Driving assistance devices

Abstract

To provide a driving support device for preventing a wrong determination of a wrong-way drive when a vehicle is not allowed to travel on a driving lane in an originally specified direction in a traffic regulation section.SOLUTION: A driving support device 1 includes: an outside recognition device 11 for acquiring driving environment information around an owned vehicle M; a locator unit 10 for storing road map information and detecting the position of the vehicle on the basis of a positioning signal; and an operation control unit 25 for controlling the vehicle M on the basis of front driving environment information obtained by the outside recognition device 11. The operation control unit 25 performs wrong-way driving detection processing of the owned vehicle on the basis of the driving environment information and traffic regulation section determination processing of detecting a traffic regulation section of an owned vehicle driving lane 101 and determines the possibility that the owned vehicle M is driving in a wrong direction on an opposing lane 102.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device that determines whether a vehicle is running in the wrong direction depending on whether or not there is a traffic-restricted section, such as a construction section. [Background technology]

[0002] It has become a problem for drivers to drive their vehicles in the wrong direction relative to the direction of travel specified by law. In recent years, a technology has become known that, when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction to the driver's own vehicle is detected, determines that the driver's own vehicle or another vehicle is driving in the wrong direction depending on the situation, and notifies the driver of the driver's own vehicle.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for determining the direction of a vehicle by analyzing a vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle, and determining whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a wrong-way driving determination technique that determines whether the vehicle or the preceding vehicle is driving in the wrong direction based on the relative speed between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle. Patent Document 2 also discloses a technique that determines whether the vehicle driving in the wrong direction is the vehicle or the preceding vehicle based on the relative speed between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-207920 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-62443 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, with conventional technology for detecting wrong-way driving, there are cases where vehicles cannot travel in the designated lane due to restricted traffic sections, such as road construction sections, and cannot pass through the restricted traffic section without crossing into the oncoming lane. Even in these cases, there is a problem in that the technology can mistakenly determine that a vehicle is driving in the wrong direction.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a driving assistance device that prevents erroneous determination of wrong-way driving when a vehicle cannot travel in the lane in the originally designated direction due to a traffic restriction area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A driving assistance device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an external recognition device that acquires driving environment information around a host vehicle, a locator unit that stores road map information and detects the host vehicle's position based on a positioning signal, and a driving control unit that controls the host vehicle based on forward driving environment information from the external recognition device, wherein the driving control unit executes a wrong-way driving detection process for the host vehicle based on the driving environment information and a restricted traffic section determination process that detects restricted traffic sections in the host vehicle's driving lane, and obtains a corrected evaluation value by subtracting an evaluation value indicating the wrong-way driving possibility of the host vehicle obtained by the restricted traffic section determination process from an evaluation value indicating the wrong-way driving possibility of the host vehicle obtained by the wrong-way driving detection process, and compares the corrected evaluation value with a predetermined threshold value that can be used to determine that the wrong-way driving possibility of the host vehicle is low. Oncoming traffic Determine the possibility that the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a driving assistance device that prevents erroneous determination of wrong-way driving when a vehicle cannot travel in the lane in the originally designated direction due to a traffic restriction section. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] Functional block diagram showing the configuration of a driving assistance device [Figure 2] Top view of a vehicle equipped with an autonomous sensor [Figure 3] A diagram showing roads with construction zones [Figure 4] View from inside a vehicle of a road with construction ahead [Figure 5] 10 is a control flowchart showing a reverse running detection process executed by the driving control unit. [Figure 6] 5 , showing the reverse-driving detection process executed by the cruise control unit. [Figure 7] 10 is a control flowchart showing a process for detecting traffic-restricted sections in construction zones executed by a driving control unit; [Figure 8] 10 is a control flowchart showing a reverse running determination process executed by the driving control unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of one aspect of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that in the drawings used in the following description, each component is shown at a different scale so that it can be recognized on the drawing, and the present invention is not limited to the number of components, the shape of the components, the size ratio of the components, and the relative positional relationship of the components shown in these drawings.

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A driving assistance device 1 shown in Fig. 1 is mounted on a host vehicle M (see Fig. 2). The driving assistance device 1 has a locator unit 10 that detects the host vehicle position, and a driving environment recognition unit 11 that is an autonomous sensor unit that recognizes the driving environment ahead of the host vehicle M.

[0013] A redundant system is constructed between the locator unit 10 and the driving environment recognition unit 11 so that if one unit malfunctions, the other unit will continue to provide driving assistance temporarily. In addition, the driving assistance device 1 constantly monitors whether the shape of the road currently being traveled is the same between the locator unit 10 and the driving environment recognition unit 11, and continues driving assistance if they are the same.

[0014] Locator unit 10 estimates the position of vehicle M on a road map (host vehicle position) and acquires road map data ahead of this host vehicle position. Meanwhile, the stereo camera device of driving environment recognition unit 11 determines the road curvature at the center of the dividing lines that divide the left and right sides of the lane in which vehicle M is traveling, and detects the lateral position deviation of vehicle M in the vehicle width direction based on the center of these dividing lines.

[0015] The driving environment recognition unit 11, which is an autonomous sensor unit that is an external recognition device, is fixed, for example, to the upper center of the front part of the vehicle interior. This driving environment recognition unit 11 has an on-board camera consisting of a main camera 11a and a sub-camera 11b that are stereo camera devices, an image processing unit (IPU) 11c, and a driving environment recognition unit 11d. Note that the driving environment recognition unit 11 is not limited to a stereo camera device, and may have, for example, a driving environment recognition device that combines a monocular camera and a front radar.

[0016] The main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b are, for example, autonomous sensors that sense the real space ahead of the host vehicle M. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, the main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b are arranged at symmetrical positions in the vehicle interior above the windshield across the center of the vehicle width direction, and capture stereo images of the area ahead of the host vehicle M from different viewpoints.

[0017] The IPU 11c performs predetermined image processing on forward driving environment image information of the area ahead of the host vehicle M captured by both cameras 11a and 11b, and generates forward driving environment image information (distance image information) including distance information calculated from the amount of deviation between the positions of corresponding objects. The driving environment recognition unit 11d determines lane markings that divide the roads around the host vehicle M based on the distance image information received from the IPU 11c. The forward driving environment image is a color image, and the driving environment recognition unit 11d also recognizes the color of the lane markings.

[0018] The driving environment recognition unit 11d also calculates the road curvature [1 / m] of the lane markings that divide the left and right sides of the roadway (host vehicle driving lane) on which the host vehicle M is traveling, and the width between the left and right lane markings (lane width). There are various known methods for calculating the road curvature and lane width, but for example, the driving environment recognition unit 11d recognizes the left and right lane markings by binarizing the road curvature based on the forward driving environment image information using brightness differences, and calculates the curvatures of the left and right lane markings for each predetermined section using a curve approximation formula based on the least squares method.

[0019] In addition, the driving environment recognition unit 11d performs predetermined pattern matching on the distance image information to recognize guardrails and curbs along the road, as well as three-dimensional objects and obstacles such as pedestrians, motorcycles, and vehicles other than motorcycles that are present on the road around the vehicle M.

[0020] Here, when recognizing a three-dimensional object, an obstacle, etc. in the driving environment recognition unit 11d, for example, 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 are recognized. Note that a three-dimensional object recognized in this way based on an image from an on-board camera is hereinafter referred to as a camera object (camera OBJ).

[0021] 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.

[0022] These multiple radar devices (the left front-side radar device 11fl, the right front-side radar device 11fr, the left rear-side radar device 11rl, and the right rear-side radar device 11rr) are arranged on the bumper or the like outside the vehicle cabin, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, so as to sandwich the center in the front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction and to be symmetrical in the front-rear and left-right directions.

[0023] The left front-side radar device 11fl and the right front-side radar device 11fr monitor two areas, diagonally forward and to the left and right and to the sides, of the vehicle M, which cannot be monitored using images from the above-mentioned cameras 11a and 11b. The left rear-side radar device 11rl and the right rear-side radar device 11rr monitor two areas, from the left and right sides to the rear of the vehicle M, which cannot be monitored using the above-mentioned left front-side radar device 11fl and right front-side radar device 11fr.

[0024] Each of these radar devices 11fl, 11fr, 11rl, and 11rr is configured to include a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), etc. Each of the radar devices 11fl, 11fr, 11rl, and 11rr receives reflected waves of radar waves (radio waves, laser beams, etc.) emitted in the horizontal direction, detects a plurality of reflection points on a three-dimensional object existing around the vehicle, and recognizes the three-dimensional object.

[0025] Information about the radar OBJ recognized by each of the radar devices 11fl, 11fr, 11rl, and 11rr in this way is input to the driving environment recognition unit 11d, which makes it possible for the driving environment recognition unit 11d to recognize not only preceding vehicles ahead of the host vehicle, but also vehicles running parallel to the sides of the host vehicle, intersecting vehicles approaching the host vehicle from a direction intersecting the path of the host vehicle at an intersection, and following vehicles behind the host vehicle.

[0026] It is also possible to recognize vehicles running parallel behind and following behind using a back camera without providing the left rear-side radar device 11rl and the right rear-side radar device 11rr.

[0027] Locator unit 10 has map locator calculation unit 12 and high-precision road map database 16 as storage means. Map locator calculation unit 12, driving environment recognition unit 11d (described later), and driving control unit 25 are configured with a well-known microcomputer equipped with a CPU, RAM, ROM, non-volatile storage unit, etc., and its peripheral devices, and programs to be executed by the CPU and fixed data such as data tables are stored in advance in the ROM.

[0028] A GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 13 and an autonomous driving sensor 14 are connected to the input side of this map locator calculation unit 12 .

[0029] The GNSS receiver 13 receives positioning signals transmitted from multiple positioning satellites. The autonomous driving sensor 14 enables autonomous driving in environments where the reception sensitivity from the GNSS satellites is low and positioning signals cannot be effectively received, such as when driving inside a tunnel, and is composed of a vehicle speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a longitudinal acceleration sensor, and the like.

[0030] That is, the map locator calculation unit 12 performs localization from the travel distance and direction based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor, the yaw rate (yaw angular velocity) detected by the yaw rate sensor, and the longitudinal acceleration detected by the longitudinal acceleration sensor.

[0031] This map locator calculation unit 12 includes a vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a that has the function of estimating the vehicle position, a map information acquisition unit 12b that identifies the current location of the vehicle M by map-matching the estimated vehicle position on a road map and acquires road map information including information about the surrounding environment, and a target course setting calculation unit 12c that sets a target course (target course) for the vehicle M.

[0032] The high-precision road map database 16 is a large-capacity storage medium such as an HDD, and stores high-precision, well-known road map information (local dynamic map). This high-precision road map information has a hierarchical structure in which additional map information required to support automated driving is superimposed on the lowest layer of static information, which serves as the base.

[0033] The map information acquisition unit 12b acquires road map information about the current location and the area ahead from the road map information stored in the high-precision road map database 16. This road map information includes surrounding environment information. This surrounding environment information includes not only static location information such as road type (general road, expressway, etc.), road shape, left and right lane markings, road signs, stop lines, intersections, and traffic lights, but also dynamic location information such as traffic congestion information and traffic restriction sections due to accidents or construction work.

[0034] Then, based on the destination set by the driver during automatic driving, for example, route map information from the vehicle position (current location) estimated by the above-mentioned vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a to the destination is obtained from this road map information, and the obtained route map information (lane data on the route map and its surrounding information) is sent to the vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a.

[0035] The vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a acquires the position coordinates of the vehicle M based on the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 13, and map-matches these position coordinates on the route map information to estimate the vehicle position (current location) on the road map and identify the driving lane, acquire the road shape of the driving lane stored in the route map information, and store them sequentially.

[0036] Furthermore, in an environment where it is not possible to receive valid positioning signals from positioning satellites due to reduced sensitivity of the GNSS receiver 13, such as when driving inside a tunnel, the vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a switches to autonomous navigation and performs localization using the autonomous driving sensor 14.

[0037] The target course setting calculation unit 12c first sets a target course for automatically driving the vehicle M along the lane markings based on the current position obtained by map matching in the map information acquisition unit 12b. If the driver has input a destination, the target course is set along the travel route connecting the current position and the destination.

[0038] This target course is set up to several hundred meters to several kilometers ahead of the vehicle M, and is updated successively while the vehicle is traveling. The target course set by the target course setting calculation unit 12c is read by the driving control unit 25, which is an automatic driving control unit.

[0039] The driving control unit 25 is connected on the input side to the target route setting calculation unit 12c of the map locator calculation unit 12 and the driving environment recognition unit 11d of the stereo camera device.

[0040] In addition, this driving control unit 25 is connected to the output side with a steering control unit 31 of a steering control device that causes the vehicle M to travel along a target course, a brake control unit 32 of a braking control device that decelerates the vehicle M by forced braking, an acceleration / deceleration control unit 33 of an acceleration / deceleration control device that controls the vehicle speed of the vehicle M, an alarm device 34, and a steering angle sensor 35 that detects the rotation angle of the steering wheel (not shown).

[0041] The input side of the driving control unit 25 is connected to a direction indicator (blinker) control unit (not shown), which is a direction indicator control device. This direction indicator control unit receives an ON signal from a direction indicator lever (not shown), which is a direction indicator operation unit (blinker lever) operated by the driver. The warning device 34 generates warning sounds such as voice and buzzer, and displays warnings on the instrument panel, navigation monitor, etc.

[0042] The driving control unit 25 controls the steering control unit 31, the brake control unit 32, and the acceleration / deceleration control unit 33 in a predetermined manner, and causes the vehicle M to automatically travel (automatic driving control) along the target route on the road map set by the target route setting calculation unit 12c based on the positioning signal indicating the vehicle's position received by the GNSS receiver 13.

[0043] At this time, based on the driving environment ahead recognized by the driving environment recognition unit 11d, the well-known adaptive cruise control (ACC) and active lane keep control (ALK) are performed, and if a preceding vehicle is detected, the vehicle follows the preceding vehicle, and if no preceding vehicle is detected, the vehicle travels within the speed limit. Furthermore, if a moving object attempting to cross in front of the host vehicle M is detected, the brake control unit 32 is activated to stop the host vehicle M.

[0044] The turn signal control unit also includes a relay circuit, which causes a pair of two turn signals (blinkers) 37a, 37b, 38a, and 38b of the vehicle M to flash when the driver operates the turn signal lever. For example, the right front turn signal 37a and the right rear turn signal 38a form a pair, and the left front turn signal 37b and the left rear turn signal 38b form a pair.

[0045] Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given of an example of control for wrong-way driving determination executed by the driving assistance device 1. Note that this is an example of control executed when the driver of the host vehicle M is manually operating the steering.

[0046] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the driving assistance device 1 of this embodiment performs reverse driving judgment control to exclude situations in which there is a traffic-restricted section, such as a construction section due to road construction, in the forward lane 101, which is the lane in which the vehicle is traveling in the specified driving direction, and the vehicle M or another vehicle (preceding vehicle) OV traveling in the forward lane 101 must travel (including going beyond) in the oncoming lane 102.

[0047] More specifically, the driving assistance device 1 first executes the wrong-way driving detection process based on the flowchart shown in Fig. 5. Note that, although the following describes an example of a traffic-restricted section due to construction work, the present invention is not limited to this and includes traffic-restricted sections during accident response, landslides, falling rocks, etc.

[0048] (Wrong-way driving detection processing) The driving control unit 25 of the driving assistance device 1 acquires the forward driving environment (S1). The driving control unit 25 acquires forward driving environment image information captured by the main camera 11a and the sub-camera 11b.

[0049] The driving control unit 25 determines whether or not road markings are recognized from the forward driving environment image information (S2). Road markings are, for example, arrows on the road surface that indicate the direction of travel.

[0050] If the driving control unit 25 recognizes the road markings, it determines whether the driving direction of the vehicle M matches the traveling direction of the road markings (S3). On the other hand, if the driving control unit 25 does not recognize the road markings, it proceeds to step S5, which will be described later.

[0051] Next, if the driving direction of the vehicle M does not match the traveling direction of the road markings, the driving control unit 25 adds an evaluation value P1 that quantifies the weighting of the possibility of wrong-way driving (S4). On the other hand, if the driving direction of the vehicle M matches the traveling direction of the road markings, the driving control unit 25 determines whether or not it recognizes a sign indicating the designated traveling direction of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling from the forward traveling environment image information (S5).

[0052] Then, when the driving control unit 25 recognizes a sign indicating the designated traveling direction, it determines whether the vehicle M is traveling in the traveling direction of the sign (S6). On the other hand, when the driving control unit 25 does not recognize a sign indicating the designated traveling direction, it proceeds to step S8 described later.

[0053] If the vehicle M is not traveling in the direction of travel indicated by the sign, the driving control unit 25 adds an evaluation value P2 that is a numerical value representing the weighting of the possibility of wrong-way driving (S7).

[0054] Next, driving control unit 25 acquires the map information of Fig. 6 (S8). Driving control unit 25 reads the map information stored in high-accuracy road map database 16 of locator unit 10 from map information acquisition unit 12b.

[0055] Then, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the vehicle M is traveling along the road alignment ( S9) The driving control unit 25 determines whether the vehicle M is traveling along the road alignment from the forward traveling environment image information, such as the curvature of the road on which the vehicle M is traveling.

[0056] When the host vehicle M is not traveling along the road alignment, the driving control unit 25 adds an evaluation value P3 that is a numerical value representing the weighting of the possibility of wrong-way driving (S10).

[0057] Next, the driving control unit 25 determines whether there is a preceding vehicle (another vehicle OV), a merging road, or a lane narrowing ahead from the forward driving environment image information (S11). In some cases If so, the process proceeds to step S14, which will be described later.

[0058] On the other hand, the driving control unit 25 detects a preceding vehicle (another vehicle over-vehicle), a merging lane, or a lane change ahead. If there is no If so, it is determined whether sudden deceleration has occurred (S12). The driving control unit 25 detects sudden deceleration of the host vehicle M by detecting the operating state of the braking control device under the control of the brake control unit 32, the vehicle speed sensor of the autonomous traveling sensor 14, the longitudinal acceleration sensor, etc.

[0059] When the host vehicle M suddenly decelerates, the driving control unit 25 adds an evaluation value P4 that is a numerical value of the weighting of the wrong-way running possibility (S13). Then, the driving control unit 25 calculates a total evaluation value Pt of the weighted evaluation values P1 to P4 of the wrong-way running possibility (S14), and ends this control. That is, The quantified evaluation values P1 to P4 are totaled to obtain a total evaluation value Pt.

[0060] The evaluation values P1 to P4, which are numerical values representing the weighting of the wrong-way driving possibility, are set appropriately according to the importance of the item to be determined. Then, the driving control unit 25 executes a control example of the traffic restriction section determination process shown in the flowchart of FIG.

[0061] (Traffic restriction section determination processing) First, the driving control unit 25 executes the wrong-way driving detection process of Figures 5 and 6 (S21). Then, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the weighted total evaluation value Pt of the wrong-way driving possibility calculated in the wrong-way driving detection process of step S21 is greater than 0 (zero) (S22).

[0062] That is, when the total evaluation value Pt is greater than 0 (zero), the driving control unit 25 determines that there is a possibility that the host vehicle M is traveling in the opposite lane 102 in the wrong direction.

[0063] If the combined evaluation value Pt is not greater than 0 (zero), that is, if the combined evaluation value Pt is 0 (zero) (Pt=0), the driving control unit 25 determines that the vehicle M is traveling forward in the forward lane 101, and returns to the reverse driving detection processing of step S21 again.

[0064] On the other hand, if the total evaluation value Pt is greater than 0 (zero), the driving control unit 25 acquires the driving environment ahead (S23) in the same manner as in step S1 of Fig. 5. Then, the driving control unit 25 determines whether or not the road is in a construction zone (S24). The driving control unit 25 detects the construction zone, which is a traffic-restricted zone in the forward lane 101, from the driving environment ahead, VICS (registered trademark) information, etc.

[0065] When the driving control unit 25 detects a construction section, it subtracts from the total evaluation value Pt (S25) and detects surrounding vehicles (other vehicles OV, etc.) from the driving environment ahead (S26). The value by which the total evaluation value Pt is subtracted here is a predetermined value that is set in advance, but it may be variable depending on the number of lanes the vehicle is traveling on, road conditions, etc.

[0066] On the other hand, if the driving control unit 25 does not detect a construction section in step S24, it detects surrounding vehicles (other over-vehicles, etc.) from the driving environment ahead (S26). In addition to detecting surrounding vehicles from the driving environment ahead, the driving control unit 25 may also detect preceding vehicles, following vehicles, and vehicles running parallel to the vehicle in front, behind, left, and right directions from vehicle-to-roadside-infrastructure (V2I) or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications.

[0067] The driving control unit 25 determines whether or not a nearby vehicle has been detected (S27). If the driving control unit 25 detects a nearby vehicle, it detects the behavior of the nearby vehicle (S28). On the other hand, if the driving control unit 25 has not detected a nearby vehicle, it calculates a corrected evaluation value Pc in step S31, which will be described later.

[0068] Then, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the behavior of the host vehicle M is the same as that of the detected surrounding vehicle (S29).

[0069] Here, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the host vehicle M is following another vehicle OV such as a preceding vehicle, or whether the host vehicle M is traveling in the same direction as the surrounding vehicle. On the other hand, if the driving control unit 25 does not detect any surrounding vehicles, it executes calculation of a corrected evaluation value Pc in step S31, which will be described later.

[0070] When the host vehicle M is traveling in the same manner as the surrounding vehicles traveling in the same direction, the driving control unit 25 subtracts the total evaluation value Pt (S30). The subtraction value here is a predetermined value that is set in advance, but the predetermined value by which the total evaluation value Pt is subtracted may be varied depending on the behavior of the host vehicle M and the surrounding vehicles.

[0071] For example, if the host vehicle M is following another vehicle OV ahead of the vehicle, the subtraction value of the combined evaluation value Pt is increased, and if another vehicle OV ahead of the vehicle is not detected and only another vehicle OV running parallel or behind the vehicle is detected, the subtraction value of the combined evaluation value Pt is decreased.

[0072] Then, the driving control unit 25 calculates a corrected evaluation value Pc by subtracting the sum of predetermined values by which the total evaluation value Pt is subtracted in steps S25 and S30 from the weighted summed evaluation value Pt of the reverse driving possibility calculated in the reverse driving detection process in step S21 (S31).

[0073] On the other hand, when the behavior of the host vehicle M is different from that of the surrounding vehicles, the driving control unit 25 executes the calculation of the corrected evaluation value Pc in step S31 described above.

[0074] Then, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the corrected evaluation value Pc obtained by subtracting the total evaluation value Pt is equal to or greater than a threshold value (S32). This threshold value is set to a predetermined condition value that allows it to be determined that the corrected evaluation value Pc indicates a low possibility of the host vehicle M running in the wrong direction.

[0075] If the corrected evaluation value Pc is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the driving control unit 25 executes the wrong-way driving determination process shown in Fig. 8 (S33). On the other hand, if the corrected evaluation value Pc is less than the threshold value, the driving control unit 25 returns to the wrong-way driving detection process of step S21 again.

[0076] (Wrong-way driving detection processing) An example of control of the wrong-way running determination process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 will be described below.

[0077] First, since there is a possibility that the host vehicle M is traveling in the wrong direction, the driving control unit 25 activates the warning device 34. The driving control unit 25 activates the warning device 34 to sound an alarm, display a warning, or the like, to alert the driver that there is a possibility that the host vehicle M is traveling in the wrong direction.

[0078] Then, the operation control unit 25 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed (S42). The operation control unit 25 repeatedly executes the determination routine of step S42 until the predetermined time has elapsed. This predetermined time is, for example, about 3 to 5 seconds.

[0079] After a predetermined time has elapsed, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the host vehicle M has traveled in the forward lane 101 (S43). Based on the forward traveling environment recognized by the traveling environment recognition unit 11d, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the host vehicle M is traveling in the forward lane 101 and is traveling in the oncoming lane 102 (including traveling outside the lane). That is, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the driving control unit 25 determines whether the driver has realized, due to activation of the warning device 34, that the driver is traveling in the wrong direction in the oncoming lane 102 and has returned the host vehicle M to the forward lane 101 and is traveling there.

[0080] When the driving control unit 25 determines that the vehicle M is traveling in the forward lane 101, it stops driving the warning device 34 (S44) and ends this control.

[0081] On the other hand, when the host vehicle M is traveling in the wrong direction (including running off the lane) in the oncoming lane 102 instead of the forward lane 101, the driving control unit 25 executes control to return the host vehicle M to the forward lane 101 (S45). Based on the forward traveling environment recognized by the traveling environment recognition unit 11d, the driving control unit 25 drives the steering control unit 31, the brake control unit 32, the acceleration / deceleration control unit 33, etc., to execute automatic driving control so as to return (return) the host vehicle M to the forward lane 101.

[0082] Then, the driving control unit 25 determines whether or not the host vehicle M has traveled in the forward lane 101 in the same manner as in the routine of step S43 (S46). While executing the return control, the driving control unit 25 repeatedly executes the determination routine of step S45.

[0083] When the driving control unit 25 determines that the vehicle M is traveling in the forward lane 101, it terminates the return control, hands over to the driver (S47), proceeds to the routine of step S44, stops driving the warning device 34, and terminates this control.

[0084] As described above, the driving assistance device 1 of this embodiment detects a restricted traffic section, which is a construction section such as a road construction section, and determines that the vehicle M is not driving in the wrong direction, even if the vehicle M is driving in a direction that includes straying into the oncoming lane 102 rather than the original forward lane 101.

[0085] As a result, even if the vehicle M travels (including going beyond) the oncoming lane 102 on the map in a restricted traffic area, the driving assistance device 1 can prevent erroneous determination of wrong-way driving and can prevent the warning device 34 from issuing a warning.

[0086] As explained above, the driving assistance device 1 can be configured to prevent erroneous determination of wrong-way driving when the vehicle cannot travel in the lane in the originally designated direction due to a traffic restriction section.

[0087] Furthermore, when the driving assistance device 1 detects that the vehicle M is traveling in the wrong direction, it activates the alarm device 34 to warn the driver, and if the driver still continues to travel in the wrong direction, including crossing into the oncoming lane 102, it switches to automatic driving control and returns the vehicle M to the forward lane 101.

[0088] The driving control unit 25 and each of the control units 31 to 33 of the driving assistance device 1 of the vehicle M have a processor including a central processing unit (CPU) and storage devices such as ROM and RAM. Furthermore, all or part of the configuration of the processor's circuits may be implemented by software. For example, the CPU may read and execute various programs corresponding to the respective functions stored in the ROM.

[0089] Furthermore, all or part of the functions of the processor may be configured using logic circuits or analog circuits, and the processing of various programs may be realized by electronic circuits such as FPGAs.

[0090] The invention described in the above embodiments is not limited to those embodiments, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, each of the above embodiments includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of the disclosed multiple constituent elements.

[0091] For example, if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in each form, and the stated problem can still be solved and the stated effect can still be obtained, then the configuration from which these constituent elements have been deleted can be extracted as an invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1...Driving assistance device 10...Locator unit 11...Driving environment recognition unit 11a...Main camera 11b...Sub camera 11d…Driving 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...Map locator calculation unit 12a... Vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12b...Map information acquisition section 12c...Target course setting calculation section 13...GNSS receiver 14...Autonomous driving sensor 16...High-precision road map database 25...Operation control unit 31...Steering control unit 32...Brake control unit 33...Acceleration / deceleration control unit 34…Alarm device 35...Steering angle sensor 37a…Right front direction indicator 37b…Left front direction indicator 38a…Right rear direction indicator 38b…Left rear direction indicator 101...Forward lane 102...Oncoming traffic M...own vehicle OV: Other vehicles (surrounding vehicles, preceding vehicles, following vehicles, vehicles traveling alongside) Pc...corrected evaluation value Pt...Total evaluation value

Claims

1. an external recognition device that acquires driving environment information around the vehicle; a locator unit that stores road map information and detects the vehicle's position based on the positioning signal; a driving control unit that controls the host vehicle based on forward driving environment information obtained by the external recognition device; Equipped with The driving control unit executes a wrong-way driving detection process for the host vehicle based on the driving environment information and a restricted traffic section determination process for detecting restricted traffic sections in the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling, calculates a corrected evaluation value by subtracting an evaluation value indicating the wrong-way driving possibility of the host vehicle obtained by the restricted traffic section determination process from an evaluation value indicating the wrong-way driving possibility of the host vehicle obtained by the wrong-way driving detection process, and determines the possibility that the host vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction in an oncoming lane by comparing the corrected evaluation value with a predetermined threshold value that can be used to determine that the wrong-way driving possibility of the host vehicle is low.

2. 2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein, in the restricted traffic section determination process, the driving control unit detects the behavior of surrounding vehicles from the driving environment information and determines the possibility that the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction in an oncoming lane due to the restricted traffic section in the lane of the vehicle.

3. Equipped with a warning device that issues warning sounds and displays to the driver, 2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the driving control unit activates the warning device when it determines that there is a possibility that the host vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction in an oncoming lane.

4. 4. The driving assistance device according to claim 3, wherein the driving control unit executes control to return the host vehicle to the host vehicle driving lane if the host vehicle is not detected to be driving in the host vehicle driving lane after the alarm device is activated.

5. 5. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the reverse driving detection process is at least one of a process of determining whether the traveling direction of the host vehicle matches the traveling direction of a road marking, a process of determining whether the traveling direction of the host vehicle is traveling in a traveling direction designated by a designated traveling direction sign, a process of determining whether the host vehicle is traveling along the alignment of a road, and a process of determining whether the host vehicle is suddenly decelerating due to the absence of a preceding vehicle, a merging road, or a narrowing of lanes.

6. 6. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the traffic restriction section determination process is at least one of a process for determining whether a construction section is in front of the vehicle and a process for determining whether the vehicle is behaving in the same manner as surrounding vehicles.

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