Vehicle control device

Abstract

To prevent control not intended by a driver.SOLUTION: A vehicle control apparatus includes: a lane detection part for detecting a travel lane ahead of a vehicle; a vehicle position acquisition part for acquiring a lateral position of the vehicle; a request obtainment part for receiving from a driver of the vehicle an execution request for lane keep support control for controlling a steering angle of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along a travel lane; a lane keep support control part for executing lane keep support control in accordance with the execution request for the lane keep support control; and a permission determination part for determining whether at least a part of the vehicle is positioned on an outside of the travel lane when receiving the execution request for the lane keep support control, and inhibiting the execution of the lane keep support control by the lane keep support control part in a case where at least a part of the vehicle is positioned on the outside of the travel lane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] There is known a vehicle control device that controls the steering angle of a vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the travel lane. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below describe a method of detecting the travel lane in which the vehicle is traveling from an image of the road captured by a camera, and controlling the steering angle of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels in the center position of the travel lane. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6853903 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6390095 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-described device, when detecting a pair of lane markings that divide a driving lane from an image captured by a camera, the device may mistakenly recognize a curb, ruts, or the like on the road as a lane marking. In this case, the device may mistakenly recognize that the driving lane is located in a position that is shifted to the left or right from the actual driving lane. If lane keeping assist control is executed in this state where the position of the driving lane is mistakenly recognized, the vehicle will end up traveling in a position that is off the center of the driving lane, contrary to the driver's intention.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to prevent control from being performed against the driver's intention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One embodiment of a vehicle control device includes a lane detection unit that detects the driving lane ahead of the vehicle, a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires the lateral position of the vehicle, a request acquisition unit that receives from the driver of the vehicle a request to execute lane keeping assist control that controls the steering angle of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the driving lane, a lane keeping assist control unit that executes the lane keeping assist control in response to the request to execute the lane keeping assist control, and a permission determination unit that determines whether at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the detected driving lane when the request to execute the lane keeping assist control is received, and prohibits the lane keeping assist control from being executed by the lane keeping assist control unit when it is determined that at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the driving lane.

[0007] Generally, a driver executes lane keeping assist control when the vehicle is traveling within the traveling lane. Therefore, if it is determined that the vehicle is located outside the traveling lane when a request for execution of lane keeping assist control is received from the driver, it is assumed that there is an error in the position of the traveling lane detected by the lane detection unit. In other words, there is a high possibility that there is a discrepancy between the position of the traveling lane recognized by the driver and the position of the traveling lane detected by the lane detection unit. In the vehicle control device of this aspect, when it is determined that at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the traveling lane, execution of lane keeping assist control is prohibited, thereby preventing control against the driver's intention.

[0008] In one embodiment, the lane detection unit may detect a pair of lane markings based on a captured image of the area ahead of the vehicle and recognize the area between the pair of lane markings as the driving lane, and the permission determination unit may determine whether at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the driving lane based on the width of the driving lane, the lateral position of the vehicle, and the width of the vehicle. By using the width of the driving lane, the lateral position of the vehicle, and the width of the vehicle, it is possible to appropriately determine whether at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the driving lane.

[0009] In one embodiment, the permission determination unit may determine that at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the driving lane when the amount of deviation between the center line of the driving lane and the center position of the vehicle in the width direction of the vehicle is greater than half the difference between the width of the driving lane and the width of the vehicle. By performing the above determination, it is possible to appropriately determine whether at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the driving lane. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to one aspect and various embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to prevent control from being performed against the driver's intention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a vehicle running situation. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a vehicle running situation. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by a vehicle control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, vehicle control devices according to various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the same or corresponding parts in each drawing will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions of the same or corresponding parts will be omitted.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to one embodiment. The vehicle control device 10 shown in Fig. 1 is equipped in the vehicle 1 and controls the steering angle of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along a driving lane.

[0014] The vehicle 1 equipped with the vehicle control device 10 is a large vehicle such as a truck, trailer, or bus. However, the vehicle 1 may also be a small vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a camera 2, a switch 4, a steering actuator 5, and the vehicle control device 10.

[0015] The camera 2 captures an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 1. The camera may be a monocular camera or a stereo camera. The stereo camera has two imaging units arranged to reproduce binocular parallax. The imaging information of the stereo camera also includes information in the depth direction. The image captured by the camera 2 is output to the vehicle control device 10.

[0016] The switch 4 is a switch that switches between executing and stopping lane keeping assist control, which controls the steering angle of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the driving lane. When the switch 4 is turned ON by the driver of the vehicle 1, the switch 4 outputs a request signal indicating a request to execute the lane keeping assist control to the vehicle control device 10. On the other hand, when the driver of the vehicle 1 turns OFF the switch 4, the switch 4 outputs a stop signal indicating a request to stop the execution of the lane keeping assist control to the vehicle control device 10.

[0017] The steering actuator 5 controls the driving of the electric power steering system in response to a control signal from the vehicle control device 10. The steering angle of the vehicle 1 is controlled by controlling the driving of the electric power steering system.

[0018] The vehicle control device 10 is an electronic control unit having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), CAN (Controller Area Network) communication circuit, etc. The vehicle control device 10 is connected to a network that communicates using, for example, the CAN communication circuit, and is communicatively connected to each component of the vehicle 1. For example, the vehicle control device 10 operates the CAN communication circuit based on a signal output by the CPU to input and output data, stores the data in RAM, loads a program stored in the ROM into the RAM, and executes the program loaded into the RAM, thereby realizing various functions described below. The vehicle control device 10 may be composed of multiple electronic control units.

[0019] The vehicle control device 10 controls the steering angle of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the travel lane. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle control device 10 has, as functional components, a lane detection unit 11, a vehicle position acquisition unit 12, a request acquisition unit 13, a lane keeping assist control unit 14, and a permission determination unit 15. The functions of the vehicle control device 10 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2.

[0020] The lane detection unit 11 detects the driving lane ahead of the vehicle 1 based on the image captured by the camera 2. For example, the lane detection unit 11 analyzes the image ahead of the vehicle 1 captured by the camera 2 to extract a pair of lane markings L1 (e.g., white lines) on the left and right of the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling, and recognizes the area between the pair of lane markings L1 as the driving lane. Furthermore, the lane detection unit 11 obtains the shape (e.g., curvature) of the driving lane based on the image captured by the camera 2.

[0021] The vehicle position acquisition unit 12 acquires the lateral position of the vehicle 1 (the position of the vehicle 1 in the width direction within the travel lane) based on the image captured by the camera 2. For example, the vehicle position acquisition unit 12 acquires, as the lateral position of the vehicle 1, the amount of deviation d in the vehicle width direction between the center line of the pair of lane markings L1, i.e., the center line C1 of the travel lane, and the center position 1c of the vehicle 1.

[0022] The request acquisition unit 13 receives a request to execute lane keeping assist control from the driver of the vehicle 1. For example, when the switch 4 is turned on by the driver's operation and a request signal is received from the switch 4, the request acquisition unit 13 determines that a request to execute lane keeping assist control has been received from the driver.

[0023] The lane keeping assist control unit 14 executes the lane keeping assist control when it receives a request to execute the lane keeping assist control from the driver. For example, when it receives a request to execute the lane keeping assist control, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 calculates a target steering angle for causing the vehicle 1 to travel along the traveling lane based on the shape of the traveling lane detected by the lane detection unit 11. For example, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 determines a target steering angle that reduces the amount of deviation d in the vehicle width direction between the center line C1 of the traveling lane and the center position 1c of the vehicle 1. Then, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 controls the steering actuator 5 so that the steering angle of the vehicle 1 becomes the target steering angle.

[0024] In the above-described lane keeping assist control, if a curb or a rut on the road is mistakenly recognized as a lane marking L1, the lane will be mistakenly recognized as being shifted to the left or right from the actual lane. Accordingly, the vehicle 1 is controlled to travel at a position shifted to the left or right from the center line C1 of the lane. This control is contrary to the driver's intention.

[0025] In order to solve this problem, when the request acquisition unit 13 receives a request to execute lane keeping assist, the permission determination unit 15 determines whether or not the lane keeping assist control unit 14 should execute lane keeping assist control.

[0026] The processing of the permission determination unit 15 will be described below with reference to a specific example shown in Fig. 3. In the example shown in Fig. 3, a pair of left and right lane markings L1 are provided on the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling. The vehicle 1 is manually driven by the driver and travels along the center line C1 of the travel lane defined by the pair of lane markings L1. A pair of left and right ruts 20 formed by the repeated passing of other vehicles are formed inside this travel lane.

[0027] Here, the lane detection unit 11 may detect a pair of ruts 20 formed in the driving lane as a pair of lane markings L2. In other words, the pair of lane markings L2 are erroneously detected lane markings. In this case, the lane detection unit 11 recognizes the area between the pair of lane markings L2 as the driving lane of the vehicle 1. If lane keeping assist control is executed when such an erroneous recognition occurs, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 controls the steering angle of the vehicle 1 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the center line C2 of the pair of lane markings L2. Because the center line C2 is shifted laterally from the center line C1 of the actual driving lane, such lane keeping assist control is contrary to the driver's intention. If control contrary to the driver's intention is executed, the driver will feel uncomfortable.

[0028] Therefore, the permission determination unit 15 prohibits the execution of lane keeping assist control when there is a high possibility that the lane detection unit 11 has erroneously recognized the driving lane. Generally, a driver executes lane keeping assist control when driving inside the driving lane. Therefore, if the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane when a request to execute lane keeping assist control is received from the driver, there is a high possibility that the driving lane detected by the lane detection unit 11 is incorrect. Therefore, when the permission determination unit 15 receives a request to execute lane keeping assist control from the driver, it determines whether at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane detected by the lane detection unit 11, and if it is determined that at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane, it prohibits the lane keeping assist control unit 14 from executing the lane keeping assist control.

[0029] For example, the permission determination unit 15 determines whether at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane based on the detected width of the driving lane, the lateral position of the vehicle 1, and the width W of the vehicle 1. For example, the distance D between a pair of lane markings L2 in the vehicle width direction corresponds to the width of the driving lane. The deviation d between the center line C2 of the pair of lane markings L2 in the vehicle width direction and the center position 1c of the vehicle 1 corresponds to the lateral position of the vehicle 1. The permission determination unit 15 determines that at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane when the following formula (1) is established:

[0030] d>(DW) / 2 (1)

[0031] That is, the permission determination unit 15 determines that at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane when the deviation d between the detected center line C2 of the driving lane and the center position 1c of the vehicle 1 is greater than half the difference between the distance D between the pair of lane markings L2 and the width W of the vehicle 1. On the other hand, when the above formula (1) does not hold, the permission determination unit 15 determines that the entire vehicle 1 is located inside the driving lane.

[0032] If it is determined that the entire vehicle 1 is located inside the driving lane, the permission determination unit 15 outputs information indicating that the execution of lane keeping assist control is permitted to the lane keeping assist control unit 14. In this case, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 controls the steering angle of the vehicle 1 in response to the driver's operation of the switch 4 so that the vehicle 1 travels along the center line C2 of the driving lane. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3 , if it is determined that the vehicle 1 has crossed the lane marking L2 and at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane, the permission determination unit 15 outputs information indicating that the execution of lane keeping assist control is prohibited to the lane keeping assist control unit 14. In this case, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 does not execute the lane keeping assist control even if the driver operates the switch 4.

[0033] The flow of processing executed by the vehicle control device 10 will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the vehicle control device 10.

[0034] First, the request acquisition unit 13 of the vehicle control device 10 determines whether or not the switch 4 has been operated by the driver of the vehicle 1 (step ST1). If the switch 4 has not been operated, the request acquisition unit 13 waits until the switch 4 is operated.

[0035] When the driver operates switch 4 and request acquisition unit 13 receives a request signal, lane detection unit 11 detects the driving lane based on an image of the front of vehicle 1 captured by camera 2 (step ST2). Next, vehicle position acquisition unit 12 acquires the lateral position of vehicle 1 based on the image of the front of vehicle 1 captured by camera 2 (step ST3). For example, vehicle position acquisition unit 12 acquires the amount of deviation d in the vehicle width direction between center line C2 of the driving lane detected by lane detection unit 11 and center position 1c of vehicle 1 as the lateral position of vehicle 1.

[0036] Next, the permission determination unit 15 determines whether at least a part of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane detected by the lane detection unit 11 (step ST4). For example, the permission determination unit 15 determines whether at least a part of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane, in accordance with the above-mentioned formula (1), based on the distance D between the pair of lane markings L2, the deviation d in the vehicle width direction between the center line C2 of the driving lane and the center position 1c of the vehicle 1, and the width W of the vehicle.

[0037] If it is determined that the entire vehicle 1 is located inside the driving lane, the permission determination unit 15 permits the lane keeping assist control unit 14 to execute lane keeping assist control (step ST5). In this case, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 determines a target steering angle such that the vehicle travels along the center line C2 of the driving lane, and outputs the determined target steering angle to the steering actuator 5. Then, the steering actuator 5 controls the driving of the steering system of the vehicle 1 so that the steering angle of the vehicle 1 becomes the determined target steering angle (step ST6). As a result, the vehicle 1 travels along the driving lane without steering by the driver.

[0038] On the other hand, if the permission determination unit 15 determines that at least a part of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane, the permission determination unit 15 prohibits the lane keeping assist control unit 14 from performing the lane keeping assist control (step ST7). In this case, the lane keeping assist control unit 14 does not determine a target steering angle and does not perform the lane keeping assist control.

[0039] As described above, the vehicle control device 10 prohibits the execution of lane keeping assist control when it is determined that at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane. Generally, a driver executes lane keeping assist control when driving inside the driving lane. Therefore, if at least a portion of the vehicle 1 is located outside the driving lane when a request to execute lane keeping assist control is received from the driver, there is a high possibility that the position of the driving lane detected by the lane detection unit 11 is incorrect. In such a case, the vehicle control device 10 prohibits the execution of lane keeping assist control, thereby preventing lane keeping assist control from being executed against the driver's intention.

[0040] The vehicle control device 10 according to various embodiments has been described above. However, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the lane keeping assist unit is prohibited from executing when it is determined that at least a portion of the vehicle is located outside the driving lane due to an erroneous detection of the driving lane. However, the cause of the vehicle being located outside the driving lane is not limited to an erroneous detection of the driving lane. For example, if the vehicle is changing lanes when a request to execute lane keeping assist control is received from the driver, it may be determined that the vehicle is located outside the driving lane. In such a case, the lane keeping assist unit may also be prohibited from executing. The various embodiments described above can be combined to the extent that no contradictions arise. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1...vehicle, 1c...vehicle center position, 10...vehicle control device, 11...lane detection unit, 12...vehicle position acquisition unit, 13...request acquisition unit, 14...lane keeping assist control unit, 15...permission determination unit, C1, C2...center line of driving lane, L1, L2...lane dividing line, W...vehicle width.

Claims

1. a lane detection unit that detects a driving lane ahead of the vehicle; a vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a lateral position of the vehicle; a request acquisition unit that receives, from a driver of the vehicle, a request to execute lane keeping assist control that controls a steering angle of the vehicle so that the vehicle travels along the travel lane; a lane keeping assist control unit that executes the lane keeping assist control in response to a request for execution of the lane keeping assist control; a permission determination unit that determines whether the driving lane detected by the lane detection unit is an erroneous detection based on whether at least a part of the vehicle is located outside the detected driving lane when the execution request for the lane keeping assist control is received, and prohibits the lane keeping assist control unit from executing the lane keeping assist control when it is determined that the driving lane is an erroneous detection; A vehicle control device comprising:

2. the lane detection unit detects a pair of lane markings based on a captured image of a front of the vehicle, and recognizes an area between the pair of lane markings as the driving lane; The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the permission determination unit determines whether the driving lane is erroneously detected based on the width of the driving lane, the lateral position of the vehicle, and the width of the vehicle.

3. 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein the permission determination unit determines that the lane is an erroneous detection when a deviation between a center line of the lane and a center position of the vehicle in a width direction of the vehicle is greater than half the difference between a width of the lane and a width of the vehicle.

Images