JP2020033013A - Drive assist system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving support device capable of encouraging a driver to carry out a safety confirmation even when the lane of a vehicle is automatically changed. SOLUTION: An operation determination unit 103 and a lane change unit 108 for determining whether or not a driver has performed a safety confirmation operation when changing lanes based on DSM information used for detecting the state of a driver of a vehicle. The permission unit 106 is provided with a permission unit 106 that allows the driver to automatically change lanes, and the permission unit 106 determines that the driver has not performed a safety confirmation operation when changing lanes by the operation determination unit 103. The change unit 108 does not allow automatic lane change. [Selection diagram] Fig. 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that supports driving of a driver.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technology for assisting a driver in driving is known. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique of automatically changing a vehicle lane to an adjacent lane by operating a winker lever of a driver.

Japanese Patent No. 4181449

  However, in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the vehicle is automatically changed to the adjacent lane under the condition that the driver operates the winker lever, and thus the lane is changed without the driver confirming the safety.

  When the vehicle is automatically changed to the adjacent lane, the vehicle on the rear side running in the adjacent lane is monitored by the autonomous sensor of the own vehicle, so that the vehicle system side automatically secures the safety of the rear side. It is possible to change lanes. However, at present, it is not preferable to overly trust the vehicle system due to the limit of the detection range of the autonomous sensor, and it is preferable that the driver confirm the safety.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a driving support system that can prompt a driver to perform a safety check even when a vehicle lane change is automatically performed. It is to provide a device.

  The above object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims, and the subclaims define further advantageous embodiments of the invention. Symbols in parentheses described in the claims indicate a correspondence relationship with specific means described in the embodiment described below as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a driving assistance device according to the present invention is a driving assistance device that is used in a vehicle and includes a lane changing unit (108) for automatically changing a lane of the vehicle, and the driving assistance device includes: An operation determining unit (103) that determines whether or not the driver has performed a safety confirmation operation at the time of a lane change based on information of a sensor used to detect the lane, and permits an automatic lane change by the lane change unit. A permission unit (106) for performing lane change automatically by the lane change unit when the operation determination unit determines that the driver has not performed the safety confirmation operation at the time of lane change. Do not allow.

  According to this, when the operation determining unit determines that the driver has not performed the safety confirmation operation when changing lanes, the permission unit does not permit the lane changing unit to automatically change lanes. Therefore, when automatically changing the lane of the vehicle, the lane cannot be changed unless the driver performs a safety confirmation operation at the time of changing the lane. Therefore, even when the lane change of the vehicle is automatically performed, the driver performs the safety confirmation operation at the time of the lane change.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a driving support system 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a driving support ECU 9. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of an LCA-related process in a driving support ECU 9. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a state transition of the LCA function unit 90. FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing an effect of the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a driving support ECU 9a.

  A plurality of embodiments and modifications for disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, for convenience of description, portions having the same functions as those illustrated in the drawings used in the description are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted between the plurality of embodiments and modified examples. May be. For the parts denoted by the same reference numerals, the description in other embodiments and / or modifications can be referred to.

(Embodiment 1)
<Schematic configuration of driving support system 1>
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The driving support system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle, and includes an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) locator 2, an ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) communication device 3, a peripheral monitoring system 4, and an HMI (Human Machine Interface). The system includes a system 5, a vehicle control system 6, a blinker lever 7, a blinker switch 8, and a driving support ECU 9. The ADAS locator 2, the ITS communicator 3, the peripheral monitoring system 4, the HMI system 5, the vehicle control system 6, the blinker switch 8, and the driving support ECU 9 are connected to, for example, an in-vehicle LAN 10, and exchange information with each other by communication. Can be. A vehicle equipped with the driving support system 1 is hereinafter referred to as a host vehicle.

  The ADAS locator 2 includes a GNSS receiver, an inertial sensor such as a 3D gyro sensor, and a memory for storing map data. The GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver receives positioning signals from a plurality of artificial satellites. The 3D gyro sensor includes, for example, a three-axis gyro sensor and a three-axis acceleration sensor.

  The ADAS locator 2 measures the position of the own vehicle by combining the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver and the measurement result of the inertial sensor. The ADAS locator 2 reads the map data ahead of the path of the own vehicle from the memory, and extracts road information such as a road shape, the number of lanes, a lane width, lane regulation information, a speed regulation value, an intersection position, and the like. The ADAS locator 2 outputs the position information of the own vehicle and the road information ahead of the course to the in-vehicle LAN 10.

  The road information may be obtained using an on-vehicle communication module used for telematics communication, such as a DCM (Data Communication Module) mounted on the own vehicle.

  The ITS communication device 3 performs wireless communication with an in-vehicle communication device mounted on a vehicle around the own vehicle and / or a roadside device installed on a roadside. For example, the ITS communication device 3 acquires the position information and the traveling speed information of the surrounding vehicles of the own vehicle by the inter-vehicle communication with the on-vehicle communication device and the inter-vehicle communication with the roadside device. The ITS communication device 3 outputs the obtained information to the in-vehicle LAN 10.

  The surroundings monitoring system 4 includes a surroundings monitoring sensor such as a surroundings monitoring camera 41 and a millimeter wave radar 42, and a surroundings monitoring ECU 40. The peripheral monitoring system 4 may be configured to use a peripheral monitoring sensor such as a sonar or LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging). The periphery monitoring system 4 detects moving objects such as pedestrians, animals other than humans, bicycles, motorcycles, and other vehicles, and obstacles such as falling objects on the road, stationary objects such as guardrails, curbs, and trees. In addition, a lane marking is detected, and a traffic light light color, a road sign, and a road sign are detected.

  The HMI system 5 includes a plurality of display devices such as a combination meter 53, a CID (Center Information Display) 54, a HUD (Head-Up Display) device 55, and an electronic mirror 56. Further, the HMI system 5 includes a DSM (Driver Status Monitor) 51, a rear side camera 52, an audio speaker 57, and an operation device 58. The HMI system 5 receives an input operation from a driver of the own vehicle, presents information to the driver of the own vehicle, and monitors the state of the driver of the own vehicle.

  The vehicle control system 6 includes a detection sensor that detects a driving operation such as an accelerator position sensor 61, a brake depression force sensor 62, a steering angle sensor 63, a steering torque sensor 64, and a vehicle speed sensor 65 that detects a traveling state of the own vehicle. It has. In addition, the vehicle control system 6 includes a travel control device such as an electronic control throttle 66, a brake actuator 67, and an EPS (Electric Power Steering) motor 68, and a vehicle control ECU 60. The vehicle control system 6 controls traveling of the own vehicle based on a driving operation by a driver, an instruction from the driving support ECU 9, and the like.

  The turn signal lever 7 is an operation member for performing a lamp lighting operation of the turn signal of the own vehicle. In the first embodiment, the winker lever 7 corresponds to a predetermined operation member in the claims. The blinker switch 8 is a switch for detecting left and right lamp lighting operations on the blinker lever 7. The turn signal switch 8 outputs a turn signal to the in-vehicle LAN 10 when turning right or left according to the operation of the turn signal lever 7.

  The driving support ECU 9 includes a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes various processes by executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory. The driving support ECU 9 corresponds to a driving support device described in claims. Note that part or all of the functions executed by the driving support ECU 9 may be configured in hardware by one or more ICs or the like.

  The driving support ECU 9 controls the vehicle control ECU 60 to execute a plurality of driving support applications (hereinafter, driving support applications) for supporting or acting on behalf of a driving operation by a driver. The driving support ECU 9 will be described later in detail.

<Schematic configuration of peripheral monitoring system 4>
Here, a schematic configuration of the periphery monitoring system 4 will be described. The peripheral monitoring system 4 includes a peripheral monitoring ECU 40, a peripheral monitoring camera 41, and a millimeter wave radar 42.

  The peripheral monitoring camera 41 is a monocular or compound-eye camera, and sequentially captures an image of the periphery of the own vehicle. In the following, a description will be given of a case where a front camera is provided as the peripheral monitoring camera 41 as an example. Note that a camera that captures images in other directions, such as a rear camera that captures a predetermined range behind the vehicle, may be used as the peripheral monitoring camera 41.

  The peripheral monitoring camera 41 is installed, for example, on a rearview mirror of the own vehicle with the optical axis directed toward a road surface in front of the own vehicle. The peripheral monitoring camera 41 captures an image of a range of about 80 meters from the vehicle at a horizontal viewing angle of about 45 degrees, for example. Then, the peripheral monitoring camera 41 sequentially outputs data of the captured images to be sequentially captured to the peripheral monitoring ECU 40.

  The millimeter-wave radar 42 sequentially transmits a millimeter wave or a quasi-millimeter wave to the vicinity of the own vehicle, and sequentially receives a reflected wave reflected by an obstacle. In the following, as the millimeter-wave radar 42, the right rear side millimeter-wave radar having the right rear side from the right side to the rear of the vehicle as the sensing range, and the left rear side from the left side to the rear of the vehicle as the sensing range The following description will be made by taking as an example a case where a left rear side millimeter wave radar is provided. It is also possible to use a millimeter-wave radar 42 having another sensing range such as the millimeter-wave radar 42 having the sensing range in front of the vehicle.

  For example, the rear right side millimeter wave radar is installed to the right of the rear part of the vehicle. Then, a quasi-millimeter wave in the 24 GHz band is emitted within a range of a horizontal scanning angle of about 120 degrees from the rear of the vehicle to the right rear side, and the reflected wave is received. The left rear side millimeter wave radar is the same as the right rear side millimeter wave radar except that the left and right are reversed. The maximum detection distance of the millimeter wave radar 42 is about 70 to 150 m. Then, the millimeter-wave radar 42 sequentially outputs the scanning result based on the received signal to the periphery monitoring ECU 40.

  The peripheral monitoring ECU 40 includes a CPU, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes various processes by executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory. A part or all of the functions executed by the periphery monitoring ECU 40 may be configured by one or more ICs in hardware.

  The surrounding monitoring ECU 40 detects a distance from the own vehicle, a relative position with respect to the own vehicle, a relative speed with respect to the own vehicle, and the like for an object existing in front of the own vehicle from data of the captured image acquired from the surrounding monitoring camera 41. As an example, vehicles such as automobiles, bicycles, and motorcycles, pedestrians, and the like may be detected by well-known image recognition processing such as template matching.

  When a monocular camera is used, the relative position of the object with respect to the own vehicle and the position of the object with respect to the own vehicle and the position of the object in the captured image, May be determined. When using a compound eye camera, the distance between the vehicle and the object may be determined based on the amount of parallax between the pair of cameras. Furthermore, the relative speed of the object with respect to the own vehicle may be determined from the change rate of the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the object. For example, when the detected object is a vehicle and the relative position with respect to the own vehicle is ahead of the own vehicle, this object may be treated as a preceding vehicle.

  The peripheral monitoring ECU 40 detects a traveling lane marking in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, the position of the traveling lane marking relative to the own vehicle, and the like from the data of the captured image acquired from the peripheral monitoring camera 41. The travel lane marking may be detected by a known image recognition process such as edge detection. The position of the traveling lane marking with respect to the own vehicle may be detected from the installation position of the peripheral monitoring camera 41 with respect to the own vehicle, the direction of the optical axis, and the position of the object in the captured image. Alternatively, the periphery monitoring ECU 40 may be configured to detect a sign indicating lane regulation, a road-installed object indicating lane regulation, or the like by image recognition processing.

  Further, the surrounding monitoring ECU 40 detects a distance from the own vehicle, a relative position with respect to the own vehicle, a relative speed with respect to the own vehicle, and the like, for an object existing on the rear side of the own vehicle, from information acquired from the millimeter wave radar 42. .

  The periphery monitoring ECU 40 detects the object based on the reception intensity of the reflected wave generated by reflecting the quasi-millimeter wave transmitted by the millimeter wave radar 42 on the object. Further, the periphery monitoring ECU 40 detects the distance between the host vehicle and the object based on the time from transmitting the quasi-millimeter wave to receiving the reflected wave. Further, the periphery monitoring ECU 40 detects the direction of the object with respect to the own vehicle from the direction in which the quasi-millimeter wave from which the reflected wave is obtained is transmitted. Then, the relative position of the object to the own vehicle is detected from the distance between the own vehicle and the object and the direction of the object to the own vehicle.

  Further, the periphery monitoring ECU 40 detects the relative speed of the object with respect to the own vehicle by a known method based on the Doppler shift between the transmitted quasi-millimeter wave and the reflected wave. Note that the relative speed of the object with respect to the own vehicle may be detected from the time change rate of the distance between the own vehicle and the object. The peripheral monitoring ECU 40 outputs the detected various information to the in-vehicle LAN 10 as monitoring information.

  The peripheral monitoring ECU 40 may detect the presence of the peripheral vehicle, the distance to the own vehicle, the position and the speed with respect to the own vehicle, using the position information and the traveling speed information of the nearby vehicle acquired from the ITS communication device 3. Good.

  Further, the number, type, and combination of types of the peripheral monitoring sensors included in the peripheral monitoring system 4 are not limited to the example described in the first embodiment. For example, a configuration may be employed in which a plurality of types of peripheral monitoring sensors have overlapping sensing ranges, such as performing sensing in front of the vehicle using both a camera and a millimeter wave radar. In addition, a millimeter-wave radar having a sensing range in the left and right oblique front of the own vehicle as a surrounding monitoring sensor, or a sonar having a sensing range in the vicinity of the left and right front corners and the left and right rear corners of the own vehicle may be further provided. It is good also as a structure which performs.

<Schematic configuration of HMI system 5>
Subsequently, a schematic configuration of the HMI system 5 will be described. The HMI system 5 includes an HCU (Human Machine Interface Control Unit) 50, a DSM 51, a rear camera 52, a combination meter 53, a CID 54, a HUD device 55, an electronic mirror 56, an audio speaker 57, and an operation device 58.

  The DSM 51 includes a near-infrared light source and a near-infrared camera, and a control unit for controlling these. The DSM 51 is disposed, for example, on the upper surface of an instrument panel with the near-infrared camera facing the driver's seat side of the vehicle. The DSM 51 uses a near-infrared camera to photograph the driver's head irradiated with near-infrared light by the near-infrared light source. The image captured by the near-infrared camera is analyzed by the control unit. The control unit detects, for example, the face direction and / or the line-of-sight direction of the driver from the captured image. This DSM 51 corresponds to the sensor in the claims.

  As an example, the DSM 51 detects a contour, face, eyes, nose, mouth, and other parts of the face by image recognition processing from a captured image obtained by capturing the driver's face with a near-infrared camera. Then, the face direction of the driver is detected from the relative positional relationship between the parts. Also, as an example, the DSM 51 detects the driver's pupil and corneal reflection by image recognition processing from a captured image of the driver's face captured by a near-infrared camera, and looks at the sight line based on the positional relationship between the detected pupil and corneal reflection. The direction of is detected. The DSM 51 outputs information on the detected driver's face direction and gaze direction to the in-vehicle LAN 10.

  Note that the DSM 51 may be configured to detect the face direction by using the fact that the distance between the driver's head or shoulder and the driver's seat or headrest changes depending on the driver's face direction. As an example, the DSM 51 may be configured to detect the face orientation from a change in the distance to the driver's head or shoulder, which is detected by a plurality of distance measurement sensors installed on the driver's seat or the headrest, respectively.

  The rear side camera 52 is, for example, a monocular camera, and sequentially captures the rear side of the vehicle. The rear side cameras 52 are installed on the left and right door mirrors of the own vehicle, respectively, and capture images of predetermined ranges on the left and right rear sides of the own vehicle, respectively. The rear side camera 52 sequentially outputs captured image data to the HCU 50 sequentially.

  The combination meter 53 is disposed in front of the driver's seat in the cabin of the host vehicle. The CID 54 is disposed above the center cluster in the cabin of the host vehicle. The combination meter 53 and the CID 54 display various images for information notification on the display screen of the display based on the image data acquired from the HCU 50.

  The HUD device 55 projects a display image formed on a display element based on the image data acquired from the HCU 50 onto a windshield of the own vehicle, thereby forming a virtual image of the display image from the interior of the own vehicle with the outside scenery ahead. It is displayed so as to be visible again. The HUD device 55 presents information to the driver using a display object displayed as a virtual image.

  The electronic mirror 56 is a display device that sequentially displays captured images of the rear side of the vehicle sequentially captured by the rear side camera 52, and a display device that displays a captured image of the right rear side of the vehicle, There is a display device that displays a captured image of the left rear side of the vehicle. As an example, the electronic mirror 56 is installed at the base of each pillar located on the left and right sides of the windshield in the cabin of the vehicle. The electronic mirror 56 sequentially acquires and displays the images sequentially captured by the rear side camera 52 via the HCU 50.

  The electronic mirror 56 may superimpose and display the display object generated by the HCU 50 in addition to the image captured by the rear side camera 52 on the rear side of the vehicle. Further, a display area of the display object generated by the HCU 50 and a display area of the rear side captured image of the own vehicle captured by the rear side camera 52 may be displayed separately. The electronic mirror 56 presents information to the driver by a display object displayed in addition to the captured image on the rear side of the vehicle.

  The audio speaker 57 is installed, for example, in a lining of a door of the own vehicle, and reproduces a sound or a sound that can be heard by a driver of the own vehicle. Specifically, a synthetic sound such as a mechanical beep sound or a message is output from the audio speaker 57. The audio speaker 57 presents information to the driver by sound and voice to be reproduced.

  The operation device 58 is a group of switches operated by a driver of the own vehicle. For example, as the operation device 58, there is a steering switch provided on a spoke portion of the steering of the own vehicle. The steering switch is used by the driver to make various settings including the necessity of activating the driving support application, and is used by the driver to permit automatic lane change.

  The HCU 50 includes a CPU, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I / O, and a bus connecting these, and executes various processes by executing a control program stored in the non-volatile memory. Note that some or all of the functions performed by the HCU 50 may be configured in hardware by one or more ICs or the like.

  The HCU 50 notifies the driver by controlling the combination meter 53, the CID 54, the HUD device 55, the electronic mirror 56, and the audio speaker 57 to present information. Further, the HCU 30 sequentially outputs captured image data of the rear side of the own vehicle sequentially acquired from the rear side camera 52 to the electronic mirror 56. In addition, the HCU 50 outputs to the in-vehicle LAN 10 a signal corresponding to a switch operation on the operation device 58 as a result of detection by the DSM 51.

<Schematic Configuration of Vehicle Control System 6>
Subsequently, a schematic configuration of the vehicle control system 6 will be described. The vehicle control system 6 includes a vehicle control ECU 60, an accelerator position sensor 61, a brake pedal force sensor 62, a steering angle sensor 63, a steering torque sensor 64, a vehicle speed sensor 65, an electronic control throttle 66, a brake actuator 67, and an EPS motor 68. I have.

  The accelerator position sensor 61 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver and outputs the detected amount to the vehicle control ECU 60. The brake depression force sensor 62 detects the depression force on the brake pedal by the driver and outputs the detected force to the vehicle control ECU 60. The steering angle sensor 63 detects a steering angle or a turning angle of the own vehicle as a steering angle. The steering torque sensor 64 detects the steering torque applied to the steering wheel by the driver, and outputs the detected steering torque to the vehicle control ECU 60. The vehicle speed sensor 65 detects the current traveling speed of the own vehicle by measuring the rotation speed of the output shaft or the axle of the transmission, and outputs the current traveling speed to the vehicle control ECU 60.

  The electronic control throttle 66 controls the throttle opening based on a control signal output from the vehicle control ECU 60. The brake actuator 67 controls a braking force generated on each wheel by generating a brake pressure based on a control signal output from the vehicle control ECU 60. The EPS motor 68 controls the steering force and the steering holding force applied to the steering mechanism based on a control signal output from the vehicle control ECU 60.

  The vehicle control ECU 60 is an electronic control device that performs acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control of the own vehicle. Examples of the vehicle control ECU 60 include a steering ECU that performs steering control, a power unit control ECU that performs acceleration / deceleration control, and a brake ECU. The vehicle control ECU 60 includes an electronic control throttle 66, a brake actuator 67, and an EPS motor based on detection signals output from each of an accelerator position sensor 61, a brake pedal force sensor 62, a steering angle sensor 63, a vehicle speed sensor 65, and the like. A control signal is output to each travel control device such as 68. When executing the driving support application, the vehicle control ECU 60 performs acceleration / deceleration control and / or steering control of the own vehicle in accordance with an instruction from the driving support ECU 9. The vehicle control ECU 60 also outputs the detection signals output from the sensors 61 to 65 to the in-vehicle LAN 10.

<Schematic Configuration of Driving Support ECU 9>
Subsequently, a schematic configuration of the driving support ECU 9 will be described with reference to FIG. The driving support ECU 9 executes a control program stored in the nonvolatile memory to execute an LCA (Lane Change Assist) function unit 90, an ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) function unit 91, an LKA (Lane Keeping Assist) function unit 92, And an AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) function unit 93 is constructed as a function block. The driving support application described above is executed by these functional blocks.

  The ACC function unit 91 implements the ACC function of controlling the traveling speed of the own vehicle by causing the vehicle control ECU 60 to adjust the driving force and the braking force based on the monitoring information of the preceding vehicle acquired from the surrounding monitoring ECU 40. When the preceding vehicle is not detected, the ACC function unit 91 causes the own vehicle to travel at a target traveling speed set by the driver via the operation device 58 at a constant speed, for example. On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle is detected, the ACC function unit 91 sets the target inter-vehicle distance to the preceding vehicle according to the target traveling speed, using the speed of the preceding vehicle as the target traveling speed. Then, the host vehicle is caused to follow the preceding vehicle while performing acceleration / deceleration control so as to achieve the target inter-vehicle distance. The speed of the preceding vehicle may be obtained from the relative speed of the preceding vehicle to the own vehicle detected by the surrounding monitoring ECU 40 and the speed of the own vehicle indicated by the detection signal of the vehicle speed sensor 65 of the own vehicle.

  The LKA function unit 92 realizes the function of the LKA that controls the steering angle of the steered wheels of the own vehicle by causing the vehicle control ECU 60 to adjust the steering force. The LKA function unit 92 maintains the vehicle in the own lane and causes the vehicle to travel by generating a steering force in a direction that impedes approach to the lane marking. Driving support that activates both the ACC function and the LKA function to achieve automatic driving in the driving lane of the vehicle will be hereinafter referred to as in-lane driving support.

  The AEB function unit 93 causes the vehicle control ECU 60 to adjust the braking force based on the monitoring information on the front of the vehicle acquired from the surrounding monitoring ECU 40, thereby forcibly reducing the vehicle speed of the vehicle automatically. That is, the function of AEB) is realized. As a specific example, when the TTC (time to collision) with respect to an object ahead of the own vehicle falls below a set value such as 5 seconds, and the emergency control condition is satisfied, the vehicle speed of the own vehicle is forcibly automatically decelerated.

  The LCA function unit 90 implements an LCA function of moving the vehicle from the currently traveling lane to an adjacent lane. Details of the LCA function unit 90 will be described later.

  The driving assistance ECU 9 notifies the driver of the presence of other vehicles on the left and right rear side areas of the own vehicle based on the monitoring information on the left and right rear sides of the own vehicle acquired from the surrounding monitoring ECU 40. ) May be realized to realize other functions related to driving support.

<Schematic Configuration of LCA Function Unit 90>
Subsequently, a schematic configuration of the LCA function unit 90 will be described with reference to FIG. The LCA function unit 90 includes, as functional blocks, a state transition unit 100, an LC (Lane Change) intention determination unit 101, an intention detection unit 102, an operation determination unit 103, a timeout determination unit 104, a peripheral situation determination unit 105, a permission unit 106, It includes an acceleration processing unit 107, a lane changing unit 108, and a post-completion processing unit 109.

  The state transition unit 100 transitions the state of the LCA function of the own vehicle. For example, when the in-lane traveling support is OFF (that is, both the ACC and LKA functions are inactive), the state transition unit 100 sets the LC_OFF state where the LCA function cannot be executed. In addition, when the surrounding monitoring ECU 40 has not detected the lane adjacent to the own vehicle, it is set to LC_OFF. For example, the case where the lane adjacent to the own vehicle has not been detected refers to the case where the lane marking between the own lane and the adjacent lane has not been detected. On the other hand, when the in-lane driving support is ON (that is, both the functions of ACC and LKA are operating) and the surrounding monitoring ECU 40 has detected the adjacent lane of the own vehicle, the state transition unit 100 performs LCA. Transition to the LC_READY state ready to perform the function.

  In addition, when the LC intention determining unit 101 described later determines that the driver intends to change lanes, the state transition unit 100 causes the LCA function unit 90 to transition to the LC_ON state in which the LCA function is executed. On the other hand, the state transition unit 100 transitions to the LC_READY state when the timeout determination unit 104 described later determines that the determination result of the LC intention determination unit 101 or the operation determination unit 103 is invalid. In addition, the state transition unit 100 transitions to the LC_READY state when the steering in the lane change unit 108 described later is completed.

  The LC intention determination unit 101 determines the driver's intention to change lanes when in the LC_READY state. As an example, when a blinker signal at the time of turning right or left is obtained from the blinker switch 8, it may be determined that there is an intention to change lanes (hereinafter, LC intention). In addition, when a turn signal for a right turn is obtained, it is determined that there is an LC intention in the right adjacent lane, and when a turn signal for the left turn is obtained, it is determined that there is an LC intention in the left adjacent lane. If the blinker signal at the time of turning left or right is not obtained, it may be determined that there is no LC intention. In the first embodiment, the blinker lever 7 corresponds to an operation member in the claims.

  The intention detection unit 102 starts counting from the time when the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that there is LC intention. That is, the counting starts from the time when the blinker lever 7 is operated. Then, the fact that the count has reached the specified value is detected as that the driver has permitted the lane change (hereinafter, the steering start trigger is ON). The count may be a count of the elapsed time or a count of the traveling distance of the own vehicle, but the following description will be given by taking an example of counting the elapsed time. The elapsed time may be counted by, for example, a timer circuit or the like. This count corresponds to the measured value in the claims.

  The operation determination unit 103 determines whether or not the driver has performed a safety confirmation operation when changing lanes, based on the detection results of the DSM 51 sequentially output from the HCU 50. It is preferable that the determination by the motion determination unit 103 is started after the LC determination unit 101 determines that there is LC intention. This is because the processing load on the driving support ECU 9 can be reduced as compared with the configuration in which the operation determination unit 103 always performs the determination.

  Here, an example of the determination by the operation determination unit 103 when the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that there is the LC intention in the right adjacent lane will be described. The motion determining unit 103 determines that the driver's face direction and / or line-of-sight direction detected by the DSM 51 moves from the front of the own vehicle to the right rear side and stays for a certain period of time in a state facing the right rear side. When a movement to return to the front of the own vehicle is shown, it may be determined that the safety confirmation operation has been performed. Here, the certain time is a dwell time that is considered to be normally required for safety confirmation, and can be set arbitrarily.

  When the DSM 51 detects the driver's line of sight, for example, when the line of sight moves in the order of the front of the vehicle, the right door mirror, the right rear side, and the front, it is determined that the safety confirmation operation has been performed. You may. As for the right door mirror and the right rear side, the condition may be that the line of sight stays for a certain time or more.

  When the LC determination unit 101 determines that there is an intention to change lanes in the left adjacent lane, the operation determination unit 103 determines whether the lane changes to the right adjacent lane except that the left and right sides are reversed. This is the same as when it is determined that there is.

  The timeout determination unit 104 determines whether the detection result of the intention detection unit 102 and the determination result of the operation determination unit 103 have expired (that is, timeout). Regarding the detection result of the intention detection unit 102, it is determined that a timeout has occurred if the elapsed time from the detection of the steering start trigger being turned on by the intention detection unit 102 is equal to or longer than the first valid time, and is valid if the elapsed time is shorter than the first valid time. Is determined. Here, the first effective time can be set arbitrarily and may be set to about several seconds.

  Regarding the determination result in the operation determining unit 103, if the elapsed time after determining that the safety checking operation has been performed by the operation determining unit 103 is equal to or longer than the second valid time, it is determined that a timeout has occurred. It is determined to be valid in this case. The second effective time here is a time that is considered to have a high possibility that the situation behind the adjacent lane will change, and can be set arbitrarily. For example, the second effective time may be about several seconds.

  The surrounding situation determination unit 105 determines whether the surrounding situation of the own vehicle is a surrounding situation where the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane based on the monitoring information sequentially output from the surrounding monitoring ECU 40 when the LC_ON state is set. Determine sequentially. As an example, from the monitoring information on the rear side of the vehicle detected by the millimeter wave radar 42, when there is no object approaching the vehicle on the rear side of the lane to which the lane is changed, the surrounding situation where the lane can be changed Is determined. On the other hand, when there is an object approaching the own vehicle behind the lane to which the lane is to be changed, it is determined that the surrounding situation indicates that the lane cannot be changed.

  The surrounding situation determination unit 105 determines, based on the position information and the traveling speed information of the surrounding vehicle acquired by the ITS communication device 3, whether there is another vehicle approaching the own vehicle behind the lane to which the lane is to be changed. By determining whether or not the surrounding situation of the own vehicle is a surrounding situation in which the lane can be changed to the adjacent lane, it may be determined.

  The permission unit 106 permits or does not permit the lane change of the own vehicle depending on whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied when the LC_ON state is set. The predetermined condition is that the intention detection unit 102 has detected that the steering start trigger is ON, the operation determination unit 103 has determined that the safety confirmation operation has been performed, and the peripheral situation determination unit 105 determines that the lane can be changed. And that the timeout determination unit 104 does not determine that the determination results of the LC intention determination unit 101 and the operation determination unit 103 are timeout. Here, the specified value is an arbitrarily settable value corresponding to a time shorter than the above-mentioned first effective time, and may be, for example, 3 seconds.

  The promotion processing unit 107 outputs to the HCU 50 an instruction to make a notification to prompt the driver to perform the safety confirmation operation based on the fact that the operation determination unit 103 determines that the safety confirmation operation is not performed. As an example, when the operation determination unit 103 determines that the safety confirmation operation has not been performed in spite of detection of the steering start trigger ON by the intention detection unit 102, a notification prompting the driver to perform the safety confirmation operation is performed. What is necessary is just to make it the structure which makes it. Note that, in order to prevent useless notification to a driver whose safety confirmation operation such as an elderly person is constantly slow, even if a certain time has elapsed after the intention detection unit 102 detects that the steering start trigger is ON. Good. Here, the certain time can be arbitrarily set, and may be set in consideration of a time required for a driver who regularly performs a safety confirmation operation for an elderly person or the like to complete the safety confirmation operation.

  In the HCU 50 that has received the instruction to perform the notification, the HCU 50 causes the display device or the audio speaker 57 to perform a notification that prompts the driver to perform a safety confirmation operation. As an example of the notification, a configuration may be employed in which a display device such as the electronic mirror 56 is urged to perform a safety confirmation operation, or a configuration in which a lamp such as an LED is simply turned on.

  The lane changing unit 108 instructs the vehicle control ECU 60 to move the own vehicle to the adjacent lane by generating a steering force in a direction toward the adjacent lane. The post-completion processing unit 109 performs a post-steering completion process when the steering in the process of moving the own vehicle to the adjacent lane in the lane changing unit 108 is completed.

  As an example of the post-steering completion processing, an instruction to perform notification indicating that the lane change has been completed is output to the HCU 50, and a notification indicating that the lane change has been completed is performed from the display device or the audio speaker 57. In the case of a configuration in which the display indicating that the lane is being changed is performed during the lane change, the display indicating that the lane is being changed may be terminated by the post-steering completion processing. As another example, an instruction may be output to an electronic control device that operates the winker lever, and the winker lever 7 operated by the driver may be automatically returned to the neutral position.

<LCA-related processing>
Subsequently, an example of a flow of a process (hereinafter, LCA-related process) related to the LCA function in the driving support ECU 9 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 3 may be configured, for example, to start when the in-lane driving support by the driving support ECU 9 is turned on (that is, both the ACC and LKA functions are activated).

  First, in step S1, if the LCA function unit 90 has transitioned to the LC_READY state by the state transition unit 100 (YES in S1), the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if the state has not transitioned to the LC_READY state and the state is the LC_OFF state (NO in S1), the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S2, when the LC intention determining unit 101 determines that there is LC intention (YES in S2), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no LC intention (NO in S2), the process proceeds to step S13. In step S3, the intention detection unit 102 starts counting from the time when the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that there is LC intention.

  In step S4, when the surrounding situation determination unit 105 determines that the surrounding situation allows the lane change (YES in S4), the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, when the surrounding situation determination unit 105 determines that the surrounding situation is such that the lane cannot be changed (NO in S4), the process proceeds to step S8.

  In step S5, when the count in the intention detection unit 102 has reached the prescribed value and the intention detection unit 102 has detected that the steering start trigger is ON (YES in S5), the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the intention detection unit 102 does not detect the turning on of the steering start trigger (NO in S5), the process proceeds to S8.

  In step S6, when it is determined that the safety check operation has been performed by the operation determination unit 103 (YES in S6), the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the operation determination unit 103 determines that the safety confirmation operation has not been performed (NO in S6), the process proceeds to S8.

  In step S7, when the timeout determination section 104 determines that the determination result of the LC intention determination section 101 or the operation determination section 103 is a timeout (YES in S7), the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, when the timeout determination unit 104 determines that both the determination results of the LC intention determination unit 101 and the operation determination unit 103 are valid (NO in S7), the permission unit 106 permits the lane change of the own vehicle, Move to S9.

  In step S8, if the timeout determination unit 104 determines that the determination result of the LC intention determination unit 101 or the operation determination unit 103 is a timeout (YES in S8), the process proceeds to S12. On the other hand, when the timeout determination unit 104 determines that both the determination results of the LC intention determination unit 101 and the operation determination unit 103 are valid (NO in S8), the process returns to S4 and repeats the processing.

  If it is determined in S7 and S8 that a timeout has occurred, an instruction to perform an operation indicating that the blinker lever 7 must be operated again and a safety confirmation operation is required is output to the HCU 50, and the display device or the audio speaker 57 outputs the instruction. It is preferable to make this notification. If it is determined in S7 and S8 that the timeout has occurred, the blinker lever 7 operated by the driver is automatically returned to the neutral position, so that the operation of the blinker lever 7 and the safety confirmation operation are required again. It is good also as a structure which makes a driver recognize that.

  In step S9, the lane changing unit 108 instructs the vehicle control ECU 60 to move the own vehicle to an adjacent lane. In step S10, when the steering by the lane changing unit 108 is completed (YES in S10), the process proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if the steering in the lane changing unit 108 is not completed (NO in S10), the process returns to S9 and repeats the processing. In step S11, the post-completion processing unit 109 performs post-steering completion processing, and proceeds to step S12.

  In step S12, if it is the end timing of the LCA-related processing (YES in S12), the LCA-related processing is ended. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the LCA-related process (NO in S12), the process returns to S2 and repeats the process. Examples of the end timing of the LCA-related processing include that the in-lane traveling support is turned off by an operation input of the driver via the operation device 58, and that the ignition power of the own vehicle is turned off.

  If it is determined in step S2 that there is no LC intention, in step S13, if the LCA function unit 90 is in the LC_OFF state (YES in step S13), the process proceeds to step S14. On the other hand, if the LCA function unit 90 is not in the LC_OFF state (NO in S13), the process returns to S2 and repeats the processing.

  In step S14 when the LCA function unit 90 is not in the LC_READY state in S1, if it is the end timing of the LCA-related processing (YES in S14), the LCA-related processing ends. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the LCA-related process (NO in S14), the process returns to S1 and the process is repeated.

<State transition of LCA function unit 90>
Here, the state transition of the LCA function unit 90 will be summarized with reference to FIG. As described above, the LCA function unit 90 sets the LC_OFF state when at least one of the case where the in-lane driving support is OFF and the case where the surrounding lane adjacent to the own vehicle is not detected by the surrounding monitoring ECU 40. Become. On the other hand, in the LC_OFF state, when the in-lane traveling support is ON and the surrounding monitoring ECU 40 can detect the lane adjacent to the own vehicle, the state transits from the LC_OFF to the LC_READY state.

  In the LC_READY state, when the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that the driver has an intention to change lanes, the state transitions to the LC_ON state. If the timeout determination unit 104 determines that a timeout has occurred in the LC_ON state, the state transitions to the LC_READY state. On the other hand, when three conditions such as the surrounding situation where the lane can be changed, the detection of the turning on of the steering start trigger, and the execution of the safety check operation are not satisfied and the lane change is permitted, the steering is started. You. When the steering is completed and the post-steering completion processing is executed to complete the lane change, the state transits from the LC_ON state to the LC_READY state.

<Summary of Embodiment 1>
According to the configuration of the first embodiment, when the operation determining unit 103 determines that the driver has not performed the safety confirmation operation at the time of changing lanes, the permitting unit 106 automatically performs the operation by the lane changing unit 108. Do not allow lane changes. Therefore, even when the lane change of the vehicle is automatically performed by the LCA function, the driver must perform the safety confirmation operation at the time of the lane change. Further, since the lane change cannot be performed unless the driver performs the safety confirmation operation at the time of the lane change, the driver can be prompted to perform the safety confirmation operation. As a result, it is possible to habit the driver to perform a safety confirmation operation when changing lanes, and to encourage the driver to grow.

  Further, in a configuration in which the steering start trigger is turned ON when the count from the time when the LC intention determining unit 101 determines that the LC intention is present has reached a specified value, it is necessary for the driver to perform the safety confirmation operation as a necessary condition for lane change permission. By doing so, it becomes possible to individually adapt the timing of starting steering when changing lanes. Details will be described below with reference to FIG.

  A in FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which the execution of the safety confirmation operation by the driver is not an indispensable condition of the lane change permission. FIGS. 5B and 5C show an example in which the execution of the safety check operation by the driver is an essential condition of the lane change permission. Further, FIG. 5B shows an example of a driver in which the operation from the operation of the winker lever 7 to the execution of the safety confirmation operation is early, and FIG. An example is shown.

  As in the example of A, when the execution of the safety confirmation operation by the driver is not an indispensable condition of the lane change permission, the specified value (A (See T1) must be set relatively large.

  On the other hand, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, since the execution of the safety confirmation operation by the driver is an essential condition of the lane change permission, the steering start trigger is turned ON without considering the driver whose safety confirmation operation is slow. The prescribed value of the count (see T1 of B and C) can be set smaller than that of the case of A. Therefore, if the driver is quick from the operation of the winker lever 7 to the execution of the safety confirmation operation, the steering can be started earlier than the case of A by the amount by which the prescribed value of the count can be set smaller (T1 of B). reference). On the other hand, for a driver who is late from the operation of the winker lever 7 to the execution of the safety confirmation operation, even if the count reaches the specified value, the steering does not have to be started until the safety confirmation operation is performed (see T2 of C). . As described above, according to the configuration of the first embodiment, it is possible to individually adjust the timing of starting the steering when changing lanes.

(Embodiment 2)
Before the LC intention determination unit 101 determines whether or not there is LC intention, a configuration in which it is determined whether the lane change is a preferable driving scene and the lane change is proposed to the driver (hereinafter, a second embodiment). It may be. An example of a schematic configuration of the driving support ECU 9a according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, for convenience, illustration is omitted of components included in the driving support ECU 9 a except for components different from those of the driving support ECU 9 of the first embodiment. The driving support ECU 9a is the same as the driving support ECU 9 of the first embodiment except that it includes a scene determination unit 110 and a proposal processing unit 111. The scene determination unit 110 and the proposal processing unit 111 may be configured to be included in the LCA function unit 90, or may be configured not to be included in the LCA function unit 90.

  The scene determination unit 110 determines whether the lane change is a preferable driving scene based on the traveling state of the own vehicle and / or the situation around the own vehicle.

  For example, based on the position of the own vehicle and the position of the intersection obtained from the ADAS locator 2 and the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle obtained from the surrounding monitoring ECU 40, the scene determination unit 110 preferably performs the driving scene in which the lane change is preferable. Is determined. As a specific example, when the own vehicle is separated from the intersection by a predetermined distance or more and the inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined value, it may be determined that the lane change is a preferable driving scene. .

  Here, the predetermined distance may be any distance as long as the distance before the intersection is to be prohibited from changing lanes, and can be set arbitrarily. In addition, the predetermined value here may be about the target inter-vehicle distance when the speed of the preceding vehicle can be said to be significantly lower than the speed regulation value, and can be arbitrarily set. The predetermined value may be sequentially changed according to the speed regulation value included in the map data acquired from the ADAS locator 2, or a fixed value may be used regardless of the speed regulation value.

  In addition, the scene determination unit 110 determines whether the lane change of the own vehicle is a preferable driving scene based on the position of the own vehicle and the lane regulation information acquired from the ADAS locator 2. As a specific example, when the own vehicle is less than a predetermined distance to a point where the lane must be changed due to lane regulation, it may be determined that the lane change is a preferable driving scene. Here, the predetermined distance can be arbitrarily set.

  It should be noted that the lane regulation information on the point where the lane must be changed due to the lane regulation may be obtained from the roadside device via the ITS communication device 3. Alternatively, the lane regulation information may be acquired by detecting a sign or signboard indicating lane regulation by image recognition processing from an image captured by the surrounding monitoring camera 41.

  In addition, when the driving support ECU 9 can acquire information on a planned route to be traveled, such as a recommended route during route guidance by the car navigation device, a planned route by automatic driving, and the like, the driving assist ECU 9 uses the planned route. The configuration may be such that the scene determination unit 110 determines a driving scene in which lane change is preferable. As an example, when it is necessary to make a right / left turn at an intersection ahead of the traveling direction from the planned route and a lane change is required for a right / left turn, the scene determination unit 110 determines that the lane change is a preferable driving scene. What is necessary is just to judge.

  When the scene determination unit 110 determines that the lane change is a preferable driving scene, the proposal processing unit 111 outputs to the HCU 50 an instruction to perform a notification to suggest a lane change of the own vehicle. The HCU 50 that has received the instruction to perform the notification causes the display device and the audio speaker 57 to perform the notification that proposes the lane change of the own vehicle. As an example of the notification, a configuration may be adopted in which a text or an icon suggesting a lane change is displayed on a display device such as the electronic mirror 56.

  According to the configuration of the second embodiment, there is an advantage that the trouble of the driver determining the timing at which the lane change is preferable can be omitted.

(Modification 1)
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration is described in which the determination by the operation determination unit 103 is started after the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that there is LC intention. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that the determination by the operation determination unit 103 is started before the LC determination unit 101 determines that there is LC intention (hereinafter, a first modification).

  As an example, the configuration may be such that the determination by the operation determination unit 103 is started when the state transitions from a state other than LC_READY to the state of LC_READY. In addition, in combination with the configuration of the second embodiment, the configuration may be such that the determination by the operation determination unit 103 is started after the suggestion processing unit 111 performs a notification to suggest a lane change of the own vehicle.

  When the configuration of the first modification is employed, the timing at which it is determined that the safety confirmation operation has been performed may be earlier than in the case of the first embodiment. Should be set longer than in the first embodiment.

  According to the configuration of the first modification, the operation determination unit 103 starts the determination before the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that there is the LC intention. Therefore, the safety confirmation operation is performed before the operation of the winker lever 7 when changing lanes. The driver's safety confirmation operation to be performed can also be determined. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the lane change is not permitted because the safety confirmation operation is not performed, even though the safety confirmation operation is performed before the operation of the winker lever 7.

  Further, even in the configuration of the first modification, lane change is not permitted unless a safety confirmation operation is performed. Therefore, the steering for changing lanes is not automatically started only on the basis of the elapsed time from the operation of the winker lever 7. Therefore, there is no problem that steering for changing lanes is automatically started before the driver performing the safety confirmation operation after operating the winker lever 7 completes the safety confirmation operation.

(Modification 2)
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration is described in which the LCA-related process is started when the in-lane traveling support is turned on, but is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the control may be started when the ACC function is operated without operating the LKA function, or may be started when the vehicle is manually driven without operating the ACC function or the LKA function. It may be configured.

(Modification 3)
In the first and second embodiments, the intention detection unit 102 has detected that the steering start trigger has been turned ON, the operation determination unit 103 has determined that the safety confirmation operation has been performed, and the peripheral situation determination unit 105 has a lane changeable surrounding situation. The determination that the determination is made and the determination that the timeout has not been made by the timeout determination unit 104 are the conditions for permitting the lane change. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this.

  For example, the configuration may be such that the detection of the steering start trigger ON by the intention detection unit 102 is not a condition for permitting the lane change. In addition, a configuration in which the determination of the surrounding situation in which the lane change is possible by the surrounding situation determination unit 105 may not be a condition for permitting the lane change may be adopted. Further, a configuration in which the timeout determination unit 104 does not determine that a timeout has occurred may not be a condition for permitting a lane change.

(Modification 4)
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration is described in which the intention detection unit 102 detects, as the steering start trigger ON, that the count starting from the time when the LC intention determination unit 101 determines that there is the LC intention has reached the specified value. However, it is not necessarily limited to this.

  For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the operation of a button or the like of the operation device 58 used by the driver to inform the driver of a lane change is detected as the steering start trigger ON. In this case, the operation device 58 corresponds to an operation member in the claims. Alternatively, a configuration may be employed in which the operation of the steering wheel by the driver is detected as a steering start trigger ON. In this case, the steering wheel corresponds to the operation member in the claims. Further, the driver's operation of the steering wheel may be configured to be detected by the intention detection unit 102 from a signal of the steering torque sensor 64.

(Modification 5)
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration is described in which the timeout determination unit 104 determines that the timeout has occurred when the elapsed time from when the intention detection unit 102 detects that the steering start trigger is ON is equal to or longer than the first valid time. Not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a timeout is determined when the time elapsed since the driver operated the blinker lever 7, that is, when the count in the intention detection unit 102 is equal to or longer than the first valid time.

  In this case, the first effective time may be set to a time longer than the time required from when the driver operates the blinker lever 7 to when the safety check is completed. More preferably, the first valid time may be set longer based on the driver whose safety is late so that the timeout is not determined during the execution of the safety confirmation operation by the driver whose safety confirmation is late. For example, the first effective time may be about 10 seconds.

(Modification 6)
The timing at which the operation determination unit 103 determines whether or not the safety confirmation operation has been performed is not necessarily limited to the timing described in the first embodiment and the first modification.

(Modification 7)
In the first and second embodiments, the configuration has been described in which the promotion processing unit 107 notifies the driver of the safety confirmation operation based on the fact that the operation determination unit 103 determines that the safety confirmation operation is not performed. However, this is not necessarily the case. For example, a configuration may be employed in which a notification to prompt the driver to perform a safety confirmation operation is made before the operation determination unit 103 starts to determine a safety confirmation operation.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modified examples, and various modifications can be made within the scope shown in the claims, and technical means disclosed in different embodiments and modified examples, respectively. An embodiment obtained by appropriately combining is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 driving support system, 9, 9a driving support ECU (driving support device), 7 blinker lever (operation member), 40 peripheral monitoring ECU, 50 HCU, 58 operation device (operation member), 60 vehicle control ECU, 90 LCA function unit , 100 State transition unit, 101 LC intention judgment unit, 102 intention detection unit, 103 operation judgment unit, 104 timeout judgment unit, 105 peripheral situation judgment unit, 106 permission unit, 107 promotion processing unit, 108 lane change unit, 109 after completion Processing unit, 110 scene determination unit, 111 proposal processing unit

In order to achieve the above object, a driving assistance device according to the present invention is a driving assistance device that is used in a vehicle and includes a lane changing unit (108) for automatically changing a lane of the vehicle, and the driving assistance device includes: An operation determining unit (103) that determines whether or not the driver has performed a safety confirmation operation at the time of a lane change based on information of a sensor used to detect the lane, and permits an automatic lane change by the lane change unit. And a promotion processing unit (107) for making a notification to prompt the driver to perform a safety confirmation operation . The promotion processing unit determines whether the operation confirmation unit has performed the safety confirmation operation. A warning to prompt the driver to perform a safety confirmation operation, and if the operation determination unit determines that the driver has not performed the safety confirmation operation when changing lanes , the permission unit determines that the lane change unit By self Do not allow a lane change in.

Claims (8)

A driving assistance device that is used in a vehicle and includes a lane changing unit (108) that automatically changes a lane of the vehicle,
An operation determination unit (103) that determines whether the driver has performed a safety confirmation operation when changing lanes based on information of a sensor used to detect a state of the driver of the vehicle;
A permission unit (106) for permitting automatic lane change by the lane change unit,
A driving support device that does not permit an automatic lane change by the lane changing unit when the operation determining unit determines that the driver has not performed a safety confirmation operation at the time of a lane change; . In claim 1,
An intention detection unit (102) that detects that the driver has permitted the lane change of the vehicle based on an operation input to a predetermined operation member (7, 58) of the vehicle by the driver;
The driving support device that does not permit the lane changing unit to automatically change lanes when the intention detecting unit does not detect that the driver has permitted the lane change of the vehicle by the intention detecting unit. In claim 2,
The intention detecting unit is configured to, when an elapsed time after the driver inputs an operation to the operation member (7) or a measurement value obtained by measuring a mileage of the vehicle reaches a predetermined value, It detects that the driver has allowed the lane change,
The permission unit, even when the measured value reaches the specified value, when the operation determination unit determines that the driver has not performed the safety confirmation operation at the time of lane change, A driving support device that does not permit automatic lane change by the lane changing unit. In claim 3,
The driving support device, wherein the operation determination unit determines whether or not the safety confirmation operation has been performed after the operation input to the operation member (7) by the driver. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
A scene determination unit (110) that determines whether the lane change of the vehicle is a preferable driving scene;
A suggestion processing unit (111) that, when the scene determination unit determines that the lane change of the vehicle is a preferable driving scene, performs a notification to suggest a lane change of the vehicle;
The driving support device, wherein the operation determination unit determines whether or not the safety confirmation operation has been performed after the proposal processing unit notifies the vehicle of a lane change. In any one of claims 1 to 5,
A driving support device further comprising a promotion processing unit (107) for performing a notification for prompting the driver to perform the safety confirmation operation. In claim 6,
The driving support device, wherein the promotion processing unit makes a notification to prompt the driver to perform the safety confirmation operation based on the operation determination unit determining that the safety confirmation operation is not performed. In any one of claims 1 to 7,
The operation determination unit determines the driver's face direction and / or line-of-sight direction from the movement of at least one of the driver's face direction and line-of-sight direction that is sequentially estimated based on captured images of the driver's head sequentially captured by an imaging device serving as the sensor. A driving support device that determines whether the vehicle has performed a safety confirmation operation when changing lanes.

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