JP6477377B2 - Vehicle control apparatus and vehicle control method - Google Patents

Description

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

  A technique has been proposed in which the position of another vehicle existing in the forward direction of the host vehicle is detected, and the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle is used to determine whether or not the other vehicle is to be subject to follow-up control. ing.

  For example, in the one described in Patent Document 1, when the traveling locus of a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the traveling direction of the own vehicle and the traveling locus of a parallel vehicle traveling in parallel with the own vehicle are parallel, It follows the preceding car. Further, when the traveling tracks are not parallel, the preceding vehicle is not followed. In this case, when the preceding vehicle changes lanes, the traveling locus of the preceding vehicle and the traveling locus of the parallel running vehicle are not parallel, so that it is avoided to follow the preceding vehicle that has changed the lane. .

JP 2004-322916 A

  By the way, in the thing of patent document 1, it is possible to determine the preceding vehicle which drive | works ahead of the own vehicle as a tracking target in the state in which the travel locus has extended to the traveling position of the own vehicle. For this reason, when the travel locus does not extend to the own vehicle, it is necessary to wait for the travel locus to extend to the own vehicle, and a delay occurs in the start of the follow-up control. In this respect, it is considered that there is room for technical improvement as a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method for discriminating another vehicle as a tracking target.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method capable of determining another vehicle to be followed immediately and starting the follow-up control. .

  Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.

  A vehicle control device and a vehicle control method according to the present invention are vehicle control devices that perform tracking control of a host vehicle with another vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle as a tracking target, and determine the travel position of the other vehicle in a predetermined acquisition cycle. The distance from the own vehicle to the travel locus in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the own vehicle, and a locus generation unit that generates a travel locus of the other vehicle from a plurality of travel positions along the travel route of the other vehicle. A lateral distance calculation unit that calculates a lateral distance, a trajectory determination unit that determines a tracking trajectory that the own vehicle should follow among the travel trajectories of other vehicles, and determines whether the following trajectory extends to the own vehicle A first lateral distance acquisition unit that acquires the lateral distance at the trajectory position at the current position of the host vehicle as the first lateral distance when it is determined that the tracking trajectory extends to the host vehicle; If it is determined that it has not extended, A second lateral distance acquisition unit that acquires a lateral distance at any position as a second lateral distance, and a tracking control unit that performs tracking control based on the first lateral distance or the second lateral distance. It is characterized by that.

  According to the above configuration, when another vehicle is traveling ahead of the host vehicle, a travel locus along the travel route of the other vehicle is generated from the travel position of the other vehicle. In addition, a follow-up locus that the own vehicle should follow is determined from the travel locus of the other vehicle, and it is determined whether the follow-up locus extends to the own vehicle. At this time, when it is determined that the tracking locus extends to the own vehicle, the lateral distance at the locus position at the current position of the own vehicle is calculated as the first lateral distance. If it is determined that the tracking locus does not extend to the host vehicle, the lateral distance is calculated as the second lateral distance at any position in the tracking locus. Follow-up control of the own vehicle that follows the other vehicle to be followed from the locus position of the first lateral distance or the second lateral distance along the follow-up locus is performed. In this case, even if the traveling locus does not extend in the vicinity of the own vehicle, the other vehicle to be followed can be determined. As a result, it is possible to determine the other vehicle that should follow quickly and start the follow-up control.

The schematic block diagram of a vehicle control system. The figure explaining the determination about a tracking locus | trajectory and lateral distance acquisition. The figure explaining the locus | trajectory determination and lateral distance acquisition at the time of the lane change of the own vehicle, and the interruption of another vehicle. The flowchart which shows a follow-up control process. The figure explaining lateral distance acquisition using a prediction course.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a vehicle control device is embodied will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle control device according to the present embodiment is mounted on the own vehicle, and performs follow-up control of the own vehicle that follows the follow target, with another vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle as the follow target. The vehicle control device has an ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) function, and controls the vehicle speed of the host vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and another vehicle to be followed. First, a schematic configuration of the vehicle control system of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, a vehicle control ECU 10 that is a vehicle control device is connected to a radar device 21 as a distance measuring device provided in the vehicle, and detection information is input from the radar device 21 to the vehicle control ECU 10.

  The radar device 21 is a detection device that detects an object by transmitting an electromagnetic wave as a transmission wave and receiving the reflected wave, and is configured by a millimeter wave radar in this embodiment. The radar device 21 is attached to the front portion of the host vehicle, and scans a region extending over a range of a predetermined angle from the front of the vehicle with the optical axis as a center by using a radar signal. In this scanning, an object existing in a range from the own vehicle to about 200 m is detected. Then, distance measurement data is created based on the time from when an electromagnetic wave is transmitted toward the front of the vehicle until the reflected wave is received, and the created distance measurement data is sequentially output to the vehicle control ECU 10. The distance measurement data includes detection information related to the position and speed of the object with respect to the host vehicle.

  The vehicle control ECU 10 is a computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, and the like. In the vehicle control ECU 10, the CPU executes various programs related to driving control of the vehicle by executing a program installed in the ROM. In this case, control signals for controlling the engine 31, the brake device 32, and the steering device 33 are appropriately output so as to perform the follow-up control with the other vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle as the follow-up target.

  Moreover, vehicle control ECU10 performs control which determines the other vehicle which drive | works ahead of the own vehicle as a tracking object as a function for performing tracking control. Specifically, the vehicle control ECU 10 implements the functions of the trajectory generation unit 11, the distance calculation unit 12, the trajectory determination unit 13, the lateral distance acquisition unit 14, and the follow-up control unit 15.

  The trajectory generation unit 11 acquires the travel position of the other vehicle from the radar device 21 at a predetermined cycle, and generates a travel trajectory of the other vehicle based on the travel position. Note that the radar device 21 and an imaging device (not shown) may be acquired to generate a fusion target of another vehicle at a predetermined period, and a traveling locus of the other vehicle may be generated using the fusion target.

  The distance calculation unit 12 calculates, for each trajectory point, a lateral distance that is a distance between the current position of the own vehicle and each trajectory point forming the travel trajectory in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the own vehicle. The distance calculation unit 12 calculates a vertical distance that is a distance from the current position of the own vehicle to the current position of the other vehicle in the traveling direction of the own vehicle based on the current position of the other vehicle acquired from the radar device 21. .

  The trajectory determination unit 13 determines whether or not the own vehicle is a following trajectory of the other vehicle's travel trajectory. Specifically, first, the trajectory determination unit 13 determines that the trajectory is a follow-up trajectory when the lateral distance is a travel trajectory that falls within a predetermined range from the present to the past that is traced back by a predetermined period. In this case, for example, when the lateral distance is within the predetermined range from the present to the past that is traced back for a predetermined period, and before that, if the lateral distance is outside the predetermined range, the portion of the travel period of the predetermined period is Follow-up trajectory. The predetermined range may be set to a size within the lane width centered in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle (for example, −1.5 to +1.5 m). In addition, when there are a plurality of travel trajectories whose lateral distances are within the predetermined range for the predetermined period, the trajectory determination unit 13 travels from another vehicle having the smallest vertical distance among the travel trajectories. Is determined as a tracking locus.

  The lateral distance acquisition unit 14 has a tracking locus extending to the current position of the host vehicle, and each of the points between the current position of the host vehicle calculated by the distance calculation unit 12 and each of the locus points forming the tracking locus. Among the lateral distances, the lateral distance at the current position of the vehicle is acquired. The trajectory points are acquired at a predetermined cycle, and it is preferable to acquire the lateral distance at the current position of the own vehicle using the trajectory point closest to the own vehicle. That is, the lateral distance is acquired at the trajectory points that are aligned with the own vehicle.

  The follow-up control unit 15 transmits a control command to the engine 31, the brake device 32, and the steering device 33 in order to keep the vertical distance from the other vehicle that is the follow-up object along the follow-up locus. Specifically, when the inter-vehicle distance with the other vehicle to be tracked becomes small, a command to reduce the torque of the engine 31 is transmitted to decelerate. When the inter-vehicle distance with the other vehicle to be followed increases, a command for increasing the torque of the engine 31 is transmitted to accelerate the vehicle. In addition, when the inter-vehicle distance with the other vehicle to be tracked decreases rapidly, a command to make the fuel injection amount zero is transmitted to the engine 31 and a command to operate the brake device 32 is performed. In addition, a control command is transmitted to the steering device 33 so that the travel route of the own vehicle overlaps the follow-up locus of the other vehicle that is the subject of follow-up, and the course of the own vehicle is controlled. Specifically, it assists the steering operation by the driver, or performs automatic steering if the steering operation is not performed by the driver.

  By the way, when the tracking locus does not extend to the own vehicle, the lateral distance at the current position of the own vehicle cannot be acquired. In this case, since the tracking control is not started until the tracking locus extends to the current position of the host vehicle, there is a concern that the start of the tracking control is delayed.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the tracking locus does not extend to the own vehicle, the lateral distance is acquired from the locus point of the locus end position closest to the own vehicle in the following locus, and the tracking control is started. Specifically, the trajectory determination unit 13 determines whether or not it is a follow-up trajectory in addition to determining whether the own vehicle is a follow-up trajectory among the travel trajectories of other vehicles. It is determined whether the tracking locus extends to the vehicle. When the trajectory determination unit 13 determines that the follow-up trajectory extends to the host vehicle, the lateral distance acquisition unit 14 determines, in the follow-up trajectory, of the lateral distance at each trajectory point calculated by the distance calculation unit 12. The lateral distance at the trajectory point lying side by side with respect to the current position of the host vehicle is acquired as the first lateral distance. On the other hand, when it is determined by the trajectory determination unit 13 that the following trajectory does not extend to the host vehicle, the lateral distance acquisition unit 14 determines the lateral distance at each trajectory point calculated by the distance calculation unit 12 in the following trajectory. Among these, the lateral distance at the locus point of the locus end position closest to the host vehicle is acquired as the second lateral distance. Then, the follow-up control unit 15 starts follow-up control based on the first and second lateral distances.

  The determination of the tracking locus and the lateral distance acquisition will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, two other vehicles 41 and 42 having different vertical distances travel in front of the traveling direction of the host vehicle 40, and the other vehicle 41 travels closer to the host vehicle 40 than the other vehicle 42. The detection area of the radar device 21 reaches the rear part of the other vehicles 41 and 42. Further, the travel locus T1 of the other vehicle 41 does not extend to the own vehicle 40, and the travel locus T2 of the other vehicle 42 extends to the own vehicle 40.

  In FIG. 2, the trajectory determination unit 13 determines that the lateral distances W1 and W2 in the travel trajectories T1 and T2 are within the predetermined range D from the present to the past retroactive by a predetermined period. In addition, the trajectory determination unit 13 determines that the travel trajectory T1 from the other vehicle 41 having a smaller vertical distance is the tracking trajectory among the vertical distances L1 and L2 from the other vehicles 41 and 42.

  In addition, when the trajectory determination unit 13 determines that the follow-up trajectory does not extend to the host vehicle 40, the lateral distance acquisition unit 14 is most similar to the host vehicle 40 in the host vehicle reference coordinate system in the follow-up trajectory. The lateral distance at the locus point P1 at the near locus end position is acquired as the second lateral distance.

  Here, when changing the lane of the own vehicle, in the adjacent lane to which the lane is changed, the situation in which another vehicle is traveling in front of the own vehicle, the other lane in which the own vehicle is traveling, It is conceivable that a situation occurs where the vehicle changes lanes and travels in front of the host vehicle (interrupt traveling). Even in this case, at the beginning after the lane change of the own vehicle or after the interruption of the other vehicle, it is considered that the tracking locus from the other vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle does not extend to the own vehicle. .

  The trajectory determination and lateral distance acquisition when the lane of the own vehicle is changed and when another vehicle is interrupted will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A shows a situation where another vehicle 41 is traveling as a preceding vehicle in the adjacent lane to which the lane is changed when the lane of the host vehicle 40 is changed, and FIG. 3B is traveling in the adjacent lane. The situation where the other vehicle 41 changes to the own lane and interrupts in front of the own vehicle 40 is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the course of the own vehicle 40 changes to the adjacent lane side on which the other vehicle 41 is traveling, so that the own vehicle 40 approaches the travel locus T3 of the other vehicle 41, The lateral distance of the travel locus T3 of the other vehicle 41 enters the predetermined range D. After the lane change of the own vehicle 40, the own vehicle 40 travels in the same lane behind the other vehicle 41 as the other vehicle 41 is traveling, so that the trajectory determination unit 13 causes the travel trajectory T3 of the other vehicle 41 to travel. Among these, the range F in which the lateral distance is within the predetermined range D is determined as the tracking locus. At this time, the tracking locus does not extend to the own vehicle 40 at the beginning of the lane change of the own vehicle 40. In this case, the trajectory determining unit 13 determines that the following trajectory does not extend to the vehicle 40, and the lateral distance acquisition unit 14 is a second lateral distance that is a lateral distance at the trajectory point P2 of the trajectory end position in the following trajectory. To get.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the travel track T4 of the other vehicle 41 approaches the host vehicle 40 by the course of the other vehicle 41 changing to the own lane side on which the host vehicle 40 is traveling. The lateral distance at each locus point in the traveling locus T4 of the other vehicle 41 falls within the predetermined range D. After the interruption of the other vehicle 41, the other vehicle 41 travels in the own lane in front of the own vehicle 40, so that the trajectory determination unit 13 has the lateral distance within the predetermined range D in the travel locus T <b> 4 of the other vehicle 41. The range F is determined as the tracking locus. At the beginning of the lane change of the other vehicle 41, the follow-up locus does not extend to the own vehicle 40. In this case, similarly to FIG. 3A, the trajectory determination unit 13 determines that the follow-up trajectory does not extend to the vehicle 40, and the lateral distance acquisition unit 14 uses the trajectory point P3 at the trajectory end position in the follow-up trajectory. The second lateral distance that is the lateral distance of is acquired.

  Next, the follow-up control process performed by the vehicle control ECU 10 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. This process is repeatedly performed by the vehicle control ECU 10 at a predetermined cycle.

  First, in step S11, the radar device 21 acquires the traveling position of another vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle at a predetermined acquisition cycle. Here, the acquisition cycle for acquiring the travel position is variably set. Specifically, when the number of acquisitions since the start of the acquisition of the travel position is small, the acquisition cycle is set small. In this case, when generation of a travel locus is started in a situation where the distance between the other vehicle and the own vehicle is small, the number of times of acquisition is reduced due to the short time that the travel locus extends to the own vehicle. Is set small. It should be noted that the acquisition cycle may be reduced when the lateral variation is large for a plurality of travel positions of other vehicles.

  If “YES” in the step S12, the process proceeds to a step S13 to generate a travel locus of the other vehicle based on the travel position of the other vehicle. In the subsequent step S14, it is determined whether or not there is a follow-up locus for the own vehicle to follow in the travel locus of the other vehicle. In this case, among the travel tracks of the other vehicles, the travel track having the shortest vertical distance and the lateral distance within a predetermined range is determined as a tracking track so that the host vehicle can follow.

  When YES is determined in the step S14, the process proceeds to a step S15, and it is determined whether or not the tracking locus extends to the own vehicle. On the other hand, if the answer is NO in either step S12 or S14, the process is terminated.

  If YES in step S15, the process proceeds to step S16, and the lateral distance at the locus position at the current position of the host vehicle is acquired as the first lateral distance. On the other hand, if NO in step S15, the process proceeds to step S17, and the lateral distance at the locus end position of the tracking locus is acquired as the second lateral distance.

  After acquiring the first lateral distance or the second lateral distance in steps S16 and S17, the process proceeds to step S18, and based on the first lateral distance or the second lateral distance, the follow-up control of the own vehicle is started with the other vehicle as the follow-up target. To end this processing.

  As mentioned above, according to this embodiment explained in full detail, the following outstanding effects are acquired.

  When it is determined that the following locus of the other vehicle ahead of the own vehicle extends to the own vehicle, the lateral distance at the locus position at the current position of the own vehicle is calculated as the first lateral distance. If it is determined that the tracking locus does not extend to the host vehicle, the lateral distance is calculated as the second lateral distance at any position in the tracking locus. In this case, even if the traveling locus does not extend in the vicinity of the own vehicle, the other vehicle to be followed can be determined. As a result, it is possible to determine the other vehicle that should follow quickly and start the follow-up control.

  The range in which the lateral distance is within the predetermined range in the traveling locus is determined as the tracking locus. In this case, even if the lateral distance at the trajectory end position of the traveling trajectory or the trajectory position at the current position of the host vehicle is outside the predetermined range, the lateral distance goes back from the predetermined range to outside the predetermined range from the present to the past. The lateral distance at the locus position at the time can be acquired as the second lateral distance. For this reason, if there is a range in which the lateral distance is within the predetermined range, the traveling locus in that range can be determined as the tracking locus. In this case, even when the own vehicle changes lanes or when another vehicle interrupts the front in the traveling direction of the own vehicle, it can be determined as a tracking locus among the traveling tracks of the other vehicle. As a result, even when the vehicle changes to the next lane or when another vehicle interrupts the front of the own vehicle, the other vehicle traveling in the front of the own vehicle may be subject to tracking. it can.

  Among the traveling tracks of other vehicles, the traveling track having the shortest vertical distance and the lateral distance within a predetermined range is determined as a tracking track so that the own vehicle can follow. In this case, for example, it is suppressed that the other vehicle that travels in the lane farther than the own lane is determined as the tracking target on the road of one side multiple lanes. In addition, even when there are a plurality of travel loci whose lateral distance is within the predetermined range, the travel trajectory from the other vehicle having the smallest vertical distance to the other vehicle is determined as the follow-up trajectory. The other vehicle to be tracked can be determined in consideration of the traveling order of the other vehicle.

  When the number of travel position acquisitions is small or when the variation of a plurality of travel positions stored in time series is large, it is considered that the reliability of the travel locus generated based on these travel positions is low. In this regard, the acquisition cycle is variably set based on the number of acquisitions since the start of the acquisition of the travel position or the variation of the acquired plurality of travel positions. For this reason, in the situation where the reliability of the travel locus is lowered as described above, the number of times of acquisition of the travel position is increased by reducing the acquisition cycle, and the reliability of the travel locus can be improved. As a result, the other vehicle to be tracked can be accurately determined.

(Other examples)
The above embodiment may be modified as follows, for example.

  The predicted route C from the current position of the host vehicle 40 in the forward direction of the host vehicle 40 may be calculated, and the second lateral distance may be calculated using the predicted route C. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a predicted lateral distance W3 that is the distance from the travel locus T4 of the other vehicle 41 to the predicted route C in the direction orthogonal to the predicted route C is calculated. Then, in the follow-up locus of the range F in which the lateral distance is within the predetermined range in the travel locus T4, the predicted lateral distance W3 at any position in the follow-up locus is calculated as the second lateral distance. In this case, the vehicle 40 is provided with a yaw rate sensor, and the curvature (estimated R) of the lane in which the vehicle 40 is traveling is calculated from the yaw angle detected by the yaw rate sensor and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor. A predicted route C may be calculated from the estimated R. Note that the calculation method of the estimated R is not limited to this. For example, the image data may be acquired from the imaging device and may be calculated using the image data, or may be calculated using the steering angle and the vehicle speed sensor detected by the steering angle sensor. It may be calculated from the detected vehicle speed. Further, not only the predicted route C is calculated from the estimated R, but a navigation system may be provided in the host vehicle 40 and the predicted route C of the host vehicle 40 calculated by the navigation system may be used.

  According to the said structure, while calculating the predicted path | route of the own vehicle, it was set as the structure which calculates the distance from the locus | trajectory edge position of the driving | running | working locus | trajectory in the direction orthogonal to a predicted path | route as a 2nd lateral distance. In this case, when determining the other vehicle whose route has been changed as the subject to be tracked, it can be suitably performed in consideration of the predicted route of the vehicle.

  The second lateral distance is not limited to the lateral distance at the trajectory point of the trajectory end position in the following trajectory, and is the lateral distance at any trajectory point from the current position of the other vehicle to the trajectory end position in the following trajectory. Also good.

  In determining the tracking locus, the predetermined range of the lateral distance is exemplified, but the range is not limited to the exemplified value. Further, the predetermined range may be set variably. For example, a lane width or a road type may be acquired from map information provided in a car navigation device provided in the host vehicle, and a predetermined range may be set based on the lane width or road type.

  Although the radar device 21 is used as the distance measuring device, the present invention is not limited to this, and any configuration such as a locator, an image sensor, or a lidar can be used. The image sensor may be a compound eye camera such as a stereo camera.

  -Although the other vehicle with the shortest vertical distance is determined as the tracking target, the vehicle with the shortest relative distance may be selected instead of the vertical distance.

  In the embodiment, the vehicle control ECU 10 is caused to execute the function of ACC. However, the function of the vehicle control ECU 10 is not limited to ACC. LCS (Lane Change Support) that warns the driver or restricts lane changes when the lane of the own vehicle 40 is changed, TJA (Traffic Jam Assist) that automates low-speed driving in traffic jams, and the distance between the preceding vehicles In the case of contraction, a function such as PCS (Pre Crush Safety) that operates a brake or the like to avoid collision or reduce collision damage may be executed. In the embodiment, the driver drives a vehicle on which the vehicle control ECU 10 is mounted. However, the vehicle control ECU 10 is provided with an automatic driving function, or the vehicle control according to the embodiment is applied to a vehicle having an automatic driving function. The ECU 10 may be mounted.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle control ECU (vehicle control apparatus) 11 ... Trajectory production | generation part, 12 ... Distance calculation part (lateral distance calculation part), 13 ... Trajectory determination part, 14 ... Lateral distance acquisition part (1st lateral distance acquisition part, 2nd Lateral distance acquisition unit), 15 ... follow-up control unit, 40 ... own vehicle, 41, 42 ... other vehicle.

Claims (6)

A vehicle control device (10) that performs follow-up control of the own vehicle with other vehicles (41, 42) traveling in front of the own vehicle (40) as follow-up targets,
A trajectory generator (11) that acquires a travel position of the other vehicle at a predetermined acquisition cycle, and generates a travel locus of the other vehicle from a plurality of the travel positions along a travel route of the other vehicle;
A lateral distance calculation unit (12) that calculates a lateral distance that is a distance from the host vehicle to the travel locus in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the host vehicle;
A trajectory determination unit (13) for determining a tracking trajectory that the host vehicle should follow in the traveling trajectory of the other vehicle, and determining whether the tracking trajectory extends to the host vehicle;
A first lateral distance acquisition unit (14) that acquires, as a first lateral distance, the lateral distance at the trajectory position at the current position of the host vehicle when it is determined that the following track extends to the host vehicle;
A second lateral distance acquisition unit (14) that acquires, as a second lateral distance, the lateral distance at any position in the following locus when it is determined that the following locus does not extend to the host vehicle;
A follow-up control unit (15) for performing the follow-up control based on the first lateral distance or the second lateral distance;
A vehicle control device comprising:   The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the trajectory determination unit determines a range in the travel trajectory in which the lateral distance is within a predetermined range as the following trajectory. A longitudinal distance calculation unit (12) that calculates a longitudinal distance that is a distance from the own vehicle to the other vehicle in the traveling direction of the own vehicle;
When there are a plurality of travel loci in which the lateral distance is within the predetermined range, the trajectory determination unit determines the travel trajectory from the other vehicle having the smallest vertical distance in the travel trajectory as the follow-up trajectory. The vehicle control device according to claim 2 for determination.   The acquisition period setting part which sets the said acquisition period variably based on the frequency | count of acquisition after starting acquisition of the driving | running | working position of the said other vehicle, or the fluctuation | variation of the acquired some said driving | running | working position is provided. The vehicle control device according to any one of the above. A route calculation unit (12) for calculating a predicted route from the current traveling position of the host vehicle in the forward direction of the host vehicle;
The lateral distance calculation unit calculates a predicted lateral distance that is a distance from the travel locus to the predicted route in a direction orthogonal to the predicted route,
5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the second lateral distance acquisition unit calculates the predicted lateral distance at any position in the tracking locus as the second lateral distance. A vehicle control method executed by a vehicle control device (10) that performs follow-up control of the own vehicle with another vehicle (41, 42) traveling in front of the own vehicle (40) as a follow-up target,
Acquiring a travel position of the other vehicle at a predetermined acquisition cycle, and generating a travel locus of the other vehicle from a plurality of the travel positions along a travel route of the other vehicle;
Calculating a lateral distance that is a distance from the host vehicle to the travel locus in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the host vehicle;
A step of determining a follow-up locus to be followed by the own vehicle among the travel locus of the other vehicle and determining whether the follow-up locus extends to the own vehicle;
When it is determined that the tracking locus extends to the vehicle, the lateral distance at the locus position at the current position of the vehicle is obtained as a first lateral distance;
Obtaining the lateral distance as a second lateral distance at any position in the following locus when it is determined that the following locus does not extend to the host vehicle;
Performing the follow-up control based on the first lateral distance or the second lateral distance;
A vehicle control method for executing.

Images