JP2021111121A - Travel control device and travel control method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To smoothly follow a preceding vehicle. [Solution] A cruise control device 10 that controls following travel to make a vehicle 1 follow a preceding vehicle in front includes a surrounding recognition unit 20 that identifies the position of the preceding vehicle, an offset amount acquisition unit 24 that, when the preceding vehicle is misaligned with the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction, determines an offset amount of the preceding vehicle such that the preceding vehicle will be in the same position as the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction, and a cruise control unit 26 that causes the vehicle 1 to follow the travel path of the preceding vehicle shifted by the offset amount. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a travel control device and a travel control method.

Among the vehicles, for example, there is a vehicle that detects a white line (section line) on the road surface and performs white line tracking control to travel along the white line during automatic driving. If the white line cannot be detected (for example, the white line cannot be detected by the camera because the preceding vehicle traveling in front is a large vehicle), the vehicle switches to vehicle tracking control that follows the preceding vehicle.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-332192

By the way, the own vehicle during automatic driving often travels in the center of the lane, but the preceding vehicle does not always travel in the center of the lane, and in some cases, for example, travels on the end side of the lane. If the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle are deviated in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction) of the lane, the own vehicle may not be able to smoothly follow the preceding vehicle during vehicle follow-up control.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to smoothly follow a preceding vehicle.

In the first aspect of the present invention, it is a travel control device that controls follow-up travel that causes the own vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle in front, the position specifying unit that specifies the position of the preceding vehicle, and the vehicle width direction. An offset amount acquisition unit for obtaining an offset amount of the preceding vehicle so that the preceding vehicle is at the same position as the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction when the preceding vehicle is deviated from the own vehicle, and the offset. Provided is a travel control device including a follow-up control unit for following-traveling the own vehicle so as to travel on the travel locus of the preceding vehicle in a state of being shifted by an amount.

Further, the offset amount acquisition unit is described when the preceding vehicle is traveling within a predetermined range in the vehicle width direction and the preceding vehicle is deviated from the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction. The offset amount may be obtained.

Further, the travel control device further includes a determination unit for determining the presence or absence of a lane marking in front of the own vehicle, and the follow-up control unit includes only the offset amount when it is determined that the lane marking is not detected. The own vehicle may be followed and traveled so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle in the shifted state.

Further, the travel control device further includes a determination unit for determining whether or not the own vehicle travels on a curve, and the follow-up control unit shifts by the offset amount when it is determined to travel on the curve. The own vehicle may be followed and traveled so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle in the above-mentioned state.

A second aspect of the present invention is a travel control method for controlling follow-up travel in which the own vehicle follows the preceding vehicle in front, in which a step of specifying the position of the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the vehicle width direction are used. To obtain the offset amount of the preceding vehicle so that the preceding vehicle is at the same position as the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction when is deviated from the own vehicle, and a state in which the preceding vehicle is shifted by the offset amount. The present invention provides a traveling control method including a step of causing the own vehicle to follow and travel so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle.

According to the present invention, there is an effect that the vehicle can smoothly follow the preceding vehicle.

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the structure of the vehicle 1 equipped with the travel control device 10 which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the position of the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 100. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the travel locus of a vehicle 1 when following the preceding vehicle 100. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the follow-up control of a vehicle 1.

<Structure of travel control device>
The configuration of the travel control device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the vehicle 1 on which the travel control device 10 according to the embodiment is mounted. The vehicle 1 is, for example, a truck. The vehicle 1 can be automatically driven, and for example, it is possible to perform white line tracking control that travels along a white line (section line) of a road, and vehicle tracking control that follows a preceding vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 has a surrounding detection device 2, a steering control device 4, and a travel control device 10.

The surroundings detection device 2 is a device for detecting the external environment around the vehicle 1 which is the own vehicle. The surrounding detection device 2 includes a camera and a radar here. For example, the surrounding detection device 2 images the front of the vehicle 1 (including the preceding vehicle). The detection result of the surrounding detection device 2 (for example, a front image of the front image) is output to the travel control device 10.

The steering control device 4 controls the assist torque by the electric power steering motor provided in the steering system of the vehicle 1 based on the steering torque, the steering wheel angle, and the like of the driver. For example, the steering control device 4 drives and controls the electric power steering motor with a steering amount that follows the travel locus of the preceding vehicle during vehicle follow-up control according to an instruction from the travel control device 10. The steering control device 4 drives and controls the electric power steering motor with a steering amount that follows the white line during white line follow-up control.

The travel control device 10 controls the travel of the vehicle 1. For example, the travel control device 10 can switch between white line tracking control that travels along a white line (section line) of a road and vehicle tracking control that follows a preceding vehicle while the vehicle 1 is traveling. As shown in FIG. 1, the travel control device 10 has a storage unit 12 and a control unit 14.

The storage unit 12 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 12 stores a program and various data for execution by the control unit 14. For example, the storage unit 12 stores the front image captured by the surrounding detection device 2.

The control unit 14 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 14 controls the operation of the travel control device 10 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 12. The control unit 14 functions as a peripheral recognition unit 20, an offset amount acquisition unit 24, and a travel control unit 26.

The surroundings recognition unit 20 recognizes the external environment around the vehicle 1 based on the detection result of the surroundings detection device 2. The surroundings recognition unit 20 has a function as a position specifying unit for specifying the position of the preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle 1. For example, the perimeter recognition unit 20 specifies the amount of deviation of the preceding vehicle with respect to the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction of the lane (the width direction of the vehicle 1).

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the positions of the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 100. Here, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 which is the own vehicle is traveling by automatic driving, and the preceding vehicle 100 is directly driven and traveling by the driver. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 is traveling in the center of the traveling lane and the preceding vehicle 100 is traveling on the right end side of the traveling lane. In this case, the surrounding recognition unit 20 specifies that the amount of deviation of the preceding vehicle 100 with respect to the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction is X.

The surrounding recognition unit 20 has a function of determining whether or not the white line L (FIG. 2) in front of the road on which the vehicle 1 travels is detected. The detection of the white line L can be recognized by using, for example, the front image captured by the surrounding detection device 2. Specifically, the peripheral recognition unit 20 can detect the presence or absence of the white line L by extracting a point cloud that is a candidate for the white line L from the front image and calculating a straight line or a curve connecting the extracted candidate points. The peripheral recognition unit 20 determines that the white line L is not detected when neither the white line L on both sides of the traveling lane can be recognized.

The surroundings recognition unit 20 has a function of determining whether or not the vehicle 1 travels on a curve. For example, the surroundings recognition unit 20 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 travels on a curve based on the front image captured by the surroundings detection device 2, the steering amount, and the like.

The offset amount acquisition unit 24 offsets the preceding vehicle 100 so that when the preceding vehicle 100 is deviated from the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction of the lane, the preceding vehicle 100 is in the same position as the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction of the lane. Find the amount. For example, when the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 100 are located as shown in FIG. 2, the offset amount in the lateral direction is X. The offset amount acquisition unit 24 outputs the obtained offset amount to the travel control unit 26.

The offset amount acquisition unit 24 obtains the offset amount when the traveling preceding vehicle 100 has a small lateral displacement of the lane. For example, the offset amount acquisition unit 24 obtains the offset amount when the lateral displacement of the preceding vehicle 100 within a predetermined time is equal to or less than a predetermined value. That is, the offset amount acquisition unit 24 obtains the offset amount when the preceding vehicle 100 is traveling within a predetermined range in the lateral direction of the lane and the preceding vehicle 100 is deviated from the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction. .. Thereby, the offset amount in the state where the traveling of the preceding vehicle 100 is stable can be obtained.

The travel control unit 26 controls the travel of the vehicle 1. When the vehicle 1 is automatically driven, the travel control unit 26 performs a white line following travel that follows the white line, or a vehicle following travel that follows the preceding vehicle. For example, the travel control unit 26 performs white line follow-up control when the white line can be recognized, and performs vehicle follow-up travel when the white line cannot be recognized.

If the white line cannot be recognized while the vehicle 1 is running, the case is as follows. For example, if the white line itself is thin, the white line cannot be recognized. Further, when the preceding vehicle 100 is a large vehicle (for example, a truck or a van), the preceding vehicle 100 hides the white line when imaging the front, and the white line cannot be recognized.

The travel control unit 26 causes the vehicle 1 to follow the preceding vehicle 100 so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle 100 in a state of being shifted by an offset amount in the lateral direction. That is, since the travel control unit 26 travels from the current position of the vehicle 1 along the traveling state of the preceding vehicle 100, not on the actual traveling locus of the preceding vehicle 100, it smoothly follows the traveling of the preceding vehicle 100. can.

When it is determined that the white line L is not detected, the travel control unit 26 causes the vehicle 1 to follow and travel so as to travel on the travel locus of the preceding vehicle 100 in a state of being shifted by the offset amount. As a result, when the white line follow-up control cannot be performed, the vehicle follow-up control capable of smoothly following the running of the preceding vehicle 100 becomes possible.

Further, when it is determined that the vehicle travels on a curve, the travel control unit 26 may follow the vehicle 1 so as to travel on the travel locus of the preceding vehicle 100 in a state of being shifted by an offset amount. As a result, when the vehicle 1 follows the preceding vehicle 100, the vehicle 1 can smoothly enter the curve even if the preceding vehicle 100 is traveling on the end side of the lane, for example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a traveling locus of the vehicle 1 when traveling following the preceding vehicle 100. Here, a case where the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 100 travel on a curve will be described as an example. It is assumed that the preceding vehicle 100 deviates from the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction of the lane and travels on the locus T1 shown in FIG. When controlling the vehicle 1 to follow the preceding vehicle 100, the traveling control unit 26 travels the locus T2 shifted from the locus T1 by an offset amount X without traveling the locus T1 which is the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle 100. .. As a result, the vehicle 1 can smoothly follow the traveling state of the preceding vehicle 100. In particular, when the vehicle 1 enters the curve along the trajectory T2, the steering amount can be adjusted faster than when the vehicle 1 enters the curve along the trajectory T1, so that it becomes easier to smoothly enter the curve.

<Example of vehicle follow-up control>
An example of the follow-up control of the vehicle 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of follow-up control of the vehicle 1. Here, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 is automatically driving and is traveling in the center of the lane.
The flowchart of FIG. 4 starts from the place where the traveling control unit 26 performs the white line following control in which the vehicle 1 follows the white line L1 (step S102). That is, the travel control unit 26 travels the vehicle 1 along the white line recognized by the surrounding recognition unit 20.

The surrounding recognition unit 22 determines whether or not the white line cannot be detected during the white line tracking control (step S104). For example, when the vehicle 1 is traveling close to the preceding vehicle 100, the white line cannot be recognized because the white line is not properly reflected in the front image, and the white line cannot be detected.

If it is determined in step S104 that the white line is detected (No), the travel control unit 26 continues the white line following travel traveling in the center of the lane. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S104 that the white line is not detected (Yes), the surrounding recognition unit 22 obtains the amount of deviation of the preceding vehicle 100 with respect to the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction) of the lane (step). S106). Here, as shown in FIG. 2, it is assumed that the preceding vehicle 100 is deviated by X in the lateral direction of the lane.

Next, the offset amount acquisition unit 24 obtains the offset amount of the preceding vehicle 100 (step S108). Specifically, the offset amount acquisition unit 24 sets the lateral deviation amount X of the lane as the offset amount.

Next, the travel control unit 26 performs vehicle follow-up control with respect to the preceding vehicle 100 of the vehicle 1 so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle 100 in a state of being shifted by the offset amount obtained in step S108 (step S110). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, when the preceding vehicle 100 actually travels on the locus T1, the travel control unit 26 makes the vehicle 1 travel on the locus T2 shifted by the offset amount X. The vehicle 1 is driven to follow. Therefore, when the vehicle follow-up control is performed, the preceding vehicle 100 travels on the locus T1, while the vehicle 1 travels on the locus T2.

After that, when the white line is detected, the travel control unit 26 switches from the vehicle follow-up control to the white line follow-up control. That is, the travel control unit 26 switches between vehicle follow-up control and white line follow-up control according to the detection state of the white line while the vehicle 1 is traveling.

<Effect in this embodiment>
In the travel control device 10 of the above-described embodiment, when the preceding vehicle 100 is offset from the vehicle 1 in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction) of the lane, the preceding vehicle 100 is positioned at the same position as the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction. The offset amount of the preceding vehicle 100 is obtained. Then, the travel control device 10 follows the vehicle 1 so as to travel on the travel locus of the preceding vehicle 100 (for example, the locus T2 shown in FIG. 3) in a state of being shifted by the obtained offset amount.
As a result, the vehicle 1 travels on the locus T2 from the current position of the vehicle 1 along the traveling state of the preceding vehicle 100, not on the actual traveling locus of the preceding vehicle 100 (trajectory T1 shown in FIG. 3). , The running of the preceding vehicle 100 can be smoothly followed. In particular, when the amount of deviation of the vehicle 1 of the preceding vehicle 100 in the lateral direction is large, it is of great significance to perform control in consideration of the above-mentioned offset amount.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. be. For example, all or a part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in any unit. Also included in the embodiments of the present invention are new embodiments resulting from any combination of the plurality of embodiments. The effect of the new embodiment produced by the combination also has the effect of the original embodiment.

1 Vehicle 10 Travel control device 20 Peripheral recognition unit 24 Offset amount acquisition unit 26 Travel control unit 100 Leading vehicle

Claims (5)

It is a travel control device that controls follow-up travel that causes the own vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle in front.
A position specifying unit that specifies the position of the preceding vehicle, and
Obtaining an offset amount for obtaining the offset amount of the preceding vehicle so that the preceding vehicle is at the same position as the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction when the preceding vehicle is deviated from the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction. Department and
A follow-up control unit that causes the own vehicle to follow the running locus of the preceding vehicle in a state of being shifted by the offset amount.
A traveling control device. The offset amount acquisition unit
When the preceding vehicle is traveling within a predetermined range in the vehicle width direction and the preceding vehicle is deviated from the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction, the offset amount is obtained.
The travel control device according to claim 1. Further provided with a determination unit for determining whether or not the lane marking in front of the own vehicle is detected.
When it is determined that the lane marking is not detected, the follow-up control unit causes the own vehicle to follow and travel so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle in a state of being shifted by the offset amount.
The travel control device according to claim 1 or 2. A determination unit for determining whether or not the own vehicle travels on a curve is further provided.
When it is determined that the follow-up control unit travels on the curve, the follow-up control unit causes the own vehicle to follow and travel so as to travel on the travel locus of the preceding vehicle in a state of being shifted by the offset amount.
The travel control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It is a travel control method that controls follow-up travel that causes the own vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle in front.
The step of identifying the position of the preceding vehicle and
A step of obtaining an offset amount of the preceding vehicle so that the preceding vehicle is at the same position as the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction when the preceding vehicle is deviated from the own vehicle in the vehicle width direction.
A step of following the own vehicle so as to travel on the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle in a state of being shifted by the offset amount.
A running control method having.

Images