored in the storage 26 of the vehicle control device 12. Then, if the score C, which is the sum of the scores A and B, is equal to or greater than the predetermined score, the contact risk determination unit 66 sets the contact risk to "high", and if the score C is smaller than the predetermined score, sets the contact risk to "low".

[0073] The driving operation detection unit 44 detects a predetermined driving operation by the driver. Specifically, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects an intentional acceleration operation by the driver as the predetermined driving operation.

[0074] The driving operation detection unit 44 of this embodiment detects that an intentional acceleration operation has been performed based on the depression speed calculated from the depression amount per predetermined time of the accelerator pedal 36. Furthermore, the driving operation detection unit 44 of this embodiment changes the criteria for determining whether or not an intentional acceleration operation has been performed based on the contact risk.

[0075] Specifically, when the depression amount of the accelerator pedal 36 is A (%) and the depression time is T (s), the depression speed M of the accelerator pedal 36 is calculated by the following formula (1).

[0076] (Number 1) M=A / T (1)

[0077] Here, when the contact risk is set to "low" by the contact risk determination unit 66, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects that an intentional acceleration operation has been performed when the depression speed M of the accelerator pedal 36 is greater than or equal to a predetermined first threshold value.

[0078] On the other hand, when the contact risk is set to "high" by the contact risk determination unit 66, the driving operation detection unit 44 detects that an intentional acceleration action has been performed when the depression speed M of the accelerator pedal 36 is equal to or greater than a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value. In this way, when the contact risk is "high", the driving operation detection unit 44 is configured not to detect that an intentional acceleration action has been performed unless the depression speed M of the accelerator pedal 36 is greater than when the contact risk is "low".

[0079] The reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the reaction force control unit 46 applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36 when a predetermined reaction force application condition is satisfied based on information such as the longitudinal distance L between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, the relative speed and relative acceleration between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, and the vehicle speed of the host vehicle V1.

[0080] In addition, when the driving operation detection unit 44 detects that the driver has intentionally accelerated while a reaction force is being applied to the accelerator pedal 36, the reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force application mechanism 37 so as to reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36.

[0081] (action) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

[0082] (Vehicle control processing) 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of vehicle control processing by the vehicle control device 62 according to this embodiment. Note that this vehicle control processing is executed by the CPU 20 reading a program from the storage 26 and expanding it in the RAM 24.

[0083] 7, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the preceding vehicle V2 has been detected in step S202. Specifically, if the preceding vehicle V2 has been detected by the front sensor 34, the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S202 and proceeds to processing in step S204. On the other hand, if the preceding vehicle V2 has not been detected by the front sensor 34, the vehicle control processing is terminated.

[0084] In step S204, the CPU 20 acquires the longitudinal distance and the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. Specifically, the CPU 20 calculates the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 using the function of the longitudinal distance calculation unit 42. The CPU 20 also acquires the relative speed between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 using the function of the relative speed acquisition unit 64.

[0085] The CPU 20 determines whether or not a reaction force application condition is satisfied in step S206. Specifically, if a preset reaction force application condition is satisfied based on information such as the longitudinal distance, relative speed, relative acceleration, and vehicle speed of the host vehicle V1 between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, the CPU 20 determines that step S206 is positive and proceeds to processing in step S208. On the other hand, if the preset reaction force application condition is not satisfied, the vehicle control processing is terminated.

[0086] In step S208, the CPU 20 applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the CPU 20 operates the reaction force application mechanism 37 through the function of the reaction force control unit 46, thereby applying a predetermined reaction force to the accelerator pedal 36.

[0087] In step S210, the CPU 20 determines whether the contact risk is "low". Specifically, if the contact risk set by the function of the contact risk determination unit 66 is "low", the CPU 20 makes a positive determination in step S210 and proceeds to processing in step S212. On the other hand, if the contact risk is not "low", that is, if the contact risk is "high", the CPU 20 proceeds to processing in step S214. Below, the processing from step S212 onwards will be described, and then the processing from step S214 onwards will be described.

[0088] In step S212, the CPU 20 determines whether the pedaling speed M is equal to or greater than the first threshold. Specifically, the CPU 20 calculates the pedaling speed M from the above formula (1) using the function of the driving performance detection unit 44. If the calculated pedaling speed M is equal to or greater than the first threshold, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative judgment in step S212 and proceeds to the process of step S216. If the pedaling speed M is smaller than the first threshold, the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 36 is not changed and the vehicle control process is terminated.

[0089] In step S216, the CPU 20 reduces the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the CPU 20 reduces the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 by controlling the reaction force application mechanism 37 using the function of the reaction force control unit 46. Then, the vehicle control process ends.

[0090] On the other hand, if the contact risk is "high," the CPU 20 determines in step S214 whether the pedaling speed M is equal to or greater than a second threshold value. Here, the second threshold value is set to a value greater than the first threshold value.

[0091] If the accelerator pedal speed M calculated by the function of the driving performance detection unit 44 is equal to or greater than the second threshold, the CPU 20 makes an affirmative judgment in step S214 and proceeds to processing in step S218. If the accelerator pedal speed M is smaller than the first threshold, the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 36 is not changed and the vehicle control processing ends.

[0092] In step S218, the CPU 20 reduces the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36. Specifically, the CPU 20 reduces the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 by controlling the reaction force application mechanism 37 using the function of the reaction force control unit 46. Then, the vehicle control process ends.

[0093] As described above, in this embodiment, the criteria for determining the driving operation are changed based on the risk of contact between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. Therefore, the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 can be changed based on the risk of contact, and the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 36 can be prevented from becoming smaller when the risk of contact is high. Conversely, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the reaction force of the accelerator pedal 36 is difficult to reduce when the risk of contact is low.

[0094] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the contact risk is high, it is determined that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed only when the depression speed M of the accelerator pedal 36 is greater than when the contact risk is low. As a result, when the contact risk is high, the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 does not become smaller even if the accelerator pedal 36 is depressed at the same speed as when the contact risk is low, and the driver can be made aware that the contact risk is increasing.

[0095] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the contact risk is set based on the vehicle distance and the relative speed in the longitudinal direction between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. This allows the contact risk to be set more accurately than when the contact risk is determined based on the vehicle distance and when the contact risk is determined based only on the relative speed.

[0096] Although the vehicle control devices 12 and 62 according to the first and second embodiments have been described above, it is needless to say that they can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the reaction force adding mechanism 37 in this embodiment is configured to add any reaction force to the accelerator pedal by generating a predetermined torque from a servo motor, but the reaction force may be added to the accelerator pedal by other mechanisms. For example, the reaction force may be added to the accelerator pedal by a mechanism that utilizes a cylinder, hydraulic pressure, or the like.

[0097] In the first embodiment, a driving operation related to a lane change is detected when the turn signal switch 38 in the direction of the adjacent lane is turned on, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, regardless of whether there is an adjacent lane, when the turn signal switch 38 is turned on while a reaction force is being applied to the accelerator pedal 36, the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 may be reduced.

[0098] Furthermore, the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 may be reduced when both an intentional acceleration action and a lane change action by the driver are detected.

[0099] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the driving operation detection unit 44 determines that a driving operation related to a lane change has been performed based on information from the turn signal switch 38, but this is not limiting. For example, if an image of the lane in which the host vehicle V1 is traveling is captured by a front camera and it is determined from the captured image information that the host vehicle V1 has crossed the lane boundary line 54, it may be determined that a driving operation related to a lane change has been performed.

[0100] In the first embodiment, the reaction force control unit 46 controls the reaction force application mechanism so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 is reduced to a predetermined magnitude when the driver performs a predetermined driving operation in a state where a reaction force is applied to the accelerator pedal 36, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the degree to which the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 is reduced may be changed depending on the distance L1 between the host vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. That is, when the distance L is relatively large, the reaction force control unit 46 may reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36 all at once, and when the distance L is relatively small, the reaction force control unit 46 may gradually reduce the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal 36.

[0101] Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the contact risk determination unit 66 sets the contact risk based on the vehicle distance and the relative speed between the vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2, but is not limited thereto. For example, the contact risk determination unit 66 may set the contact risk taking into consideration the vehicle speed of the vehicle V1 in addition to the vehicle distance and the relative speed between the vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2. In this case, when the vehicle speed of the vehicle V1 is higher than a predetermined speed, the contact risk can be set to "high" even if the vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle V2 is large. In addition, when the road on which the vehicle V1 is traveling is a vehicle-only road such as an expressway, the contact risk determination unit 66 may more easily set the contact risk to "low" than when traveling on a general road. In other words, when traveling on a vehicle-only road without traffic lights, the preceding vehicle V2 is less likely to suddenly reduce its speed, so the contact risk may be less likely to be high.

[0102] Moreover, the processes that the CPU 20 reads and executes the programs in the first and second embodiments may be executed by various processors other than the CPU 20. Examples of the processor in this case include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, and a dedicated electric circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed exclusively for executing a specific process. Moreover, each process may be executed by one of these various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types, for example, by a plurality of FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA. Moreover, the hardware structure of these various processors is, more specifically, an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0103] In the above embodiment, each program is described as being pre-recorded (installed) on a non-transitory recording medium that can be read by a computer, but this is not limiting, and each program may be provided in a form recorded on a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, etc. Also, the program may be downloaded from an external device via a network.

[0104] Furthermore, the process flow described in the above embodiment is merely an example, and unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the process order may be changed, without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 10 Vehicles 12 Vehicle control device 20 CPU (processor) 34 Front sensor (sensor) 36 Accelerator pedal 37 Reaction force addition mechanism 38 Turn signal switch 62 Vehicle control device L distance V1 Vehicle V2 Preceding vehicle

Claims

1. a processor, the processor comprising: a reaction force application mechanism that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal when a longitudinal distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is smaller than a threshold value, and that applies a reaction force to the accelerator pedal so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal becomes smaller when a driver performs a predetermined driving operation; controlling the reaction force application mechanism so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal is reduced when a driving operation related to acceleration is performed by a driver; Change the criteria for determining whether driving operations related to acceleration have been performed based on the risk of contact between the vehicle itself and the vehicle ahead, When the risk of contact is low, it is determined that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed when the depression speed of the accelerator pedal is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, and when the risk of contact is high, it is determined that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed when the depression speed of the accelerator pedal is equal to or greater than a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value. Vehicle control device.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor determines that a driving operation related to acceleration has been performed based on an accelerator pedal depression degree.

3. 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the processor controls the reaction force application mechanism so that the reaction force applied to the accelerator pedal becomes smaller when a driving operation related to a lane change is performed by a driver.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the processor determines that a driving operation related to a lane change has been performed based on information from a turn signal switch.

5. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the processor determines the contact risk from a longitudinal distance and a relative speed between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle.

6. A sensor for detecting a preceding vehicle; A reaction force adding mechanism capable of adding a reaction force to an accelerator pedal; A vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, A vehicle having the above configuration.

Images