Vehicle control device

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle control device that prevents unnecessary operation of a driving assistance function for collision avoidance between a subject vehicle and a pedestrian at an intersection, for example. The vehicle control device comprises: an operation suppression determining unit 206 which, if a collision is determined by a collision determining unit 205, determines whether to change the result of the collision determination (whether to suppress unnecessary operation) on the basis of a variation (variation over time) in an overlap ratio between a target object and the subject vehicle and a variation (variation over time) in a lateral speed occurring in the target object, relative to the subject vehicle; and a control intervention determining unit 207 for determining a control intervention for the subject vehicle from the results obtained by the collision determining unit 205 and the operation suppression determining unit 206.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that assists in avoiding a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian at, for example, an intersection. [Background technology]

[0002] As a conventional technology for supporting collision avoidance at intersections, Patent Document 1 proposes a driving assistance device that performs collision detection for pedestrians crossing an intersection, taking into account the turning of the vehicle. In addition to the above technology, Patent Document 1 also proposes a method for permitting operation by limiting areas such as crosswalks using an external environment recognition device that uses map information, etc., to activate the driving assistance for collision avoidance at intersections at appropriate locations (collisions on crosswalks, etc.). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-32028 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the collision judgment involving the turning of the vehicle as in Patent Document 1, there is a concern that erroneous operation (unnecessary operation) may occur due to a collision judgment with a target that will not necessarily collide at an intersection, etc., for the following reasons (see Figure 13). (1) Intersection AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking) judges whether a collision will occur based on the path of the vehicle as it turns and the path of the target, but errors in estimating the path of the vehicle can easily cause unnecessary operation against people walking alongside the vehicle. (2) To avoid false activation, a common method is to prevent unnecessary activation by using information that separates vehicles from pedestrians, such as sidewalks and crosswalks. (3) In Japan and overseas, there are many intersections that do not have sidewalks or crosswalks, and at such intersections, conventional methods cannot prevent unwanted activation.

[0005] In order to encourage appropriate activation of a driving assistance function for avoiding collisions between a vehicle and a pedestrian at an intersection, Patent Document 1 proposes a method of limiting the activation area to crosswalks, etc. However, as mentioned in (3) above, there are many roads in Japan and overseas that do not have physical environments such as crosswalks or sidewalks that separate pedestrians from vehicles, and on such roads, there is concern that activation cannot be prevented for objects that will not actually collide.

[0006] Figure 14 shows an example of a scenario in which a driving assistance function for collision avoidance at an intersection may be unnecessarily activated. One example of an unnecessarily activated scenario occurs when a pedestrian approaches parallel to the vehicle while the driver is steering the steering wheel at the intersection. The distribution of variations in the vehicle's future path due to driver operation is called the path error distribution, and the pedestrian's speed variation due to sensor errors, etc., is called the pedestrian error distribution. In the case of a parallel pedestrian, the overlap between the path error distribution and the pedestrian error distribution—that is, the area where a collision is likely to occur—is small. Therefore, if a collision is determined, an unnecessarily activated scenario is likely to occur. However, if a pedestrian is crossing the road when the driver turns the steering wheel, the path error distribution and the pedestrian error distribution almost overlap, indicating a high collision possibility (a situation in which an unnecessarily activated scenario is unlikely to occur if a collision is determined). Furthermore, in a scenario in which the driver turns the steering wheel back to pass through the intersection, such as at the intersection exit, the overlap between the path error distribution and the pedestrian error distribution is small for a perpendicular pedestrian, making an unnecessarily activated scenario more likely to occur if a collision is determined.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle control device that detects such a scene and prevents unnecessary operation of a driving assistance function for avoiding a collision between the vehicle and a pedestrian at an intersection, for example. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A representative example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows: That is, a vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle includes: an external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information of the host vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires a state of the host vehicle; a collision determination unit that determines a collision between the target and the host vehicle based on information about targets around the host vehicle acquired by the external environment recognition unit and the state of the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit; an operation suppression determination unit that, when a collision is determined by the collision determination unit, determines whether to change the result of the collision determination based on a change in the overlap ratio between the target and the host vehicle and a change in the lateral speed of the target relative to the host vehicle; and a control intervention determination unit that determines to intervene in control of the host vehicle based on the results of the collision determination unit and the operation suppression determination unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device that appropriately assists in avoiding collisions between vehicles and pedestrians, for example, at intersections where there is no environment to separate vehicles and pedestrians, such as a sidewalk or a crosswalk.

[0010] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle controller (vehicle control device) according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of an operation suppression determination unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 3 is a flowchart of a vehicle controller (vehicle control device) according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 1 is an explanatory diagram of a collision simulation. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a collision detection area and a pedestrian area. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the overlap rate. [Figure 8]4 is a flowchart of an operation suppression determination unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9A] 4A and 4B are a conceptual diagram and a time chart of a parallel walker determination unit of the first embodiment; [Figure 9B] 10A and 10B are a conceptual diagram and a time chart of the parallel walker determination unit of the first embodiment (a scene in which a misjudgment occurs when the determination is made based only on the overlap rate); [Figure 9C] 10 is a flowchart of the parallel walker determination unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 9D] 10 is a flowchart of a parallel walker status setting process of the parallel walker determination unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 10A] 3A and 3B are a conceptual diagram and a time chart of crossing pedestrian determination by the crossing pedestrian determination unit of the first embodiment; [Figure 10B] 4A and 4B are a conceptual diagram and a time chart of crossing pedestrian determination by the crossing pedestrian determination unit of the first embodiment (a scene in which determination is erroneously made based only on the overlap rate); [Figure 10C] 4 is a flowchart of a crossing pedestrian determination unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10D] 10 is a flowchart of a crossing pedestrian status setting process performed by the crossing pedestrian determination unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 11A] A diagram showing the relationship between overlap rate and judgment accuracy. [Figure 11B] A graph showing the relationship between the rate of change in overlap rate and the accuracy of judgment. [Figure 11C] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between determination accuracy and control threshold adjustment gain. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart of an operation suppression determination unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] A bird's-eye view of a scene where a malfunction (unwanted operation) occurs. [Figure 14] An explanatory diagram of a scene in which a malfunction (unwanted operation) occurs. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description of the embodiments shown below. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the specific configuration can be modified within the scope of the idea or intent of the present invention. In the configuration of the invention described below, the same or similar configurations or functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0013] [Example 1] 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A vehicle (host vehicle) 100 is a four-wheel vehicle, with reference numeral 101 indicating a left front wheel, 102 indicating a right front wheel, 103 indicating a left rear wheel, and 104 indicating a right rear wheel. Reference numeral 105 indicates a wheel cylinder provided on the left front wheel 101, reference numeral 106 indicates a wheel cylinder provided on the right front wheel 102, reference numeral 107 indicates a wheel cylinder provided on the left rear wheel 103, and reference numeral 108 indicates a wheel cylinder provided on the right rear wheel 104.

[0014] Reference numeral 109 denotes a wheel cylinder hydraulic pressure control device, such as a skid control device, that can adjust the hydraulic pressure of each of the wheel cylinders 105, 106, 107, and 108. Reference numeral 110 denotes an automatic steering device that includes a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle and is equipped with a steering actuator, such as an electric power steering device.

[0015] Reference numeral 111 denotes an external environment recognition sensor (external environment recognition unit) that detects (recognizes) targets such as pedestrians that exist in the external environment (surroundings) of the vehicle 100 using a camera, radar, or the like. Reference numeral 112 denotes an external environment recognition controller that calculates the position and speed of the target detected (recognized) by the external environment recognition sensor 111. The external environment recognition controller 112 also includes a vehicle control controller 200 (FIG. 2) that can determine a collision between the host vehicle 100 and the target based on the position and speed information of the target and vehicle information of the host vehicle 100, and determine the operation of the braking device.

[0016] Reference numeral 113 denotes an engine. Note that, as a prime mover (drive source) of the vehicle 100, a motor may be used instead of the engine 113, or the engine 113 and a motor may be used together.

[0017] 2 shows a functional block diagram of a vehicle controller (vehicle control device) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle controller (vehicle control device) 200 is an electronic control device mainly composed of a microcomputer equipped with a processor, memory, I / O, and a bus connecting these, and performs calculations based on various input information and outputs the calculation results.

[0018] The external environment recognition unit 201 is composed of a camera, radar, etc. installed on the vehicle (host vehicle) 100, and acquires information (target information) about targets existing in the external world (forward) of the host vehicle 100 and transmits it to the vehicle control controller 200.

[0019] The vehicle information acquisition unit 202 is composed of wheel speed sensors, steering angle sensors, yaw rate sensors, etc. installed on the vehicle (host vehicle) 100, and acquires information (vehicle information) on the state of the host vehicle 100, such as the host vehicle's speed, steering angle, and yaw rate, and transmits it to the vehicle control controller 200.

[0020] The vehicle control controller 200 mainly includes, as functional blocks, a vehicle path estimation unit 203, a target path estimation unit 204, a collision determination unit 205, an operation suppression determination unit 206, a control intervention determination unit 207, an alarm actuator operation unit 208, and a braking actuator operation unit 209.

[0021] The host vehicle travel path estimation unit 203 estimates the future travel path of the host vehicle from the speed, steering angle, and yaw rate of the host vehicle obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202 when the host vehicle travels through an intersection.

[0022] The target travel path estimation unit 204 calculates the position and speed of the target from the target information obtained from the external environment recognition unit 201, and estimates the future travel path of the target.

[0023] The collision determination unit 205 determines a collision between the target and the host vehicle by calculating the degree of overlap between the host vehicle and the target (overlap rate), the time to collision (TTC), etc., based on the result of the target's future path estimation by the target path estimation unit 204 and the result of the host vehicle's future path estimation by the host vehicle path estimation unit 203.

[0024] When the collision determination unit 205 determines that a collision has occurred, the operation suppression determination unit 206 determines whether or not control is required for the collision (whether or not operation suppression is required). In other words, the operation suppression determination unit 206 changes the result of the collision determination and determines whether or not operation (unnecessary operation) should be suppressed. When operation suppression is required, the operation suppression determination unit 206 transmits the operation suppression determination and the operation suppression gain to the control intervention determination unit 207.

[0025] The control intervention determination unit 207 determines whether or not to perform control intervention based on the overlap rate (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the overlap rate) calculated by the collision determination unit 205, and the operation suppression determination and operation suppression gain transmitted from the TTC and operation suppression determination unit 206. When control intervention is determined, the control intervention determination unit 207 transmits an alarm and a braking command to each actuator operation unit (208, 209).

[0026] The alarm actuator operation unit 208 is composed of a buzzer mounted in the combination meter or a standalone buzzer, and when the control intervention determination unit 207 determines that control intervention by an alarm is necessary, it sounds the alarm buzzer in response to an alarm buzzer activation request sent from the control intervention determination unit 207.

[0027] The brake actuator operation unit 209 is mounted in a brake actuator such as an anti-skid device, and when the control intervention determination unit 207 determines that the risk of collision cannot be avoided even by control intervention due to an alarm and that control intervention by braking is necessary, the brake actuator operation unit 209 applies braking force to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the collision avoidance brake operation request and requested deceleration transmitted by the control intervention determination unit 207.

[0028] 3 shows a functional block diagram of the operation suppression determination unit 206 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The operation suppression determination unit 206 according to the first embodiment includes a steering angular velocity calculation unit 210, a turning direction determination unit 211, a further steering determination unit 212, a return steering determination unit 213, a parallel walking pedestrian determination unit 214, a crossing pedestrian determination unit 215, and an operation suppression determination result output unit 216.

[0029] The steering angle velocity calculation unit 210 calculates the steering angle velocity (right steering velocity or left steering velocity) from the steering angle obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202.

[0030] The turning direction determination unit 211 determines the turning direction (right turn or left turn) from the steering angle and yaw rate information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202.

[0031] The further steering determination unit 212 and the return steering determination unit 213 determine whether to further steering or return steering depending on the turning direction based on the steering angular velocity calculation result from the steering angular velocity calculation unit 210 and the turning direction determination result from the turning direction determination unit 211.

[0032] When the turning judgment unit 212 judges whether the vehicle is turning further, the parallel pedestrian judgment unit 214 judges whether the vehicle is walking further and whether operation suppression is required based on the overlap rate and collision judgment position (anticipated lateral position of collision) obtained from the collision judgment unit 205 (details will be explained later).

[0033] When the steering return judgment unit 213 judges whether to steer back, the crossing pedestrian judgment unit 215 judges whether there is a crossing pedestrian and whether operation suppression is necessary based on the overlap rate and collision judgment position (anticipated lateral position of collision) obtained from the collision judgment unit 205 (details will be explained later).

[0034] The operation suppression determination result output unit 216 sets a control threshold adjustment gain (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as adjustment gain) based on the parallel pedestrian determination unit 214's parallel pedestrian determination when steering further, the crossing pedestrian determination unit 215's crossing pedestrian determination when steering back, and the overlap rate and collision determination position (anticipated lateral position of collision) obtained from the collision determination unit 205, and transmits these results to the control intervention determination unit 207 (Figure 2).

[0035] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the vehicle controller 200 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] First, the position and speed information of a pedestrian is acquired as external environment recognition information (target information) from the external environment recognition unit 201 (step S301).

[0037] Also, vehicle speed, vehicle yaw rate, and steering angle information are acquired as host vehicle information (vehicle information) from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202, such as wheel speed sensors, yaw rate sensors, and steering angle sensors provided on the vehicle 100 (step S302).

[0038] When the host vehicle enters an intersection, the host vehicle path estimation unit 203 estimates the host vehicle path from the host vehicle speed, yaw rate, and steering angle (step S303). The host vehicle path refers to the trajectory the host vehicle will follow, and is expressed as a set consisting of the host vehicle's position and orientation. Predicting the path is equivalent to predicting the host vehicle's future position and orientation, but it is impossible to accurately predict the path including the driver's intentions. Therefore, in this embodiment, the path is predicted under the assumption that the host vehicle will travel while maintaining the current steering angle and current speed (i.e., making a steady circular turn). If the host vehicle behavior is assumed to be a steady circular turn, the host vehicle path can be obtained by knowing the host vehicle speed and yaw rate. The host vehicle speed can be obtained as a relatively stable and accurate value from a wheel speed sensor. The yaw rate may be obtained from a yaw rate sensor, or a steering angle converted yaw rate converted to a yaw rate that the vehicle can generate depending on the steering angle may be used. The yaw rate γ calculated by the host vehicle path estimation unit 203 SA0 [rad / s] is called the vehicle's path yaw rate.

[0039] The target travel path estimation unit 204 estimates the travel path of the target from the external environment recognition information (target information) (step S304). In this embodiment, the future motion of the target is assumed to be a uniform linear motion from the current position at the current ground speed. In order to calculate the future position of the target, it is necessary to know the current motion information (position and ground speed) of the target. The current position of the target is calculated based on the current target position (xR p_cur ,yR p_cur) [m]. Next, the current target velocity information (VxR p_cur ,VyR p_cur ) [m / s] uses the speed information transmitted by the external environment recognition unit 201 such as a camera.

[0040] The collision determination unit 205 determines whether the host vehicle and the target will collide in the future based on the estimated future traveling path of the host vehicle and the future traveling path of the target (step S305). In this embodiment, to predict the future collision state between the host vehicle and the target (collision determination, time to collision, etc.), a collision simulation is performed in which the host vehicle's future motion is assumed to be a steady circular turn and the target's future motion is assumed to be uniform linear motion, and the collision state is calculated for each future time from the positional relationship between the two. The collision simulation is a loop calculation for predicting a future collision between the host vehicle and the target (Figure 5). By understanding the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the target for each simulation time, assuming the host vehicle's future motion to be a steady circular turn and the target's future motion to be uniform linear motion, the collision determination, overlap rate, relative speed at the time of collision, and time to collision (TTC) are calculated for each target. A determination is made as to whether a collision is likely based on the future positional relationship between the host vehicle and the target up to a predetermined time in the future when the simulation time is maximum. If a collision is predicted, a "collision" determination is made; otherwise, a "no collision" determination is made.

[0041] <Collision simulation> In the collision simulation, collision judgment is performed based on the positional relationship between the vehicle and the target at each simulation time, and the collision judgment results up to the maximum simulation time are reconciled to calculate the final collision judgment result. f Every t f = minimum to t f Repeat until maximum value.

[0042] <Step 1: Calculate future vehicle position> (Calculate the yaw angle of your vehicle) First, the current vehicle travel path yaw rate γ SA0 [rad / s] to the yaw angle θ(t f) [rad] (the current direction of travel of the vehicle is set to 0 degrees). However, since the vehicle is assumed to be traveling through an intersection, the yaw angle of the vehicle's center of gravity is limited to ±90 degrees.

[0043] (Calculates the future position of the vehicle's center of gravity) Next, the yaw angle of the center of gravity of the vehicle θ(t f ) [rad], the current vehicle speed V0 [m / s], and the future vehicle center of gravity position (xsR v (t f ),ysR v (t f )) [m]. Note that when θ(t) exceeds ±π / 2, it indicates straight ahead driving.

[0044] <Step 2: Calculate future target position> (Calculates future target position (current vehicle coordinates)) First, the current target ground speed (VxR p_cur ,VyR p_cur ) [m / s] and target coordinates (xR p_cur ,yR p_cur ) [m] to calculate the future target position (xsR p (t f ),ysR p (t f )) [m] is calculated.

[0045] <Step 3: Determine whether there will be a future collision> The target position calculated in step 2 (xsR p (t f ),ysR p (t f )) [m], if the two are in a positional relationship where they overlap, it is determined that a "collision has occurred," and if not, it is determined that there is no collision.However, by setting a pedestrian area for the target with the target position as the center and the target width as the diameter for the target, and a collision detection area for the host vehicle with margins in all directions from the center of gravity of the host vehicle (see Figure 6), it is possible to easily tune the sensitivity of the collision detection and to avoid the effects of sensor variation.

[0046] <Step 3-1: Front-rear direction overlap determination> If the following criterion is satisfied, it is determined that "overlap exists," and if not, it is determined that "no overlap exists." [Number 1] TIFF0007829037000001.tif32153

[0047] <Step 3-2: Left-right overlap determination> If the following criterion is satisfied, it is determined that "overlap exists," and if not, it is determined that "no overlap exists." [Number 2] TIFF0007829037000002.tif38154

[0048] <Calculating the overlap rate> An overlap rate, which is a parameter that indicates the degree to which the host vehicle and the target overlap when viewed laterally, is calculated based on the future positional relationship between the host vehicle and the target for a predetermined time into the future when the simulation time is at its maximum. The overlap rate for each simulation time is calculated using different formulas for whether the target center is directly in front of the host vehicle center, or to the left or right of the host vehicle center (see Fig. 7).

[0049] ≪Left side of your vehicle (ysR p (t f ) ≧ 0) when the target center is in the overlap rate calculation method for each time≫ When the target center is on the left side of the vehicle (left side of Figure 7), each time overlap rate [%] is calculated based on the target position and each width value. [Number 3] TIFF0007829037000003.tif35158

[0050] ≪Right side of your vehicle (ysR p (t f )<0) when the target center is at each time overlap rate calculation method≫ When the target center is on the right side of the vehicle (right side of Figure 7), the overlap rate [%] for each time period is calculated based on the target position and each width value. [Number 4] TIFF0007829037000004.tif30159

[0051] <Calculating relative velocity at the time of collision> The simulation time when the overlap rate of each simulation time is the largest in the future up to the predetermined time when the simulation time is the maximum is defined as t fr When [s] is used, t fr The relative velocity of the target as seen from the vehicle at [s] is calculated as the relative velocity at the time of collision. The relative velocity is calculated based on the relative position of the vehicle and the target for each simulation time, and the relative velocity up to the maximum simulation time is reconciled to calculate the relative velocity at the time of collision. In the reconciliation, the relative velocity at the simulation time when the overlap rate of each simulation time is the largest is taken as the relative velocity at the time of collision.

[0052] ≪t fr Relative velocity in [s]≫ Yaw angle of the center of gravity of the vehicle θ(t fr ), current target ground speed (VxR p_cur ,VyR p_cur ), the target relative speeds in the X and Y directions are calculated using the following formulas. At this time, by approximating the vehicle's sideslip angle as 0 [rad], the vehicle speed in the Y direction (lateral direction) is treated as 0 [m / s], and the vehicle speed in the X direction (longitudinal direction) is treated as V0 [m / s] (current vehicle speed). [Number 5] TIFF0007829037000005.tif42159

[0053] <Time to Collision (TTC) Calculation> The time to collision (TTC) is calculated for the future up to the specified time when the simulation time is maximum. The time to collision (TTC) is calculated from the simulation time t fc Let [s] be the time until collision.

[0054] When the collision determination unit 205 determines that the host vehicle will collide with a target in the future, the operation suppression determination unit 206 determines whether or not the collision really requires issuance of an alarm or application of the brakes, and whether or not the operation of the alarm or the brakes needs to be suppressed (step S306). In other words, the operation suppression determination unit 206 determines whether or not the result of the collision determination by the collision determination unit 205 needs to be changed. In this embodiment, the operation suppression determination unit 206 calculates a steering angle speed from the steering angle information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202 (steering angle speed calculation unit 210), determines a turning direction from the steering angle and yaw rate information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202 (turning direction determination unit 211), and determines whether to turn the vehicle further or return to its original position depending on the turning direction (further turning determination unit 212, return to its original position determination unit 213). When determining whether to turn further, a parallel pedestrian determination is made based on the overlap rate and collision determination position (anticipated lateral collision position) obtained from the collision determination unit 205, thereby determining whether an operation has been suppressed (parallel pedestrian determination unit 214), and when determining whether to turn back, a crossing pedestrian determination is made based on the overlap rate and collision determination position (anticipated lateral collision position) obtained from the collision determination unit 205, thereby determining whether an operation has been suppressed (crossing pedestrian determination unit 215). The method for determining whether operation has been suppressed will be described in detail below. If it is determined that operation suppression is necessary, the operation suppression determination or the operation suppression gain calculated by the operation suppression determination is sent to the control intervention determination unit 207 (operation suppression determination result output unit 216).

[0055] The control intervention determination unit 207 issues a request for activation of warning / brake control in accordance with the collision risk calculated from the results of the collision simulation with each target calculated by the collision determination unit 205 (step S307). In this embodiment, as the collision risk increases, control intervention is performed in the order of warning buzzer and collision avoidance brake. The collision risk is evaluated using the time to collision (TTC) calculated by the collision determination unit 205. However, in this embodiment, the control intervention determination is performed using the distance to collision converted from the TTC (hereinafter referred to as the TTC converted distance), and an activation request is issued if the TTC converted distance is smaller than the activation distance threshold for each control. The TTC converted distance is calculated as "TTC x host vehicle speed." When an activation request is issued, an activation request is issued to the warning actuator operation unit 208 and the braking actuator operation unit 209 as "activation requested."

[0056] An activation request for the alarm actuator is determined when the TTC-converted road distance falls below the control intervention threshold for the alarm buzzer. If an activation determination is made for the alarm actuator, the control intervention determination unit 207 sends an alarm buzzer sounding command to the alarm actuator operation unit 208. The control intervention threshold for the alarm buzzer is determined by setting a reference TTC for the alarm buzzer for each vehicle speed by looking up a map, and multiplying this reference TTC for each vehicle speed by the vehicle speed to determine the reference road distance threshold. This control intervention threshold for the alarm buzzer is determined as the final control intervention threshold for the alarm buzzer by multiplying the reference road distance threshold by an adjustment gain based on the overlap rate for the alarm buzzer and the operation suppression gain calculated in step S306.

[0057] An operation request to the brake actuator is determined when the TTC converted distance falls below the control intervention threshold for the collision avoidance brake. When a determination is made to operate the brake actuator, the control intervention determination unit 207 transmits a predetermined deceleration request value along with a braking execution command to the brake actuator operation unit 209. The control intervention threshold for the collision avoidance brake is determined by setting a reference TTC for the collision avoidance brake for each vehicle speed by looking up a map, and multiplying this reference TTC for each vehicle speed by the vehicle speed to obtain a reference distance threshold. This control intervention threshold for the collision avoidance brake is determined as the final control intervention threshold for the collision avoidance brake by multiplying the reference distance threshold by an adjustment gain based on the overlap rate for the collision avoidance brake and the operation suppression gain calculated in step S306.

[0058] If it is determined that control intervention by an alarm is necessary, the alarm actuator operation unit 208 is composed of a buzzer mounted in the combination meter or a standalone buzzer, and sounds the alarm buzzer in response to the alarm buzzer activation request sent from the control intervention determination unit 207 (step S308).

[0059] If the risk of collision cannot be avoided even by the control intervention due to the warning and it is determined that control intervention by braking is necessary, the brake actuator operation unit 209 is installed in a brake actuator such as an anti-skid device, and applies braking force to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the collision avoidance brake operation request and the requested deceleration (predetermined deceleration request value) sent by the control intervention determination unit 207 (step S309).

[0060] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the operation suppression determination unit 206 in step S306.

[0061] In the operation suppression determination unit 206, the steering angle speed calculation unit 210 calculates the current steering angle speed (right steering speed or left steering speed) by time differentiating the steering angle information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202 (step S310).

[0062] The turning direction determination unit 211 determines which way the vehicle is currently turning based on the steering angle information and yaw rate information obtained from the vehicle information acquisition unit 202 (step S311). One example of a turning determination method is to have turning determination thresholds for the steering angle and yaw rate, and determine that the vehicle is turning right when the current steering angle and yaw rate both exceed the right turning determination threshold, and that the vehicle is turning left when they exceed the left turning determination threshold. If either or both of the steering angle and yaw rate do not exceed the left / right turning determination threshold, the vehicle is determined to be not turning, i.e., traveling straight, and no operation suppression determination is made (step S320).

[0063] If it is determined in step S311 that the host vehicle is turning right, and the steering angular velocity calculated in step S310 is output in the right steering direction by a predetermined value or more, the further turning determination unit 212 performs further turning determination. Also, if it is determined in step S311 that the host vehicle is turning left, and the steering angular velocity calculated in step S310 is output in the left steering direction by a predetermined value or more, the further turning determination unit 212 performs further turning determination (step S312).

[0064] If it is determined in step S311 that the host vehicle is turning right, and the steering angular velocity calculated in step S310 is output in the left steering direction by a predetermined value or more, the steering-back determination unit 213 performs a steering-back determination. Also, if it is determined in step S311 that the host vehicle is turning left, and the steering angular velocity calculated in step S310 is output in the right steering direction by a predetermined value or more, the steering-back determination unit 213 performs a steering-back determination (step S313). Note that the processing order of steps S312 and S313 may be reversed. If the steering velocity does not meet the predetermined value and it cannot be determined that the host vehicle is turning further or steering back, it can be determined that the host vehicle is proceeding through the intersection in a steady circle, and there is no need to suppress operation, so no operation suppression determination is performed (step S320).

[0065] If the parallel pedestrian determination unit 214 determines that the vehicle is turning further while turning right or left, it determines whether the target is a parallel pedestrian who is unlikely to collide with the vehicle (and therefore is subject to operation suppression) (step S314 in Figure 8).

[0066] FIG. 9A shows a conceptual diagram and a time chart for detecting a pedestrian moving parallel to the host vehicle. Whether a target (pedestrian) with which the host vehicle may collide when proceeding through an intersection is moving parallel to the host vehicle at the intersection exit is determined based on the tendency (pattern) of the target's overlap rate relative to the host vehicle (occurring on the left and right sides of the host vehicle's turning direction) and the tendency (pattern) of the target's lateral speed as seen from the host vehicle. Take the example of detecting a pedestrian moving parallel to the host vehicle while making a right turn. The host vehicle turns right at the intersection, and the target (pedestrian) moves at a constant speed in a straight line from point a to point b at the intersection. If the pedestrian, as seen from the host vehicle, is moving parallel to the host vehicle at the intersection exit, collision detection between the host vehicle and the target initially begins when the overlap rate with the host vehicle is near 0 on the right side. From there, the overlap rate on the right side peaks, and then shifts to the overlap rate on the left side. After transitioning to the overlap rate on the left side, the overlap rate shows a decreasing trend, eventually reaching near 0, and finally no collision is detected. In this case, if the overlap rate alone were used to determine whether a pedestrian is moving parallel to the road, it would be impossible to distinguish the pedestrian from a forward-moving pedestrian passing through the intersection while proceeding from point c to point d in Figure 9B. Therefore, when determining whether a pedestrian is moving parallel to the road, the lateral speed of the target (pedestrian) as seen from the vehicle is also observed. Because the vehicle turns while proceeding through the intersection, the vehicle's coordinate axis changes moment by moment as the vehicle turns. Therefore, even if the target is moving at a constant speed in a straight line from point a to point b, the lateral speed of the target as seen from the vehicle decreases from the beginning to the end of the turn (Figure 9A). By observing this characteristic along with the overlap rate trend (pattern), a pedestrian can be identified as a parallel pedestrian. The lateral speed of the crossing pedestrian in Figure 9B increases as the vehicle turns, allowing the pedestrian to be distinguished from the parallel pedestrian in Figure 9A. The same applies to determining whether a pedestrian is moving parallel to the road while making a left turn (see also Figure 9D).

[0067] 9C shows a flowchart for determining whether a target is a parallel walker. In the parallel walker determination, the target has a parallel walker status of four levels depending on the judgment state of the target (step S401) in order to determine whether the target is a parallel walker. When this parallel walker status is 4 (step S402), the target is determined to be a parallel walker (step S403), and otherwise (step S402), the target is determined not to be a parallel walker (step S404).

[0068] FIG. 9D shows a flowchart for setting the status of a parallel pedestrian. First, it is determined whether or not the result of the collision determination unit 205 indicates that a collision has occurred (step S411). If there is no collision, the parallel pedestrian status is reset to 0 regardless of its value (step S427). If there is a collision, it is determined whether or not the current parallel pedestrian status is 0 (step S412). If the status is not 0, the process moves to determining whether or not the parallel pedestrian status is 1 (step S414). If the status is 0, the overlap rate with the target PreOverLap(t f It is determined whether PreOverLap(t f If the overlap rate is near 0, the parallel walker status is set to 1 (step S419), and if the overlap rate is not near 0, the parallel walker status remains 0 (step S420).

[0069] Next, if a collision has occurred, it is determined whether the current parallel pedestrian status is 1 (step S414). If the current parallel pedestrian status is not 1, the process proceeds to determining whether the current parallel pedestrian status is 2 (step S416). If the current parallel pedestrian status is 1, it is determined whether parallel pedestrian judgment 1 is satisfied (step S415). Parallel pedestrian judgment 1 is satisfied when, if the host vehicle is turning right, the overlap rate with the target is calculated on the right side and is on an increasing trend, and the lateral speed is on a decreasing trend (FIG. 9A). In this case, the increasing trend in the overlap rate is determined by the change in the overlap rate per unit of time being positive. Furthermore, the decreasing trend in the lateral speed is determined by the change in the absolute value of the lateral speed per unit of time being negative. If parallel pedestrian judgment 1 is satisfied, the parallel pedestrian status is set to 2 (step S421). If the parallel walker judgment 1 is not satisfied, the parallel walker status remains 1 (step S422).

[0070] Next, if a collision has occurred, it is determined whether the current parallel pedestrian status is 2 (step S416). If the current parallel pedestrian status is not 2, the process proceeds to determining whether parallel pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied (step S418). If the current parallel pedestrian status is 2, it is determined whether parallel pedestrian judgment 2 is satisfied (step S417). Parallel pedestrian judgment 2 is satisfied when the overlap rate shifts from right to left, the overlap rate is observed to peak, and the lateral speed of the target as seen from the host vehicle is on a decreasing trend ( FIG. 9A ). At this time, the overlap rate peak is detected when the overlap rate on the right side exceeds a predetermined value, then changes to the overlap rate on the left side, and then falls below the predetermined value. A downward trend in lateral speed is determined when the change in the absolute value of lateral speed per unit time is negative. If parallel pedestrian judgment 2 is satisfied, the parallel pedestrian status is set to 3 (step S423). If the normal walker judgment 2 is not satisfied, the normal walker status remains at 2 (step S424).

[0071] Next, if a collision has occurred, it is determined whether parallel pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied (step S418). Parallel pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied when the overlap rate is observed to be on the left side and is decreasing, and the lateral speed of the target as seen from the vehicle is decreasing. In this case, the decreasing trend in overlap rate is determined by the overlap rate change per time unit being negative. Also, the decreasing trend in lateral speed is determined by the change in the absolute value of lateral speed per time unit being negative. If parallel pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied, parallel pedestrian status is set to 4 (step S425). If parallel pedestrian judgment 3 is not satisfied, parallel pedestrian status remains at 3 (step S426).

[0072] When it is determined that the vehicle is turning back while turning right or left, the crossing pedestrian determination unit 215 determines whether the target is a crossing pedestrian who is unlikely to collide with the vehicle (and therefore is subject to operation suppression) (step S315 in FIG. 8).

[0073] FIG. 10A shows a conceptual diagram and a time chart for determining whether a target (pedestrian) with a possibility of collision when the host vehicle proceeds through an intersection is crossing in front of the host vehicle at the intersection exit. This is determined based on the tendency (pattern) of the overlap rate of the target relative to the host vehicle (occurring on the left and right sides of the host vehicle's turning direction) and the tendency (pattern) of the lateral speed of the target as seen from the host vehicle. Take the example of determining whether a pedestrian is crossing while turning back to the right. The host vehicle turns right at the intersection, and the target (pedestrian) moves at a constant speed in a straight line from point e to point f at the intersection. If the pedestrian is perpendicular to the host vehicle as seen from the host vehicle at the intersection exit, the collision determination between the host vehicle and the target initially begins when the overlap rate with the host vehicle is near 0 on the left. From there, the overlap rate on the left reaches a peak, and then shifts to the overlap rate on the right. After the transition to the overlap rate on the right, the overlap rate shows a decreasing tendency (downward trend), eventually reaching near 0, and finally no collision is determined. In this case, if crossing pedestrians were identified based solely on the overlap rate, they would be indistinguishable from a pedestrian moving forward parallel to the vehicle as he or she passes through the intersection proceeding from point g to point h in Figure 10B. Therefore, when identifying a crossing pedestrian, the lateral speed of the target (pedestrian) as seen from the vehicle is also observed. Because the vehicle turns as it proceeds through the intersection, the vehicle's coordinate axis changes moment by moment as it turns. Therefore, even if the target moves at a constant speed in a straight line from point e to point f, the lateral speed of the target as seen from the vehicle increases from the beginning to the end of the turn (Figure 10A). By observing this characteristic simultaneously with the occurrence trend (pattern) of the overlap rate, it is possible to identify a crossing pedestrian. The lateral speed of the pedestrian moving parallel to the vehicle in Figure 10B decreases as the vehicle turns, making it possible to distinguish the pedestrian from the pedestrian in Figure 10A. The same applies to crossing pedestrians when turning left and returning (see also Figure 10D).

[0074] 10C shows a flowchart of the crossing pedestrian determination. In the crossing pedestrian determination, a target object is determined to be a crossing pedestrian, and the crossing pedestrian status has four levels depending on the determination state of the target object (step S501). When this crossing pedestrian status is 4 (step S502), the object is determined to be a crossing pedestrian (step S503), and otherwise (step S502), the object is determined not to be a crossing pedestrian (step S504).

[0075] FIG. 10D shows a flowchart of the crossing pedestrian status setting. First, it is determined whether or not the result of the collision determination unit 205 indicates that a collision has occurred (step S511). If no collision has occurred, the crossing pedestrian status is reset to 0 regardless of its value (step S527). If a collision has occurred, it is determined whether or not the current crossing pedestrian status is 0 (step S512). If the status is not 0, the process proceeds to determining whether or not the crossing pedestrian status is 1 (step S514). If the status is 0, the overlap rate PreOverLap(t f It is determined whether PreOverLap(t f If the overlap rate is near 0, the crossing pedestrian status is set to 1 (step S519), and if the overlap rate is not near 0, the crossing pedestrian status remains 0 (step S520).

[0076] Next, if a collision has occurred, it is determined whether the current crossing pedestrian status is 1 (step S514). If the current crossing pedestrian status is not 1, the process proceeds to determining whether the current crossing pedestrian status is 2 (step S516). If the current crossing pedestrian status is 1, it is determined whether crossing pedestrian judgment 1 is satisfied (step S515). Crossing pedestrian judgment 1 is satisfied when, while the host vehicle is turning right, the overlap rate with the target is calculated on the left side and is on an increasing trend, and the lateral speed is also on an increasing trend (FIG. 10A). At this time, the increasing trend in the overlap rate is determined by whether the change in the overlap rate per unit of time is on the positive side. Furthermore, the increasing trend in the lateral speed is determined by whether the change in the absolute value of the lateral speed per unit of time is on the positive side. If crossing pedestrian judgment 1 is satisfied, the crossing pedestrian status is set to 2 (step S521). If the crossing pedestrian judgment 1 is not satisfied, the crossing pedestrian status remains at 1 (step S522).

[0077] Next, if a collision has occurred, it is determined whether the current crossing pedestrian status is 2 (step S516). If the current crossing pedestrian status is not 2, the process proceeds to determining whether crossing pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied (step S518). If the current crossing pedestrian status is 2, it is determined whether crossing pedestrian judgment 2 is satisfied (step S517). Crossing pedestrian judgment 2 is satisfied when the overlap rate shifts from left to right, the overlap rate is observed to peak, and the lateral speed of the target as seen from the host vehicle is on an increasing trend ( FIG. 10A ). At this time, the peak of the overlap rate is detected when the overlap rate on the left side exceeds a predetermined value, then changes to the overlap rate on the right side, and then falls below the predetermined value. Furthermore, the increasing trend of the lateral speed is determined when the change in the absolute value of the lateral speed per unit time is on the positive side. If crossing pedestrian judgment 2 is satisfied, the crossing pedestrian status is set to 3 (step S523). If the crossing pedestrian judgment 2 is not satisfied, the crossing pedestrian status remains at 2 (step S524).

[0078] Next, if a collision has occurred, it is determined whether crossing pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied (step S518). Crossing pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied when the overlap rate is observed to be on the right and is decreasing, and the lateral speed of the target as seen from the vehicle is increasing. In this case, the decreasing trend in the overlap rate is determined by the overlap rate change per time unit being on the negative side. Also, the increasing trend in the lateral speed is determined by the change in the absolute value of the lateral speed per time unit being on the positive side. If crossing pedestrian judgment 3 is satisfied, the crossing pedestrian status is set to 4 (step S525). If crossing pedestrian judgment 3 is not satisfied, the crossing pedestrian status remains at 3 (step S526).

[0079] The operation suppression determination unit 206 observes the judgment of a person walking alongside the vehicle when turning further, the judgment of a crossing pedestrian when turning back, and the overlap rate between the vehicle and the pedestrian. The operation suppression determination unit 206 evaluates the accuracy of the judgment of a person walking alongside the vehicle and a crossing pedestrian. The accuracy of the judgment of a person walking alongside the vehicle and a crossing pedestrian is evaluated based on the current overlap rate and the rate of change of the overlap rate (see also Figures 9A and 10A). If the current overlap rate is high, the probability that the person is a person walking alongside the vehicle when turning further or a crossing pedestrian when turning back is low (i.e., the probability of a malfunction is low), so the accuracy is low. Conversely, if the current overlap rate is low, the probability that the person is a pedestrian who will not collide with the vehicle is high, so the accuracy of the person walking alongside the vehicle when turning further and the crossing pedestrian when turning back is high. This accuracy is set using a map like that shown in Figure 11A and is set as a walking alongside / crossing pedestrian judgment accuracy of 1. Next, the greater the change rate of the overlap rate, the higher the possibility of a collision, and therefore the lower the possibility (accuracy) that the pedestrian is a pedestrian moving alongside / crossing the road. Conversely, the smaller the change rate, the lower the possibility of a collision, and therefore the higher the possibility (accuracy) that the pedestrian is a pedestrian moving alongside / crossing the road. Therefore, the accuracy of the pedestrian moving alongside / crossing the road based on the change rate of the overlap rate is set by looking up a map as shown in FIG. 11B, and is set as pedestrian moving alongside / crossing detection accuracy 2. The final pedestrian moving alongside / crossing detection accuracy is determined from pedestrian moving alongside / crossing detection accuracy 1 and pedestrian moving alongside / crossing detection accuracy 2. The final pedestrian moving alongside / crossing detection accuracy may be calculated by multiplying accuracy 1 and accuracy 2, or by selecting high or low for both. Then, the control threshold adjustment gain is set as shown in FIG. 11C according to this pedestrian moving alongside / crossing detection accuracy.

[0080] In the operation suppression determination unit 206, the operation suppression determination result output unit 216 transmits the above-mentioned "judgment of a pedestrian walking alongside when turning further," "judgment of a pedestrian crossing when turning back," and "control threshold adjustment gain" to the control intervention determination unit 207 (step S316 in FIG. 8). Based on the transmitted control threshold adjustment gain, the control intervention determination unit 207 adjusts the control intervention threshold, which is the determination criterion for the above-mentioned control intervention.

[0081] As described above, the vehicle control controller (vehicle control device) 200 of this embodiment includes: an external environment recognition unit 201 that recognizes external information about the host vehicle, such as a camera or radar; a vehicle information acquisition unit 202 that acquires the state of the host vehicle (speed, steering angle, yaw rate, etc.); a collision determination unit 205 that determines a collision between the target and the host vehicle based on information about targets (pedestrians, etc.) around the host vehicle acquired by the external environment recognition unit 201 and the state of the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 202; an operation suppression determination unit 206 that, when a collision is determined by the collision determination unit 205, determines whether to change the result of the collision determination (whether to suppress unnecessary operation) based on a change (time change) in the overlap rate between the target and the host vehicle and a change (time change) in the lateral speed of the target relative to the host vehicle; and a control intervention determination unit 207 that determines control intervention for the host vehicle (with respect to the target) based on the results of the collision determination unit 205 and the operation suppression determination unit 206.

[0082] The operation suppression determination unit 206 determines the turning direction of the host vehicle, and determines that the target is a person walking alongside / crossing the road who is subject to operation suppression from the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and the occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the host vehicle relative to the turning direction of the host vehicle (Figure 9A / Figure 10A).

[0083] According to this embodiment, for example, at an intersection where there is no environment to separate vehicles and pedestrians, such as a sidewalk or a sidewalk, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device that prevents unnecessary operation (excessive operation) with pedestrians who will not actually be hit, such as people walking alongside, and that appropriately supports avoidance of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians.

[0084] [Example 2] Next, Example 2 will be described. Since the basic configuration of Example 2 is the same as that of Example 1, the differences from Example 1 will be described. In Example 1, the operation inhibition determination is performed based on the determination of the parallel pedestrian during acceleration and the determination of the crossing pedestrian during deceleration. In addition to this, in Example 2, when determining the parallel pedestrian, the parallelism / orthogonality between the host vehicle and the target is determined from the relative speed of the target at the time of collision calculated by the collision determination unit 205, and the operation inhibition determination is performed when these conditions are met. In Example 2, since the speed vector of the pedestrian at the time of collision is evaluated with respect to Example 1, the target of operation inhibition can be further limited.

[0085] FIG. 12 shows a flowchart of the operation inhibition determination unit 206 of Example 2. Since steps S310 to S316 and S320 are the same as those of Example 1, the parallelism determination in step S317 and the orthogonality determination in step S318 will be described.

[0086] In the parallelism determination of step S317, when the speed vectors of the pedestrian at the time of pedestrian collision during collision determination are Vxp and Vyp, and the angle formed by the speed vector and the host vehicle is θp, then θp = tan -1 (Vyp / Vxp), and it is determined to be parallel when Vyp / Vxp < Kp (Kp is a predetermined arctangent value). When it is determined to be parallel, the target is defined as a parallel pedestrian who is the target of operation inhibition. When it is determined not to be parallel, the operation inhibition determination is not performed (step S320).

[0087] In the orthogonality determination of step S318, when the speed vectors of the pedestrian at the time of pedestrian collision during collision determination are Vxp and Vyp, and the angle formed by the speed vector and the host vehicle is θp, then θp = tan -1 (Vyp / Vxp), and it is determined to be orthogonal when Vyp / Vxp > Kn (Kn is a predetermined arctangent value). When it is determined to be orthogonal, the target is defined as a crossing pedestrian who is the target of operation inhibition. When it is determined not to be orthogonal, the operation inhibition determination is not performed (step S320).

[0088] As described above, in the vehicle control controller (vehicle control device) 200 of this embodiment, the operation suppression determination unit 206 determines the parallel walking person / crossing pedestrian, who is the target of operation suppression, from the speed vector of the pedestrian as seen from the vehicle.

[0089] According to this embodiment, for example, in a driving assistance function for avoiding a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian at an intersection where there is no environment separating the vehicle and the pedestrian, such as a sidewalk or a crosswalk, it is possible to further limit the targets for which activation is suppressed.

[0090] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments are provided to explain the present invention in detail, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, some of the configurations of each embodiment can be added to, deleted from, or replaced with other configurations.

[0091] Furthermore, the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. The present invention can also be realized by software program code that implements the functions of the embodiments. In this case, a storage medium on which the program code is recorded is provided to a computer, and a processor included in the computer reads the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium on which it is stored constitute the present invention. Examples of storage media for providing such program code include flexible disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, hard disks, solid-state drives (SSDs), optical disks, magneto-optical disks, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, and ROMs.

[0092] Furthermore, the program code of the software that realizes the functions of the embodiments may be distributed via a network and stored in a storage means such as a computer's hard disk or memory, or in a storage medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R, and the processor of the computer may read and execute the program code stored in the storage means or storage medium.

[0093] In the above-described embodiment, the control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown in the product. All components may be interconnected. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 100 vehicles 101 Left front wheel 102 Right front wheel 103 Left rear wheel 104 Right rear wheel 105, 106, 107, 108 Wheel cylinders 109 Wheel cylinder hydraulic pressure control device 110 Steering device 111 External Recognition Sensor 112 External Recognition Controller 113 Engine 200 Vehicle control controller (vehicle control device) 201 External world recognition department 202 Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 203 Own vehicle route estimation section 204 Target path estimation section 205 Collision determination section 206 Operation suppression determination unit 207 Control Intervention Judgment Unit 208 Alarm actuator operation unit 209 Brake actuator operating section 210 Steering angle speed calculation unit 211 Turning direction determination unit 212 Turn-in determination unit 213 Return judgment unit 214 Paranormal Progressor Determination Department 215 Crossing Pedestrian Judgment Department 216 Operation suppression determination result output unit

Claims

1. an external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information of the host vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the state of the host vehicle; a collision determination unit that determines a collision between the target and the host vehicle based on information about targets around the host vehicle acquired by the external environment recognition unit and a state of the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit; an operation suppression determination unit that, when a collision determination is made by the collision determination unit, determines a turning direction of the host vehicle, and determines whether to change the result of the collision determination based on a time change in an overlap rate between the host vehicle and the target objects occurring on the left and right of the host vehicle with respect to the turning direction of the host vehicle and a time change in a lateral velocity of the target objects relative to the host vehicle; A vehicle control device comprising: a control intervention determination unit that determines control intervention for the host vehicle based on the results of the collision determination unit and the operation suppression determination unit.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, The operation suppression determination unit determines the turning direction of the vehicle and determines that the target is a parallel moving person that is subject to operation suppression from the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and the occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the turning direction of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, The operation suppression determination unit determines a turning direction of the host vehicle, and determines that the target is a crossing pedestrian who is a target for operation suppression based on an occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and an occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the host vehicle with respect to the turning direction of the host vehicle.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the operation suppression determination unit determines whether the vehicle is turning further while it is turning, and determines that the target is a parallel moving vehicle that is subject to operation suppression based on the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and the occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the vehicle in the turning direction.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, The vehicle control device is characterized in that, when turning right at an intersection where traffic is left-hand, if a pedestrian is present in front of the left side of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the operation suppression determination unit determines whether the vehicle is turning further while turning, and determines that the target is a person walking parallel to the vehicle and is subject to operation suppression based on the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate in which the overlap rate rises from the right side of the vehicle and falls on the left side of the vehicle during a right turn and a sharp turn, or the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate in which the overlap rate rises from the left side of the vehicle and falls on the right side of the vehicle during a left turn and a sharp turn, and the occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that decreases while the vehicle is turning.

6. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the operation suppression determination unit determines whether the vehicle is steering back while turning, and determines that the target is a crossing pedestrian who is a target for operation suppression based on the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and the occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the vehicle with respect to the turning direction of the vehicle.

7. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, The vehicle control device is characterized in that, when turning right at an intersection with left-hand traffic and a pedestrian is present in front of the left side of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, the operation suppression determination unit determines whether the vehicle is turning back while turning, and determines that the target is a crossing pedestrian who is a target for operation suppression based on an occurrence pattern of the overlap ratio in which the overlap ratio increases from the left side of the vehicle and decreases on the right side of the vehicle while the vehicle is turning back to the right, or an occurrence pattern of the overlap ratio in which the overlap ratio increases from the right side of the vehicle and decreases on the left side of the vehicle while the vehicle is turning back to the left, and based on an occurrence pattern of the lateral velocity that increases while the vehicle is turning.

8. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the operation suppression judgment unit calculates the accuracy of the parallel pedestrian judgment from at least one of the overlap rate or the rate of change of the overlap rate, and sets a control threshold adjustment gain from the accuracy of the parallel pedestrian judgment to adjust the control intervention threshold, which is the judgment criterion for control intervention in the control intervention judgment unit.

9. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the operation suppression judgment unit calculates the accuracy of the parallel pedestrian judgment so that the accuracy becomes higher the lower the overlap rate or the smaller the rate of change of the overlap rate, and sets a control threshold adjustment gain based on the accuracy of the parallel pedestrian judgment, which adjusts the control intervention threshold that serves as the judgment criterion for control intervention in the control intervention judgment unit.

10. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the operation suppression determination unit calculates the accuracy of the crossing pedestrian determination from at least one of the overlap rate or the rate of change of the overlap rate, and sets a control threshold adjustment gain, based on the accuracy of the crossing pedestrian determination, that adjusts the control intervention threshold that serves as a determination criterion for control intervention in the control intervention determination unit.

11. The vehicle control device according to claim 3, The vehicle control device is characterized in that the operation suppression determination unit calculates the accuracy of the crossing pedestrian determination so that the accuracy becomes higher the lower the overlap ratio or the smaller the rate of change of the overlap ratio, and sets a control threshold adjustment gain that adjusts the control intervention threshold that serves as the determination criterion for control intervention in the control intervention determination unit based on the accuracy of the crossing pedestrian determination.

12. An external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information of the vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the state of the host vehicle; a collision determination unit that determines a collision between the target and the host vehicle based on information about targets around the host vehicle acquired by the external environment recognition unit and a state of the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit; an operation suppression determination unit that, when a collision determination is made by the collision determination unit, determines whether to change the result of the collision determination based on a change in an overlap ratio between the target and the host vehicle and a change in a lateral speed of the target relative to the host vehicle; a control intervention determination unit that determines control intervention for the host vehicle based on the results of the collision determination unit and the operation suppression determination unit, The operation suppression determination unit determines the turning direction of the vehicle and determines that the target is a parallel moving person that is subject to operation suppression from the occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and the occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the turning direction of the vehicle.

13. An external environment recognition unit that recognizes external environment information of the vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the state of the host vehicle; a collision determination unit that determines a collision between the target and the host vehicle based on information about targets around the host vehicle acquired by the external environment recognition unit and a state of the host vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit; an operation suppression determination unit that, when a collision determination is made by the collision determination unit, determines whether to change the result of the collision determination based on a change in an overlap ratio between the target and the host vehicle and a change in a lateral speed of the target relative to the host vehicle; a control intervention determination unit that determines control intervention for the host vehicle based on the results of the collision determination unit and the operation suppression determination unit, The operation suppression determination unit determines a turning direction of the host vehicle, and determines that the target is a crossing pedestrian who is a target for operation suppression based on an occurrence pattern of the overlap rate and an occurrence pattern of the lateral speed that occur on the left and right sides of the host vehicle with respect to the turning direction of the host vehicle.

Images