Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device which can prevent an own vehicle from being left within an intersection during follow-up control.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device 2 for performing follow-up control which causes an own vehicle 110 to travel by following a preceding vehicle 120 in the state of maintaining an inter-vehicle distance at a target inter-vehicle distance, has an inter-vehicle distance setting part 26 for setting the target inter-vehicle distance when the own vehicle passes through an intersection which is a stopping prohibited area to the target inter-vehicle distance for the stopping prohibited area considering a distance from an entrance 160 to an exit 170 of the intersection.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a technique has been proposed for controlling a host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle (see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Traditionally, such tracking control functions have been developed on the assumption that they will be used on expressways and other roads exclusively for vehicles. In the future, it is expected that development of tracking control functions will become more active not only for expressways but also for ordinary roads, including traffic lights, intersections, and sidewalks.

[0004] However, when conventional adaptive cruise control functions are applied to public roads, various issues arise. For example, when passing through an intersection using adaptive cruise control, if a preceding vehicle stops due to a traffic jam ahead of the intersection, the vehicle's relative speed will be reduced by the normal adaptive cruise control function, and the following distance will be set to the minimum value. Because the following distance is shortened, the vehicle will follow the preceding vehicle and enter the intersection. However, there is a concern that the vehicle may be left behind in the intersection if the traffic light at the intersection turns red while the traffic jam remains.

[0005] Therefore, a technology has been proposed that determines whether the preceding vehicle to be followed is located within an intersection, and if it is determined that the preceding vehicle is located within the intersection, stops the vehicle at the entrance to the intersection and temporarily suspends the following control, thereby preventing the vehicle from entering the intersection (see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-173383 [Patent Document 2] WO2017 / 038173 A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 2 shows a general road 100 having an intersection, a subject vehicle 110 traveling on the general road 100, a preceding vehicle 120 traveling ahead of the subject vehicle 110, other vehicles 130-a to 130-b, and a traffic light 150 installed at the intersection to be passed and indicating that the subject vehicle is passable. The host vehicle 110 is equipped with a vehicle control device that performs preceding vehicle following control, which causes the host vehicle 110 to travel following the preceding vehicle 120 at a predetermined distance. Reference numeral 140 shown in Fig. 2 denotes an appropriate following distance 140 for normal following control between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 120, which is calculated and set from the vehicle speeds and inter-vehicle time of the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 120 during the preceding vehicle following control.

[0008] When the host vehicle 110 enters an intersection following the preceding vehicle 120, if the preceding vehicle 120 or another vehicle 130-a stops ahead of the intersection due to congestion, the host vehicle 110's control function for following the preceding vehicle sets the normal following control inter-vehicle distance 140 to the shortest inter-vehicle distance because the preceding vehicle 120 has stopped. However, because there is no space for the host vehicle 110 to enter the intersection ahead, the host vehicle 110 is left behind at the intersection. If the traffic light switches to red in this state, the left-behind host vehicle 110 may become a traffic obstruction.

[0009] Next, we will explain the problems that arise when applying the above-mentioned conventional technology (Patent Document 2) to general roads. The distance from the entrance to the exit of an intersection on a general road is defined as the intersection width. Assuming that the intersection width on a general road is 20 to 30 meters (m), it is expected that the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle under follow-up control in the low-speed range (10 to 30 km / h) will be shorter than the intersection width.

[0010] The above-mentioned prior art describes a solution in which the vehicle 110 determines whether the preceding vehicle 120 is located within an intersection, and if the preceding vehicle 120 is located within the intersection, the vehicle 110 makes a temporary stop at the entrance to the intersection. When the above-mentioned prior art is actually applied to a vehicle traveling on an ordinary road, when the following control is performed at 60 km / h, the following distance is likely to be greater than the intersection width, so an unnatural temporary stop does not occur. However, when the following control is performed at a low speed of, for example, 30 km / h, the following distance during following control becomes smaller than the intersection width, so the vehicle 110 always makes a temporary stop at the entrance to the intersection.

[0011] If control such as stopping temporarily at the entrance to an intersection is frequently performed, it is predicted that it will disrupt traffic flow, cause congestion, and cause discomfort and discomfort to following vehicles. Also, for the driver operating the vehicle 110, the behavior of the vehicle stopping at the entrance to an intersection while traveling at a low speed may differ from the driver's intended driving, causing discomfort to the driver and is unrealistic from the viewpoint of usability.

[0012] The present invention addresses the issue of how to prevent a vehicle from being left behind in a no-stopping zone when passing through a no-stopping zone during tracking control, even if a preceding vehicle stops in or ahead of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The vehicle control device of the present invention, which solves the above problem, is a vehicle control device that performs preceding vehicle following control, which causes the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle at a target inter-vehicle distance, and is characterized in that the target inter-vehicle distance when the vehicle passes through a no-stopping zone is set to a target inter-vehicle distance for the no-stopping zone that takes into account the distance from the entrance to the exit of the no-stopping zone. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the host vehicle from being left behind in a no-stopping zone during tracking control. Further features related to the present invention will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a problem to be solved by the present invention. [Figure 3] 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating control when there is congestion ahead at an intersection in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating control when the intersection ahead can be passed smoothly in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart for calculating an intersection inter-vehicle distance in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 3 is a flowchart of a method for controlling a vehicle before an intersection in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing a case where the vehicle distance is switched to a normal following control inter-vehicle distance after the host vehicle passes through an intersection in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating control when the light turns red during vehicle stop maintenance control according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a case where the light turns red during vehicle stop maintenance control in the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a state before the host vehicle passes through a setting change point in a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle after passing the setting change point in the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing a case where a leading vehicle is driving at a low speed in a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating control when the vehicle passes through an intersection in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for returning an intersection inter-vehicle distance to a normal inter-vehicle distance in the fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, an intersection will be described as an example of a location where the host vehicle is prevented from being left behind during tracking control, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can also be applied to no-stopping zones such as railroad crossings and in front of police stations or fire stations where emergency vehicles enter and exit.

[0017] [Example 1] In a first embodiment of the present invention, (1) when the vehicle approaches an intersection during following control, the following distance is increased by acquiring intersection width information of the intersection that the vehicle is scheduled to pass through and adding the intersection width information to the following distance for following control, thereby preventing the vehicle from entering the intersection even if the preceding vehicle is stopped within the intersection or ahead of the vehicle, (2) a means and device for calculating an appropriate target speed for increasing the following distance to an intersection following distance before the vehicle reaches the entrance to the intersection, and (3) a means and device for reducing the following distance to the set following distance for normal following control when the vehicle has passed the intersection after increasing the following distance to an intersection following distance.

[0018] First, the basic concept of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS.

[0019] The vehicle control device performs follow-up control to make the vehicle travel so as to follow the leading vehicle 120. In this embodiment, it is assumed that follow-up control is performed on a general road 100 including an intersection.

[0020] Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a case where a traffic light 150 installed at an intersection of a general road 100 is showing a green light, the lane in which the host vehicle 110 is traveling is in a passable state, but there is congestion ahead at the intersection. Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a case where a traffic light 150 installed at an intersection of a general road 100 is showing a green light, the lane in which the host vehicle 110 is traveling is in a passable state, and the flow of vehicles on the general road 100 is smooth.

[0021] If the conventional conventional vehicle following control function is simply applied to a general road such as the one described above, when the vehicle 120 ahead of you stops due to congestion ahead of the intersection, i.e., beyond the intersection, the following control function will reduce the distance between the vehicle 120 ahead of you and your vehicle 110 to the shortest possible distance, resulting in a vehicle stop maintenance control, which will result in your vehicle 110 being left behind in the intersection (see Figure 2).

[0022] In this embodiment, when the host vehicle 110 approaches an intersection through following control, the intersection width 200 is acquired and calculated from map data or the like, and a process is performed to set the target inter-vehicle distance for the following control to the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210 obtained by adding the intersection width 200. Then, by the time the host vehicle 110 reaches the intersection entrance 160, a process is performed to instruct the braking force / driving force control ECU 10 of an appropriate target speed for increasing the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 120 to the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210. By the preceding vehicle following control described above, when the host vehicle 110 reaches the intersection entrance 160, the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 120 is equal to or greater than the intersection width 200.

[0023] The application of this embodiment to the case where there is congestion on the general road in FIG. 3 will be described. When the host vehicle 110 reaches the intersection entrance 160, the following control causes the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle to become the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210. Therefore, even if the preceding vehicle 120 stops due to congestion ahead of the intersection, the vehicle stop maintenance function of the following control can stop the host vehicle 110 at the intersection entrance 160, preventing the host vehicle 110 from entering the intersection.

[0024] In this embodiment, the position of the stop line in the driving lane of the host vehicle 110 is defined as the intersection entrance 160, the position of a line obtained by virtually extending the stop line in the oncoming lane from the oncoming lane to the driving lane is defined as the intersection exit 170, and the distance from the intersection entrance 160 to the intersection exit 170 is defined as the intersection width 200. However, the intersection width may simply be defined as the width of the intersection, or a value obtained by adding α to the distance from the intersection entrance 160 to the intersection exit 170 may be used, and this is not limited to this embodiment. Also, in this embodiment, an example is described in which the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 120 is adjusted to a target inter-vehicle distance, but the inter-vehicle time may be used instead of the inter-vehicle distance.

[0025] The application of this embodiment to the case where the flow of vehicles on an ordinary road is smooth as shown in FIG. 4 will be described. 4 shows a state in which the host vehicle 110 is entering an intersection. Due to the following control of this embodiment, when the host vehicle 110 enters the intersection, the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 120 becomes the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210. If the preceding vehicle 120 passes through the intersection smoothly, the host vehicle 110 passes through the intersection while following the preceding vehicle 120 while maintaining the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210. According to this embodiment, the host vehicle 110 can pass through the intersection smoothly while preventing itself from being left behind in a traffic jam, even when the following speed is in a low speed range.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A vehicle 1 is equipped with a vehicle control device 2 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle 1 is provided with a single-lens or multiple-lens in-vehicle camera 3 that measures the distance between the vehicle 1 and a leading vehicle and recognizes traffic lights to realize a leading vehicle following function, a millimeter-wave radar 4 that measures the distance between the vehicle 1 and the leading vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 5 that calculates the vehicle speed of the vehicle itself, an MPU 6 that has high-precision map information such as data on road structures such as intersection width information, intersection stop line positions, and the number of lanes, and information on three-dimensional objects on the road such as the positions of road signs and traffic lights, a GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM (GNSS) 7 that acquires position information of the vehicle itself via positioning satellites, an ACC switch 8 that can be operated by the driver to enable / disable the functions of the vehicle control device 2, and a vehicle speed / distance setting switch 9 that can be operated by the driver to quantitatively or qualitatively set the distance between the vehicle 1 and the leading vehicle and the vehicle speed when the vehicle control device 2 performs leading vehicle following control. These switches are connected to the vehicle control device 2.

[0027] The vehicle 1 is also provided with a braking force / driving force control ECU 10 that receives instructions from the vehicle control device 2 and other control devices, controls the braking force and driving force of the vehicle 1, and is capable of controlling the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 to a set target vehicle speed; an intersection red light deceleration control ECU 11 that receives information about traffic lights installed at intersections through road-to-vehicle communication and camera recognition, and if it determines that the traffic light is a red light or other signal indicating that passage is not permitted, notifies the driver that passage is not permitted and provides instructions to the braking force / driving force control ECU 10 to assist in deceleration or to stop the vehicle at the entrance to the intersection and maintain the stop; and a (HUMAN MACHINE INTERFACE) HMI 12 that is connected to the vehicle control device 2 and notifies the driver of various vehicle control states, such as whether the vehicle control state is leading vehicle following control, whether control is being performed to increase the inter-vehicle distance for the intersection, or whether red light deceleration control is being performed.

[0028] The vehicle control device 2 is configured by a computer having hardware such as a processor and a memory, and software executed by the hardware. The vehicle control device 2 has a function for realizing a preceding vehicle following function. Specifically, the vehicle control device 2 has an intersection position detection unit 20, a vehicle position detection unit 21, a preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22, an intersection width calculation unit 23, a target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24, an intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25, an inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26, a status notification unit 27, a target speed calculation unit 28, and an intersection passage possibility determination unit 29.

[0029] The intersection position detection unit 20 detects whether there is an intersection that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to pass through on its travel route, and calculates the distance from the current position of the vehicle 1 to the intersection entrance. The vehicle position detection unit 21 accurately detects the vehicle's position based on information from the GNSS 7. The preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22 calculates the distance to the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle's speed from sensing information from the on-board camera 3 and millimeter-wave radar 4. The intersection width calculation unit 23 calculates the width 200 of the intersection detected by the intersection position detection unit 20 based on the high-precision map information from the MPU 6 and information from the vehicle position detection unit 21.

[0030] Target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 calculates the target inter-vehicle distance during preceding vehicle following control based on the speed of the subject vehicle, the speed of the preceding vehicle, information from subject vehicle position detection unit 21 and preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22, information from vehicle speed / inter-vehicle distance setting switch 9, inter-vehicle time, and information from intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25. Intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 calculates the intersection inter-vehicle distance, which is the target inter-vehicle distance during normal control that takes intersection width 200 into consideration, from information from intersection position detection unit 20 and intersection width calculation unit 23.

[0031] Inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 has a function to appropriately set the target inter-vehicle distance calculated by target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 and intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25, and has a function to set the target inter-vehicle distance in target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 and intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 when a defined inter-vehicle distance increase condition or inter-vehicle distance decrease condition is satisfied. Status notification unit 27 transmits various vehicle control states to HMI 12, such as whether the vehicle is in normal preceding vehicle following control, is being controlled to increase the inter-vehicle distance to an intersection, is being controlled to decelerate when the vehicle is running a red light, etc.

[0032] The target speed calculation unit 28 appropriately calculates a target speed based on the target inter-vehicle distance set by the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26, the distance to the intersection entrance calculated by the intersection position detection unit 20, the current vehicle position calculated by the vehicle position detection unit 21, and the current preceding vehicle position calculated by the preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22, so as to increase the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle to the target inter-vehicle distance before the subject vehicle reaches the intersection entrance, and issues an instruction to the braking force / driving force control ECU 10.

[0033] The intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 acquires information about traffic lights installed at the intersection detected by the intersection position detection unit 20 from the vehicle-mounted camera 3 or road-to-vehicle communication, and determines whether or not the intersection can be passed.

[0034] In this embodiment, the intersection width calculation unit 23 defines the distance from the intersection entrance 160 to the intersection exit 170 as the intersection width 200, but the intersection width may also be the total width of the intersecting roads based on information available from the high-precision map information, or it may be the distance including the crosswalk, and various definitions are possible, not limited to this embodiment.

[0035] In this embodiment, the preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22 has been described as calculating the distance to the preceding vehicle from the sensing results of the on-board camera 3 and the millimeter wave radar 4, but the type of sensor used to calculate the distance to the preceding vehicle, the means of recognition by sensing or acquisition using communication, etc. are not limited to this embodiment.

[0036] The intersection passability determination unit 29 can hold and pass not only intersection passability information, but also traffic light information such as green light, red light, and the time until the light changes to red.

[0037] Based on the above configuration, the following steps are explained in detail in Fig. 5: (1) when approaching an intersection during following control, the vehicle control device 2 acquires intersection width information of the intersection that the vehicle is to pass through, and adds the intersection width information to the following distance for following control, thereby increasing the following distance for following control and preventing the vehicle from entering the intersection even if the preceding vehicle is stopped within the intersection or ahead of the vehicle; Fig. 6: (2) a flowchart showing the means for calculating an appropriate target speed for increasing the following distance to the following distance for intersections before the vehicle reaches the entrance to the intersection; and Fig. 7: (3) a flowchart showing the means for reducing the following distance to the set following distance for normal following control when the vehicle has passed the intersection after increasing the following distance to the following distance for intersections.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for calculating an intersection inter-vehicle distance in the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a flowchart for a method for controlling a vehicle before an intersection in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart for switching to an inter-vehicle distance for normal following control after the vehicle passes through an intersection in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] First, the above item (1) will be explained with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether preceding vehicle following control is in progress, and if No, this flow is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S301 (S300). The intersection position detection unit 20 determines whether an intersection that the vehicle 1 is scheduled to pass through exists on its travel route from information from the MPU 6 and the vehicle position detection unit 21. If No, this flow is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S302 (S301). The intersection width calculation unit 23 identifies the intersection that the vehicle is scheduled to pass through from information from the intersection position detection unit 20, and acquires intersection information from the high-precision map information of the MPU 6 (S302). Based on the acquired intersection information, the intersection width calculation unit 23 calculates the distance from the entrance to the exit of the intersection, which is intersection width information (S303).

[0040] The intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 determines whether the intersection traffic light 150 indicates a passable state (green light) based on the traffic light recognition result by the on-board camera 3. If No, proceed to S306, and if Yes, proceed to S305 (S304). The intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 calculates the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210 taking into account the intersection width 200 as the target inter-vehicle distance (S305). If it is determined in S304 that the intersection cannot be passed through, the following control is released and switched from the following control to red light deceleration control, and deceleration and stop maintenance control are performed before the intersection entrance (S306).

[0041] Next, the above item (2) will be explained with reference to FIG. First, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 determines whether the intersection inter-vehicle distance has been calculated in the flowchart of Fig. 5. If No, this flow ends, and if Yes, proceed to S401 (S400). The intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 determines whether the intersection traffic light indicates a passable state based on the traffic light recognition result by the on-board camera 3. If No, proceed to S403, and if Yes, proceed to S402 (S401).

[0042] If the answer is Yes in S401, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 updates the target inter-vehicle distance calculated by the target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 or the intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 as the control target value (S402). If it is determined in S401 that the intersection cannot be passed, the following control is canceled and switched to red light deceleration control, and deceleration and stoppage maintenance control are performed before the intersection entrance (S403). The intersection position detection unit 20 calculates the distance from the host vehicle to the intersection entrance from the high-precision map information of the MPU 6 and information from the host vehicle position detection unit 21 (S404). The target speed calculation unit 28 calculates the vehicle speeds of the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle from the sensing information and information from the host vehicle position detection unit 21 (S405).

[0043] The preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22 calculates the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the subject vehicle (S406). The target speed calculation unit 28 appropriately calculates a target speed that will allow the subject vehicle to maintain the target inter-vehicle distance by the time the subject vehicle reaches the intersection entrance, based on the target inter-vehicle distance set by the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26, the distance to the intersection entrance calculated in S404, and the vehicle speeds of the preceding vehicle and the subject vehicle calculated in S405 (S407).

[0044] The vehicle control device 2 outputs the target speed calculated in S407 to the braking force / driving force control ECU 10 as an instruction (S408). The braking force / driving force control ECU 10 calculates a control instruction value based on the target speed and controls the braking force and driving force of the vehicle to control the speed of the host vehicle to the target speed.

[0045] By the control of S408, the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the subject vehicle is controlled so as to be gradually adjusted to the target inter-vehicle distance, and it is determined whether the inter-vehicle distance has increased to the target inter-vehicle distance (S409). If No, the process returns to S401 and is repeated. If Yes, the process proceeds to S410. The intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 determines whether the preceding vehicle is stopped ahead of the intersection due to congestion or the like (S410). If it is determined that the preceding vehicle is stopped, the process proceeds to S411, and if it is determined that the preceding vehicle is not stopped, the process ends.

[0046] If S410 determines that the leading vehicle is stopped ahead of the intersection, the vehicle stop maintenance function, which is one of the following control functions, controls the host vehicle to stop before the intersection. At this time, the host vehicle will not enter the intersection because the inter-vehicle distance is set taking into account the intersection width of 200 (S411). Also, the flowchart surrounded by the dashed line in Figure 6 is defined as S4A.

[0047] Finally, the above item (3) will be explained with reference to FIG. The flowcharts up to FIG. 6 explain the control up to the time when the host vehicle approaches the intersection entrance, whereas the flowchart in FIG. 7 shows the control method after the host vehicle has passed the intersection entrance.

[0048] First, it is determined whether preceding vehicle following control is in progress (S500). If No, this flow is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S501. In S501, it is determined whether the current target inter-vehicle distance has been increased to the inter-vehicle distance for intersections via the flowcharts of Figures 5 and 6 (S501). If No, this flow is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S502. It is then determined whether the host vehicle has satisfied the inter-vehicle distance reduction condition. In this example, it is determined whether the host vehicle 110 has passed the intersection exit 170, which is the inter-vehicle distance reduction condition (S502). If No, the process is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S503.

[0049] When the host vehicle 110 satisfies the inter-vehicle distance reduction condition, that is, when the host vehicle 110 has passed the intersection exit 170, the set inter-vehicle distance for normal following control is obtained from the setting information of the vehicle speed / inter-vehicle distance setting switch 9 (S503), and set as a control target value by the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26. Then, the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is obtained (S504). From the set inter-vehicle distance obtained in S503 and the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 120 obtained in S504, a target vehicle speed for reducing the inter-vehicle distance to the set inter-vehicle distance set as the control target value is calculated (S505).

[0050] The target speed calculated in S505 is output to the braking force / driving force control ECU 10 as an instruction (S506). The braking force / driving force control ECU 10 calculates a control instruction value and controls the braking force and driving force of the vehicle to control the speed of the host vehicle 110 to the target speed. It is determined whether the inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle 120 has been reduced to the set inter-vehicle distance set as the control target value (S507). If No, the process returns to S503 and is repeated until the inter-vehicle distance is reduced to the set inter-vehicle distance. If Yes, the process ends.

[0051] In the first embodiment, (1) when approaching an intersection during tracking control, information on the intersection width of the intersection through which the host vehicle is to pass is acquired, and the intersection width is added to the following distance for tracking control, thereby increasing the following distance for tracking control and preventing the host vehicle from entering the intersection even if the preceding vehicle is stopped within the intersection or ahead of the host vehicle, (2) a method of calculating an appropriate target speed for increasing the following distance to an intersection following distance before the host vehicle reaches the intersection entrance, and (3) a method of reducing the following distance to a set distance for normal tracking control when the host vehicle has passed the intersection after increasing the following distance to the intersection following distance. Therefore, the problem defined at the beginning of the detailed description, namely, how to prevent the host vehicle from being left behind in an intersection when passing through an intersection while using the tracking control function on a general road, even if the preceding vehicle is stopped within the intersection or ahead of the host vehicle, can be solved.

[0052] [Example 2] In the second embodiment, (4) a means and device for canceling the tracking control and switching to the red light deceleration control function when the traffic light turns red while the vehicle is stopped at the entrance to an intersection during tracking control will be described. This method is added to the first embodiment to form the second embodiment.

[0053] A conceptual diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 8. The differences from the first embodiment are as follows: a traffic light 600 installed at an intersection, which indicates a state where the intersection cannot be passed, such as a red light, and a position 610 of the preceding vehicle that existed before the control to follow the preceding vehicle was released have been added.

[0054] When the inter-vehicle distance for the preceding vehicle following control is set to the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210 and the preceding vehicle stops at position 610 where it has exited the intersection due to congestion ahead of the intersection, the host vehicle 110 is controlled to remain stopped by the following control function before the intersection entrance 160 according to the first embodiment. When the traffic light 150 switches to traffic light 600 from this state, that is, when the traffic light switches from green to red, the control is switched from the preceding vehicle following control to the red light deceleration control function. By switching to the red light deceleration control function, even if the preceding vehicle moves from 610, the host vehicle follows the preceding vehicle when the light is red, preventing it from entering the intersection.

[0055] The red light deceleration control function requests the driver to take their foot off the accelerator or apply the brakes before the intersection depending on the traffic light status, or controls the braking force / driving force on behalf of the driver to decelerate or hold the vehicle stationary before the intersection. It also includes a notification function.

[0056] The processing of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, it is determined whether the host vehicle is currently under control to follow the preceding vehicle (S700). If No, this flow is terminated; if Yes, the process proceeds to S701. Next, it is determined whether the vehicle distance for the control to follow the preceding vehicle has been set to the vehicle distance for intersection by the control of embodiment 1, and whether the host vehicle is currently under stop-maintenance control because the preceding vehicle has stopped due to congestion ahead of the intersection (S701). If No, this flow is terminated; if Yes, the process proceeds to S702. Next, the intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 obtains the traffic light recognition result from the on-board camera 3 and the traffic light status obtained through road-to-vehicle communication, and determines whether the intersection traffic light is in a state where passage is permitted (S702). If No, this flow is terminated; if Yes, the process proceeds to S703. Finally, if it is determined that the host vehicle cannot pass through the intersection, the process switches from the control to follow the preceding vehicle of embodiment 1 to the red light deceleration control function (S703).

[0057] In this way, in the second embodiment, when the vehicle is under stop maintenance control before the intersection entrance according to the first embodiment and the intersection traffic light switches to red, the control for following the preceding vehicle is continued to prevent the vehicle from entering the intersection when the light is red, and the control is switched appropriately to stop the vehicle before the intersection entrance. This makes it possible to develop a system with higher feasibility.

[0058] [Example 3] The first embodiment can prevent vehicles from being left behind at an intersection. However, for example, when the host vehicle 110 is performing the preceding vehicle following control before the intersection entrance 160 and the preceding vehicle 120 is performing the preceding vehicle following control for another preceding vehicle 130-a traveling at a low speed (for example, a vehicle traveling at a speed 20 to 40 km / h slower than the legal vehicle speed), if the intersection inter-vehicle distance of the host vehicle 110 is set by the method of the first embodiment, the host vehicle 110 will travel at a reduced speed to increase the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection inter-vehicle distance before the intersection entrance 160. Therefore, if the other preceding vehicle 130-a is a preceding vehicle traveling at a low speed, the speed of the host vehicle 110 must be controlled to be even slower than the preceding vehicle 120 that is following it, and control to increase the inter-vehicle distance must be started from a long distance before the intersection. However, starting control to increase the inter-vehicle distance far before the intersection may disrupt the flow of traffic and cause discomfort to the following vehicles.

[0059] In the third embodiment, in the method of calculating an appropriate target speed for increasing the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection inter-vehicle distance before the host vehicle reaches the intersection entrance in the first embodiment (2), by adding the timing for increasing the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection inter-vehicle distance, it becomes possible to flexibly set the position before the intersection from which the control to increase the inter-vehicle distance starts. In the third embodiment, a technology for preventing the increase control from starting far before the intersection, which was cited as an issue, is added to the first embodiment, and a more feasible technology that takes into consideration the following vehicles is proposed.

[0060] 10 and 11 show configuration diagrams of a third embodiment of the present invention. The differences from the first embodiment are as follows: a low-speed leading vehicle 800 and a set switching point 810 just before the intersection entrance are added, which are used to determine the timing to increase the inter-vehicle distance to an intersection distance as a condition for increasing the inter-vehicle distance. FIG. 10 is a diagram before the host vehicle passes the set switching point 810, and FIG. 11 is a diagram after the host vehicle has passed the set switching point 810.

[0061] First, a description will be given with reference to FIG. The host vehicle 110 is performing control to follow a low-speed preceding vehicle 800. The host vehicle 110 detects the position of an intersection ahead using the intersection position detection unit 20, and the intersection following distance calculation unit 25 calculates the intersection following distance 210. The following distance setting unit 26 has a function of determining the timing to increase the following distance to the intersection following distance 210 based on a following distance increase condition. In this embodiment, the following distance increase condition is determined to be whether the host vehicle 110 has passed a setting switch point 810 that is set in advance before the intersection entrance 160, and if it is determined that this following distance increase condition is met, processing is performed to switch the following distance in the preceding vehicle following control to the intersection following distance.

[0062] 10, the host vehicle 110 is traveling at a position further ahead (a position further away from the intersection) than the set switching point 810. Therefore, the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 800 is set to a normal inter-vehicle distance 140 that does not take the intersection into consideration. The host vehicle 110 is controlled to travel following the preceding vehicle 800 so as to maintain the normal inter-vehicle distance 140 between the host vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle 800.

[0063] On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 11, when the host vehicle 110 passes the set switching point 810 and approaches the intersection, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 detects that the host vehicle 110 has approached the set switching point 810, and sets the intersection inter-vehicle distance 210 (see Fig. 3, for example) calculated by the intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 as the control target value. As a result, the inter-vehicle distance for the adaptive cruise control is switched to the intersection inter-vehicle distance before the host vehicle 110 enters the intersection.

[0064] The setting switching point 810 added in this embodiment may be set as a fixed value at a predetermined distance from the intersection entrance 160, or may be configured to set an appropriate position each time based on the intersection width, the vehicle speed, the speed of the preceding vehicle, the distance between vehicles, etc.

[0065] In addition, in this embodiment, the low-speed leading vehicle 800 is defined as a vehicle traveling at a speed that is approximately 20 to 40 km / h slower than the legal vehicle speed, but the definition of the low-speed leading vehicle 800 can be defined in various ways during development, such as based on road conditions or definitions set by regulations.

[0066] In this embodiment, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 determines whether the front end of the vehicle 110 has passed the setting switching point 810 as the inter-vehicle distance increase condition, but it may also determine that the rear end of the vehicle has passed, and various definitions are possible, as long as it is configured to determine the timing taking into account the inter-vehicle distance increase condition.

[0067] The processing of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, according to the first embodiment, while the host vehicle is performing preceding vehicle following control just before the intersection entrance, an intersection is detected, and it is determined whether an intersection following vehicle distance has been calculated (S1200). If No, this flow is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S1201. Next, the vehicle control device 2 calculates the vehicle speeds of the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle (S1201). Thereafter, it is determined whether the preceding vehicle is traveling at a low speed, or so-called "sluggish driving," based on the vehicle speeds of the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle (S1202). If No, this flow is terminated, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S1203. The following vehicle distance setting unit 26 of the vehicle control device 2 determines whether the host vehicle 110 has passed the setting change point 810 just before the intersection entrance, and if it detects that the leading edge of the host vehicle has passed the setting change point 810, it executes the process of S4A in the flowchart of FIG. 6 (S1203). If No in S1203, normal preceding vehicle following control is performed without using the intersection following vehicle distance (S1204).

[0068] The third embodiment is characterized by the addition of a vehicle-to-vehicle distance increase condition setting switching point 810 for determining whether or not to set an intersection inter-vehicle distance on a road just before the intersection entrance. This makes it possible to perform normal vehicle-to-vehicle following control up to a certain point in the intersection, even if the preceding vehicle is driving at a low speed during the vehicle-to-vehicle following control. This prevents the vehicle from prematurely starting deceleration control to set the inter-vehicle distance for the vehicle-to-vehicle following control to the intersection inter-vehicle distance far before the intersection entrance. By adding this embodiment to the first embodiment, it becomes possible to provide a highly feasible technology that does not impede following vehicles or the flow of traffic.

[0069] [Example 4] In the first embodiment, (3) a method for reducing the inter-vehicle distance to the set inter-vehicle distance for normal following control when the host vehicle passes through the intersection after increasing the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection inter-vehicle distance has been described. In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 switches from the inter-vehicle distance for intersection to the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control when the host vehicle passes through the intersection exit 170 as the inter-vehicle distance reduction condition.

[0070] In the first embodiment, control to follow the preceding vehicle is performed while maintaining the intersection inter-vehicle distance until the vehicle passes through the intersection exit. However, in reality, it is possible that the preceding vehicle will stop due to traffic congestion a short distance from the intersection exit, and if the intersection inter-vehicle distance is maintained, the vehicle may be left behind in the intersection.

[0071] In reality, there is no need to maintain the intersection inter-vehicle distance until the host vehicle passes through the intersection exit, and if there is a space from the intersection exit to the leading vehicle that is equal to or greater than the entire length of the host vehicle, the host vehicle should be allowed to exit the intersection by switching from the intersection inter-vehicle distance to the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control and reducing the inter-vehicle distance. Example 4 is created by adding to Example 1 the details regarding the inter-vehicle distance reduction conditions for switching from the intersection inter-vehicle distance to the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control.

[0072] A conceptual diagram of the fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The differences from Example 1 are as follows: Fig. 13 adds the total length 1000 of the host vehicle, an approach distance 1010 from the intersection entrance 106 to the front end of the host vehicle that has entered the intersection, and a distance 1020 from the intersection exit 170 to the rear end of the preceding vehicle 120. As a result, the distance 1020 from the intersection exit 170 to the rear end of the preceding vehicle 120 is equal to the approach distance 1010 from the intersection entrance 106 to the front end of the host vehicle, and when the host vehicle 110 travels 1000 vehicle lengths from the intersection entrance 160, a space 1000 vehicle lengths long will be secured ahead of the intersection.

[0073] In the first embodiment, when the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle 120 and the subject vehicle 110 is set to the intersection inter-vehicle distance, the inter-vehicle distance increases to a distance that takes into account the intersection width just before the intersection entrance. In this state, when the preceding vehicle 120 moves forward, the subject vehicle 110 also moves forward while maintaining the intersection inter-vehicle distance.

[0074] The inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 calculates an approach distance 1010 of the host vehicle 110 from the intersection entrance 160 to the front end of the host vehicle, and determines whether or not this approach distance 1010 is greater than the host vehicle's overall length 1000. If it is determined that the approach distance 1010 is greater than the host vehicle's overall length 1000, then the distance 1020 from the intersection exit 170 to the leading vehicle 120 will also be greater than the host vehicle's overall length, and it can be determined that there is space for the host vehicle 110 to proceed ahead of the intersection exit 170.

[0075] Therefore, when it is determined that the approach distance 1010 is greater than the overall length of the host vehicle 1000, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 switches from the inter-vehicle distance for intersection to the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control. The host vehicle 110 calculates a target speed using the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control as a control target value, and issues an instruction to the braking force / driving force control ECU 10.

[0076] In this embodiment, the switching from the intersection inter-vehicle distance to the normal following control is determined based on whether or not there is a space the entire length of the vehicle ahead of the intersection, so even if the leading vehicle stops beyond the intersection exit, the vehicle can pass through the intersection using the normal following control. In this embodiment, whether or not there is a space the entire length of the vehicle ahead of the intersection is determined based on the approach distance 1010 that the vehicle 110 actually travels into the intersection, so compared to determining whether or not there is a space using an external environment recognition sensor such as a camera or radar, this is less susceptible to external influences such as weather and time of day, and a more accurate determination can be made.

[0077] The processing of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the host vehicle 110 determines whether the host vehicle is currently performing adaptive cruise control (S1400). If No, the flow ends, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S1401. Next, as described in the first embodiment, the host vehicle 110 detects an intersection ahead of the host vehicle 110 and determines whether the inter-vehicle distance for adaptive cruise control is set to the inter-vehicle distance for the intersection (S1401). If No, the flow ends, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S1402.

[0078] The inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 determines whether the vehicle 110 has passed the intersection entrance 160 based on the vehicle position detection unit 21, high-precision map information, etc. (S1402). If No, this flow ends, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S1403. After the host vehicle 110 passes through the intersection entrance 160, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 calculates the travel distance and determines whether the host vehicle 110 has traveled the entire length of the host vehicle from the intersection entrance 160 (S1403). If No, the process returns to S1403 and makes another determination, and if Yes, the process proceeds to S1404.

[0079] When it is determined that the host vehicle 110 has traveled the entire length of the host vehicle from the intersection entrance 160, the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 acquires the set inter-vehicle distance that has been set by the driver operating the vehicle speed / inter-vehicle distance setting switch 9 (S1404). Thereafter, the preceding vehicle position calculation unit 22 acquires the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle (S1405). The target speed calculation unit 28 calculates a target speed for reducing the inter-vehicle distance to that for normal following control, from the set inter-vehicle distance acquired in S1404 and the inter-vehicle distance acquired in S1405 (S1406).

[0080] Thereafter, the target speed calculation unit 28 instructs the braking force / driving force control ECU 10 of the target speed (S1407). The inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 determines whether the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle 120 is the set inter-vehicle distance, and if the set inter-vehicle distance has not been reached, the process returns to S1404. If it is determined that the inter-vehicle distance has been controlled to the set inter-vehicle distance, the process ends (S1408).

[0081] In this embodiment, the timing at which the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 switches the inter-vehicle distance to the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control is defined as when the host vehicle 110 has traveled the entire length of the host vehicle from the intersection entrance 160, but a value that includes not only the entire length of the host vehicle but also the inter-vehicle distance for normal following control may be used. Also, the timing may be determined by obtaining space ahead of the intersection and determining whether the host vehicle 110 can proceed.

[0082] In all of the above embodiments, the vehicle control device 2, braking force / driving force control ECU 10, and intersection red light deceleration control ECU 11 have been described as being independent configurations, but these ECUs may also be included in a single ECU that can realize the functions, such as an AD-ECU.

[0083] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these details as long as the features of the invention are not impaired. Also, although various embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these details. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0084] The vehicle control device 2 of each of the above-described embodiments includes a vehicle control device 2 that issues control instructions for following the preceding vehicle based on sensing and driver settings, an intersection position detection unit 20 that detects whether the host vehicle 110 is passing through an intersection, an intersection width calculation unit 23 that calculates the intersection width of the intersection to be passed through based on information from the MPU and GNSS, a target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 that calculates a target inter-vehicle distance for following control based on the host vehicle speed, the preceding vehicle speed, the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle, driver setting information, etc., and an intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 that calculates an intersection inter-vehicle distance by adding the intersection width calculated by the intersection width calculation unit 23 to the inter-vehicle distance during normal following control. The vehicle control device 2 is characterized in that, when the intersection position detection unit 20 detects that the host vehicle 110 is passing through an intersection during following control, the intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 25 calculates an intersection inter-vehicle distance, and the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 switches the target inter-vehicle distance for following control to the intersection inter-vehicle distance.

[0085] The vehicle control device 2 has a target speed calculation unit 28 that calculates the target speed required to set and maintain the target inter-vehicle distance set by the target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24, and instructs the braking force / driving force control ECU 10 of the calculated target speed. The target speed calculation unit 28 is characterized by appropriately calculating a target speed suitable for increasing the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection inter-vehicle distance before the host vehicle reaches the intersection entrance, based on the distance from the host vehicle to the intersection entrance and the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

[0086] The vehicle control device 2 has an inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 that sets the timing for setting the target inter-vehicle distance updated by the target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 as the control target value, and the inter-vehicle distance setting unit 26 switches to the target inter-vehicle distance updated by the target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit 24 when a defined inter-vehicle distance increase condition or inter-vehicle distance decrease condition is satisfied.

[0087] The vehicle control device 2 has an intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 that recognizes information about traffic lights installed at intersections that the vehicle is scheduled to pass through by sensing or road-to-vehicle communication and determines whether the intersection is passable or not, and if the intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 determines that the vehicle is passable, the following distance setting unit 26 uses that information to determine the timing for switching the following distance. Also, if the intersection passage possibility determination unit 29 determines that the vehicle is not passable, the vehicle control device 20 cancels the following control and switches to a red light deceleration control function.

[0088] According to this vehicle control device 2, when an intersection to be passed ahead is detected during following control, intersection width information of the intersection to be passed through is acquired, and the intersection width is added to the following distance for following control, thereby increasing the following distance for following control, and when entering the intersection, it is possible to control the following distance between the vehicle 110 and the preceding vehicle to be greater than the intersection width. Therefore, even if the preceding vehicle 120 is stopped in the intersection or ahead, it is possible to prevent the host vehicle 110 from entering the intersection.

[0089] Furthermore, by calculating an appropriate target speed for increasing the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection distance before the host vehicle reaches the intersection entrance, it becomes possible to increase the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection distance by the time the host vehicle reaches the intersection entrance. After the host vehicle has increased the inter-vehicle distance to the intersection distance, by reducing the inter-vehicle distance to the set inter-vehicle distance for normal following control when the host vehicle passes through the intersection, it is possible to switch to normal following control after passing through the intersection.

[0090] In addition, if the traffic light turns red while the vehicle is stopped at the entrance to an intersection during follow-up control, the system cancels follow-up control and switches to the red light deceleration control function, making it possible to prevent the vehicle from entering the intersection by follow-up control for the preceding vehicle when the light is red.It is also possible to prevent the vehicle from being left behind at an intersection by minimizing the use of controls that go against the driver's intentions, such as stopping control at a timing the driver does not intend.

[0091] The present invention makes it possible to perform preceding vehicle following control not only on expressways and other roads for exclusive use by vehicles, but also on general roads with intersections, thereby contributing to improved safety and convenience.

[0092] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention as defined in the claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 1 Vehicle, 2 Vehicle control device, 20 Intersection position detection unit, 21 Vehicle position detection unit, 22 Leading vehicle position calculation unit, 23 Intersection width calculation unit, 24 Target inter-vehicle distance calculation unit, 25 Intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit, 26 Inter-vehicle distance setting unit, 27 Status notification unit, 28 Target speed calculation unit, 29 Intersection passage possibility determination unit, 100 General road, 110 Vehicle, 120 Leading vehicle, 130-a to -b Other vehicles, 140 Normal following control vehicle distance between vehicles, 150....traffic light indicating passage is permitted, 160....intersection entrance, 170....intersection exit, 200....intersection width, 210....intersection following distance, 600....traffic light indicating intersection passage is not permitted, 610....position of the preceding vehicle that was present before the control to follow preceding vehicles was released, 800....low-speed preceding vehicle, 810....setting switching point, 1000....total length of host vehicle, 1010....approach distance from intersection entrance to the front end of host vehicle, 1020....distance from intersection exit to the rear end of the preceding vehicle

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that performs follow-up control to make a host vehicle follow a preceding vehicle while maintaining a target inter-vehicle distance, a vehicle-to-vehicle distance setting unit that sets a target vehicle-to-vehicle distance when the host vehicle passes through a no-stopping zone to a target vehicle-to-vehicle distance for the no-stopping zone calculated by adding a distance from an entrance to an exit of the no-stopping zone to a normal target vehicle-to-vehicle distance that is set based on a preset condition; an intersection position detection unit that detects the position of an intersection that constitutes the no-stopping area; an intersection width calculation unit that calculates an intersection width, which is the distance from the entrance to the exit of the intersection; an intersection inter-vehicle distance calculation unit that calculates a target inter-vehicle distance for an intersection based on the intersection width; a target speed calculation unit that calculates a target speed of the host vehicle to adjust the inter-vehicle distance to a target inter-vehicle distance for the intersection before the host vehicle reaches an entrance of the intersection; a vehicle position detection unit that detects the position of the vehicle; a preceding vehicle position calculation unit that calculates a distance to the preceding vehicle and a speed of the preceding vehicle, and calculates a position of the preceding vehicle; an intersection passability determination unit that acquires information about traffic lights installed at the intersection and determines whether or not the intersection is passable; Equipped with When it is determined that the host vehicle has traveled a distance equal to or greater than the entire length of the host vehicle from the entrance of the intersection in a state in which the target inter-vehicle distance of the host vehicle is set to the target inter-vehicle distance for the intersection, the target inter-vehicle distance of the host vehicle is switched from the target inter-vehicle distance for the intersection to a target inter-vehicle distance for normal following control, In a state where the target inter-vehicle distance of the host vehicle is set to the target inter-vehicle distance for the intersection, if the preceding vehicle stops within the intersection or at the exit of the intersection, and the host vehicle is stopped at the entrance of the intersection by the following control of the host vehicle, and the traffic light is switched to an impassable state, the following control is released and a stop maintenance control is executed to maintain the stopped state of the host vehicle. A vehicle control device characterized by:

2. The vehicle control device described in claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle distance setting unit switches the target vehicle distance from the target vehicle distance for the intersection to the target vehicle distance for normal following control when it determines that the vehicle has passed the exit of the intersection with the target vehicle distance for the intersection set to the target vehicle distance for the intersection.

3. The vehicle control device described in claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle distance setting unit switches the target vehicle distance from the target vehicle distance for normal following control to the target vehicle distance for the intersection when it determines that the vehicle has passed a setting switching point set before the entrance to the intersection.

4. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the target inter-vehicle distance is set as an inter-vehicle time.

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