JP2018190135A - Driving assistance device - Google Patents

Abstract

[PROBLEMS] To provide merging support for smooth merging from a non-priority road at an intersection where a priority road and a non-priority road intersect.
[Solution]
Optical or electromagnetic that can be detected as a specific object by the objective sensor of the autonomous driving vehicles 100 and 101 that pass through the priority road from the projection device 14 provided in the merging vehicle 1 that tries to join the priority road from the non-priority road Information is projected toward the priority road ahead of the merging vehicle 1.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a driving support device that supports a vehicle that is about to join a priority road from a non-priority road at an intersection.

  For example, at the intersection of a priority road and a non-priority road, there is a merging vehicle that merges from the non-priority road to the priority road, and when the priority road is congested, the priority vehicle that passes through the priority road is a merging vehicle. However, the merging vehicles will not be able to join smoothly unless they give way.

  Under such circumstances, the act of giving priority to the non-priority road side merger vehicle is based on the courtesy of the priority vehicle, and an agreement is formed between the two vehicles. It can be done with. In order to do so, it is indispensable to communicate the intention of the joining vehicle to join the priority road to the priority vehicle and form an agreement.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes a technique in which a right-turn vehicle and a straight-ahead vehicle passing through an intersection perform two-way vehicle-to-vehicle communication and exchange information regarding the priority of traffic.

JP-A-11-110893

  However, when the above-mentioned merging vehicle or priority vehicle does not have inter-vehicle communication means, communication by inter-vehicle communication cannot be performed as in the technique described in Patent Document 1. In such a situation, communication was performed between drivers by performing human communication such as hand gestures and eye contact. However, when the joining vehicle and the priority vehicle are autonomous driving vehicles that autonomously perform driving operations related to traveling, human communication between drivers does not make sense. In that case, there is no means for communicating between the joining vehicle and the priority vehicle, and the joining vehicle may not smoothly join the priority road. The present disclosure has been made to solve such a problem.

  The driving support device (10) according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure provides support for a merged vehicle that is a vehicle that is about to merge from a non-priority road to a priority road at an intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect. A driving support device is provided in a confluence vehicle. This driving support apparatus has a projection unit (14). Note that the reference numerals in parentheses described in this column and in the claims indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiment described later as one aspect, and the technical scope of the present disclosure It is not limited.

  The projection unit transmits optical or electromagnetic information that can be detected as a specific object that needs to be braked by the objective driving sensor provided in the autonomous driving vehicle that passes through the priority road to the front of the joining vehicle. It is configured to project toward the priority road.

  According to the above-described configuration, it is expected that the autonomous driving vehicle on the priority road side that recognizes the optical or electromagnetic information projected from the joining vehicle as an obstacle will spontaneously brake. Thereby, for example, in a situation where the priority road side is congested, a space into which the joining vehicle can enter can be formed in front of the automatically driven vehicle on which braking is applied. Therefore, even a merging vehicle that does not have an inter-vehicle communication means for an autonomous driving vehicle that passes through a priority road can smoothly merge from a non-priority road to a priority road in such a way that the route is given to the autonomous driving vehicle.

  The driving support device (20) according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure provides support for a joining vehicle that is a vehicle that is about to join the priority road from the non-priority road at an intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect. A driving support device is provided in an autonomous driving vehicle. This driving support apparatus includes an intention determination unit (20, S204), an availability determination unit (20.S206), and a control unit (20, S208).

  The intention determination unit intends to join the detected vehicle from the non-priority road to the priority road based on the behavior of the vehicle detected at the intersection ahead when the autonomous driving vehicle is traveling on the priority road. It is comprised so that it may be determined whether it is a merge vehicle. The availability determination unit is a brake control which is a control for applying braking to the autonomous driving vehicle in order to give the course to the merging vehicle based on the relative relationship between the merging vehicle and the autonomous driving vehicle determined by the intention determination unit. It is comprised so that the propriety of implementation of may be determined. The control unit is configured to perform the braking control on condition that the braking / non-execution determining unit determines that the braking control can be performed.

  According to the above-described configuration, the autonomous driving vehicle passing through the priority road senses the intention of the merging vehicle trying to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road, and changes to the merging vehicle according to the determination result of whether or not braking control is possible. On the other hand, it is possible to give up the course voluntarily. Thus, for example, in a situation where the priority road side is congested, an autonomous driving vehicle passing through the priority road spontaneously brakes, so that a space where the merging vehicle can enter in front of the autonomous driving vehicle. Can be formed. Therefore, even a merging vehicle that does not have an inter-vehicle communication means for an autonomous driving vehicle that passes through a priority road can smoothly merge from a non-priority road to a priority road in such a way that the route is given to the autonomous driving vehicle.

  Or as another form of said 2nd form, you may be comprised as follows. That is, the driving assistance device (20) is provided for an autonomous driving vehicle, and is for a joining vehicle that is a vehicle that is about to merge with a road on which the autonomous driving vehicle passes at an intersection that intersects with a road on which the autonomous driving vehicle passes. Provide support. This driving support apparatus is directed to a road where a merging vehicle detected on a road intersecting with a road where an autonomous driving vehicle passes at a front intersection is stopped for a predetermined time or an autonomous driving vehicle passes. Based on the relative relationship between the merging vehicle and the autonomous driving vehicle, when the vehicle moves gradually or repeats fine movement and stop, the autonomous driving vehicle is braked to give way to the merging vehicle. It is characterized by making it.

  The driving support device (30) according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure provides support for a joining vehicle that is a vehicle that is about to join the priority road from the non-priority road at an intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect. A driving support device is provided in an autonomous driving vehicle. The driving support device includes a visual information projection unit (31), a merging availability determination unit (30, S306), and a merging control unit (30, S308).

  The visual information projection unit is information that should be visually recognized by a driver of a priority vehicle that is a vehicle that travels on a priority road. It is configured to project toward the road. The merging / non-merging determination unit is a control for merging the autonomous driving vehicle with the priority road based on the relative relationship between the priority vehicle and the autonomous driving vehicle in a situation where visual information is projected by the visual information projection unit. It is configured to determine whether control can be performed. The merge control unit is configured to perform the merge control on the condition that the merge control unit determines that the merge control can be performed.

  According to the above-described configuration, the autonomous driving vehicle trying to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road can transmit the intention of merging by projecting visual information to the driver of the priority vehicle. As a result, for example, in a situation where the priority road side is congested, the driver of the priority vehicle who is presented with visual information from the autonomous driving vehicle will understand the intention of the autonomous driving vehicle and give up the course There is expected. Therefore, even if the priority vehicle does not have inter-vehicle communication means with the autonomous driving vehicle, the autonomous driving vehicle can smoothly join the priority road in such a manner that the priority vehicle gives way to the priority vehicle.

The block diagram showing the structure of the driving assistance system of 1st Embodiment. The figure showing an example of the condition where the driving assistance in 1st Embodiment is applied. The flowchart showing the procedure of the merge support process in 1st Embodiment. The block diagram showing the structure of the driving assistance system of 2nd Embodiment. The figure showing an example of the condition where the driving assistance in a 2nd embodiment is applied. The flowchart showing the procedure of the confluence | merging assistance process in 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram showing the structure of the driving assistance system of 3rd Embodiment. The figure showing an example of the condition where the driving assistance in 3rd Embodiment is applied. The flowchart showing the procedure of the merge support process in 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this indication is not limited to the following embodiment, It is possible to implement in various aspects.
[First Embodiment]
<Description of configuration of driving support system>
The configuration of the driving support system of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the driving support system of the first embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1. The driving support system includes a driving support device 10, an operation input unit 12 and a vehicle information input unit 13 connected to the driving support device 10.

  In the first embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 is a non-automatic driving vehicle that does not have an automatic driving function that automatically performs a driving operation related to traveling. The driving support system allows the vehicle 1 to smoothly join the priority road in a situation where the vehicle 1 tries to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road at the intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect. It is configured to perform confluence support, which is driving support for

  The driving support device 10 includes a control unit 11 and a projection device 14. The control unit 11 is an information processing apparatus mainly configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, semiconductor memory such as a flash memory (not shown), an input / output interface, and the like. The control unit 11 is embodied by, for example, a microcontroller or the like in which functions as a computer system are integrated. The control unit 11 has a function of controlling the operation of the projection device 14 based on information input from the operation input unit 12 and the vehicle information input unit 13.

  The function of the control part 11 is implement | achieved when CPU runs the program stored in non-transitional tangible storage media, such as ROM and semiconductor memory. Note that the number of microcontrollers constituting the control unit 11 may be one or plural. Further, the method for realizing the function of the control unit 11 is not limited to software, and some or all of the elements may be realized using hardware in which a logic circuit, an analog circuit, or the like is combined.

  The projection device 14 is configured to project optical or electromagnetic information acting on an objective sensor provided in the autonomous driving vehicle in a specific direction in front of the vehicle 1. The optical or electromagnetic information referred to here includes light and electromagnetic waves that can be recognized as an object that needs to be dealt with by a self-driving vehicle including an objective sensor such as a camera, millimeter wave radar, or laser radar.

  Specifically, the structure which projects the light which comprises the image which can be imaged as a vehicle equivalent to 30m ahead in the camera of an autonomous driving vehicle is illustrated. As the light projected by the projection device 14, it is conceivable to use invisible light that cannot be seen by human eyes but can be captured by a camera. Moreover, the structure which projects the millimeter wave and laser beam which modulated the detection wave irradiated from the millimeter wave radar and laser radar of an autonomous driving vehicle is illustrated.

  The operation input unit 12 is a user interface for inputting an operation instruction from the driver to the driving support device 10. The operation input unit 12 provides a function of inputting an instruction to operate the projection device 14 based on the judgment of the driver. The control unit 11 is configured to operate the projection device 14 to project optical or electromagnetic information by receiving an instruction from the driver via the operation input unit 12.

  The vehicle information input unit 13 inputs various types of information related to the necessity of operation of the projection device 14 to the driving support device 10. The information input by the vehicle information input unit 13 includes, for example, information indicating the current position of the vehicle 1, a road map around the current position, the vehicle speed, the operation status of the direction indicator, and the like. Based on the information input from the vehicle information input unit 13, the control unit 11 determines a situation that requires the operation of the projection device 14, and operates the projection device 14 based on the determination result to obtain optical or electromagnetic information. It is configured to project.

<Description of scenes where merge support is implemented>
A specific situation in which the merge support is executed by the driving support system of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The example of FIG. 2 shows that the vehicle 1 moves from the non-priority road to the priority road at a T-shaped intersection where the so-called one-lane priority road and the one-lane non-priority road are divided into two lanes according to directions. This represents a situation where you are going to join by turning right.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the vicinity of the intersection, the lane of the priority road to which the vehicle 1 intends to merge (hereinafter also referred to as a merging destination lane) has no room for the vehicle 1 to merge due to a congested vehicle train. ing. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 indicates a priority vehicle that is traveling toward an intersection on a confluence destination lane in a traffic jam. Reference numeral 101 denotes a priority vehicle that is traveling toward an intersection in an opposite lane that is a lane on the side facing the junction lane. The priority vehicles 100 and 101 are both automatic driving vehicles that travel by automatic driving.

  In the situation illustrated in FIG. 2, the driving support device 10 provided in the vehicle 1 waiting near the entrance of the intersection on the non-priority road side provides optical or electromagnetic information toward the upstream side of the merging destination lane and the opposite lane. Project. The projection direction of the optical or electromagnetic information is set in one direction from the entrance on the non-priority road side of the intersection toward the upstream side of the lane of the priority road where the vehicle 1 is about to merge. Good. Two, it is good to set in the direction of the upstream of the opposite lane of the lane of the priority road where the vehicle 1 is going to merge from the entrance on the non-priority road side of the intersection. Moreover, it is good also as at least one of them.

  More specifically, when an intersection where a priority road and a non-priority road are orthogonal to each other is targeted, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in the direction about 30 m ahead of the priority road from the position of the vehicle 1 at the entrance of the intersection. The projection direction of the projection device 14 may be set. Note that the projection direction of the optical or electromagnetic information may be fixed, or may be configured such that the driver can manually change the driving direction or the driving assistance device 10 automatically according to the shape of the intersection.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the projection device 14 is configured to project optical or electromagnetic information indicating high directivity with the projection direction as an axis. Specifically, a configuration using a laser beam with high directivity or narrowing the projection range by a mechanism such as a diaphragm is exemplified.

  When the priority vehicles 100 and 101 arrive at a position where optical or electromagnetic information is projected from the vehicle 1, it is recognized as an object such as a vehicle by an objective sensor mounted on the priority vehicles 100 and 101. As a result, the computer that controls the automatic driving of the priority vehicles 100 and 101 performs control to perform braking so as to leave a space ahead in order to assist in joining the recognized objects. Thereby, a space in which the vehicle 1 can enter can be formed in front of the priority vehicle 100 in the confluence destination lane in a traffic jam. Moreover, in the opposite lane of the merge destination lane, the priority vehicle 101 applies braking, so that a margin for the vehicle 1 to enter the priority road is created. The driver of the vehicle 1 can smoothly join the vehicle 1 to the priority road by making the vehicle 1 enter the priority road after confirming that there is room for joining on the priority road.

<Explanation of merge support processing>
The procedure of the merge support process executed by the control unit 11 of the driving support device 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is a process for determining a situation where merging support is required and automatically operating the projection device 14.

  In step (hereinafter referred to as S) 100, the control unit 11 acquires current position information that is information representing the current position of the vehicle 1 from the vehicle information input unit 13. In S <b> 102, the control unit 11 acquires vehicle information related to the current situation of the vehicle 1 from the vehicle information input unit 13. Specifically, the control unit 11 acquires, as vehicle information, a road map around the current position, information indicating the vehicle speed, the operation status of the direction indicator, and the like.

  In S104, the control part 11 determines whether it corresponds to the condition where the vehicle 1 is going to join a priority road from a non-priority road based on the information acquired in S100 and S102. The condition determined to correspond to the situation of joining in S104 includes, for example, that the current position of the vehicle 1 is near the entrance on the non-priority road side at the intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect. In addition, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 may be equal to or less than a predetermined reference value, and the condition that either the left or right direction indicator is operating may be included in the conditions.

  When it determines with it corresponding to the condition to join in S104 (namely, S104: YES), the control part 11 moves a process to S106. In S <b> 106, the control unit 11 activates the projection device 14 and starts projecting optical or electromagnetic information. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S104 (that is, S104: NO), the control unit 11 ends the process.

<Effects of First Embodiment>
The driving support system according to the first embodiment has the following effects.
By projecting optical or electromagnetic information from the vehicle 1 on the non-priority road toward the priority road, the autonomous driving vehicle on the priority road side, which recognizes the optical or electromagnetic information as an obstacle, spontaneously It is expected to apply braking. Thereby, even if it is a vehicle which does not have a vehicle-to-vehicle communication means with respect to the self-driving vehicle which passes along a priority road, it can join smoothly from a non-priority road to a priority road in the form where a self-driving vehicle yields a course.

  The driving support device 10 can project optical or electromagnetic information toward the upstream side of the lane where the vehicle 1 is about to merge on the priority road and the upstream side of the opposite lane where the vehicle 1 is about to merge. It is configured. Thereby, the autonomous driving vehicle which is a priority vehicle can perform braking with a margin before the intersection. In addition, the driving support device 10 automatically performs optical or electromagnetic operation on the condition that the vehicle 1 is determined to be in a situation where the vehicle 1 is about to join the priority road from the non-priority road as well as the manual operation of the driver. Target information can be projected.

[Second Embodiment]
<Description of configuration of driving support system>
The configuration of the driving support system of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the driving support system of the second embodiment is mounted on the vehicle 2. The driving support system includes a driving support device 20 and components such as a millimeter wave radar 21, a laser radar 22, a camera 23, a communication unit 24, a position information input unit 25, and an actuator 26 connected to the driving support device 20. Is provided.

  In the second embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle 2 is an automatic driving vehicle having an automatic driving function for automatically performing a driving operation related to traveling. The driving support system allows the vehicle 2 passing through the priority road at the intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect to give way to the merging vehicle trying to join the priority road from the non-priority road. The merging support, which is driving assistance that enables the merging vehicles to join the priority road, is performed.

  The driving support device 20 is an information processing device mainly configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, semiconductor memory such as a flash memory (not shown), an input / output interface, and the like. The driving support device 20 is realized by, for example, a microcontroller or the like in which functions as a computer system are integrated.

  The driving support device 20 performs driving operations such as acceleration, steering, braking, and the like on behalf of the driver based on information acquired from various devices mounted on the vehicle, and automatically drives the driving state of the vehicle 2 automatically. Realize the function. Specifically, based on the current position information, road map data, detection results by the objective sensor, etc., the acceleration / steering / braking operations necessary to drive the vehicle 2 along the route to the destination are determined. To do. And according to the determined operation | movement, actuators, such as an accelerator, a steering device, a brake, are operated, and the driving | running | working state of the vehicle 2 is controlled. Moreover, the driving assistance apparatus 20 performs the various processes regarding the above-mentioned merging assistance as a characteristic function in the present disclosure.

  The function of the driving support device 20 is realized by the CPU executing a program stored in a non-transitional physical storage medium such as a ROM or a semiconductor memory. Note that the number of microcontrollers constituting the driving support device 20 may be one or more. Further, the method of realizing the function of the driving support device 20 is not limited to software, and some or all of the elements may be realized using hardware that combines a logic circuit, an analog circuit, and the like.

  The millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22, and the camera 23 are objective sensors for observing the surrounding environment necessary for automatic operation. The millimeter wave radar 21 is an objective sensor that detects an object by radiating a detection wave in the millimeter wave band around the vehicle (for example, forward or backward) and receiving the reflected wave. The laser radar 22 is an objective sensor such as a so-called LIDAR that detects an object by emitting laser light around the vehicle (for example, front or rear) and receiving reflected light. The driving support device 20 scans the surroundings of the vehicle 2 with the millimeter wave radar 21 and the laser radar 22, thereby causing an object (for example, another vehicle, a person, a road, or a structure constituting the road) to exist around the vehicle 2. ) To obtain information representing the distance, direction, and distribution.

  The camera 23 is an imaging device that images an area around the vehicle (for example, front and rear), and is embodied by, for example, a stereo camera. The driving support device 20 performs a known image recognition process on the image captured by the camera 23, thereby causing an object (for example, another vehicle, a person, or a structure constituting a road) existing around the vehicle 2 to exist. Information indicating the distance, direction, and distribution up to.

  The communication unit 24 is a communication device that performs wireless communication with an external communication device. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the communication unit 24 obtains traffic information representing a traffic congestion state of a road on which the vehicle 2 is passing. The position information input unit 25 detects a current position based on detection results by a GPS receiver, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and the like (not shown), and outputs current position information representing the detected current position to the driving support device 20. .

  The actuator 26 is a device group including a drive system actuator that operates the accelerator and the transmission of the vehicle 2, a brake system actuator that operates the brake, and a steering system actuator that operates the steering device. The actuator 26 executes a driving operation such as acceleration / deceleration, braking, steering, etc. of the vehicle 2 in accordance with a command from the driving support device 20.

<Description of scenes where merge support is implemented>
A specific situation where the merge support is executed by the driving support system of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The example of FIG. 5 represents a situation in which the vehicle 2 is traveling on the priority road toward the intersection at a T-shaped intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road in one lane are orthogonal to each other. Reference numeral 200 denotes a joining vehicle that is about to join the non-priority road to the priority road at the intersection by making a right turn. In this embodiment, the joining vehicle 200 is described as a non-automatic driving vehicle that does not have an automatic driving function and does not perform inter-vehicle communication with other autonomous driving vehicles, but is not limited thereto. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in the vicinity of the intersection, the priority road to which the merging vehicle 200 intends to merge is in a state where there is no room for the merging vehicle 200 to merge due to a congested vehicle train.

  In the situation illustrated in FIG. 5, the driving support device 20 included in the vehicle 2 has priority on the joining vehicle 200 based on the behavior and the surrounding situation of the joining vehicle 200 detected by the millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22, and the camera 23. Estimate whether there is an intention to join the road. When it is determined that the joining vehicle 200 has the intention of joining, the driving support device 20 can perform braking to give the way to the joining vehicle 200 based on the current position of the vehicle 2 and the surrounding situation. It is determined whether or not.

  Then, the driving assistance device 20 performs the braking control on the condition that it is determined that the braking for giving up the course can be performed. Specifically, the driving support device 20 provides a space (for example, a distance of about two vehicles) into which the joining vehicle 200 can enter by braking the vehicle 2 and increasing the distance from the preceding vehicle.

<Explanation of merge support processing>
The procedure of the merging support process executed by the driving support device 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed at a predetermined control period when the vehicle 2 is traveling on a priority road heading for an intersection with a non-priority road.

  In S200, the driving support device 20 recognizes the surrounding situation of the vehicle 2 based on information detected by the millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22, the camera 23, and the like. Specifically, the driving support device 20 recognizes a positional relationship such as a distance and a direction with another vehicle existing ahead of the vehicle 2, for example, a vehicle preceding the priority road or a vehicle existing on the side road of the intersection. In addition, the driving support device 20 recognizes the structure of the road ahead, such as the shape and lane markings of the priority road and the non-priority road ahead. For the recognition of the road structure, road map data around the current position may be used. Further, the position of the vehicle 2 on the road may be grasped based on the recognized road structure.

  In S202, the driving support device 20 determines whether the current position on the road of the vehicle 2 is included in the traffic jam based on the surrounding situation recognized in S200. The conditions determined to be included in the traffic jam in S202 include, for example, that the distance from the vehicle 2 to the preceding vehicle closest to the front is a predetermined distance or less and the vehicle speed of the vehicle 2 is a predetermined speed or less. . The predetermined distance and the predetermined speed here are values set in advance as values that can be estimated as traffic jams. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not it is included in the traffic jam based on the traffic jam situation represented by the traffic information received by the communication unit 24. If it is determined in S202 that the traffic is included in the traffic jam (that is, S202: YES), the driving support device 20 moves the process to S204. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S202 (that is, S202: NO), the driving support device 20 ends the process.

  In S204, the driving support device 20 determines whether or not the vehicle detected at the front intersection corresponds to a joining vehicle having an intention of joining the non-priority road to the priority road based on the surrounding situation recognized in S200. judge. The following conditions may be included in the conditions determined to correspond to the joining vehicle in S204.

  For example, if a vehicle in a landscape direction exists on a road other than the lane in which the vehicle 2 is passing at an intersection, and the vehicle in the landscape direction has been stopped for a predetermined time or more, the vehicle is a joining vehicle. It is possible to judge. The predetermined time here is a value set in advance as a time necessary for confirming safety when passing the intersection. Alternatively, at the intersection, there is a sideways vehicle on a road other than the lane through which the vehicle 2 passes, and the sideways vehicle gradually moves toward the lane, or repeats fine movement and stop. Therefore, it may be determined that the vehicle is a merged vehicle.

  Alternatively, it may be determined that the vehicle corresponds to a merging vehicle due to the presence of a sideways vehicle in the vicinity of or on the lane in which the vehicle 2 is passing at the intersection. Or the structure which discriminate | determines the lighting state of the direction indicator of the sideways vehicle which exists in an intersection by image recognition, and estimates the intention of joining to a priority road may be sufficient. In addition, by determining the direction of the wheels of the sideways vehicle that exists at the intersection, it is a configuration that estimates the intention of merging, such as whether or not preparation for merging is complete, and which lane you are merging into Also good. If it is determined in S204 that the vehicle corresponds to the joining vehicle (that is, S204: YES), the driving support device 20 moves the process to S206. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S204 (that is, S204: NO), the driving support device 20 ends the process.

  In S206, the driving support device 20 determines whether or not a condition that allows execution of braking control, which is control for applying braking to give way to the joining vehicle determined in S204, is satisfied. The conditions for determining that the braking control can be performed may include the following conditions.

  For example, the predicted time until the vehicle 2 is closest to the position of the joining vehicle is t, the lower limit time set based on the safety point of view is T1, and the time required to secure a space for giving way is acceptable. The upper limit time set as the upper limit is T2. Then, on the condition that the predicted time t satisfies T1 <t <T2, the driving support device 20 determines that the braking control can be performed.

  Note that the lower limit time T <b> 1 here is considered to be, for example, a predicted time until braking by a collision damage reduction brake (so-called automatic brake) system provided in the vehicle 2 is activated. In addition, the upper limit time T2 may be a value designed as a time that does not cause the driver of the vehicle 2 or the following vehicle to feel uncomfortable due to, for example, time that is wasted when the vehicle 2 decelerates.

  Alternatively, a secureable distance that is an inter-vehicle distance that can be secured by braking of the vehicle 2 is estimated, and the estimated secureable distance is an inter-vehicle distance (for example, two vehicles) The driving assistance device 20 may determine that the braking control can be performed on the condition that the distance is equal to or more than the distance corresponding to the minute. Note that it is conceivable that the secureable distance is calculated based on, for example, the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle of the vehicle 2 and the time until the vehicle 2 reaches the intersection. In addition, as an inter-vehicle distance necessary for giving a course to a joining vehicle, for example, a distance corresponding to two vehicles can be considered. On the other hand, when the above conditions are not satisfied or when the vehicle 2 has already entered the intersection, the driving support device 20 determines that the braking control cannot be performed.

  When it is determined in S206 that the braking control can be performed (that is, S206: YES), the driving support device 20 moves the process to S208. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S206 (that is, S206: NO), the driving support device 20 ends the process. In S208, the driving support device 20 executes braking control for giving way to the joining vehicle. Specifically, the driving support device 20 determines the control content that realizes the traveling state necessary for providing the inter-vehicle distance that allows the joining vehicle to enter, and issues a command to the actuator 26 according to the determined control content. .

<Effects of Second Embodiment>
The driving support system according to the second embodiment has the following effects.
The vehicle 2 traveling on the priority road senses the intention of the merging vehicle to join the priority road from the non-priority road, and voluntarily gives way to the merging vehicle according to the determination result of whether or not the braking control is possible. be able to. Accordingly, for example, in a situation where the priority road side is congested, the vehicle 2 traveling on the priority road voluntarily brakes, so that a space where the joining vehicle can enter can be formed in front of the vehicle 2. . Therefore, it is possible to smoothly join the non-priority road to the priority road in such a manner that the joining vehicle gives the vehicle 2 the way to pass regardless of the presence or absence of the inter-vehicle communication means.

  In addition, the driving support device 20 is configured to execute a series of processes for giving way to a joining vehicle on condition that the vehicle 2 is included in a traffic jam on the priority road. By doing in this way, a course can be given to a joining vehicle, without preventing smooth traffic of a priority road.

  In addition, the driving support device 20 is configured to determine whether or not the other vehicle has an intention to join the priority road based on the change or position of the movement state of the other vehicle detected at the intersection. . In this way, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not there is an intention to join without performing high-load processing such as analyzing the facial expressions and gestures of the driver of the other vehicle.

  Further, the driving support device 20 performs braking control based on various viewpoints such as a lower limit time determined in consideration of safety, an allowable upper limit time, an inter-vehicle distance from a preceding vehicle that can be secured by braking, and the like. It is configured to determine whether or not to implement the above. By doing in this way, the brake control for giving a course to a joining vehicle can be implemented in the condition which does not give a sense of incongruity to the driver of the vehicle 2 and the surrounding vehicles.

  In the second embodiment, an example in which a merging vehicle turns right and merges on a one-way road has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the present invention can also be applied to a scene where a right turn or a left turn joins a road having one lane on one side. That is, when estimating the intention of joining in S204 of FIG. 6, it is also determined whether the joining vehicle is turning right or turning left. Specifically, in the scene illustrated in FIG. 2, when the autonomous driving vehicle 100 determines that the preceding vehicle 1 is turning left, the vehicle 1 is not intended to join (ie, S204: NO), and braking for giving up. No control is performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle 1 turns right, it is determined that there is an intention to join (S204: YES), and the determination of S206 is performed.

  The determination of whether the joining vehicle makes a right turn or a left turn may be estimated from the direction of the vehicle shape recognized by a radar or a camera, for example. Moreover, you may judge from the direction of the front wheel detected by a camera. Further, the determination may be made based on whether or not the direction indicator is lit. The present invention is not limited to these, and includes various modes assumed as technical common sense. Further, it may be determined and estimated with accuracy by a combination of these.

[Third Embodiment]
<Description of configuration of driving support system>
The configuration of the driving support system of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the driving support system of the third embodiment is mounted on the vehicle 3. The driving support system includes a driving support device 30, a millimeter wave radar 21, a laser radar 22, a camera 23, a communication unit 24, a position information input unit 25, an actuator 26, and a projection device 31 connected to the driving support device 30. Etc. are provided. In FIG. 7, the same components as those in the driving support system according to the second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the third embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle 3 is an automatic driving vehicle having an automatic driving function that automatically performs a driving operation related to traveling. Then, the driving support system allows the vehicle 3 to smoothly join the priority road in a situation where the vehicle 3 tries to join the priority road from the non-priority road at the intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect. It is configured to perform confluence support, which is driving support for

  The driving support device 30 is an information processing device configured mainly with a CPU, RAM, ROM, semiconductor memory such as a flash memory (not shown), an input / output interface, and the like. The driving support device 20 is realized by, for example, a microcontroller or the like in which functions as a computer system are integrated.

  The driving support device 30 performs driving operations such as acceleration, steering, and braking on behalf of the driver based on information acquired from various devices mounted on the vehicle, and automatically controls the driving state of the vehicle 3. Realize the function. Specifically, based on the current position information, road map data, detection results by the objective sensor, etc., the acceleration / steering / braking operations necessary to drive the vehicle 3 along the route to the destination are determined. To do. And according to the determined operation | movement, actuators, such as an accelerator, a steering device, and a brake, are actuated and the running state of the vehicle 3 is controlled. Moreover, the driving assistance apparatus 30 performs the various processes regarding the above-mentioned merge assistance as a characteristic function in the present disclosure.

  The function of the driving support device 30 is realized by the CPU executing a program stored in a non-transitional physical storage medium such as a ROM or a semiconductor memory. Note that the number of microcontrollers constituting the driving support device 30 may be one or plural. Further, the method for realizing the functions of the driving support device 30 is not limited to software, and some or all of the elements may be realized using hardware in which a logic circuit, an analog circuit, or the like is combined.

  The projection device 31 is configured to project visual information visible by a driver of another vehicle in a specific direction in front of the vehicle 3. The visual information here includes an image composed of visible light and the like. Specifically, a configuration in which light with high directivity is formed that forms an image having a symbol representing an intention of the vehicle 3 to join the priority road from the non-priority road to the driver of another vehicle can be considered. As an image to be projected, for example, it is conceivable to use an arrow, a design indicating a temporary stop, a design in which a person or character greets or thank, and the like. Or the structure which projects the specific light emission pattern showing the intention of joining as visual information by controlling blinking of the multi-lamp type LED lamp with which the vehicle 3 is provided as a direction indicator may be sufficient.

<Description of scenes where merge support works>
A specific situation where the merge support is executed by the driving support system of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The example of FIG. 8 represents a situation in which the vehicle 3 is about to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road by a right turn at a T-shaped intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road of one lane go straight. Reference numeral 300 indicates a priority vehicle traveling on the priority road toward the intersection. The priority vehicle 300 is a non-automatic driving vehicle that does not have an automatic driving function and does not perform inter-vehicle communication with other automatic driving vehicles. As illustrated in FIG. 8, in the vicinity of the intersection, the priority road to which the vehicle 3 is to join is in a state where there is no room for the vehicle 3 to join due to a congested train.

  In the situation illustrated in FIG. 8, the driving support device 30 for the vehicle 3 corresponds to a situation in which the merging support for the vehicle 3 can be supported based on the surrounding situation detected by the millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22 and the camera 23. It is determined whether or not to do. When it determines with it corresponding to the conditions in which the confluence | merging assistance with respect to the vehicle 3 is applicable, the driving assistance apparatus 30 operates the projection apparatus 31, and projects visual information toward the upstream of a priority road. The projection direction of the visual information may be set in one direction from the entrance on the non-priority road side of the intersection toward the upstream side of the priority road where the vehicle 3 is about to merge. Two, it is good to set in the direction of the upstream of the opposite lane of the lane of the priority road where the vehicle 3 is going to merge from the entrance on the non-priority road side of the intersection. Moreover, it is good also as at least one of them. The projection direction of the visual information may be fixed, or may be configured such that the driving support device 30 can automatically change according to the shape of the intersection.

  When the priority vehicle 300 reaches a position where visual information is projected from the vehicle 3, the driver of the priority vehicle 300 visually recognizes the visual information. As a result, when the priority vehicle 300 decelerates to give way to the vehicle 3 based on the courtesy of the driver of the priority vehicle 300, there is a space where the vehicle 3 can enter in front of the priority vehicle 300. Can be formed.

  The driving support device 30 determines whether or not it is possible to perform merging control, which is traveling control for merging the vehicle 3 to the priority road by automatic driving under a situation where visual information is projected. Then, the driving support device 30 performs the merge control on the condition that it is determined that the merge control can be performed. Specifically, the driving support device 30 determines the operations such as acceleration, steering, and braking necessary for the vehicle 3 to enter the space formed between the trains on the priority road, and the determined operation The actuator 26 is controlled accordingly.

<Explanation of merge support processing>
The procedure of the merge support process executed by the driving support device 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is executed at a predetermined control cycle when the vehicle 3 is at a location before the vehicle 3 merges from the non-priority road to the priority road at the intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect.

  In S300, the driving assistance device 30 recognizes the surrounding situation of the vehicle 3 based on information detected by the millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22, the camera 23, and the like. Specifically, the driving support device 30 recognizes the positional relationship such as the distance and direction with another vehicle that exists in front of the vehicle 3, for example, a vehicle that passes through the priority road at the junction. In addition, the driving support device 30 recognizes the structure of the road ahead, such as the shape of the priority road at the junction and the lane marking. For the recognition of the road structure, road map data around the current position may be used. Further, the position of the vehicle 3 on the road may be grasped based on the recognized road structure.

  In S302, the driving support device 30 determines whether or not the vehicle 3 corresponds to a situation in which joint support for joining the vehicle 3 from the non-priority road to the priority road can be performed based on the surrounding situation recognized in S300. The following conditions may be included in the conditions determined to be applicable to the situation where the merge support can be performed in S302.

  For example, the distance between the vehicle 3 and the vehicle of the side-priority priority vehicle passing through the priority road at the junction when viewed from the vehicle 3 is equal to or less than the threshold, and the vehicle speed of the priority vehicle is equal to or less than the threshold. Therefore, it may be determined that the situation corresponds to a situation where the merge support is feasible. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that it is determined that the merge support is feasible by detecting that a traffic jam is formed on the priority road side of the intersection. If it is determined in S302 that the situation corresponds to the situation where the merge support is possible (that is, S302: YES), the driving support device 30 moves the process to S304. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S302 (that is, S302: NO), the driving support device 30 ends the process.

  In S304, the driving assistance device 30 operates the projection device 31 to start projecting optical information. In the next S306, the driving support device 30 determines whether or not it corresponds to a situation in which the merging control that is the traveling control that merges with the priority road by the automatic driving can be performed. Conditions under which merge control can be performed can include the following conditions.

  For example, the relative speed between vehicles forming a train on the priority road ahead indicates the direction in which the inter-vehicle distance increases, and a space in which the vehicle 3 can enter (for example, a distance of about two vehicles) is formed. The driving support device 30 determines that the merging control can be performed on the condition that this is done.

  When it is determined in S306 that the merge control can be performed (that is, S306: YES), the driving support device 30 moves the process to S308. On the other hand, when a negative determination is made in S306 (that is, S306: NO), the driving support device 30 repeats the process of S306. In S308, the driving support device 30 executes merging control for merging the vehicle 3 with the priority road. Specifically, the driving support device 30 determines and determines the control contents such as acceleration, steering, and braking necessary for the vehicle 3 to enter the space formed between the trains traveling on the priority road. A command is issued to the actuator 26 according to the control content.

<Effect of the third embodiment>
The driving support system according to the third embodiment has the following effects.
The vehicle 3, which is an autonomous driving vehicle trying to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road, can transmit the intention of merging by projecting visual information to the driver of the priority vehicle. Thereby, for example, in a situation where the priority road side is congested, it is expected that the driver of the priority vehicle presented with visual information from the vehicle 3 will understand the intention of the vehicle 3 and give up the course. Is done. Therefore, even if the priority vehicle does not have inter-vehicle communication means with the vehicle 3, the vehicle can smoothly join the priority road in such a way that the priority vehicle gives up the course.

[Correspondence with configuration described in claims]
The correspondence between each configuration of the embodiment and the configuration described in the claims is as follows.
(First embodiment)
The projection device 14 corresponds to an example of a projection unit. The process of S104 executed by the control unit 11 corresponds to an example of a process as a situation determination unit.

(Second Embodiment)
The process of S202 executed by the driving support device 20 corresponds to an example of a process as a traffic jam determination unit. The process of S204 executed by the driving support device 20 corresponds to an example of a process as an intention determination unit. The process of S206 executed by the driving support device 20 corresponds to an example of a process as the availability determination unit. The process of S208 executed by the driving support device 20 corresponds to an example of a process as a control unit.

(Third embodiment)
The projection device 31 corresponds to an example of a visual information projection unit. The process of S302 performed by the driving support device 30 corresponds to an example of a process as a projection determination unit. The process of S306 executed by the driving support device 30 corresponds to an example of a process as a joining permission / inhibition determining unit. The process of S308 executed by the driving support device 30 corresponds to an example of the process as the merge control unit.

[Modification]
The functions of one component in each of the above embodiments may be shared by a plurality of components, or the functions of a plurality of components may be exhibited by one component. Moreover, you may abbreviate | omit a part of structure of each said embodiment. In addition, at least a part of the configuration of each of the above embodiments may be added to or replaced with the configuration of the other above embodiments. It should be noted that all aspects included in the technical idea specified from the words described in the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

  Various systems such as a system having the driving support devices 10, 20, and 30 as configuration requirements, a program that causes a computer to function as the driving support devices 10, 20, and 30, a non-transitional actual recording medium that records the program, and a merging support method The present disclosure can also be realized in the form.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Driving assistance apparatus, 11 ... Control part, 12 ... Operation input part, 13 ... Vehicle information input part, 14 ... Projection apparatus, 20 ... Driving assistance apparatus, 21 ... Millimeter wave radar, 22 ... Laser radar, 23 ... Camera, 24 ... Communication unit, 25 ... Position information input unit, 26 ... Actuator, 30 ... Driving support device, 31 ... Projection device.

Claims (13)

A driving support device (10) for supporting a joining vehicle that is a vehicle that is about to join the priority road from the non-priority road at an intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect.
A projection unit (14) provided in the merging vehicle;
The projection unit is a vehicle that travels on the priority road, and an identification sensor that needs to handle the automatic driving vehicle in an objective sensor provided in an automatic driving vehicle that automatically performs a driving operation related to traveling of the vehicle. Optical or electromagnetic information that can be detected as an object of the vehicle is configured to project toward a priority road ahead of the merged vehicle.
Driving assistance device. The projection unit is directed toward at least one of the upstream side of the lane where the merging vehicle is about to merge on the priority road or the upstream side of the opposite lane of the lane where the merging vehicle is about to merge on the priority road. Configured to project the optical or electromagnetic information,
The driving support device according to claim 1. There is further provided a situation determination unit (11, S104) provided in the merging vehicle and configured to determine whether or not the merging vehicle corresponds to a situation where the merging vehicle is about to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road. And
The projection unit is configured to project the optical or electromagnetic information on the condition that it is determined to be applicable by the situation determination unit.
The driving support device according to claim 1 or 2. A driving support device (20) for supporting a merged vehicle, which is a vehicle trying to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road at an intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect,
An intention determination unit (20, S204) and an availability determination unit (20, S206) provided in an automatic driving vehicle that automatically performs a driving operation related to traveling of the vehicle based on a detection result by an objective sensor provided in the vehicle. And a control unit (20, S208),
The intention determination unit determines whether the detected vehicle moves from the non-priority road to the priority road based on the behavior of the vehicle detected at the intersection ahead when the autonomous driving vehicle is traveling on the priority road. Configured to determine whether the vehicle is intended to join
The availability determination unit causes the automatic driving vehicle to brake to give way to the merging vehicle based on a relative relationship between the merging vehicle determined by the intention determination unit and the automatic driving vehicle. It is configured to determine whether or not the braking control that is the control can be performed,
The control unit is configured to perform the braking control on the condition that the braking control unit determines that the braking control can be performed by the availability determination unit.
Driving assistance device. A traffic jam determination unit (20, S202) provided in the autonomous driving vehicle and configured to determine whether or not the autonomous driving vehicle is included in a traffic jam on the priority road,
The availability determination unit is configured to determine whether the braking control can be performed under a condition in which the traffic determination unit determines that the autonomous driving vehicle is included in a traffic jam.
The driving support device according to claim 4. The intention determination unit is configured to detect a change in a moving state of the vehicle and a lane of the priority road and the vehicle detected at the intersection ahead when the autonomous driving vehicle is traveling on the priority road. The vehicle is configured to determine whether the vehicle is a merging vehicle based on at least one of the positional relationships of
The driving support device according to claim 4 or 5. The availability determination unit estimates a required time until the autonomous driving vehicle reaches the intersection, and the estimated required time is greater than a predetermined lower limit time for ensuring safety and yields a course. It is configured to determine that the braking control is possible on condition that the time is less than a predetermined upper limit time that is allowed as a time required to secure a space for
The driving support device according to any one of claims 4 to 6. The intention determination unit determines whether the vehicle is a merged vehicle based on a right / left turn situation of the vehicle detected at the intersection ahead when the autonomous driving vehicle is traveling on the priority road. Configured to determine,
The driving support device according to any one of claims 4 to 7. The automatic driving is provided in an automatic driving vehicle that automatically performs a driving operation related to travel of the vehicle based on a detection result by an objective sensor provided in the vehicle, and the automatic driving is performed at an intersection that intersects a road on which the automatic driving vehicle passes. A driving support device (20) for supporting a joining vehicle, which is a vehicle that is about to join a road on which the vehicle passes,
At the intersection ahead, the merged vehicle detected on the road intersecting with the road on which the autonomous driving vehicle passes is stopped for a predetermined time or gradually moves toward the road on which the autonomous driving vehicle passes Or, when the fine movement and the stop are repeated, based on the relative relationship between the merging vehicle and the autonomous driving vehicle, the autonomous driving vehicle is braked to give a course to the merging vehicle. It is characterized by letting
Driving assistance device. The automatic driving vehicle is braked in order to give way to the joining vehicle when the automatic driving vehicle is included in a traffic jam.
The driving support device according to claim 9. The automatic driving vehicle is braked in order to give way to the merging vehicle in order to turn the vehicle left or right detected at the intersection ahead when the automatic driving vehicle is traveling on the priority road. It is determined based on the situation,
The driving support device according to claim 9 or 10. A driving support device (30) for supporting a merged vehicle, which is a vehicle trying to merge from the non-priority road to the priority road at an intersection where the priority road and the non-priority road intersect,
A visual information projection unit (31) provided in an automatic driving vehicle that automatically performs a driving operation related to the traveling of the vehicle based on a detection result by an objective sensor provided in the vehicle, and a merge possibility determination unit (30, S306). ) And a confluence control unit (30, S308),
The visual information projection unit is information that should be visually recognized by a driver of a priority vehicle that is a vehicle traveling on the priority road, and the visual information indicating the intention of joining the autonomous driving vehicle is displayed as the automatic driving vehicle. Projecting towards the priority road ahead of
The merging / non-merging determination unit determines that the autonomous driving vehicle is the priority road based on a relative relationship between the priority vehicle and the autonomous driving vehicle in a situation where the visual information is projected by the visual information projection unit. Is configured to determine whether or not to perform merge control, which is control to merge with
The merging control unit is configured to perform the merging control on the condition that the merging possibility determination unit determines that the merging control can be performed.
Driving assistance device. It corresponds to the situation in which the visual information projection unit is to be operated based on the positional relationship between the priority vehicle and the autonomous driving vehicle that are provided in the autonomous driving vehicle and pass through the priority road, and the speed of the priority vehicle. A projection determination unit (30, S302) configured to determine whether or not
The visual information projecting unit is configured to project the visual information on the condition that the projection determining unit determines that the visual information projecting unit should be operated.
The driving support device according to claim 12.