Driving support device

Abstract

To provide a driving support device that properly determines a wrong-way drive of a vehicle according to the situation of a road.SOLUTION: A driving support device 1 includes: an external recognition device 11: a locator unit 12; an alarm device 31; and a travel control unit 22. The travel control unit 22 specifies road sections A to D where an owned vehicle M is travelling from the position of the vehicle M on road map information estimated by the locator unit 12, performs wrong-way determination processing having different threshold values corresponding to the specified road sections A to D and drives the alarm device 31 when an action of the vehicle M which can lead to a wrong-way drive is detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving support device for preventing reverse driving.

Background Art

[0002] The act of a vehicle driving in reverse against the vehicle traveling direction defined on the road is very dangerous, and it has been an issue to prevent the vehicle from driving in reverse. Also, the problem is that the driver drives the vehicle in reverse with respect to the vehicle traveling direction.

[0003] In recent years, various proposals have been made regarding technologies for detecting and preventing reverse driving of vehicles. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology of a driving support device that gives a warning against reverse driving during an appropriate period. This conventional driving support device determines reverse driving from patterns such as a U-turn on a highway being reverse driving, or proceeding in the opposite direction to the link information on the map being reverse driving, and other predetermined operations and vehicle behaviors.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the situations and patterns of reverse driving on the road change every moment, but the conventional driving support device does not detect reverse driving according to predetermined operations and vehicle behaviors of specific patterns. There has been a problem that even when the driver has no intention of reverse driving, a warning is given due to system intervention, which is annoying.

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device that executes appropriate reverse driving determination of a vehicle according to road conditions.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] An operation support device according to an aspect of the present invention includes an external recognition device that acquires running environment information around the host vehicle, a locator unit that stores road map information and detects the position of the host vehicle based on a positioning signal, and an alarm sound, a warning display, etc. for the driver Warning An alarm device that performs the above, and a travel control unit that controls the vehicle based on the forward travel environment information obtained by the external recognition device. The travel control unit travels from the position of the host vehicle on the road map information estimated by the locator unit The front When the behavior of the host vehicle that may reverse is detected in the road section being traveled, the alarm device is driven. Identify the first road section of the entire road section and other road sections obtained by dividing the first road section into a plurality of sections. Execute the first reverse travel determination process in the first road section, and execute other reverse travel determination processes in addition to the first reverse travel determination process in each of the divided other road sections. In each road section

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an operation support device that executes appropriate reverse travel determination of a vehicle according to road conditions.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of one aspect of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used in the following description, in order to make each component recognizable on the drawing, the scales are different for each component, and the present invention is not limited only to the quantity of the components described in these drawings, the shape of the components, the ratio of the sizes of the components, and the relative positional relationship of each component.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a travel control device 10 as a driving support device for a vehicle in this embodiment has a travel environment recognition unit 11 and a locator unit 12 as units for recognizing the travel environment outside the vehicle.

[0012] Further, the travel control device 10 includes a travel control unit (hereinafter referred to as "travel_ECU") 22, an engine control unit (hereinafter referred to as "E / G_ECU") 23, a power steering control unit (hereinafter referred to as "PS_ECU") 24 which is a steering (steering) control unit, a brake control unit (hereinafter referred to as "BK_ECU") 25, and a clutch control unit (hereinafter referred to as "CL_ECU") 26. These control units 22 to 26 are connected via an in-vehicle communication line such as CAN (Controller Area Network) together with the travel environment recognition unit 11 and the locator unit 12.

[0013] The travel environment recognition unit 11, which is an external recognition device, is fixed, for example, at the upper center of the front part of the vehicle interior. This travel environment recognition unit 11 has an in-vehicle camera (stereo camera) composed of a main camera 11a and a sub-camera 11b, an image processing unit (IPU) 11c, and a travel environment recognition unit 11d.

[0014] The main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b are, for example, autonomous sensors that sense the real space in front of the host vehicle M. These main camera 11a and sub-camera 11b are arranged, for example, at symmetric positions in the passenger compartment in front of the upper part of the windshield, straddling the center in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIG. 2, and stereoscopically image the front area of the host vehicle M from different viewpoints.

[0015] The IPU 11c performs predetermined image processing on the front driving environment image information of the front of the host vehicle M imaged by both cameras 11a and 11b, and generates front driving environment image information (distance image information) including distance information obtained from the displacement amount of the corresponding target position. The driving environment recognition unit 11d obtains lane dividing lines that divide the road around the host vehicle M based on the distance image information and the like received from the IPU 11c.

[0016] In addition, the driving environment recognition unit 11d obtains the road curvature [1 / m] of the lane dividing lines that divide the left and right of the road on which the host vehicle M travels (the host vehicle driving lane), and the width between the left and right lane dividing lines (lane width). Although various methods for obtaining this road curvature and lane width are known, for example, the driving environment recognition unit 11d recognizes the left and right lane dividing lines by binarization processing based on the luminance difference in the front driving environment image information, and obtains the curvature of the left and right lane dividing lines for each predetermined section using a curve approximation formula by the least squares method or the like.

[0017] In addition, the driving environment recognition unit 11d performs predetermined pattern matching or the like on the distance image information, and recognizes guardrails, curbstones existing along the road, and three-dimensional objects such as pedestrians, two-wheeled vehicles, and vehicles other than two-wheeled vehicles existing on the road around the host vehicle M, and obstacles.

[0018] Here, in the recognition of three-dimensional objects, obstacles, etc. by the driving environment recognition unit 11d, for example, recognition of the type of three-dimensional object, the distance to the three-dimensional object, the speed of the three-dimensional object, the relative speed between the three-dimensional object and the host vehicle M, etc. is performed. Note that the three-dimensional object recognized based on the image from the in-vehicle camera in this way is referred to as a camera object (camera OBJ).

[0019] Furthermore, a plurality of radar devices (for example, a left front side radar device 11fl, a right front side radar device 11fr, a left rear side radar device 11rl, and a right rear side radar device 11rr) are connected to the driving environment recognition unit 11d as autonomous sensors.

[0020] These plurality of radar devices (left front side radar device 11fl, right front side radar device 11fr, left rear side radar device 11rl, and right rear side radar device 11rr) are arranged on a bumper or the like so as to sandwich the center in the front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction and be in front-rear left-right symmetric positions outside the vehicle body, as shown in FIG. 2, for example.

[0021] The left front side radar device 11fl and the right front side radar device 11fr monitor two regions on the left and right diagonal front and side of the host vehicle M that cannot be monitored by the images from the above-described cameras 11a and 11b. The left rear side radar device 11rl and the right rear side radar device 11rr monitor two regions from the left and right sides to the rear of the host vehicle M that cannot be monitored by the above-described left front side radar device 11fl and right front side radar device 11fr.

[0022] Each of these radar devices 11fl, 11fr, 11rl, and 11rr is configured to include a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, a lidar (LIDER: Light Detection and Ranging), or the like. Each of the radar devices 11fl, 11fr, 11rl, and 11rr detects a plurality of reflection points on a three-dimensional object existing around the host vehicle M by receiving a reflected wave of a radar wave (radio wave, laser beam, etc.) emitted in the horizontal direction, and recognizes the three-dimensional object.

[0023] In this way, the information regarding the radar OBJ recognized by each of the radar devices 11fl, 11fr, 11rl, and 11rr is input to the driving environment recognition unit 11d. As a result, the driving environment recognition unit 11d can recognize not only the preceding vehicle existing in front of the host vehicle M, but also the vehicles running parallel to the host vehicle M existing on the side of the host vehicle M, the intersecting vehicle approaching the host vehicle M from the direction intersecting the host vehicle's traveling path at intersections, and the following vehicle existing behind the host vehicle M.

[0024] Note that the left rear side radar device 11rl and the right rear side radar device 11rr may not be provided, and a rear view camera may be used to recognize the vehicles running parallel to the rear and the following vehicle.

[0025] The locator unit 12 estimates the position of the host vehicle on the road map and has a locator arithmetic unit 13 for estimating the position of the host vehicle. Sensors necessary for estimating the position of the host vehicle M (host vehicle position), such as an acceleration sensor 14 for detecting the longitudinal acceleration of the host vehicle M, a wheel speed sensor 15 for detecting the rotational speeds of the front, rear, left, and right wheels, a gyro sensor 16 for detecting the angular velocity or angular acceleration of the host vehicle M, a GNSS receiver 17 for receiving positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of positioning satellites, and a steering angle sensor 18 for detecting the rotational angle of the steering (not shown), are connected to the input side of this locator arithmetic unit 13.

[0026] A high-precision road map database 19 is connected to the locator arithmetic unit 13. The high-precision road map database 19 is a large-capacity storage medium such as an HDD, and stores high-precision road map information (dynamic map).

[0027] That is, the high-precision road map information has four layers of information mainly composed of static information and quasi-static information that mainly constitute road information, and quasi-dynamic information and dynamic information that mainly constitute traffic information.

[0028] The locator operation unit 13 includes a map information acquisition unit 13a and a host vehicle position estimation unit 13b. The map information acquisition unit 13a acquires route map information from the current location to the destination based on, for example, the destination set by the driver during automatic driving, from the map information stored in the high-precision road map database 19.

[0029] Also, the map information acquisition unit 13a transmits the acquired route map information (lane data on the route map) to the host vehicle position estimation unit 13b. The host vehicle position estimation unit 13b acquires the position coordinates of the host vehicle M based on the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 17.

[0030] Furthermore, the host vehicle position estimation unit 13b maps the acquired position coordinates onto the route map information to estimate the position of the host vehicle on the road map, recognizes the left and right lane demarcation lines that demarcate the host vehicle's travel route (travel lane), and acquires the road curvature at the center of the travel lane stored in the road map data.

[0031] In addition, when the sensitivity of the GNSS receiver 17 decreases and an effective positioning signal from the positioning satellite cannot be received, such as when driving in a tunnel, the host vehicle position estimation unit 13b switches to an autonomous navigation method for estimating the position of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed obtained based on the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 15, the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor 16, and the longitudinal acceleration detected by the longitudinal and lateral acceleration sensor 14, and estimates the position of the host vehicle on the road map.

[0032] Furthermore, when the host vehicle position estimation unit 13b estimates the position of the host vehicle on the road map based on the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 17 or the information detected by the gyro sensor 16 as described above, etc., it determines the road type of the travel route on which the host vehicle M is traveling based on the estimated position of the host vehicle on the road map.

[0033] On the input side of the traveling ECU 22, various switches and sensors are connected, such as a mode switch for the driver to perform on / off switching of the automatic driving (travel control), a steering torque sensor for detecting the steering torque as the driving operation amount by the driver, a brake sensor for detecting the depression amount of the brake pedal as the driving operation amount by the driver, an accelerator sensor for detecting the depression amount of the accelerator pedal as the driving operation amount by the driver, and a yaw rate sensor for detecting the yaw rate acting on the host vehicle M (none of them are shown).

[0034] In the traveling ECU 22, as driving modes, a manual driving mode, a first traveling control mode and a second traveling control mode which are modes for traveling control, and an evacuation mode are set. These driving modes can be selectively switched in the traveling ECU 22 based on the operation status of the mode switch and the like.

[0035] Here, the manual driving mode is a driving mode that requires the driver to hold the steering, for example, a driving mode in which the host vehicle M is driven according to driving operations such as steering operation, accelerator operation, and brake operation by the driver.

[0036] Similarly, the first traveling control mode is also a driving mode that requires the driver to hold the steering. That is, the first traveling control mode mainly performs adaptive cruise control (ACC) and active lane keep centering (ALKC) control and active lane keep bouncing control by appropriately combining them through controls such as the E / G_ECU 23, PS_ECU 24, and BK_ECU 25 while reflecting the driving operation by the driver, so as to drive the host vehicle M along the target traveling route. It is a so-called semi-automatic driving mode.

[0037] The second driving control mode is an automatic driving mode in which, without requiring the driver to hold the steering wheel, operate the accelerator, or operate the brake, the host vehicle M is driven according to a target route (route map information) by appropriately combining mainly a preceding vehicle following control and a lane center keeping control and a lane departure suppression control through control by, for example, an E / G_ECU23, a PS_ECU24, a BK_ECU25, etc.

[0038] The evacuation mode is a mode for automatically stopping the host vehicle M on the roadside strip or the like when, for example, during traveling in the second driving control mode, traveling in this mode becomes impossible to continue and the driver cannot take over the driving operation (that is, when it is impossible to shift to the manual driving mode or the first driving control mode).

[0039] A throttle actuator 35 is connected to the output side of the E / G_ECU23. This throttle actuator 35 opens and closes a throttle valve of an electronic control throttle provided in a throttle body of an engine, and generates a desired engine output by adjusting an intake air flow rate by opening and closing the throttle valve according to a drive signal from the E / G_ECU23.

[0040] An electric power steering motor 28 as a drive source is connected to the output side of the PS_ECU24. This electric power steering motor 28 applies a steering torque with a rotational force of the motor to a steering mechanism, and in automatic driving, a lane center keeping control for maintaining traveling in the current driving lane and a lane change control for moving the host vehicle M to an adjacent lane (lane change control for overtaking or the like) are executed by controlling and operating the electric power steering motor 28 according to a drive signal from the PS_ECU24.

[0041] On the output side of the BK_ECU25, a brake actuator 29 is connected. This brake actuator 29 adjusts the brake hydraulic pressure supplied to the brake wheel cylinders provided on each wheel. When the brake actuator 29 is driven by a drive signal from the BK_ECU25, a braking (decelerating) force of the braking mechanism is generated on each wheel by the brake wheel cylinder, and the vehicle is forcibly decelerated.

[0042] On the output side of the CL_ECU26, a differential clutch 30 is connected. This differential clutch 30 is, for example, a hydraulic clutch, and absorbs the rotational difference between the left and right wheels by adjusting the driving force transmitted to the left and right wheels by a drive signal from the CL_ECU26. Note that the differential clutch 30 may be an electromagnetic clutch in addition to the hydraulic clutch.

[0043] This differential clutch 30 is provided on one or both of the front / rear differential devices, which are differential devices, according to drive systems such as FF (front-wheel drive), FR (rear-wheel drive), and 4WD (four-wheel drive).

[0044] Note that on the input side of the traveling_ECU22, a direction indicator (winker) control unit, which is a direction indicator control device not shown in the figure, etc. are connected. This direction indicator control unit receives an ON signal from a direction indicator lever (not shown in the figure), which is a direction indicator operation unit (winker lever) operated by the driver.

[0045] Also, a relay circuit is incorporated in the direction indicator control unit. By operating the direction indicator lever by the driver, two of the four direction indicators (winkers) 37a, 37b, 38a, 38b, which are located in the front, rear, left, and right directions of the own vehicle M shown in FIG. 2 and form a pair on the left and right, are blinked. Here, for example, the right front direction indicator 37a and the right rear direction indicator 38a form a pair, and the left front direction indicator 37b and the left rear direction indicator 38b form a pair.

[0046] Furthermore, an alarm device 31 is connected to the output side of the traveling ECU 22. This alarm device 31 executes alarm sounds such as voice and buzzer, and warning displays on the instrument panel, navigation monitor, etc.

[0047] The driving support device 1 configured as described above executes control to determine and prevent reverse driving when the host vehicle M is manually operated by the driver.

[0048] In the driving support device 1 of the present embodiment, a predetermined road section is set in advance based on high-precision map information. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, on a general road 100, an entrance-side branch lane 102 which is a branch road from the main line to a toll gate 101 leading to an expressway, an exit-side merging lane 103 which is a merging road from the toll gate 101 to the general road 100, etc. are present, and the host vehicle M is detected for behavior likely to reverse according to a predetermined road section of the general road.

[0049] Specifically, on the general road 100, the whole is set as a first road section A, the vicinity in front of the branch point P1 to the vicinity before the merging point P2 is set as a second road section B, the vicinity before the merging point P2 to the vicinity after passing the merging point P2 is set as a third road section C, and the vicinity after passing the merging point P2 to a predetermined distance is set as a fourth road section D.

[0050] Here, as an example, the general road 100 is divided into first to fourth road sections A to D, but it is not limited thereto. Even on an expressway, bypass road, etc., and in a road section where there are branch roads and merging roads from the main line, the driving support device 1 can similarly apply control to prevent reverse driving from the behavior of the host vehicle M.

[0051] (Traveling section determination process) While the host vehicle M is traveling on the general road 100 by manual operation by the driver, the traveling ECU 22 of the driving support device 1 determines whether or not the position of the host vehicle M is in the first road section A of the map information as shown in FIG. 4 (S1). The traveling ECU 22 repeatedly executes the determination routine for whether or not it is the first road section A in this step S1. Since the first road section A is a section of the entire general road 100, the traveling ECU 22 determines that it is always the first road section A while the host vehicle M is traveling on the general road 100.

[0052] When the position of the host vehicle M is in the first road section A of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 executes the first reverse travel determination process described below as shown in FIG. 5 (S2).

[0053] Then, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the position of the host vehicle M is in the second road section B of the map information (S3). When the position of the host vehicle M is in the second road section B of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 executes the second reverse travel determination process described below as shown in FIG. 6 (S4), and returns to the determination routine in step S1.

[0054] On the other hand, when the position of the host vehicle M is not in the second road section B of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the position of the host vehicle M is in the third road section C of the map information (S5). When the position of the host vehicle M is in the third road section C of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 executes the third reverse travel determination process described below as shown in FIG. 7 (S6), and returns to the determination routine in step S1.

[0055] On the other hand, when the position of the host vehicle M is not in the third road section C of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the position of the host vehicle M is in the fourth road section D of the map information (S7). When the position of the host vehicle M is in the fourth road section D of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 executes the fourth reverse travel determination process described below as shown in FIG. 9 (S8), and returns to the determination routine in step S1.

[0056] Note that when the position of the host vehicle M is not in the fourth road section D of the map information, the traveling ECU 22 returns to the determination routine in step S1.

[0057] In each of the determination processes here, the traveling ECU 22 maps the position coordinates onto the route map information based on the positioning signal of the GNSS receiver 17, and determines the section in which the host vehicle M is traveling.

[0058] (First reverse travel determination process) The first reverse travel determination process executed by the traveling ECU 22 while the host vehicle M is traveling on the first road section A will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

[0059] The traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the host vehicle M has decelerated (S11). When the host vehicle M has decelerated based on the operating state of the brake actuator 29, the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 15, etc., the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not there is a preceding vehicle ahead (S12). Note that when the host vehicle M has not decelerated, the traveling ECU 22 returns to the determination routine of step S11.

[0060] Based on the forward traveling environment image information of the front of the host vehicle M captured by the main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b, which is input from the IPU 11c, when there is no preceding vehicle ahead, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the vehicle has steered (S13). Note that when a preceding vehicle is detected ahead of the host vehicle M, the traveling ECU 22 returns to the determination routine of step S11.

[0061] When the host vehicle M has steered based on the operating state of the electric power steering motor 28, the amount of steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 18, etc., the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the host vehicle M has changed lanes (S14). Note that when the host vehicle M has not steered, the traveling ECU 22 returns to the determination routine of step S11.

[0062] When the traveling ECU 22 determines that the host vehicle M has not changed lanes based on the forward driving environment image information of the front of the host vehicle M captured by the main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b, it determines whether there is a recent branch point P1, intersection, or parking lot entrance (S15). Note that when the host vehicle M has changed lanes, the traveling ECU 22 returns to the determination routine of step S11.

[0063] The traveling ECU 22 , the front When there is no branch point P1, intersection, or parking lot entrance in the immediate front of the vehicle M, a warning is started (S16). The traveling ECU 22 drives the warning device 31 to issue a warning sound, warning display, etc., to alert the driver.

[0064] Next, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether a U-turn has been made (S17). Here, the traveling ECU 22 detects the U-turn behavior of the host vehicle M from the forward driving environment image information, the position coordinates of the host vehicle M, the map information, the steering angle information, the gyro sensor 16, and the yaw acceleration (yaw rate) of the host vehicle M by a yaw rate sensor (not shown).

[0065] When the host vehicle M has not made a U-turn, the traveling ECU 22 stops driving the warning device 31 and stops the warning (S18). On the other hand, when the host vehicle M has made a U-turn, the traveling ECU 22 executes a retreat control (S19).

[0066] This retreat control is such that the traveling ECU 22 drives and controls the electric power steering motor 28, the brake actuator 29, the throttle actuator 27, etc. by the E / G_ECU 23, the PS_ECU 24, and the BK_ECU 25 on behalf of the driver based on the forward driving environment image information, and parks the host vehicle M on the road shoulder of the general road 100.

[0067] After parking the host vehicle M on the road shoulder of the general road 100, the traveling ECU 22 stops the warning (S20), transfers the operation of the host vehicle M to the driver, and ends this control (S21).

[0068] From the above description, the driving support device 1 detects deceleration of the host vehicle M while traveling on the first road section A of the general road 100, and warns the driver and prevents the host vehicle M from reversing when there is a possibility of reversing due to a U-turn or the like.

[0069] Furthermore, when the driver ignores the warning and makes a U-turn with the host vehicle M, the driving support device 1 shifts to system control and executes control to park the host vehicle M at a safe location such as the road shoulder.

[0070] (Second reverse travel determination process) Next, the second reverse travel determination process executed by the travel ECU 22 while the host vehicle M is traveling on the second road section B will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0071] First, the travel ECU 22 executes the above-described first reverse travel determination process shown in FIG. 5 (S30). In this first reverse travel determination process, the travel ECU 22 determines whether or not the deceleration detected in step S11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (S31). When the host vehicle M decelerates below the predetermined threshold value based on the wheel speed detected by the wheel speed sensor 15 or the like, the travel ECU 22 returns to the first reverse travel determination process in step S30.

[0072] When the host vehicle M decelerates rapidly to a value equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the travel ECU 22 determines whether or not there is a preceding vehicle ahead (S32). Note that when the host vehicle M is not decelerating, the travel ECU 22 returns to the first reverse travel determination process in step S30.

[0073] Based on the forward travel environment image information in front of the host vehicle M captured by the main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b and input from the IPU 11c, when there is no preceding vehicle ahead, the travel ECU 22 starts a warning (S33). That is, since the host vehicle M may stop due to sudden braking, the travel ECU 22 drives the warning device 31 to emit a warning sound, display a warning, etc., to alert the driver.

[0074] Note that it is assumed that there are no intersections, signals, etc. in the second road section B here, and since it is unlikely that the host vehicle M will suddenly decelerate and stop in the absence of a preceding vehicle, a warning is issued to the driver.

[0075] Next, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether the host vehicle M is reversing in the direction of the branch point P1 at the highway entrance (S34). The traveling ECU 22 detects the reverse movement of the host vehicle M from the forward traveling environment image information, the position coordinates of the host vehicle M, the map information, etc.

[0076] The detection of the reverse movement of the host vehicle M here assumes that there is a possibility that the host vehicle M will pass beyond the branch point P1 of the highway entrance, reverse to the branch point P1, and then enter the branch lane 102.

[0077] If the traveling ECU 22 determines that the host vehicle M is not reversing, it determines whether a U-turn has been made (S35). Here too, similar to step S17 in FIG. 5, the traveling ECU 22 detects the U-turn behavior of the host vehicle M from the forward traveling environment image information, the position coordinates of the host vehicle M, the map information, the steering angle information, the gyro sensor 16, and the yaw acceleration (yaw rate) of the host vehicle M by a yaw rate sensor (not shown).

[0078] If the traveling ECU 22 determines that the host vehicle M has not made a U-turn, it stops the warning (S36) and returns to the first reverse movement determination process in step S30.

[0079] Note that if the traveling ECU 22 determines that the host vehicle M is reversing or has made a U-turn, it executes evacuation control (S37). The evacuation control here is also similar to step S19 in FIG. 5, where the traveling ECU 22 drives and controls the electric power steering motor 28, the brake actuator 29, the throttle actuator 27, etc. by the E / G_ECU 23, the PS_ECU 24, and the BK_ECU 25 on behalf of the driver based on the forward traveling environment image information, and parks the host vehicle M on the shoulder of the general road 100.

[0080] Then, after parking the host vehicle M on the shoulder of the general road 100 or the like, the traveling ECU 22 stops the warning (S38), hands over the operation of the host vehicle M to the driver, and ends this control (S39).

[0081] From the above description, while the host vehicle M is traveling in the second road section B on the general road 100, in addition to the first reverse travel determination process, the driving support device 1 detects a rapid deceleration of the host vehicle M, and when there is a possibility of reverse travel due to backing, U-turn, etc., warns the driver to prevent reverse travel.

[0082] Furthermore, when the driver ignores the warning and backs or U-turns the host vehicle M, the driving support device 1 shifts to system control and executes control to park the host vehicle M at a safe location such as the shoulder.

[0083] (Third reverse travel determination process) Next, the third reverse travel determination process executed by the traveling ECU 22 while the host vehicle M is traveling in the third road section C will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

[0084] First, the traveling ECU 22 also executes the above-described first reverse travel determination process shown in FIG. 5 here (S40). In this first reverse travel determination process, the traveling ECU 22 determines whether or not the steering angle amount detected in step S13 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (S41). When the steering angle amount detected by the steering angle sensor 18 is less than the predetermined threshold value, the traveling ECU 22 returns to the first reverse travel determination process in step S40.

[0085] When the steering angle amount detected by the steering angle sensor 18 is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the traveling ECU 22 starts a warning (S42). Also here, the traveling ECU 22 drives the warning device 31 to issue a warning sound, warning display, etc. to alert the driver. That is, it is assumed that there are no intersections or the like in the third road section C here, and as shown in FIG. 8, when the steering angle amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the host vehicle M may enter the merging lane 103 of the exit of the expressway from the merging point P2 due to a sharp turn.

[0086] Then, the driving ECU 22 determines whether the host vehicle M has entered the merging lane 103 of the highway exit from the merging point P2 (S43). If the host vehicle M has not entered the merging lane 103 of the highway exit based on the forward driving environment image information, the position coordinates of the host vehicle M, the map information, etc., the driving ECU 22 returns to the first reverse driving determination process in step S40.

[0087] On the other hand, when the host vehicle M enters the merging lane 103 of the highway exit, the driving ECU 22 executes evacuation control (S45). Similar to step S19 in FIG. 5, in this evacuation control, the driving ECU 22 drives and controls the electric power steering motor 28, the brake actuator 29, the throttle actuator 27, etc. by the E / G ECU 23, the PS ECU 24, and the BK ECU 25 on behalf of the driver based on the forward driving environment image information, and parks the host vehicle M on the shoulder of the general road 100 or the like.

[0088] After the driving ECU 22 parks the host vehicle M on the shoulder of the general road 100 or the like, it stops the warning (S46), hands over the operation of the host vehicle M to the driver (S47), and ends this control.

[0089] From the above description, during the driving of the host vehicle M in the third road section C on the general road 100, in addition to the first reverse driving determination process, the driving support device 1 detects a sharp steering from the steering angle amount equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold of the host vehicle M, and warns the driver to prevent reverse driving when there is a possibility of entering the merging lane 103 of the highway exit.

[0090] Furthermore, when the driver ignores the warning and causes the host vehicle M to enter the merging lane 103 of the highway exit, the driving support device 1 shifts to system control and executes control to park the host vehicle M at a safe location such as the shoulder.

[0091] (Fourth reverse driving determination process) Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a fourth reverse travel determination process executed by the travel ECU 22 while the host vehicle M is traveling on the fourth road section D will be described. Note that this control executes substantially the same routine as the second reverse travel determination process of FIG. 6. Therefore, the routine different from the second reverse travel determination process will be mainly described, and the other routines will be briefly described using the same step S numbers.

[0092] First, the travel ECU 22 executes the first reverse travel determination process shown in FIG. 5 (S30). In this first reverse travel determination process, the travel ECU 22 determines whether or not the deceleration detected in step S11 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (S31).

[0093] When the host vehicle M decelerates rapidly to a value equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the travel ECU 22 determines whether there is a preceding vehicle ahead (S32). When the host vehicle M is not decelerating, the process returns to the first reverse travel determination process in step S30.

[0094] When there is no preceding vehicle ahead, the travel ECU 22 starts a warning (S33). Here, it is assumed that there are no intersections, signals, etc. on the fourth road section D either, and since it is unlikely that the host vehicle M will decelerate rapidly and stop without a preceding vehicle, a warning is issued to the driver.

[0095] Next, the travel ECU 22 determines whether or not the vehicle is reversing in the direction of the merging point P2 of the highway exit (S34´). Similar to step S34 of the second reverse travel determination process, the travel ECU 22 detects the reverse travel of the host vehicle M from the forward travel environment image information, the position coordinates of the host vehicle M, the map information, etc.

[0096] The detection of the reverse travel of the host vehicle M here assumes that there is a possibility that the host vehicle M will pass beyond the merging point P2 of the highway exit, reverse to the merging point P2, and then enter the merging lane 103.

[0097] When the traveling ECU 22 determines that the host vehicle M is not reversing (S35), and if the host vehicle M has not made a U-turn, it stops the warning (S36) and returns to the first reverse travel determination process in step S30.

[0098] Note that when the host vehicle M is reversing or has made a U-turn, the traveling ECU 22 executes avoidance control (S37). Then, after parking the host vehicle M on the shoulder of the general road 100 or the like, the traveling ECU 22 stops the warning (S38), transfers the operation of the host vehicle M to the driver, and ends this control (S39).

[0099] From the above description, when the driving support device 1 is traveling in the fourth road section D on the general road 100, in addition to the first reverse travel determination process, it detects a sudden deceleration of the host vehicle M, and if there is a possibility of reversing and entering the merging lane 103 of the highway exit due to reversing, U-turning, etc., it warns the driver to prevent reverse travel.

[0100] Furthermore, if the driver ignores the warning and reverses or makes a U-turn with the host vehicle M, the driving support device 1 shifts to system control and executes control to park the host vehicle M at a safe location such as the shoulder.

[0101] As described above, the driving support device 1 of the vehicle, based on the situations and pattern changes of reverse travel for each road section of the road, here divides the entire general road 100 into the first road section A, and divides the range from near the highway entrance to near the exit from the general road 100 into the second road section B to the fourth road section D, and is configured to execute an appropriate reverse travel determination of the host vehicle M according to the road conditions.

[0102] Note that each ECU 22 - 26 of the driving support device 1 of the host vehicle M has a processor including a storage device such as a central processing unit (CPU), ROM, and RAM. Also, all or part of the configuration of the plurality of circuits of the processor may be executed by software. For example, the CPU may read and execute various programs corresponding to each function stored in the ROM.

[0103] Furthermore, all or part of the functions of the processor may be configured by a logic circuit or an analog circuit, and the processing of various programs may be realized by an electronic circuit such as an FPGA.

[0104] The invention described in the above embodiments is not limited to those embodiments, and various modifications can be implemented without departing from the gist thereof at the implementation stage. Furthermore, each of the above embodiments includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements.

[0105] For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in each embodiment, if the described problems can be solved and the described effects can be obtained, the configuration from which these constituent elements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0106] 1... Driving support device 10... Travel control device 11... Travel environment recognition unit 11a... Main camera 11b... Sub camera 11d... Travel environment recognition section 11fl... Left front side radar device 11fr... Right front side radar device 11rl... Left rear side radar device 11rr... Right rear side radar device 12... Locator unit 13... Locator arithmetic unit 13a... Map information acquisition section 13b... Own vehicle position estimation section 14... Acceleration sensor 15... Wheel speed sensor 16... Gyro sensor 17... GNSS receiver 18... Steering angle sensor 19... High-precision road map database 22... Travel control unit 23… Engine control unit 24… Power steering control unit 25… Brake control unit 26… Clutch control unit 27… Throttle actuator 28… Electric power steering motor 29… Brake actuator 30… Differential clutch 31… Warning device 35… Throttle actuator 37a… Right front direction indicator 37b… Left front direction indicator 38a… Right rear direction indicator 38b… Left rear direction indicator 100… General road 101… Toll gate 102… Branch lane 103… Merging lane A… First road section B… Second road section C… Third road section D… Fourth road section M… Own vehicle M P1… Branch point P2… Merging point

Claims

1. An external recognition device that acquires driving environment information around the host vehicle, A locator unit that stores road map information and detects the position of the host vehicle based on a positioning signal, An alarm device that gives warnings such as an alarm sound and a warning display to the driver, A driving control unit that controls the host vehicle based on the forward driving environment information obtained by the external recognition device, Comprising, The driving control unit, The road section on which the host vehicle is traveling is specified from the position of the host vehicle on the road map information estimated by the locator unit into a first road section of the entire road section on which the host vehicle is traveling and other road sections obtained by dividing the first road section into a plurality of parts, Execute a first reverse driving determination process in the first road section, In addition to the first reverse driving determination process, execute other reverse driving determination processes in each of the divided other road sections, A driving support device characterized in that when the behavior of the host vehicle that may be driving in reverse is detected in each road section, the alarm device is driven.

2. The divided other road sections are a second road section from near the branch point of the branch lane branching from the road to near the confluence point of the confluence lane merging into the road, a third road section from near the confluence point to near the vicinity after passing the confluence point, and a fourth road section from near the vicinity after passing the confluence point to a predetermined distance, The driving control unit, In addition to the first reverse driving determination process, execute a second reverse driving determination process in the second road section, In addition to the first reverse driving determination process, execute a third reverse driving determination process in the third road section, The driving support device according to claim 1, characterized in that in the fourth road section, in addition to the first reverse driving determination process, a fourth reverse driving determination process is executed.

3. The driving control unit, in the second reverse driving determination process and the fourth reverse driving determination process, detects a deceleration rate of the host vehicle equal to or higher than a threshold value, and drives the alarm device when a preceding vehicle is not detected by the external recognition device. The driving support device according to claim 2.

4. The driving control unit, in the third reverse driving determination process, drives the alarm device when a steering angle amount of the host vehicle equal to or higher than a threshold value is detected. The driving support device according to claim 2.

5. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein when the traveling control unit detects a U-turn or reverse of the host vehicle after driving the warning device, the traveling control unit executes a retreat control for retreating the host vehicle to the road shoulder or the like.

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