Vehicle driving control system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle travel control system capable of reliably detecting an animal approaching a travel route and giving appropriate attention to the animal outside a vehicle or an occupant in the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle travel control system 1 includes peripheral situation recognition devices 20 and 21 for recognizing a situation around a self vehicle, and a notification device 39 for giving notification and / or an alarm to an inside and outside of the self vehicle. The peripheral situation recognition devices 20 and 21 recognize at least a range wider than a road width of a travel route of the self vehicle and a range of a lower side of the self vehicle than an axle connected to the self vehicle. When the peripheral condition recognition devices 20 and 21 recognize an object outside or on the travel route of the self vehicle, the notification device 39 gives notification and / or an alarm to an occupant in the self vehicle and / or the object. When the object is recognized to be on the move in a direction in which the object enters the travel route from outside the travel route or remain in the travel route, the notification device gives notification and / or an alarm to the occupant and / or the object again.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle driving control system that recognizes an object approaching a vehicle driving path and controls the vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] A vehicle control device has been disclosed that determines whether an object detected from an image captured by an onboard camera is a pedestrian or an animal other than a pedestrian, with the aim of avoiding a collision with an object while the vehicle is traveling (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] This vehicle control device detects candidate objects from an image captured by an on-board camera, and determines whether the detected object is a pedestrian or an animal other than a pedestrian based on the size, shape, etc. If the vehicle control device determines that the candidate object is an animal other than a pedestrian, it issues a warning to the driver and scares off the specified animal with sound, light, smell, etc. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-21035 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, conventional vehicle control devices could not reliably detect animals approaching the roadway because short animals are hidden by grass outside the roadway. Also, even if the vehicle control device warns passengers in the vehicle or threatens animals outside the vehicle, animals may suddenly jump out onto the roadway because their movements are irregular.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a vehicle driving control system that can reliably detect animals approaching the driving path and provide appropriate warnings to animals outside the vehicle and occupants inside the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A vehicle driving control system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a surrounding situation recognition device that recognizes a surrounding situation of a host vehicle, and an alarm device that issues a notification and / or an alarm to the inside and outside of the host vehicle. a pre-collision judgment unit that judges whether or not the host vehicle will collide with an object based on a recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device, a seating judgment unit that judges whether or not there is a seat with an occupant seated, and a driving control unit that, when the pre-collision judgment unit judges that the host vehicle will collide with the object based on the recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device, detects a seat in the host vehicle where the occupant is not present based on the judgment result of the seating judgment unit, and controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle will collide with the object at a side of the seat where the occupant is not present. the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes at least a range wider than a width of a road on which the host vehicle is traveling and a range below the host vehicle relative to an axle connected to the host vehicle, and the warning device detects an area outside the road on which the host vehicle is traveling or on the road by the surrounding situation recognition device. The above When an object is recognized, the person aboard the vehicle The above A notification and / or a warning is given to the occupant and / or the object, and when the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes that the object is moving in a direction to enter the traveling path from outside the traveling path or that the object remains within the traveling path, a notification and / or a warning is given to the occupant and / or the object again. When it is determined that there is no seat in the host vehicle without an occupant based on a determination result of the seating determination unit, the traveling control unit controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle collides with the object behind the host vehicle. . Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the vehicle driving control system of the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect animals approaching the driving path and to give appropriate warnings to animals outside the vehicle and to occupants inside the vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] A functional block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle cruise control system equipped with a stereo camera and a surrounding situation recognition sensor. [Diagram 2] Front view of a vehicle equipped with a stereo camera and a surrounding situation recognition sensor [Diagram 3] A side view of the surrounding situation recognition sensor's recognition range seen from above the vehicle. [Figure 4]Top view of the surrounding situation recognition sensor's recognition range seen from the side of the vehicle [Diagram 5] A flowchart showing an example of a flow of a driving control process when an object is detected. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used in the following explanation, the scale of each component is different so that each component can be recognized on the drawing. The present invention is not limited to the quantity of components, the shapes of components, the size ratios of the components, and the positional relationships of each component shown in these drawings.

[0011] First, a schematic configuration of a vehicle cruise control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG.

[0012] A vehicle cruise control system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and controls the cruise of the vehicle. The configuration of the cruise control system 1 according to this embodiment is basically substantially the same as that of a conventional cruise control system. Therefore, when describing the configuration of the cruise control system 1 according to this embodiment, only the main configuration of the device will be briefly described. As the detailed configuration of the cruise control system 1 according to this embodiment is substantially the same as that of a conventional cruise control system, detailed description of the configuration other than that directly related to the present invention will be omitted. Also, in FIG. 1, only the main configuration of the cruise control system 1 according to this embodiment is illustrated, and configurations not directly related to the present invention are omitted.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the driving control system 1 of this embodiment includes, as its main components, a locator unit 11, a surroundings monitoring unit 20, a camera unit 21, a driving control unit 22, an engine control unit 23, a power steering control unit 24, and a brake control unit 25.

[0014] Here, the locator unit 11, the periphery monitoring unit 20, and the camera unit 21 are constituent units that function as sensor units (environment recognition devices) for recognizing the driving environment of the vehicle. Also, the periphery monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21 are constituent units that function as a peripheral situation recognition device for recognizing the situation around the host vehicle M (see FIG. 2). Each of these units (11, 20, 21) exists as a completely independent constituent unit without depending on each other.

[0015] Each control unit, namely, the driving control unit 22, the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, and the brake control unit 25, together with the locator unit 11, the surrounding monitoring unit 20, and the camera unit 21, are connected to each other via an in-vehicle communication line 10 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), and share data as needed and appropriate.

[0016] Locator unit 11 is an information acquisition device that estimates the position of vehicle M (host vehicle position) on a road map and acquires road map information and the like mainly about the area ahead of the estimated host vehicle position.

[0017] The locator unit 11 includes a map locator calculation unit 12, an acceleration sensor 13, a wheel speed sensor 14, a gyro sensor 15, a GNSS receiver 16, a road information receiver 17, a high-precision road map database (DB; Data Base; in FIG. 1, abbreviated as high-precision road map DB) 18 as a map information storage unit, and a route information input unit 19.

[0018] Of these, the acceleration sensor 13, the wheel speed sensor 14, and the gyro sensor 15 are various sensors required to estimate the position (host vehicle position) of the host vehicle M. For example, the acceleration sensor 13 is a sensor that detects the longitudinal acceleration of the host vehicle M. The wheel speed sensor 14 is a sensor that detects the rotational speed of each of the front, rear, left and right wheels. The gyro sensor 15 is a sensor that detects the angular velocity or angular acceleration of the host vehicle M. Each of these sensors (13, 14, 15) is an autonomous driving sensor group that functions as a driving state acquisition unit, and is connected to the input side of the map locator calculation unit 12.

[0019] The autonomous driving sensor group (sensors 13, 14, 15) is a sensor group provided to enable autonomous driving when, for example, the reception sensitivity from a GNSS satellite (not shown) is reduced and the positioning signal cannot be effectively received, for example, when driving in a tunnel, etc. The autonomous driving sensor group may include, for example, a vehicle speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, etc., in addition to the above-mentioned sensors (13, 14, 15).

[0020] The GNSS receiver 16 functions as a vehicle position acquisition unit and is a receiving device that receives various information from, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). That is, the GNSS receiver 16 receives positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of positioning satellites. The GNSS receiver 16 outputs the acquired positioning signals to the map locator calculation unit 12 of the locator unit 11. The map locator calculation unit 12 estimates the vehicle position (latitude, longitude) based on the positioning signals received by the GNSS receiver 16 from the plurality of positioning satellites. For this reason, the GNSS receiver 16 is connected to the input side of the map locator calculation unit 12.

[0021] Furthermore, the map locator calculation unit 12 is connected to a road information receiver 17, a high-precision road map database 18 as a storage means, a route information input unit 19, and the like.

[0022] Road information receiver 17 is a receiving device that receives and acquires various information, such as information necessary for automatic driving and map information, stored in a predetermined base station (not shown) or a cloud server (not shown) connected via the Internet. This road information receiver 17 outputs the acquired various information to map locator calculation section 12 of locator unit 11. Note that road information receiver 17 further includes a function of transmitting various information of vehicle M to the base station or cloud server (not shown), and may be in the form of a road information transmitting / receiving device.

[0023] The map locator calculation unit 12 performs map matching of the vehicle position on a map based on map information received by the road information receiver 17, and constructs a target driving route connecting the input destination and the vehicle position. Furthermore, the map locator calculation unit 12 sets a target driving route for executing automatic driving up to several kilometers ahead of the vehicle M on the constructed target driving route. Here, items set as the target driving route include the lane in which the vehicle M will travel (for example, which lane to travel in if there are three lanes), lane changes to overtake a preceding vehicle, and the timing to start lane changes, etc.

[0024] The high-precision road map database 18 is mainly composed of large-capacity storage media such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and SSD (Solid State Drive). Well-known high-precision road map information (local dynamic map) is stored in this high-precision road map database 18. Here, the high-precision road map information has the same layer structure as a global dynamic map provided in, for example, a cloud server (not shown), and has a hierarchical structure in which additional map information necessary to support automated driving is superimposed on the lowest static information layer that serves as the base.

[0025] The additional map information here includes static location information such as road type (general road, expressway, etc.), road shape, left and right dividing lines (lane boundaries), exits to expressways and bypass roads, etc., and entrance / exit lengths (start and end positions) of branch lanes and merging lanes leading to junctions, service areas, parking areas, etc., as well as dynamic location information such as traffic congestion information and traffic restrictions due to accidents or construction work.

[0026] As described below, when a target driving route is set by the map locator calculation unit 12, this additional map information is continuously obtained from the global dynamic map and sequentially updated as peripheral information required for causing the host vehicle M to autonomously drive along the set target driving route.

[0027] In addition, the high-precision road map information also contains lane data required for autonomous driving, such as lane width data, lane center position coordinate data, lane travel azimuth data, speed limit information, etc. This lane data and other information is stored at intervals of several meters for each lane on the road map.

[0028] The route information input unit 19 is a terminal device operated by a person in the vehicle, such as a driver or a passenger. The route information input unit 19 can collectively input a series of information required for setting a target driving route in the map locator calculation unit 12, such as setting a destination and intermediate points (such as a service area on a highway).

[0029] Specifically, route information input unit 19 is an input unit of a car navigation system (for example, a touch panel of a monitor, etc.), a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a personal computer, etc. Route information input unit 19 is connected to map locator calculation unit 12 by wire or wirelessly. As a result, when the driver or passenger operates route information input unit 19 to input information of a destination or a stopover point (facility name, address, telephone number, etc.), the input information is read into map locator calculation unit 12. Map locator calculation unit 12 sets the position coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the destination and the stopover point input from route information input unit 19.

[0030] The map locator calculation unit 12 includes a vehicle position estimation unit 12a, a map information acquisition unit 12b, and the like.

[0031] The vehicle position estimation unit 12a is a unit that estimates the vehicle position. The vehicle position estimation unit 12a acquires the position coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the vehicle M based on the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 16. Then, the vehicle position estimation unit 12a performs map matching of the acquired position coordinates on the route map information to estimate the vehicle position (current position) on the road map.

[0032] In addition, in an environment where a valid positioning signal from a positioning satellite cannot be received due to reduced sensitivity of the GNSS receiver 16, such as when driving inside a tunnel, the vehicle position estimation unit 12a switches to autonomous navigation, which estimates the vehicle position based on vehicle speed data obtained based on the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 14, angular velocity data detected by the gyro sensor 15, longitudinal acceleration data detected by the acceleration sensor 13, etc., and estimates the vehicle position (latitude, longitude) on a road map.

[0033] The map information acquisition unit 12b constructs target driving route information from the current location to the destination (target driving route information connecting the vehicle's position on the high-precision road map information and the destination (or the destination via the via point if a via point is set)) based on the position information (latitude, longitude) of the vehicle's position estimated by the vehicle position estimation unit 12a and the position information (latitude, longitude) of the destination and the via point input by the driver or the like from the route information input unit 19, according to a route condition (recommended route, fastest route, etc.) set in advance. At this time, the vehicle position estimation unit 12a identifies the driving lane on which the vehicle M is traveling, acquires road shapes such as driving lanes and merging lanes stored in the road map data, and sequentially stores this information. In addition, the map information acquisition unit 12b transmits the target driving route information to the vehicle position estimation unit 12a.

[0034] In this manner, the map locator calculation unit 12 performs map matching of the vehicle position estimated by the vehicle position estimation unit 12a on a road map to identify the current location of the vehicle M, and acquires road map information including information on the surrounding conditions. In addition, the map information acquisition unit 12b sets a target driving route as a target for the vehicle M.

[0035] The camera unit 21 is a surrounding situation information acquisition device that recognizes at least the situation outside the vehicle, here, mainly the situation in the traveling direction (forward) of the host vehicle M, and acquires the information, and forms a part of a surrounding situation recognition device.

[0036] Specifically, the camera unit 21 recognizes, for example, other vehicles (such as a preceding vehicle or a vehicle traveling alongside) traveling in front of or to the side of the vehicle M, as well as three-dimensional objects including moving objects (hereinafter simply referred to as moving objects, etc.) such as bicycles and motorcycles traveling alongside the vehicle, traffic light indications (lighting color, flashing state, arrow direction, etc.), road markings such as road signs, stop lines, lane boundaries, and various other road surrounding conditions.

[0037] The camera unit 21 is fixed to the upper center of the front part of the vehicle interior of the vehicle M, and is configured to include an in-vehicle camera (stereo camera) consisting of a main camera 21a and a sub-camera 21b (see FIG. 2) arranged at symmetrical positions across the center in the vehicle width direction, an image processing unit (IPU) 21c, a driving environment recognition unit 21d, etc. The camera unit 21 captures reference image data with the main camera 21a and captures comparison image data with the sub-camera 21b. The two image data acquired by these two cameras 21a and 21b are subjected to predetermined image processing by the IPU 21c.

[0038] The driving environment recognition unit 21d reads the reference image data and comparison image data that have been image-processed by the IPU 21c, recognizes the same object in both images based on the parallax between the two images, and calculates the distance data (distance information from the vehicle M to the object) using the principle of triangulation to recognize it as forward situation information.

[0039] Furthermore, the camera unit 21 recognizes, as forward situation information, for example, a dividing line (lane boundary line) dividing the left and right sides of the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling. The camera unit 21 has an in-vehicle camera consisting of a main camera 21a and a sub-camera 21b for recognizing at least the situation outside the vehicle, but may also have an in-vehicle camera for recognizing the situation inside the vehicle.

[0040] Here, the forward situation information includes various information such as the road shape (lane boundary lines which are dividing lines dividing the left and right sides and indicate lanes, road curvature [1 / m] at the center between dividing lines, and width between the left and right dividing lines (lane width)) of the road on which the host vehicle M is traveling (merging lanes, driving lanes, etc.), entrances and exits of expressways and bypass roads, lane widths between dividing lines on the side of merging lanes and branching lanes leading to junctions, intersections, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, road signs, and roadside obstacles (electric poles, utility poles, parked vehicles, etc.), as well as image information showing the behavior of other vehicles traveling in front of and around the host vehicle M. This forward situation information is output to the cruise control unit 22.

[0041] In addition, the driving environment recognition unit 21d performs a predetermined pattern matching on the distance image information to recognize guardrails, curbs, and three-dimensional objects along the road. Here, in recognizing a three-dimensional object (object) in the driving environment recognition unit 21d, for example, recognition is performed of the type of the three-dimensional object, the distance to the three-dimensional object, the speed of the three-dimensional object, and the relative speed between the three-dimensional object and the vehicle M.

[0042] Each of the cameras 21a and 21b may have a function of acquiring sound information simultaneously with the image information. In this case, the sound information acquired simultaneously with the image information is included in the forward situation information as sound information related to the forward situation of the host vehicle M.

[0043] The periphery monitoring unit 20 is a peripheral situation information acquisition device that recognizes the situation around the vehicle M and acquires the information, and constitutes a part of the peripheral situation recognition device. The periphery monitoring unit 20 is configured to include a peripheral situation recognition sensor 20a, a surrounding environment recognition unit 20b, and the like.

[0044] The surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a is disposed approximately in the center of the front side of the bumper (see FIG. 2) and recognizes the surrounding situation in a predetermined range ahead of the host vehicle M. Specifically, the surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a is configured with a sonar that detects the presence or absence of an object, the direction of the object, the distance to the object, etc. by transmitting and receiving sound waves. The surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a recognizes, for example, at least a range Er1 (see FIG. 3) that is wider than the width of the road on which the vehicle travels, and a range Er2 (see FIG. 4) below the axles connected to the vehicle.

[0045] In addition, two or more surrounding situation recognition sensors 20a may be provided, for example, when two surrounding situation recognition sensors 20a are provided, the two surrounding situation recognition sensors 20a are arranged on both sides of the front side of the bumper. In addition, the surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a may be, for example, a group of sensing devices such as an ultrasonic sensor, a millimeter wave radar, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a camera, or an autonomous sensor group as surrounding situation detection means formed by combining these.

[0046] Specifically, for example, a plurality of millimeter wave radars serving as the surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a are disposed at the four corners of the vehicle (for example, the left front side, the right front side, the left rear side, the right rear side, etc.). Of these, the left and right front side millimeter wave radars are provided, for example, at the left and right sides of the front bumper, and are used to monitor some areas around the vehicle that are difficult to recognize using images acquired by the two cameras 21a, 21b of the camera unit 21 (areas diagonally forward and to the left and right of the vehicle).

[0047] In addition, the left and right rear side millimeter wave radars are provided, for example, on the left and right sides of the rear bumper and are used to monitor some areas around the vehicle (areas from the sides to the rear of the vehicle) that cannot be monitored by the left and right front side millimeter wave radars.

[0048] The surrounding environment recognition unit 20b acquires surrounding situation information, which is information regarding moving objects around the vehicle M (e.g., vehicles traveling alongside, following vehicles traveling in the same lane or an adjacent lane, oncoming vehicles, etc.) based on the output signal from the surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a.

[0049] The periphery monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21 constitute a peripheral situation information acquisition device and a peripheral situation recognition device in the driving control system 1 of this embodiment. Here, the driving environment recognition unit 21d of the camera unit 21 and the peripheral environment recognition unit 20b of the periphery monitoring unit 20 are connected to the input side of the driving control unit 22 through the in-vehicle communication line 10. In addition, the driving control unit 22 and the map locator calculation unit 12 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally through the in-vehicle communication line 10. And, to the input side of the driving control unit 22, a mode changeover switch 33, a steering wheel touch sensor 34, a steering torque sensor 35, a brake sensor 36, an accelerator sensor 37, a seating sensor 38, and the like are connected as a plurality of various switches or a plurality of sensor groups for detecting vehicle internal situation information.

[0050] The mode changeover switch 33 refers to a group of switches that the driver switches on and off to select various driving modes and multiple control functions related to driving assistance control. By operating the mode changeover switch 33, the driver can selectively switch on and off various driving modes, such as a manual driving mode, a first driving assistance mode, a second driving assistance mode, and an evacuation mode.

[0051] Here, the manual driving mode is a driving mode that requires the driver to maintain steering, for example, a driving mode in which the host vehicle M is driven according to driving operations (steering operation, accelerator operation, braking operation, etc.) by the driver.

[0052] The first driving assistance mode is a semi-automatic driving mode that requires the driver to maintain steering and that supports the driver's operation in accordance with the surrounding environment of the vehicle M recognized by various sensors, etc., while reflecting the driving operation by the driver. That is, the first driving assistance mode is a semi-automatic driving mode that controls, for example, the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, the brake control unit 25, etc., and mainly performs a combination of various controls such as preceding vehicle following control, lane keeping assist control, lane departure suppression control, and emergency departure suppression control, to make the vehicle M travel along a set target driving route.

[0053] The second driving assistance mode is an autonomous driving mode in which the vehicle M is automatically driven along a target driving route by mainly combining preceding vehicle following control, lane keeping assist control, lane departure prevention control, etc. through control by, for example, the engine control unit 23, power steering control unit 24, brake control unit 25, etc., without requiring the driver to maintain steering, operate the accelerator, or operate the brakes, etc.

[0054] The evacuation mode is an emergency driving mode for automatically and safely stopping the host vehicle M when, for example, while the host vehicle M is traveling in the first or second driving assistance mode, the host vehicle M is unable to continue traveling and the driving operation cannot be handed over to the driver (i.e., when the host vehicle M cannot transition to the manual driving mode or the first driving assistance mode). The control executed in this evacuation mode is a control called "driver abnormality response control" which will be described later.

[0055] Furthermore, the mode change switch 33 is also an operating member that allows the driver to selectively switch on and off each function, such as lane keeping assist control, lane departure suppression control, and emergency departure suppression control, among the various types of steering assist control.

[0056] The steering wheel touch sensor 34 is a sensor for detecting a state in which the driver is gripping a steering wheel (not shown) in a steering device, i.e., a holding state. The steering wheel touch sensor 34 is provided on the steering wheel of the vehicle (hereinafter, simply abbreviated as the steering wheel). The steering wheel touch sensor 34 outputs an ON signal when the steering wheel is gripped (when the steering wheel is in a holding state).

[0057] The steering torque sensor 35 is a sensor that detects steering torque as an amount of driving operation by a driver, and is provided on a steering shaft (not shown) in a steering device of the vehicle.

[0058] The steering wheel touch sensor 34 and the steering torque sensor 35 are sensors for recognizing a state in which the steering wheel is held by the driver of the vehicle M, and serve as a steering state recognition unit. Output signals of both of these sensors (34, 35) are output to the cruise control unit 22.

[0059] The brake sensor 36 is a sensor that detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal as a driving operation amount by the driver.The accelerator sensor 37 is a sensor that detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal as a driving operation amount by the driver.

[0060] The seating sensor 38 is a sensor that detects the seating state of the driver in the driver's seat and the seating states of passengers in the passenger seat and the rear seat. That is, the seating sensor 38 is provided in each seat of the vehicle and is a sensor that detects whether or not a passenger is sitting in a seat of the vehicle M.

[0061] On the other hand, an alarm device 39 such as a monitor panel or a speaker is connected to the output side of the driving control unit 22. The alarm device 39 is a device that notifies the driver of an alarm (for example, a visual alarm display on a display device such as a monitor panel, an auditory alarm display by a sound device such as a speaker or the like) according to a situation recognized based on the forward situation information, the surrounding situation information, etc. acquired by the driving environment recognition unit 21d, the surrounding environment recognition unit 20b, etc. In addition, when the alarm device 39 recognizes an object such as an animal on the driving path of the host vehicle M based on the forward situation information, the surrounding situation information, etc., it scares the animal outside the vehicle by sound, light, smell, etc. In this way, the alarm device 39 constitutes an alarm device that notifies and / or alarms the inside and outside of the host vehicle M.

[0062] Furthermore, in some cases, the notification device 39 displays various kinds of indications to the driver, either audibly or visually, suggesting the operation the driver should perform (specifically, suggestive indications such as "Please depress the brake pedal," "Please release the accelerator," "Please correct the steering," etc.).

[0063] The driving control unit 22 includes a surrounding situation determination section 22a, a pre-collision determination section 22b, and a seating determination section 22c.

[0064] The surrounding situation determination unit 22a determines the surrounding situation of the host vehicle M based on the recognition result by the surrounding situation recognition device (the surrounding monitoring unit 20, the camera unit 21).

[0065] When an object such as an animal is recognized on the travel path of the host vehicle M based on forward situation information recognized by the surrounding situation recognition device, i.e., the driving environment recognition unit 21d of the camera unit 21, or the surrounding situation information of the host vehicle M recognized by the surrounding environment recognition unit 20b of the periphery monitoring unit 20, the pre-collision judgment unit 22b judges whether or not the host vehicle M will collide (or come into contact) with the object based on the distance to the object, the speed of the host vehicle M, etc.

[0066] The seating determination unit 22c determines whether or not there is a seat in which an occupant is seated, that is, whether or not an occupant is seated in a seat of the vehicle, based on the detection result of the seating sensor 38. Note that the seating determination unit 22c may determine whether or not an occupant is seated in a seat of the vehicle, based on the state of the vehicle interior obtained by the camera unit 21 from the image data of the in-vehicle camera.

[0067] The driving control unit 22, which constitutes the driving control section, performs various predetermined situation judgments by the surrounding situation judgment section 22a, the pre-collision judgment section 22b, the seating judgment section 22c, etc. based on output information from the driving environment recognition section 21d of the camera unit 21 and the surrounding environment recognition section 20b of the surrounding monitoring unit 20, i.e., the surrounding situation recognition device, as well as various information obtained through the map locator calculation section 12, and vehicle internal situation information acquired by the mode change switch 33 and various sensors (34, 35, 36, 37, 38), etc., and performs driving control of the host vehicle M through the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, the brake control unit 25, etc. based on these judgment results.

[0068] When an automatic driving section where automatic driving control is permitted is set in the target driving route set by the map locator calculation unit 12, the driving control unit 22 sets a driving route for performing automatic driving control in the automatic driving section. In the automatic driving section, the driving control unit 22 also has a function of appropriately controlling the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, the brake control unit 25, etc. to automatically drive the host vehicle M in the second driving assistance mode along the target driving route set from the host vehicle position estimated based on various information.

[0069] At that time, the driving control unit 22 makes the host vehicle M follow the preceding vehicle when the preceding vehicle is detected, for example, by preceding vehicle following control, lane keeping assist control, etc. based on the forward situation information recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 21d, and makes the host vehicle M travel at a set vehicle speed within the speed limit when the preceding vehicle is not detected. In addition, the driving control unit 22 executes steering assist control selected appropriately, such as lane keeping assist control, lane departure suppression control, emergency departure suppression control, etc., and further performs driving control such as driver abnormality response control in some cases.

[0070] In addition, the driver abnormality response control is a technology for safely and automatically stopping the vehicle when, for example, in the driving control system 1 of this embodiment, while automatic driving control is being performed, a situation arises in which the device is unable to hand over driving operations to the driver.

[0071] As described above, the cruise control unit 22 is connected to each of the control units, such as the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, and the brake control unit 25, through the in-vehicle communication line 10. In this way, the cruise control unit 22 controls each of the control units (23, 24, 25), etc.

[0072] A throttle actuator 27 is connected to the output side of the engine control unit 23. This throttle actuator 27 opens and closes a throttle valve of an electronically controlled throttle provided in a throttle body of the engine, and generates a desired engine output by opening and closing the throttle valve in response to a drive signal from the engine control unit 23 to adjust the intake air flow rate.

[0073] An electric power steering motor 28 is connected to the output side of the power steering control unit 24. This electric power steering motor 28 applies steering torque to the steering mechanism by the rotational force of the electric motor. In driving modes other than the manual mode (first and second driving assistance modes, evacuation mode, etc.), various steering assistance controls that assist steering operation (i.e., steering) are executed by controlling the electric power steering motor 28 with a drive signal from the power steering control unit 24. In addition, a steering torque sensor 35 indicates a steering torque value by detecting a change in the drive amount of the electric power steering motor 28 or the drive amount of the steering mechanism, etc.

[0074] A brake actuator 29 is connected to the output side of the brake control unit 25. This brake actuator 29 adjusts the brake hydraulic pressure supplied to the brake wheel cylinders provided on each wheel, and when the brake actuator 29 is driven by a drive signal from the brake control unit 25, a braking force is generated on each wheel by the brake wheel cylinders, forcibly decelerating the vehicle.

[0075] The map locator calculation unit 12, the surrounding environment recognition unit 20b, the driving environment recognition unit 21d, the driving control unit 22, the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, the brake control unit 25, and the like are configured by, for example, a well-known microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a non-volatile storage unit, and its peripheral devices. The ROM stores in advance programs executed by the CPU and fixed data such as data tables. The schematic configuration of the driving control system 1 of this embodiment has been described above.

[0076] However, among animals that are in grass outside the road, short animals cannot be detected well at present because they are hidden by the grass. Therefore, in this embodiment, the surrounding situation recognition sensor 20a, which is configured with a sonar, is provided to recognize an area Er1 that is wider than the width of the road on which the host vehicle M is traveling, and an area Er2 below the axles of the host vehicle M.

[0077] The surrounding situation of the vehicle M is recognized by the surrounding situation recognition device composed of the surrounding monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21, and when an animal is detected in a bush outside the travel path or on the travel path at an early stage, the driving control unit 22 controls the alarm device 39 to notify and / or warn the driver and / or the animal. Specifically, the alarm device 39 notifies the driver of the danger by displaying the presence of an animal on a display, and / or warns the animal of the danger by emitting a sound or smell that animals dislike.

[0078] If the driving control unit 22 determines, after a predetermined time period corresponding to the speed of the vehicle M has elapsed, based on the recognition results of the surrounding situation recognition device, that an animal outside the driving path is moving in a direction approaching the driving path, or that an animal present on the driving path is remaining within the driving path, it controls the alarm device 39 to again notify and / or warn the driver and / or the animal.

[0079] In addition, the driving control unit 22 is provided with a pre-collision judgment unit 22b, which judges whether or not the vehicle will collide (or come into contact) with an animal based on the distance between the vehicle M and the animal, the speed of the vehicle M, etc.

[0080] When the pre-collision judgment unit 22b judges that there will be no collision (or contact) with an animal (avoidance is possible by an avoidance operation), the driving control unit 22 performs control so as to avoid the animal. Specifically, the driving control unit 22 avoids the animal by controlling the throttle actuator 27, the electric power steering motor 28, and the brake actuator 29 via the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, and the brake control unit 25.

[0081] On the other hand, when the pre-collision judgment unit 22b judges that a collision (or contact) with an animal will occur (avoidance is difficult by an avoidance operation), the driving control unit 22 changes the manner of collision (or contact) with the animal depending on the size of the animal. Specifically, the driving control unit 22 judges whether the size of the animal is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold based on the information input from the periphery monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21.

[0082] When the driving control unit 22 determines that the size of the animal is not equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, the driving control unit 22 collides with (or makes contact with) the animal in front of the host vehicle M. In other words, when the driving control unit 22 determines that the animal is smaller than the predetermined threshold, the driving control unit 22 controls the host vehicle M to collide with (or make contact with) the animal in front of the host vehicle M.

[0083] On the other hand, when the driving control unit 22 determines that the size of the animal is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold, the seating determination unit 22c detects an unoccupied seat based on the detection result of the seating sensor 38, and controls the vehicle M so that the side of the unoccupied seat collides (or comes into contact) with the animal.

[0084] For example, if a vehicle hits a large animal with thin legs, such as a moose, the hood may scoop up the animal, causing the animal to climb onto the vehicle and potentially crush the driver and / or passengers along with the vehicle body.

[0085] Therefore, the driving control unit 22 controls the vehicle M to spin and collide (or come into contact with) an animal in a location where there is no occupant, based on the detection result of the seating sensor 38. For example, when the seating determination unit 22c determines that there is no occupant in the left rear seat based on the detection result of the seating sensor 38, the driving control unit 22 controls the vehicle M to spin and collide (or come into contact with) an animal from the left rear side of the vehicle.

[0086] Furthermore, when the seating determination unit 22c determines that there is no seat without an occupant based on the detection result of the seating sensor 38, the driving control unit 22 controls the host vehicle M to spin and collide (or come into contact) with an animal at the rear of the host vehicle M. This makes it possible to prevent an animal with thin legs and large, such as a moose, from climbing onto the hood when the host vehicle M hits it.

[0087] Next, the driving control performed in the driving control system of this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 5. The driving control in Fig. 5 is performed by the driving control unit 22 detecting objects such as humans and animals outside or on the driving path based on the recognition results of the surrounding situation recognition device composed of the surroundings monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21.

[0088] First, the driving control unit 22 judges whether an object outside or on the driving path is a human or an animal (step S1). The driving control unit 22 judges whether an object outside or on the driving path is a human or an animal based on the recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device composed of the surroundings monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21.

[0089] When the driving control unit 22 determines that the object outside the driving path or on the driving path is a human, it performs avoidance control (step S2). Specifically, the driving control unit 22 controls the throttle actuator 27, the electric power steering motor 28, and the brake actuator 29 via the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, and the brake control unit 25 to avoid a collision (or contact) with a human.

[0090] On the other hand, when the driving control unit 22 determines that the object outside or on the driving path is an animal, it controls the notification device 39 to notify and / or warn the driver and / or the animal (step S3). The notification device 39 notifies the driver of the danger by displaying on a display device such as a monitor panel, and issues a warning to scare away animals by sound, light, etc.

[0091] Next, the driving control unit 22 determines whether the animal is moving in a direction to enter the running path from outside the running path or whether it is staying within the running path (step S4). The driving control unit 22 determines whether the animal is moving in a direction to enter the running path from outside the running path or whether it is staying within the running path based on the recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device.

[0092] When the driving control unit 22 determines that the animal is not moving in a direction to enter the driving path from outside and is not staying within the driving path, the processing ends. On the other hand, when the driving control unit 22 determines that the animal is moving in a direction to enter the driving path or is staying within the driving path, the driving control unit 22 controls the alarm device 39 again to notify and / or warn the driver and / or the animal (step S5).

[0093] Next, the driving control unit 22 judges whether or not the vehicle will collide with (or come into contact with) an animal (step S6). Specifically, the driving control unit 22 judges whether the vehicle will collide with (or come into contact with) an animal (it is difficult to avoid the animal by an avoidance operation) or will not collide with (or come into contact with) an animal (it is possible to avoid the animal by an avoidance operation) from information about the distance to the animal calculated based on the recognition result from the surrounding situation recognition device and information about the speed of the vehicle M. If the driving control unit 22 judges that the vehicle will not collide with (or come into contact with) an animal, it performs an avoidance operation (step S7) and ends the process.

[0094] On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle will collide with (or come into contact with) an animal, the driving control unit 22 determines whether or not the size of the animal is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold (step S8). The driving control unit 22 compares the size of the animal calculated based on the recognition result from the surrounding situation recognition device with the predetermined threshold to determine whether or not the size of the animal is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold.

[0095] When the driving control unit 22 determines that the size of the animal is not equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, the driving control unit 22 collides (or contacts) the animal in front of the vehicle (step S9). On the other hand, when the driving control unit 22 determines that the size of the animal is equal to or larger than the predetermined threshold, the driving control unit 22 determines whether or not there is an empty seat (step S10). The driving control unit 22 detects an empty seat based on the detection result from the seating sensor 38.

[0096] When it is determined that there is an empty seat, the driving control unit 22 controls the vehicle so that the side of the empty seat collides with (or comes into contact with) an animal (step S11), and ends the process. The driving control unit 22 controls the throttle actuator 27, the electric power steering motor 28, and the brake actuator 29 via the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, and the brake control unit 25 to spin the host vehicle M and control the vehicle so that the side of the empty seat collides with (or comes into contact with) an animal.

[0097] On the other hand, when the driving control unit 22 determines that there is no seat without an occupant, it controls the vehicle to collide (or come into contact with) an animal at the rear of the vehicle (step S12), and ends the process. The driving control unit 22 controls the throttle actuator 27, the electric power steering motor 28, and the brake actuator 29 via the engine control unit 23, the power steering control unit 24, and the brake control unit 25 to spin the host vehicle M and control the vehicle to collide (or come into contact with) an animal at the rear of the vehicle.

[0098] When executing the process of step S11 or step S12, the cruise control unit 22 spins the host vehicle M when it detects that there is no following vehicle or oncoming vehicle based on the recognition result from the surrounding situation recognition device. As a result, the cruise control unit 22 can spin the host vehicle M in a safe state.

[0099] In addition, the driving control unit 22 determines the driving route of the host vehicle M. outsideAlternatively, the vehicle M is controlled to turn in a direction (direction to throw) an animal or the like out of the oncoming road that faces the road of the vehicle M, and collide with (or come into contact with) the animal or the like. For example, if there is an animal on the front left side of the road, the driving control unit 22 turns the vehicle M to the right and collides with (or comes into contact with) the animal from the left side of the vehicle M, thereby throwing the animal out of the road. Also, if there is an animal on the front right side of the road, the driving control unit 22 turns the vehicle M to the left and collides with (or comes into contact with) the animal from the right side of the vehicle M, thereby throwing the animal out of the oncoming road that faces the road of the vehicle M. As a result, it is possible to prevent a following vehicle or an oncoming vehicle from colliding with (or coming into contact with) an animal that is unable to move on the road or on the oncoming road.

[0100] As described above, the driving control system 1 of this embodiment recognizes the situation around the vehicle M using a surrounding situation recognition device composed of the surrounding monitoring unit 20 and the camera unit 21, and can appropriately warn the driver and / or animals by quickly detecting animals in bushes outside the driving path or on the driving path.

[0101] Furthermore, when a collision (or contact) with an animal that is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold cannot be avoided, the driving control system 1 controls the vehicle M to spin and collide (or contact) with the animal on the side of an empty seat or at the rear of the vehicle. This allows the driving control system 1 to scoop up the animal with the bonnet, preventing the animal from climbing onto the vehicle and crushing the driver and / or passengers along with the vehicle body, thereby enabling a collision (or contact) with a large animal safely.

[0102] Furthermore, while executing the driving control of Figure 5, if, for example, an animal that is being determined as the subject of a collision (or contact) determination moves in a direction away from the vehicle M and the risk of collision (or contact) is eliminated, the driving control system 1 immediately terminates the driving control of Figure 5 and returns to a state in which normal driving is possible (the state before executing the driving control of Figure 5).

[0103] It should be noted that the steps in the flowcharts in this specification may be executed in a different order, may be executed simultaneously, or may be executed in a different order each time, provided that this is not contrary to the nature of the steps.

[0104] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1. Driving control system 10…In-vehicle communication line 11...Locator unit 12...Map locator calculation unit 12a... Vehicle position estimation unit 12b…Map information acquisition section 13...Accelerometer 14...Wheel speed sensor 15...Gyro sensor 16…GNSS receiver 17...Road information receiver 18…High-precision road map database 19…Route information input section 20...Periphery monitoring unit (periphery situation recognition device) 20a…Surrounding area recognition sensor 20b…Surrounding Area Awareness Department 21...Camera unit (surrounding situation recognition device) 21a…Main camera 21b…Sub camera 21c…Image Processing Unit (IPU) 21d…Driving environment recognition section 22...Drive control unit (drive control section) 22a… Surrounding situation judgment section 22b...Pre-collision judgment unit 22c…Seating Judgment Section 23…Engine control unit 24...Power steering control unit 25…Brake control unit 27...Throttle actuator 28...Electric power steering motor 29…Brake actuator 33...Mode switch 34... Steering wheel touch sensor (steering state recognition unit) 35...Steering torque sensor (steering state recognition unit) 36...Brake sensor 37...Accelerator sensor 38…Seat sensor 39...Alarm device

Claims

1. A surrounding situation recognition device that recognizes the surrounding situation of the host vehicle; An alarm device that issues a notification and / or an alarm to the inside and outside of the vehicle; a pre-collision determination unit that determines whether or not the host vehicle will collide with an object based on a recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device; a seating determination unit that determines whether or not there is a seat in which an occupant is seated; a driving control unit that, when the pre-collision judgment unit judges that the host vehicle will collide with the object according to the recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device, detects an unoccupied seat in the host vehicle based on the judgment result of the seating judgment unit, and controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle will collide with the object at a side of the unoccupied seat, the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes at least a range wider than a width of a road along which the host vehicle is traveling and a range below the host vehicle relative to an axle connected to the host vehicle; When the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes the object outside or on the traveling path of the vehicle, the warning device issues a notification and / or a warning to the occupant and / or the object aboard the vehicle, and when the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes that the object is moving in a direction to enter the traveling path from outside the traveling path or that the object remains within the traveling path, the warning device issues a notification and / or a warning to the occupant and / or the object again, The vehicle driving control system is characterized in that, when it is determined based on the judgment result of the seating judgment unit that there is no seat in the vehicle without an occupant, the driving control unit controls the vehicle so that the vehicle collides with the object behind the vehicle.

2. A surrounding situation recognition device that recognizes the surrounding situation of the host vehicle; An alarm device that issues a notification and / or an alarm to the inside and outside of the vehicle; a pre-collision determination unit that determines whether or not the host vehicle will collide with an object based on a recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device; a travel control unit that controls the host vehicle so that the host vehicle turns in a direction to move the object out of the host vehicle's travel path or out of an opposing travel path opposite to the host vehicle's travel path and collide with the object when the pre-collision judgment unit judges that the host vehicle will collide with the object based on a recognition result of the surrounding situation recognition device, the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes at least a range wider than a width of a road along which the host vehicle is traveling and a range below the host vehicle relative to an axle connected to the host vehicle; The warning device notifies and / or warns occupants of the vehicle and / or the object when the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes an object outside or on the vehicle's driving path, and when the surrounding situation recognition device recognizes that the object is moving in a direction entering the driving path from outside the driving path or remains within the driving path, it again notifies and / or warns the occupants and / or the object.

Images