JP5774966B2 - Vehicle obstacle avoidance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle that performs control for avoiding contact with an obstacle.

  Conventionally, there are two methods for avoiding obstacles ahead of the vehicle by the obstacle avoidance device: avoidance by deceleration and avoidance by lateral movement. For example, in the device described in Patent Document 1, when the width of the obstacle next to the front of the vehicle is smaller than the width of the vehicle, it is determined that the obstacle cannot be avoided by lateral movement, and the obstacle is avoided by deceleration. Do.

JP 2004-299455 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the host vehicle is traveling over an adjacent lane, the width of the lane boundary line and the obstacle over which the host vehicle strides is smaller than the host vehicle width. There is a risk that obstacle avoidance due to movement is impossible, and obstacle avoidance due to unnecessary deceleration may be automatically performed. An object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle that can more appropriately avoid an obstacle.

  In order to achieve the above object, the obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle of the present invention permits obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction when the host vehicle travels across a lane boundary line.

  Therefore, obstacle avoidance by deceleration and obstacle avoidance by lateral movement can be appropriately selected to avoid obstacles more appropriately.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle equipped with an obstacle avoidance device. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an electronic control unit. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of obstacle avoidance control. A method for calculating an inaccessible area due to an obstacle will be described. A method for calculating the traffic prediction area of the host vehicle will be described. A method for determining the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the obstacle and calculating the required lateral movement amount will be described. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the avoidance distance in the obstacle avoidance by deceleration, and the obstacle avoidance by lateral movement. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process which calculates required lateral movement amount. The avoidance operation when the vehicle ahead crosses the front of the vehicle is shown (when the lane boundary is recognized). The avoidance operation when the preceding vehicle crosses the front of the host vehicle is shown (when the lane boundary is not recognized). The avoidance operation when the oncoming vehicle approaches after the start of obstacle avoidance is shown (when the required lateral movement amount is equal to or greater than the threshold when the oncoming vehicle approaches). The avoidance operation when the oncoming vehicle approaches after the start of obstacle avoidance is shown (when the avoidance width is equal to or less than the own vehicle width when approaching the oncoming vehicle). The avoidance operation when an oncoming vehicle approaches after starting obstacle avoidance is shown (when the required lateral movement amount is smaller than the threshold when the oncoming vehicle approaches).

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for realizing an obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a vehicle equipped with the obstacle avoidance apparatus of the first embodiment. The vehicle is a four-wheeled vehicle including a left front wheel FL, a right front wheel FR, a left rear wheel RL, and a right rear wheel RR, a front recognition sensor 1 that recognizes the front of the host vehicle, and a vehicle that detects the motion state of the host vehicle. An electronic control unit (electronic control unit ECU) 10 that outputs commands to various actuators (steering control mechanism 3 and brake control mechanism 4) to support travel based on information acquired by the motion detection sensor 2 and the sensors 1 and 2 Prepare. The front recognition sensor 1 recognizes the position of a front lane boundary line (lane mark such as a white line) and front obstacles (parked vehicles, oncoming vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, road structures such as guardrails and curbs). For example, a camera (monocular or stereo), a radar (laser or millimeter wave), or the like can be used. In the first embodiment, a camera is provided as the front recognition sensor 1. The vehicle motion detection sensor 2 detects various information indicating vehicle behavior, that is, vehicle speed, longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, yaw rate, steering angle, steering torque, and the like. Note that the longitudinal acceleration may be estimated by differentiating the detected vehicle speed with respect to time instead of using the sensor for detecting the longitudinal acceleration.

  The steering control mechanism 3 includes a power steering device 31. The steered wheels (left and right front wheels FL, FR) are steered according to the steering state (steering torque and steering angle) input by the driver (driver) via the steering wheel 30. The power steering device 31 is electric and drives the motor M based on the steering state to generate assist torque that assists the driver's steering torque. That is, the driver turns the vehicle via the steering control mechanism 3. The power steering device 31 is provided such that the motor M generates torque regardless of the driver's steering operation, and the steered state (steering angle and steered torque) of the steered wheels can be independently controlled. The brake control mechanism 4 includes an electric hydraulic brake unit 42. The pedaling force of the driver's brake pedal 40 is boosted by the brake booster 41, and hydraulic pressure corresponding to the force is generated by the master cylinder. The generated hydraulic pressure is supplied to the wheel cylinders 4FL to 4RR via the electric hydraulic brake unit 42. As a result, a braking force is generated in each of the wheels FL to RR in accordance with the driver's brake pedal operation. That is, the driver brakes the vehicle via the brake control mechanism 4. The electrohydraulic brake unit 42 has an actuator such as a pump and a solenoid valve driven by a motor, and has a braking force for the four wheels FL to RR (to the wheel cylinders 4FL to 4RR) regardless of the brake pedal operation by the driver. Supply hydraulic pressure) can be controlled independently. Note that there is no difference between the left and right braking force when the vehicle is braked by the master cylinder pressure generated by the driver's braking operation.

  The electronic control unit 10 receives input of information or detection values transmitted from the front recognition sensor 1 and the vehicle motion detection sensor 2, and calculates command values to be output to the steering control mechanism 3 and the brake control mechanism 4 based on these information. To do. The electronic control unit 10 controls the steering control mechanism 3 (power steering device 31) or the brake control mechanism 4 (electric hydraulic brake unit 42), and adjusts the steered state or the brake force distribution of each wheel. The yaw moment is provided in the vehicle. The electronic control unit 10 constitutes an obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle, and when there is a possibility that the vehicle contacts an obstacle recognized by the front recognition sensor 1, an obstacle that avoids the obstacle by deceleration or lateral movement Makes an object avoidance action. When avoiding an obstacle by deceleration, the electronic control unit 10 drives the electric hydraulic brake unit 42 to decelerate the vehicle without making a difference between the left and right braking forces of the four wheels FL to RR of the vehicle. When avoiding an obstacle by lateral movement, at least one of the power steering device 31 and the electrohydraulic brake unit 42 is driven, and a yaw moment is applied to the vehicle to avoid the obstacle. When the yaw moment is applied to the vehicle by the electrohydraulic brake unit 42, the yaw moment is applied to the vehicle with a difference between the left and right braking forces of the four wheels FL to RR of the vehicle. When the yaw moment is applied to the vehicle by the power steering device 31, the power steering device 31 receives both commands of the driver and the obstacle avoidance control, and drives by taking the sum of the two.

  As shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2, the electronic control unit 10 includes an obstacle recognition unit 11, a lane boundary recognition unit 12, a contact determination unit 13, and a distance recognition as each unit constituting the obstacle avoidance device. Unit 14 and avoidance direction selection unit 15. The obstacle recognition unit 11 recognizes the presence and position of an obstacle in front of the host vehicle based on information from the front recognition sensor 1. Based on information from the forward recognition sensor 1, the lane boundary recognition unit 12 recognizes the presence and position of a lane boundary in front of the host vehicle (for example, both left and right sides of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling). The contact determination unit 13 predicts a region in which the vehicle passes between the present time and a predetermined time based on the detection value from the vehicle motion detection sensor 2. In addition, an area where traffic is impossible due to the recognized obstacle is calculated. And based on these traffic prediction area | regions and an impassable area | region, it is judged whether there exists a possibility that a vehicle may contact an obstruction. The space recognition unit 14 uses the space between the recognized obstacle and the recognized lane boundary line (avoidance widths Wl and Wr) as a margin width (empty width) for avoiding the recognized obstacle in the horizontal direction. recognize. The avoidance direction selection unit 15 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling across the recognized interval (avoidance widths Wl and Wr), the calculated necessary lateral movement amount, and the recognized lane boundary line. On the basis of this determination, it is selected whether to execute obstacle avoidance by lateral movement or obstacle avoidance by deceleration.

Hereinafter, the processing of the obstacle avoidance device of the present invention will be described using the flowchart of FIG. This control flow is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle.
In step S <b> 1, the obstacle recognition unit 11 and the lane boundary recognition unit 12 detect vehicle motion states such as vehicle speed, longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, yaw rate, steering angle, and steering torque received from the vehicle motion detection sensor 2. Read the value. Also, the surrounding environment information such as the lane boundary position and the obstacle position received from the front recognition sensor 1 is read. As shown in FIG. 4, the position of the obstacle is recognized as a line segment parallel to the vehicle width direction, and the shape of the obstacle in the depth direction from the vehicle is unknown. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S2.

In the processing from step S2 to S4, the contact determination unit 13 determines whether or not the vehicle may contact an obstacle.
In step S2, an arbitrary point inside the vehicle or a point near the vehicle is set as the vehicle current position. As will be described later, two current vehicle positions are provided on the left and right to compare the positions with the left and right lane boundary lines. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle left front end and the right front end are set as the vehicle current position. Then, a position after a predetermined time of the current vehicle position is calculated as a predicted vehicle position from the vehicle motion detection value read in step S1 and the vehicle specifications stored in advance. The predicted vehicle position is calculated from speed, steering angle, yaw rate, vehicle width, vehicle length, camera mounting position, and the like. There are two predicted vehicle positions on the left and right because the positions are compared with the obstacles in the same manner as the current vehicle position. The trajectory from the left and right vehicle current positions to the predicted vehicle position is defined as the left and right vehicle trajectories, and is surrounded by a line segment connecting the left and right vehicle current positions, a line segment connecting the left and right vehicle predicted positions, and the left and right vehicle trajectories. This area is set as a traffic prediction area as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, an inaccessible area due to an obstacle is calculated. FIG. 4 shows an example of the calculation method. Although the obstacle is recognized as a line segment parallel to the vehicle width direction, the shape in the depth direction from the vehicle is unknown. Since the non-passable areas due to the obstacle 1 and the obstacle 2 in FIG. 4 have overlapping portions, they are combined into one non-passable area 1. Further, since the distance Wo2 in the vehicle width direction between the obstacle-inhibited area due to the obstacle 3 and the obstacle 4 is equal to or less than the vehicle width Wv, the area Ao1 sandwiched between the obstacle-inaccessible area due to the obstacle 3 and the obstacle 4 is also allowed to pass. It becomes a non-permitted area, and these become one non-passable area 2. On the other hand, since the distance Wo1 in the vehicle width direction between the obstacle-inhibited area due to the obstacle 2 and the obstacle 3 is larger than the vehicle width Wv, these inaccessible areas 1 and 2 are divided as separate areas. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, it is determined whether or not the vehicle may come into contact with an obstacle. Specifically, when a part of the predicted traffic region is included in the non-passable region, it is determined that the vehicle may contact an obstacle. In the example shown in FIG. 6, since the areas AC1 and AC2 in the predicted traffic area are included in the non-passable area, it is determined that there is a possibility of contact. When it is determined that there is a possibility that the vehicle is in contact with the obstacle in this way, the process proceeds to step S5, and when it is determined that there is no possibility, the process proceeds to return.

If it is determined in step S4 that the vehicle may come into contact with the obstacle, the avoidance direction selection unit 15 performs the obstacle avoidance by the deceleration in step S8 and the lateral movement in step S9 by the processes in steps S5 to S7. Select one of the obstacle avoidance by.
Here, when there is only one obstacle in front of the vehicle, consider a case where the obstacle is avoided by deceleration and a case where it is avoided by lateral movement. As a precondition, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling at a vehicle speed in the front-rear direction at the start of the avoidance operation, and the deceleration and lateral acceleration of the vehicle during the avoidance operation are equal and constant. The moving distance in the front-rear direction of the vehicle from the start of obstacle avoidance by deceleration until the vehicle stops is set as the deceleration avoidance distance, and the lateral movement necessary for avoiding the obstacle ends from the start of obstacle avoidance by lateral movement. The movement distance in the vehicle front-rear direction up to is the lateral movement avoidance distance. The avoidance distance according to the vehicle speed at the start of the avoidance operation has characteristics as shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows that avoidance by deceleration is effective when the vehicle speed is low, and avoidance by lateral movement is effective when the vehicle speed is high. For example, if the vehicle speed at which the deceleration avoidance distance and the lateral movement avoidance distance are equal is Vth, and the obstacle avoidance device operates at a vehicle speed Vth or higher, and there is only one obstacle in front of the vehicle, the deceleration avoidance distance Since the lateral movement avoidance distance is smaller, avoiding by lateral movement is more effective than avoiding by deceleration. Note that when the deceleration and lateral acceleration during the avoiding operation are small and the amount of lateral movement necessary for avoiding by lateral movement is small, the vehicle speed Vth is low. In the following description of steps S5 to S9, avoidance by deceleration and avoidance by lateral movement are selected based on such a premise.
Under such conditions, when comparing the acceleration in obstacle avoidance due to deceleration in step S8 and the acceleration in obstacle avoidance due to lateral movement in step S9, the acceleration is greater in obstacle avoidance due to deceleration. It feels as strong control.
In addition, among the portions included in the non-passable region in the traffic prediction region, the avoidance operation is sequentially performed on the region closest to the vehicle in the vehicle front-rear direction. For example, in the case of FIG. 6, the areas AC1 and AC2 in the predicted traffic area are included in the non-passable area, and it is determined in step S4 that the vehicle may come into contact with the obstacle. The process of S9 is an avoidance operation for the area AC1. As the avoidance operation for the area AC1, when the obstacle avoidance by the lateral movement in step S9 is selected in steps S5 to S7, the avoidance operation for the area AC2 is continuously performed.

In step S5, first, the interval recognition unit 14 calculates an avoidance width beside the non-passable area including the target area for the avoidance operation. In the example shown in FIG. 6, since the target area of the avoidance operation is AC1, the avoidance width beside the non-passable area 1 is calculated. Specifically, the area AC1 is defined as an area AC that extends to the maximum in the vehicle width direction within the non-passable area 1, and the minimum value in the vehicle width direction between the leftmost line segment of the area AC and the left lane boundary line Is the left avoidance width Wl, and the minimum value in the vehicle width direction between the right end line segment of the region AC and the right lane boundary is the right avoidance width Wr. The value of the avoidance width when there is no avoidance width (for example, when the area AC deviates from the lane in which the host vehicle travels) is set to 0. In FIG. 6, the left avoidance width Wl is 0, and the right avoidance width Wr is positive. The avoidance direction selection unit 15 sets a left lateral movement prohibition flag when the left avoidance width Wl is equal to or smaller than the vehicle width Wv (set to 1), and when the right avoidance width Wr is equal to or smaller than the vehicle width Wv, the right lateral movement prohibition flag is set. Stand up.
However, when the vehicle deviates from the lane (strides the lane boundary), the lateral movement in the departure direction is not prohibited, and the lateral movement prohibition flag in that direction is cleared (set to 0). That is, if the left vehicle current position is to the left of the left lane boundary line, the left side movement prohibition flag is cleared, and if the right vehicle current position is to the right of the right lane boundary line, the right side movement prohibition flag is cleared.
Here, the prohibition of lateral movement is determined from the interval between the impassable area and the lane boundary, and the interval Wo1 between the impassable area 1 and the impassable area 2 is not used for the lateral movement prohibition determination. This is because the non-passable area is calculated as shown in FIG. 4, and therefore the interval Wo1 in the vehicle width direction of the non-passable areas 1 and 2 is always larger than the vehicle width Wv.
If the avoidance width cannot be calculated because the lane boundary line is not recognized in step S1, the lateral movement prohibition flag in that direction (the avoidance width could not be calculated) is cleared (set to 0).
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S6, it is determined whether lateral movement is prohibited on both the left and right sides. When both the left and right lateral movement prohibition flags are 1, the process proceeds to step S8 and obstacle avoidance by deceleration is executed. When at least one of the left and right lateral movement prohibition flags is 0, the process proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, it is determined whether or not a lateral movement amount (necessary lateral movement amount d) necessary for obstacle avoidance by lateral movement is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
First, the left lateral movement amount dl and the right lateral movement amount dr are calculated. As shown in FIG. 6, the left lateral movement amount dl is the maximum value of the lateral movement amount from the right vehicle locus to the left end of the area AC, and the right lateral movement amount dr is the lateral movement from the left vehicle locus to the right end of the area AC. The maximum amount. When the left lateral movement is necessary for obstacle avoidance, the left lateral movement amount dl is positive, and when the left lateral movement is not necessary for obstacle avoidance, the left lateral movement is set to 0. The same applies to the right side. In the example of FIG. 6, both the left and right lateral movement amounts dl and dr are positive.

Next, according to the flowchart of FIG. 8, the required lateral movement amount d is obtained from the left and right lateral movement amounts dl and dr.
If both the left and right lateral movement prohibition flags are 0 in step S71, the process proceeds to step S72. When one of the left and right lateral movement prohibition flags is 1, the process proceeds to step S73.
In step S72, the left lateral movement amount dl is compared with the right lateral movement amount dr. If the left lateral movement amount dl is smaller than the right lateral movement amount dr, the process proceeds to step S74. When the left lateral movement amount dl is greater than or equal to the right lateral movement amount dr, the process proceeds to step S75.
If the left lateral movement prohibition flag is 0 in step S73, the process proceeds to step S74. When the left lateral movement prohibition flag is 1, the process proceeds to step S75.
In step S74, the required lateral movement amount d = dl, and in step S75, the required lateral movement amount d = −dr.
Next, when the absolute value of the required lateral movement amount d is equal to or greater than the threshold value d *, the process proceeds to step S8, and avoidance by deceleration is executed. If the absolute value of the required lateral movement amount d is smaller than the threshold value d *, the process proceeds to step S9. The threshold value d * is an upper limit value for suppressing the amount of lateral movement at the time of obstacle avoidance due to lateral movement from becoming too large, and can be, for example, the vehicle width Wv of the own vehicle.

In step S9, if the required lateral movement amount d is positive, obstacle avoidance by the left lateral movement is executed, and if the required lateral movement amount d is negative, obstacle avoidance by the right lateral movement is executed.
The above is the flow of the obstacle avoidance control.

[Operation of Example 1]
Next, the operation of the device 1 will be described. A specific operation for obstacle avoidance will be described with an example. In addition, although the threshold value d * of the absolute value of the required lateral movement amount d in step S7 in FIG. 3 is the vehicle width Wv in the following description, it may be adjusted to another value through experiments or the like.

First, the avoidance operation when the front vehicle crosses the front of the host vehicle as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 will be described. FIG. 9 shows a case where a lane boundary line is recognized, and FIG. 10 shows a case where a lane boundary line is not recognized.
In FIG. 9A, the predicted vehicle position is in front of the preceding vehicle, and obstacle avoidance does not operate (steps S1, S2, S3, S4, and return in FIG. 3). If the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle move forward as shown in FIG. 9B, the vehicle predicted position overlaps with the preceding vehicle, so that obstacle avoidance operates (S1->S2->S3->S4-> S5). In FIG. 9B, since the right avoidance width Wr, which is the distance between the front vehicle and the right lane boundary line, is larger than the vehicle width Wv and the right lateral movement amount dr is smaller than the threshold value d * (vehicle width Wv), the right lateral movement is performed. Obstacle avoidance is performed by (S5 → S6 → S7 → S9). Further, when the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle move forward, the result is as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9 (c), the right lateral movement amount dr is not greatly reduced because the preceding vehicle has advanced in the right direction despite the avoidance operation by the right lateral movement in FIG. 9 (b). The right avoidance width Wr becomes equal to or smaller than the vehicle width Wr, and obstacle avoidance by deceleration is performed (S5 → S6 → S8).

  In FIG. 10 (a), the predicted vehicle position is in front of the preceding vehicle as in FIG. 9 (a), and obstacle avoidance does not operate. If the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle move forward as shown in FIG. 10B, the predicted vehicle position overlaps with the preceding vehicle, so that obstacle avoidance operates. In FIG. 10B, since the lane boundary is not recognized, obstacle avoidance by deceleration and obstacle avoidance by lateral movement are selected according to the magnitude of the right lateral movement amount dr (S5 → S6 → S7). In FIG. 10B, since the right lateral movement amount dr is smaller than the threshold value d * (vehicle width Wv), obstacle avoidance by right lateral movement is performed (S7 → S8). When the forward speed of the forward vehicle is large despite the obstacle avoidance operation due to the right lateral movement in FIG. 10B, the right lateral movement amount dr is the threshold value d * (vehicle width) as shown in FIG. The obstacle avoidance operation by deceleration is started at the time when it becomes equal to or higher than (Wv) (S7 → S8).

Next, an avoidance operation when an oncoming vehicle approaches after starting obstacle avoidance as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 will be described.
Assume that the left lane is recognized in FIG. The right-side avoidance width Wr is less than or equal to the vehicle width Wv, but the current position of the right-hand vehicle is outside the right-hand lane boundary (the vehicle has crossed the lane-boundary line and deviated from the right-hand lane). Is not prohibited (S5 → S6 → S7). Further, since the right side lateral movement amount dr is also smaller than the threshold value d * (vehicle width Wv), an obstacle avoiding operation by right side lateral movement is performed (S7 → S9). After that, when the oncoming vehicle approaches as shown in FIG. 11B and the distance Wo between the obstacle 1 and the oncoming vehicle is equal to or smaller than the vehicle width Wv, a non-passable area is calculated by the obstacle 1 and the oncoming vehicle (S3). An obstacle avoidance operation is performed on the area AC as follows. That is, while the left lane is recognized in FIG. 11A, if the right lane is recognized in FIG. 11B, first, the right avoidance width Wr is equal to or less than the vehicle width Wv. Right side movement is prohibited. Furthermore, since the left side vehicle current position is outside the left lane boundary line, the left side lateral movement is not prohibited by the left side avoidance width, but the left side lateral movement amount dl is equal to or greater than the threshold value d * (vehicle width Wv). An obstacle avoidance operation is performed (S5 → S6 → S7 → S8).

  In FIG. 12A, the obstacle avoiding operation by the right side movement is performed as in FIG. After that, when the avoidance operation for the obstacle 1 is completed, when the oncoming vehicle approaches and becomes as shown in FIG. An avoidance operation is performed (S5 → S6 → S8).

  Also in FIG. 13A, the obstacle avoiding operation by the right lateral movement is performed as in FIGS. 11A and 12A. After that, when the oncoming vehicle approaches during the lane change and becomes as shown in FIG. 13 (b), the distance Wo between the obstacle 1 and the oncoming vehicle is larger than the vehicle width Wv. The obstacle avoiding operation for the oncoming vehicle is performed. At this time, if the recognized lane is the right side, the right side lateral movement is prohibited because the right side avoidance width Wr is equal to or smaller than the vehicle width Wv. Further, since the current position of the left vehicle is outside the left lane boundary line, the left lateral movement is not prohibited depending on the left avoidance width, and the left lateral movement amount dl is smaller than the threshold value d * (vehicle width Wv). An obstacle avoidance operation by movement is performed (S5 → S6 → S7 → S9).

  Conventionally, there are two methods for avoiding obstacles ahead of the vehicle: avoidance by deceleration and avoidance by lateral movement. For example, in the device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-298022, the distance to an obstacle that can be avoided by deceleration is the first inter-vehicle distance, and the distance to the obstacle that can be avoided by lateral movement is the second inter-vehicle distance. By avoiding obstacles by deceleration when the distance to the obstacle is less than the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance, unnecessary automatic deceleration when the driver tries to avoid the obstacle by lateral movement We are trying to suppress it. In addition, the device described in Patent Document 1 determines that it is impossible to avoid an obstacle by lateral movement when the vacant width next to the obstacle in front of the vehicle is smaller than the width of the host vehicle. It tries to choose avoidance appropriately. However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-298022, the selection of deceleration and lateral movement is based only on vehicle movement, so that even when the vacant width next to the obstacle is smaller than the own vehicle width, for example, There are cases where it is determined that avoidance is possible and automatic deceleration is not performed. Moreover, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1, when the host vehicle is running over an adjacent lane, the width between the lane boundary line over which the vehicle is straddled and the obstacle is smaller than the host vehicle width. In other cases, it is determined that it is impossible to avoid an obstacle by lateral movement, and unnecessary automatic deceleration is performed.

On the other hand, the apparatus of Example 1 calculates | requires the space | intervals Wl and Wr of the obstruction ahead of the own vehicle, and a lane boundary line about both right and left sides, and by the lateral movement to the direction where the space | interval is below the width Wv of the own vehicle Prohibit obstacle avoidance. However, obstacle avoidance by lateral movement in the protruding direction is not prohibited when the vehicle is traveling across adjacent lanes. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, even in a situation where an obstacle is avoided while traveling across a lane boundary (for example, during lane change), obstacle avoidance due to deceleration and obstacle due to lateral movement Avoidance can be selected appropriately. Therefore, an obstacle can be avoided more appropriately.
Further, the apparatus of the first embodiment obtains the lateral movement amounts dl and dr when the obstacle ahead of the host vehicle is avoided by lateral movement in both the left and right sides, and moves in the direction in which the required lateral movement amount d is equal to or greater than the threshold value d *. Obstacle avoidance by lateral movement is prohibited. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10C and FIG. 11B, excessive lateral movement can be suppressed and obstacles can be avoided more appropriately.
In addition, when the obstacle avoidance by lateral movement is prohibited on both the left and right sides according to either of the above two conditions, the apparatus of the first embodiment avoids the obstacle by deceleration and the obstacle avoidance by the lateral movement is either left or right. If possible, avoid obstacles by moving sideways. At this time, if obstacles can be avoided by lateral movement on either the left or right side, the lateral movement amounts dl and dr are avoided in the direction in which the lateral movement amounts dl and dr are small (steps S72 → S74 or S75 → S9 in FIG. 8). Therefore, an obstacle can be avoided with a smaller amount of lateral movement, and the obstacle can be avoided more efficiently.

[Effect of Example 1]
The effects of the vehicle obstacle avoidance device of the first embodiment will be listed below.
(1) An obstacle recognition unit 11 that recognizes an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle, a lane boundary recognition unit 12 that recognizes a lane boundary line between the left and right lanes where the host vehicle is traveling, and the recognized obstacle The distance recognition unit 14 for recognizing the distances Wl and Wr from the recognized lane boundary line, and the obstacle in the lateral direction in the direction in which the recognized distances Wl and Wr are equal to or smaller than the preset width Wv of the host vehicle Object avoidance is prohibited, obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction in which the intervals Wl and Wr are larger than the width Wv of the own vehicle is permitted, and the vehicle is sideways when the vehicle is traveling across the recognized lane boundary line. An avoidance direction selection unit 15 that permits obstacle avoidance in the direction and decelerates the vehicle when obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction is prohibited.
Therefore, obstacle avoidance by deceleration and obstacle avoidance by lateral movement can be appropriately selected.

(2) When the left and right intervals Wl and Wr recognized by the interval recognizing unit 14 are both larger than the width Wv of the host vehicle, the avoidance direction selection unit 15 proceeds in a direction in which the lateral movement amounts dl and dr are small. Allow obstacle avoidance.
Therefore, an obstacle can be avoided with a smaller amount of lateral movement.

(3) When the avoidance direction selection unit 15 permits the obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction, if the calculated lateral movement amounts dl and dr are larger than the predetermined threshold value d *, the obstacle in the lateral direction Decelerate the vehicle without avoiding it.
Therefore, excessive lateral movement can be suppressed.

[Other embodiments]
As mentioned above, although the form for implement | achieving this invention has been demonstrated based on Example 1, the concrete structure of this invention is not limited to Example 1, and is the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention. Design changes and the like are included in the present invention. For example, the power steering device is not limited to an electric type, and may be an electric hydraulic type. Further, the steering control mechanism 3 or the brake control mechanism 4 as means for applying the yaw moment to the vehicle is not limited to that of the first embodiment, and for example, a steer-by-wire type steering system or a brake-by-wire type The brake system may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Front recognition sensor 2 Vehicle motion detection sensor 3 Steering control mechanism 4 Brake control mechanism 10 Electronic control unit 11 Obstacle recognition part 12 Lane boundary recognition part 13 Contact judgment part 14 Spacing recognition part 15 Avoidance direction selection part

Claims (3)

An obstacle recognition unit that recognizes an obstacle ahead of the host vehicle;
A lane boundary recognition unit for recognizing the lane boundary lines of the left and right lanes where the host vehicle is traveling;
An interval recognition unit for recognizing an interval between the recognized obstacle and the recognized lane boundary;
The obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction in the direction in which the recognized interval is equal to or smaller than the width of the own vehicle is prohibited, and the obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction in the direction larger than the width of the own vehicle is permitted. ,
When the host vehicle is running across the recognized lane boundary line, it allows obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction regardless of whether the recognized interval is equal to or less than the width of the host vehicle ,
An obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle, comprising: an avoidance direction selection unit that decelerates the vehicle when obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction is prohibited.

The obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle according to claim 1,
The avoidance direction selection unit permits obstacle avoidance in a direction in which a lateral movement amount is small when both the left and right intervals recognized by the interval recognition unit are larger than the width of the host vehicle. A vehicle obstacle avoidance device. The obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,
When the avoidance direction selection unit permits the obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction, if the calculated lateral movement amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the obstacle avoidance in the lateral direction is not performed. An obstacle avoidance device for a vehicle characterized in that the vehicle is decelerated.

Images