Vehicle driver assistance systems

Abstract

To provide a driving support system for a vehicle that can provide a driving support so as to avoid contact between a road sign pole on a road side portion and the vehicle.SOLUTION: A driving support system for a vehicle, comprises: a road sign recognition unit 51 that determines whether or not a road sign is present based on peripheral information acquired by a camera sensor 2 and the like; an avoidance object setting unit 52 that sets a road sign pole to be included in an avoidance object in the case that the road sign recognition unit 51 determines that the road sign is present, assuming that there is a road sign pole on the road side portion; an avoidance object determining unit 53 that determines whether or not the avoidance object is present in the road side portion based on the peripheral information acquired by the camera sensor 2 and the information on the avoidance object set by the avoidance object setting unit 52; and a driving support control unit 54 that performs a driving support so as to avoid contact between the vehicle and the avoidance object when the avoidance object determining unit 53 determines that the avoidance object exists in the road side portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving support system for a vehicle. In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement in driving support for avoiding contact with an avoidance object existing in the traveling direction (front) of the vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when there is an avoidance object such as an obstacle on the side of the road in the traveling direction of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the road side part), a steering force for avoiding contact with the avoidance object is applied to the steering wheel, or A driving support system that issues an alarm to the driver is known.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses acquiring surrounding situation information of a vehicle to recognize an oncoming vehicle and an avoidance object existing in the road side part, estimating the avoidance priorities of the oncoming vehicle and the avoidance object, and according to this avoidance priority. It is disclosed that a lane keeping target travel route is set. Further, in this Patent Document 1, a curb, a guardrail, a side wall, a utility pole, a pedestrian, and another vehicle are disclosed as avoidance objects existing in the road side part.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] As a sensing device for recognizing an avoidance object existing in the road side part, generally, a millimeter wave radar, an in-vehicle camera, etc. are used. However, these sensing devices can recognize an object having a width dimension (horizontal dimension) of a predetermined value or more well, but may not be able to recognize an object having a width dimension less than the predetermined value.

[0006] The inventors of this invention have gained new insights that, due to the characteristics of such sensing devices, it may be impossible to recognize road sign poles (poles that support road signs to set them at a predetermined height, hereinafter referred to as road sign poles) installed on the side of the road, and as a result, sufficient driving assistance may not be provided. In other words, even if the height of the road sign is sufficiently higher than the height of the vehicle's roof and the road sign itself does not come into contact with the vehicle, the inventors focused on the fact that even if the height of the road sign is sufficiently higher than the height of the vehicle's roof and the road sign does not come into contact with the vehicle, there is a possibility that the vehicle may come into contact with the road sign pole supporting the road sign unless evasive action is taken through driving assistance.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its objective is to provide a vehicle driving assistance system that can provide driving assistance to avoid contact with road sign poles on the side of the road. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention provides a solution for achieving the above objective, based on a vehicle driver assistance system that includes a peripheral information acquisition means for acquiring information about the area around a vehicle, and a system that detects objects to be avoided in the direction of travel of the vehicle based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition means and provides driver assistance to avoid contact with such objects. The vehicle driver assistance system is characterized by comprising: a road sign recognition unit that determines whether or not a road sign exists based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition means; an object to be avoided setting unit that, when the road sign recognition unit determines that a road sign exists, assumes that a road sign pole exists on the side of the road and sets the road sign pole to be included in the objects to be avoided; an object to be avoided determination unit that determines whether or not an object to be avoided exists on the side of the road based on the peripheral information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition means and the object to be avoided information set by the object to be avoided setting unit; and a driver assistance control unit that, when the object to be avoided determination unit determines that an object to be avoided exists on the side of the road, provides driver assistance to avoid contact with such object.

[0009] Based on this specific setting, if the presence of a road sign is determined based on the vehicle's surrounding information, the system is configured to include the road sign pole as an object to be avoided, assuming that a road sign pole exists on the side of the road. In other words, if there are other objects to be avoided besides the road sign pole, the system is configured to also include the road sign pole as an object to be avoided (an object to be avoided from contact). When the vehicle passes near an object to be avoided, the system provides driving assistance (for example, by applying steering force or issuing a warning to the driver) to avoid contact with that object (including the road sign pole if one exists). This makes it possible to provide driving assistance to avoid contact with the road sign pole even in situations where the surrounding information acquisition means cannot recognize the road sign pole (for example, when its width is less than a predetermined value). [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In this invention, if it is determined that a road sign exists based on the acquired surrounding information, it is assumed that a road sign pole exists on the side of the road, and the system is configured to include the road sign pole as an object to be avoided. The system then provides driving assistance to avoid contact with the object to be avoided, including the road sign pole. Therefore, even in situations where the surrounding information acquisition means cannot recognize the road sign pole, it is possible to provide driving assistance to avoid contact with the road sign pole. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the driver assistance system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of an image of the front of a vehicle captured by a camera sensor. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the driver assistance process according to the embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

[0013] -Outline configuration of the driver assistance system- Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of the driver assistance system 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the driver assistance system 1 is composed of a camera sensor (means for acquiring surrounding information) 2, a radar sensor (means for acquiring surrounding information) 3, a vehicle speed sensor 4, a driver assistance ECU 5, an electric power steering ECU (EPS-ECU) 6, a steering device 7, and a warning device 8.

[0014] The camera sensor 2 is composed of, for example, a monocular camera, and captures images of the area in front of the vehicle at predetermined intervals, transmitting the image data to the driver assistance ECU 5. This enables the recognition of objects when they are present in front of the vehicle. This camera sensor 2 can employ well-known image sensors such as CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) or CCD (Charge Coupled Device).

[0015] The radar sensor 3 is composed of, for example, a millimeter-wave radar, which emits millimeter-wave radio waves (millimeter waves) and receives millimeter waves reflected by objects within its radiation range (e.g., other vehicles, bicycles, guardrails, structures on the side of the road, etc.), and transmits this information to the driver assistance ECU 5. Based on the phase difference between the transmitted millimeter waves and the received reflected waves, the attenuation level of the reflected waves, and the time from the transmission of the millimeter waves to the reception of the reflected waves, it is possible to obtain information such as the distance between the vehicle and the object, the relative speed between the vehicle and the object, and the relative position (direction) of the object relative to the vehicle.

[0016] The vehicle speed sensor 4 is a detector that detects the vehicle's speed. An example of this vehicle speed sensor 4 is one that is installed on the vehicle's wheels or drive shaft, etc., and detects the rotational speed of the wheels. The vehicle speed sensor 4 transmits the detected vehicle speed information to the driver assistance ECU 5.

[0017] The driver assistance ECU 5 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read-Only Memory) for storing control programs, a RAM (Random-Access Memory) for temporarily storing data, and input / output ports. Furthermore, the driver assistance ECU 5 includes a road sign recognition unit 51, an avoidance target setting unit 52, an avoidance target determination unit 53, and a driver assistance control unit 54 as functional units realized by the control program. The functions of each unit will be described below.

[0018] The road sign recognition unit 51 determines the presence or absence of a road sign based on surrounding information acquired by the camera sensor 2 and the radar sensor 3. Specifically, it recognizes the presence or absence of a road sign in the image and the location of the road sign by performing image processing such as edge processing and pattern matching on the acquired surrounding information (images, etc.). For example, the ROM of the driver assistance ECU 5 stores images of various road signs, and by performing image processing such as pattern matching using these road sign images on the image information transmitted from the camera sensor 2, it recognizes the presence or absence of a road sign in the image and the location of the road sign. Alternatively, road sign recognition may be performed using deep learning with a neural network.

[0019] When the road sign recognition unit 51 determines that a road sign exists, the avoidance target setting unit 52 assumes that a road sign pole exists in the side portion of the road (the side of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; on the left side of the lane in the case of left-hand traffic), and sets the road sign pole to be included in the avoidance target (the avoidance target to be avoided from contact). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image in front of the vehicle captured by the camera sensor 2. As shown in this FIG. 2, when a road sign 10 exists in the image in front of the vehicle, although the road sign 10 can be well recognized by the camera sensor 2 or the radar sensor 3, the road sign pole 11 may not be recognized because its width dimension is small. For this reason, in the present embodiment, when the road sign recognition unit 51 determines that a road sign 10 exists, the avoidance target setting unit 52 assumes that a road sign pole 11 exists in the side portion of the road, and sets the road sign pole 11 to be included in the avoidance target (the avoidance target located in the side portion of the road). That is, when there are avoidance targets other than the road sign pole 11, in addition to that, the road sign pole 11 is also set to be included in the avoidance targets. Incidentally, in this case, since the shape of the road sign pole 11 is not recognized (not recognized by the camera sensor 2), the position and shape of the road sign pole 11 are specified by performing processing such as fitting a general shape of the road sign pole 11 into the image in advance (fitting an image of the road sign pole 11 below the road sign 10).

[0020] <00,00088>The avoidance target determination unit 53 determines whether or not an avoidance target exists in the side portion of the road based on the surrounding information acquired by the camera sensor 2 or the radar sensor 3 and the information of the avoidance target set by the avoidance target setting unit 52. That is, based on the surrounding information and the information of the avoidance target, it is determined whether or not an avoidance target to be avoided from contact exists in front of the vehicle.

[0021] When the avoidance target determination unit 53 determines that an avoidance target exists in the side portion of the road in front of the vehicle, the driving support control unit 54 performs driving support to avoid contact with the avoidance target.

[0022] Specifically, the EPS-ECU 6 transmits the presence information of the avoidance object and the position information of the avoidance object. The EPS-ECU 6 that receives this information transmits a steering command signal for avoiding contact with the avoidance object to the steering device 7. As a result, the steering device 7 applies a steering force (an assist steering force to the opposite side of the road side portion) for avoiding contact with the avoidance object to the steering wheel. Specifically, the steering device 7 includes an electric motor (not shown) for generating a steering force (steering assist torque), and by operating this electric motor, a steering force for avoiding contact with the avoidance object is applied to the steering wheel. The steering force in this case is changed according to the size of the avoidance object existing in the road side portion. For example, the steering force when the avoidance object existing in the road side portion is only the road sign pole 11 may be relatively small, while the steering force when the avoidance object existing in the road side portion is a parked vehicle is set to be relatively large.

[0023] Also, when the driving support control unit 54 determines that an avoidance object exists in the road side portion in front of the vehicle by the avoidance object determination unit 53, it transmits an alarm command signal to the alarm device 8. As a result, the alarm device 8 issues an alarm prompting the driver to perform a driving operation for avoiding contact with the avoidance object. For example, it sounds a buzzer or displays a warning on the meter panel.

[0024] Such driving support uses technologies known as LDA (Lane Departure Alert), LDW (Lane Departure Warning), and LTA (Lane Tracing Assist). That is, it is a technology for adjusting the target trajectory of the vehicle's travel or issuing an alarm to the driver according to the presence or absence of an avoidance object in the road side portion.

[0025] - Driving Support Process - Next, the procedure for driver assistance processing by the driver assistance system 1 configured as described above will be explained in accordance with the flowchart shown in Figure 3. This flowchart is repeated at predetermined intervals while the vehicle is in motion. In other words, it is repeated when the vehicle is determined to be in motion based on the vehicle speed information from the vehicle speed sensor 4.

[0026] First, in step ST1, the road sign 10 is recognized. This road sign recognition process is performed by the road sign recognition unit 51 receiving information from the camera sensor 2 and the radar sensor 3.

[0027] In step ST2, if the road sign 10 is recognized by the road sign recognition process, it is determined whether or not the road sign 10 is located on the side of the road. For example, it is determined whether or not the road sign 10 is located on the side of the road based on the position of the road shoulder and the position of the road sign 10 in the image obtained by the camera sensor 2.

[0028] If road sign 10 does not exist, or if road sign 10 exists but is not located on the side of the road, the result is NO in step ST2 and the process proceeds to step ST4.

[0029] If the road sign 10 is located on the side of the road and the result in step ST2 is YES, the process moves to step ST3, where it is assumed that a road sign pole 11 exists on the side of the road, and the road sign pole 11 is set to be included as an object to be avoided (object setting process by the object to be avoided setting unit 52). After setting the road sign pole 11 to be included as an object to be avoided in this way, the process moves to step ST4.

[0030] In step ST4, it is determined whether or not there is an object to be avoided (including the road sign pole 11) on the side of the road (determination process by the object to be avoided determination unit 53).

[0031] If an object to be avoided is present on the side of the road and a YES determination is made in step ST4, then in step ST5, driving assistance is provided to avoid contact with the object. Specifically, as mentioned above, steering force is applied to the steering wheels to avoid contact with the object, or a warning is issued to the driver.

[0032] On the other hand, if there are no objects to avoid on the side of the road and a "NO" result is obtained in step ST4, it is determined that there is no need to provide driving assistance to avoid contact with the object to be avoided, and driving assistance is not performed in step ST6 (no steering force is applied or warnings are given), and the system returns to the starting position.

[0033] The above operations are repeated at predetermined intervals while the vehicle is in motion.

[0034] -Effects of the embodiment- As described above, in this embodiment, if it is determined that a road sign exists based on the acquired surrounding information, it is assumed that a road sign pole 11 exists on the side of the road, and the road sign pole 11 is set to be included as an object to be avoided. Driving assistance is then provided to avoid contact with the object to be avoided, including the road sign pole 11. Therefore, even in situations where the road sign pole 11 cannot be recognized by the camera sensor 2 or radar sensor 3, it is possible to provide driving assistance to avoid contact with the road sign pole 11.

[0035] -Other Embodiments- Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and all modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereof.

[0036] For example, in the above embodiment, the system was equipped with a camera sensor 2 and a radar sensor 3 as means for acquiring surrounding information. The present invention is not limited to this, and the system may be configured to include only one of these, or to include other means for acquiring surrounding information.

[0037] Furthermore, the above embodiment described the case where a single-post type road sign pole 11 was used. The present invention is not limited to this, and may also be used for other types of road sign poles (L-shaped poles, F-shaped poles, tapered poles, etc.). [Industrial applicability]

[0038] The present invention is applicable to a vehicle driver assistance system that provides driving assistance to avoid contact with road sign poles on the side of the road. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0039] 1. Driver assistance system 2. Camera sensor (means for acquiring surrounding information) 3. Radar sensor (means for acquiring surrounding information) 5. Driver Assistance ECU 10 road signs 11 Road sign pole 51 Road sign recognition unit 52 Avoidance Target Setting Section 53 Object to Avoid Determination Unit 54 Driving Support Control Unit

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle driving assistance system that includes a means for acquiring surrounding information of a vehicle, and a means for detecting objects to be avoided in the direction of travel of the vehicle based on the surrounding information acquired by the means for acquiring surrounding information, and provides driving assistance to avoid contact with such objects, A road sign recognition unit that determines the presence or absence of a road sign based on the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition means, When the road sign recognition unit determines that the road sign exists, the avoidance target setting unit assumes that a road sign pole exists on the side of the road and sets the road sign pole to be included in the avoidance target object, An object avoidance determination unit determines whether or not an object to be avoided exists on the side of the road based on the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition means and the information of the object to be avoided set by the object to be avoided setting unit, A vehicle driving assistance system characterized by comprising a driving assistance control unit that provides driving assistance to avoid contact with an object to be avoided when the object to be avoided determination unit determines that an object to be avoided is present on the side of the road.

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