Driving support system

Abstract

To eliminate troublesomeness of switching operation of overtaking control or overtaking suppression control.SOLUTION: An own vehicle includes: a position information acquisition unit for acquiring position information of an own vehicle; a passing information acquisition unit for acquiring passing information indicating whether or not the own vehicle has passed or overtaken other vehicle; a transmission unit for transmitting the position information and the passing information to a server external to the own vehicle; a receiving unit for receiving predetermined information from the server; and a switching control unit (steps S3, S4, S5) for switching between execution and non-execution of passing control based on information received from the server. The server includes: a passing frequency determination unit for determining a frequency of passing or overtaking in a predetermined area including a place where the own vehicle is traveling based on passing information received from a traveling vehicle including the own vehicle; and a server side transmission unit for transmitting a frequency to the vehicle entering a predetermined area as information for switching between execution and non-execution of the overtaking control.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for assisting in facilitating the driving operation of a vehicle, and more particularly to a driving assistance apparatus that performs control for overtaking or passing a vehicle traveling ahead, or control for suppressing such control.

Background Art

[0002] So-called driving assistance is performed to detect a so-called driving environment such as the driving state of surrounding vehicles and control the host vehicle to perform driving suitable for the driving environment, or provide information to the driver. As an example of such driving assistance, an apparatus for performing control when overtaking a vehicle traveling ahead is described in Patent Document 1. The apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is mainly an apparatus configured to detect the relationship with other surrounding vehicles when attempting to overtake a vehicle ahead and abort the overtaking based on the result of the detection. That is, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 detects whether or not there are other vehicles within a predetermined range before and after the host vehicle when starting to overtake or changing lanes for overtaking. When the other vehicle is detected, the overtaking is aborted. Further, when it is detected that there is a space in the original lane before starting to overtake, steering is performed to enter the space. Furthermore, the driver is notified of the state of such overtaking control.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The above overtaking control is automatically performed when the system therefor is operating. However, depending on the road environment or driving environment in which the host vehicle is traveling, it may not be preferable to perform overtaking control. Therefore, the system for overtaking control may be configured so that the driver can arbitrarily turn it on and off, or the control for suppressing overtaking may be configured so that it can be arbitrarily turned on and off. In an overtaking control system that can be freely switched between on and off, the driver can simply perform an on operation or an off operation according to the driving state at that time, enabling driving in accordance with the driver's intention.

[0005] However, driving control for overtaking or passing, including detection or recognition of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, the distance and relative speed to the preceding vehicle, detection of other vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes, and the presence or absence of operation of the direction indicator (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as overtaking control), may be incorporated and executed as part of adaptive cruise control (ACC control). In such a case, if only the overtaking control is switched between on and off, the settings of the ACC control will be manually changed, making it inevitable that the on / off switching of the overtaking control will be troublesome for the driver. Therefore, for example, there is a possibility that the driver may neglect the switching operation and perform overtaking or passing in a driving environment where it is not preferable to do so, or conversely, the driver may feel uncomfortable because they are unable to perform the overtaking or passing as expected.

[0006] The present invention has been made paying attention to the above technical problems, and aims to automatically switch the execution / prohibition of control for overtaking or passing according to the driving environment or the like, or the suppression of such control, and eliminate operations that are considered troublesome for the driver.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a driving assistance system capable of executing overtaking control for controlling at least the vehicle speed of the host vehicle based on the relationship with another vehicle ahead of the host vehicle in order to overtake or pass the other vehicle. The host vehicle includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the host vehicle, an overtaking information acquisition unit that acquires overtaking information indicating whether the host vehicle has overtaken or passed the other vehicle, a transmission unit that transmits the position information and the overtaking information to a server outside the host vehicle, a reception unit that receives predetermined information from the server, and a switching control unit that switches between execution and non-execution of the overtaking control based on the information received from the server. The position information includes whether the lane on which the host vehicle is traveling is a driving lane or a passing lane, and the passing information includes that the host vehicle has overtaken another vehicle traveling in the passing lane while traveling in the driving lane, and that the host vehicle has decelerated so as not to overtake the other vehicle. The server includes an overtaking frequency determination unit that obtains the overtaking or passing frequency in a predetermined area including the location where the host vehicle is traveling based on the overtaking information received from the traveling vehicles including the host vehicle, and a server-side transmission unit that transmits the frequency as information for switching between execution and non-execution of the overtaking control to the vehicles entering the predetermined area.

[0009] Further, in the present invention, the host vehicle may be provided with adaptive cruise control for accelerating and decelerating to follow the preceding vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance from the preceding vehicle traveling ahead, and the overtaking control may be executed or not executed during the execution of the adaptive cruise control.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, when the host vehicle is traveling in a predetermined area, the server receives, as information for switching the execution or non-execution of overtaking control, the frequency of overtaking or passing in that area. The host vehicle executes or does not execute overtaking control based on the received information. Therefore, without bothering the driver, the overtaking control or the control for suppressing it can be automatically executed or not executed. Further, since the above frequency is based on information regarding overtaking or passing transmitted from the vehicles that have actually traveled in the above area, the information regarding overtaking or passing transmitted from the server to the host vehicle reflects the area or environment in which the host vehicle is traveling. As a result, the execution or non-execution of overtaking or passing by the host vehicle conforms to the vehicle flow, and smooth driving following the vehicle flow can be performed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are merely examples of implementing the present invention and do not limit the present invention.

[0013] The vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention is a vehicle capable of executing overtaking control for controlling at least the vehicle speed so as to be suitable for overtaking or passing other vehicles traveling in the same lane or an adjacent lane. Further, it is a vehicle capable of executing overtaking suppression control that approximates prohibiting overtaking control. This type of overtaking control is executed as part of so-called Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC control) that maintains the vehicle speed at a preset vehicle speed and accelerates or decelerates to maintain a preset inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in the same lane and follow the preceding vehicle. That is, the vehicle Va in the embodiment of the present invention schematically shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with an Adaptive Cruise Control System (ACC system) 1. The ACC system 1 has the same configuration as a conventionally known system, is mainly configured with a microcomputer, performs calculations using data input by manual operation, detection data input from various sensors, data stored in advance, etc., and outputs the result of the calculation as a control command signal, thereby being configured to perform various functions for constant vehicle speed driving (cruising). Its functional configuration includes a function of setting a target vehicle speed based on manual operation, a function of comparing the detected vehicle speed with the target vehicle speed (set vehicle speed) and outputting a control command signal for acceleration or deceleration so that the actual vehicle speed matches the set vehicle speed, a function of setting a target inter-vehicle distance based on manual operation, a function of detecting the preceding vehicle Vb ahead by a radar or lidar (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as radar) 2 and obtaining the inter-vehicle distance, and a function of outputting a control command for accelerating or decelerating in accordance with the acceleration or deceleration of the preceding vehicle Vb so that the actual inter-vehicle distance matches the target inter-vehicle distance. Further, when the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle Vb is slower than the set vehicle speed and the direction indicator is operated to change lanes to the overtaking lane in order to overtake the preceding vehicle Vb, a function of ending the control to set the vehicle speed in accordance with the preceding vehicle Vb, a function of detecting other vehicles Vc existing in the overtaking lane and detecting the interval from those other vehicles Vc in that case, and a function of determining the feasibility of overtaking based on the detected interval are provided.

[0014] Vehicle Va is equipped with a system for detecting its own position. An example of this is the navigation system (NAV system) 3. The NAV system 3 determines the position on the coordinates of the host vehicle Va through communication with satellites (GPS satellites) in, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS), and in combination with this, determines the position on the coordinates of the host vehicle Va through dead reckoning using a gyro or the like, and detects the position of the host vehicle Va on the map by comparing the position on the coordinates with the map data. The map data contains various information about each location, for example, the type and name of the road on which the host vehicle Va is traveling, the types of the driving lane and the overtaking lane, the region to which the current location belongs, and so on. Note that the vehicle Va can be equipped with a camera 4 for identifying the lane in which it is traveling. According to the image obtained by the camera 4, it is possible to determine whether the host vehicle Va is traveling in a lane closer to the center line or in a lane closer to the road shoulder. Also, whether the country or region in which it is currently traveling is a left-hand traffic country or region is known in advance. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the lane in which it is currently traveling is a driving lane or an overtaking lane based on the image obtained by the camera 4.

[0015] Note that the camera 4 and the aforementioned radar 2 are not only provided to acquire the state ahead in the same lane, but may also be provided in multiple units to obtain information on other vehicles Vc in adjacent lanes, or may be provided so as to be able to change the direction. That is, in the embodiment of the present invention, it may be configured to acquire information around the host vehicle Va such as in front, behind, left, and right, and use or reflect that information in ACC control, overtaking control, or the like.

[0016] Furthermore, the vehicle Va is equipped with a DCM (Data Communication Module) 6 for performing data communication with a server 5 provided outside the vehicle Va. This DCM 6 is composed of a control device mainly based on a microcomputer, a communication antenna, and the like, and mediates communication between the in-vehicle network including the above ACC system 1 and NAV system 3 and an external network such as the server 5.

[0017] As described above, the vehicle Va can detect its current position and changes thereof, the relative positions and changes thereof with respect to the preceding vehicle Vb and other surrounding vehicles Vc, and also acceleration and deceleration, etc. by means of the ACC system 1, the radar 2, the NAV system 3, and further the camera 4, etc. Based on the detected data, it determines whether or not it has overtaken or passed another vehicle. Then, it transmits the result of the determination to the server 5. These controls are executed by the above-described ACC system 1, NAV system 3, and DCM 6, etc. Therefore, the above-described ACC system 1, NAV system 3, and DCM 6, etc. constitute the controller in the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the controller in the embodiment of the present invention may be configured as a higher-level control device that outputs a control signal to the above-described ACC system 1, NAV system 3, and DCM 6, etc.

[0018] If the controller 7 is shown by its functional configuration, it is as shown in FIG. 2. That is, the controller 7 shown here includes a position information acquisition unit 7A that acquires the position information of the host vehicle Va. This corresponds to the position detection function by the above-described NAV system 3. Further, it includes a passing information acquisition unit 7B that acquires information on whether or not the host vehicle Va has overtaken or passed other vehicles such as the preceding vehicle Vb and other vehicles Vc. This type of information can be obtained from the execution or non-execution of passing control (or the non-execution or execution of passing suppression control) by the above-described ACC system 1 and the position information of the host vehicle Va by the NAV system 3. The data transfer between the host vehicle Va and the server 5 is performed by the above-described DCM 6, and therefore, a transmission unit 7C and a reception unit 7D corresponding to the DCM 6 are provided. Further, the passing control in the ACC system 1 can be switched between execution (on) and non-execution (off), or the passing suppression control can be switched between non-execution (off) and execution (on). A switching control unit 7E is provided that performs the switching based on the information received from the server 5 as described later. In the embodiment described here, the non-execution (off) and execution (on) of the passing suppression control are described as the execution (on) and non-execution (off) of the passing control.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present invention, road information or driving information obtained during actual driving is transmitted from the driving vehicle to the server 5. The server 5 processes these pieces of information to generate information useful for the driving of the vehicle Va and transmits it to the vehicle Va. Therefore, the server 5 is provided with a communication device for information transfer and an arithmetic unit for information processing. The information received by the server 5 from the vehicle Va is mainly information regarding the position and information regarding overtaking or passing. The information regarding the position is the information obtained by the NAV system 3 and may be either the position on the coordinates of the vehicle Va during driving or the position on the map. The information regarding overtaking or passing includes overtaking another vehicle Vc traveling in an adjacent lane (driving lane or overtaking lane) without changing lanes, catching up with the other vehicle Vc but maintaining a decelerated state of traveling side by side or in a state close thereto, or getting in front of the other vehicle Vc by changing lanes. As described above, the vehicle Va detects or monitors the preceding vehicle Vb by ACC control and also performs control for overtaking while detecting other surrounding vehicles Vc. Therefore, the relative relationship such as the position and speed between the host vehicle Va and the other vehicle Vc is constantly detected or grasped.

[0020] Server 5 sequentially classifies the information transmitted from a large number of vehicles based on the location information contained therein for each predetermined area, and obtains the frequency of overtaking or passing (hereinafter, tentatively referred to as the overtaking frequency) in each area. Here, the "area" may be a region with a predetermined radius centered on a point appropriately determined on the map, or may be a distance range obtained by appropriately dividing each road into distances. Also, the overtaking frequency may be the number of overtaking or passing times, or the ratio of the number of times of following the leading vehicle Vb without overtaking or passing and the number of times of overtaking or passing. Note that these numbers may be obtained for each time period, or may be obtained separately for daytime and nighttime, or may even be obtained separately for each season. Therefore, it can be said that the overtaking frequency indicates the driving state of general vehicles in the area. Server 5 transmits the overtaking frequency thus obtained to the vehicles within each area.

[0021] Server 5 is configured to perform the above-described control. If its configuration is shown by functional elements, it is as shown in FIG. 2. That is, server 5 includes an overtaking frequency determination unit 5A that obtains the above-described overtaking frequency, and a server-side transmission unit 5B that transmits the overtaking frequency to vehicle Va as information for switching the execution and non-execution of overtaking control.

[0022] Therefore, vehicle Va can know the general driving mode of the area in which it is currently traveling. More specifically, it can know whether overtaking or passing is frequently performed, or whether driving continues without substantially breaking the queue. That is, the host vehicle Va can determine based on the received overtaking frequency whether there is no problem in overtaking or passing, or whether overtaking or passing will smooth the vehicle flow, and conversely, whether overtaking or passing should be avoided in terms of smoothing the vehicle flow and safety in that area.

[0023] Therefore, the host vehicle Va switches the execution or non-execution of overtaking control, which is performed as part of ACC control, based on the received overtaking frequency. The functional configuration for this is the switching control unit 7E described above. Specifically, if the value of the received overtaking frequency is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, the overtaking control is turned off to suppress the overtaking control. Conversely, if the received overtaking frequency exceeds the threshold, the overtaking control is turned on to perform overtaking or passing according to the situation.

[0024] An example of the control for switching the execution or non-execution of overtaking control based on the information from the server 5 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The control example shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed by the host vehicle Va when the host vehicle Va is running while executing ACC control. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle Va has entered a predetermined area. Here, the predetermined area is an area or a range of a driving route predetermined in the server 5, and the host vehicle Va acquires the area from the server 5. In addition, the host vehicle Va detects its own position. Therefore, the determination in step S1 is made by comparing the above area on the map with the position of the host vehicle Va.

[0025] If the determination in step S1 is negative, the routine of FIG. 3 is temporarily terminated without performing any particular control. Conversely, if the determination in step S1 is affirmative because the host vehicle Va has entered the predetermined area, the overtaking frequency in the area is acquired from the server 5 (step S2). Here, the overtaking frequency may be any of the frequency at which a vehicle traveling in the driving lane overtakes another vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane, the frequency at which a vehicle traveling in the driving lane changes lanes to the overtaking lane and overtakes the vehicle ahead in the driving lane, the frequency at which a vehicle traveling in the overtaking lane changes lanes to the driving lane and moves ahead of the vehicle ahead in the overtaking lane in the driving lane, and the like. Such a frequency is calculated by the server 5 for each predetermined area, and the host vehicle Va receives the frequency in step S2.

[0026] Next, it is determined whether the acquired frequency is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value (step S3). The threshold value serving as the determination criterion can be appropriately determined in terms of design. If the determination in this step S3 is affirmative, it is presumed that the vehicle is traveling in an area or on a road where the overtaking or passing frequency is low, so the overtaking control in the ACC control is not executed (turned off) (step S4). For a vehicle Va equipped with overtaking suppression control, the overtaking suppression control is turned on. Then, the process returns. On the contrary, if the determination in step S3 is negative because the frequency is greater than the threshold value, it is presumed that the vehicle is traveling in an area or on a road where overtaking or passing is frequently performed, so the overtaking control in the ACC control is executed (turned on) (step S5). For a vehicle Va equipped with overtaking suppression control, the overtaking suppression control is turned off. Then, the process returns.

[0027] Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, since the execution / non-execution of the overtaking control (or the non-execution / execution of the overtaking suppression control) can be automatically switched according to the area in which the host vehicle is traveling, the annoyance of the driver having to manually switch can be eliminated. In addition, the above-mentioned frequency serving as an index for switching the execution / non-execution of the overtaking control (or the non-execution / execution of the overtaking suppression control) is based on information obtained from the actual travel of a large number of vehicles and reflects the actual conditions such as the road conditions and customs of that area. Therefore, if the execution and non-execution of the overtaking or passing control are switched based on that index, it becomes possible to travel in accordance with the actual conditions in that area, and ultimately, it is possible to perform a smooth travel that follows the flow of vehicles without any forcedness.

Explanation of Signs

[0028] 1 ACC system 2 Radar 3 NAV system 4 Camera 5 Server 5A Overtaking frequency determination unit 5B Server-side transmission unit 6 DCM 7 Controller 7A Position Information Acquisition Unit 7B Overtaking Information Acquisition Unit 7C Transmitter 7D Receiver 7E Switching Control Unit Va Own Vehicle Vb Leading Vehicle Vc Other Vehicle

Claims

1. A driving assistance system capable of executing passing control for controlling at least the vehicle speed of the host vehicle based on the relationship with another vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle in order to overtake or pass the other vehicle, wherein the host vehicle includes, a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information of the host vehicle, a passing information acquisition unit that acquires passing information indicating whether the host vehicle has overtaken or passed the other vehicle, a transmission unit that transmits the position information and the passing information to a server outside the host vehicle, a reception unit that receives predetermined information from the server, and a switching control unit that switches between execution and non-execution of the passing control based on the information received from the server, wherein the position information includes whether the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is a driving lane or a passing lane, wherein the passing information includes that the host vehicle has overtaken another vehicle traveling in the passing lane while traveling in the driving lane, and that the host vehicle has decelerated so as not to overtake the other vehicle, wherein the server includes, a passing frequency determination unit that obtains the passing or overtaking frequency in a predetermined area including the location where the host vehicle is traveling based on the passing information received from the traveling vehicles including the host vehicle, and a server-side transmission unit that transmits the frequency as information for switching between execution and non-execution of the passing control to the vehicles entering the predetermined area, The driving assistance system is characterized by the above.

2. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the host vehicle is provided with adaptive cruise control for accelerating and decelerating to follow the preceding vehicle while maintaining a predetermined distance from the preceding vehicle traveling ahead, and the passing control is executed or not executed during the execution of the adaptive cruise control. The driving assistance system is characterized by the above.

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