JP7612808B2 - Adaptive Cruise Control Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a following cruise control device that allows a vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle.

Recently, vehicles have been equipped with a function that allows the vehicle to follow the vehicle ahead, known as adaptive cruise control (ACC).

When following a vehicle using the ACC function, a target distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is set based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle, and the target distance is subtracted from the actual distance to determine the deviation in distance (= distance between vehicles - target distance between vehicles). The relative speed between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is also calculated. A target acceleration is then set according to the deviation in distance between vehicles and the relative speed, and the output of the vehicle's engine or the braking force of the friction brakes is controlled so that the vehicle accelerates or decelerates at the target acceleration.

When the vehicle changes lanes while following a vehicle, it is determined whether or not a preceding vehicle is present in the new lane. If a preceding vehicle is present, a target acceleration for the vehicle is set according to the deviation in the distance between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle and the relative speed between the preceding vehicle and the vehicle, and the vehicle is controlled to accelerate or decelerate at the target acceleration. On the other hand, if there is no preceding vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to accelerate or decelerate so that the vehicle travels at a constant speed at the set vehicle speed.

However, because the purpose of the lane change is unclear during this control, the control to accelerate the vehicle after the lane change may not be what the driver desires. Therefore, it has been proposed to prohibit the vehicle from accelerating until a predetermined time has elapsed after the lane change when the vehicle changes lanes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-296724 A

However, if the vehicle's acceleration is prohibited every time the vehicle changes lanes, the user may feel uncomfortable.

The object of the present invention is to provide a following cruise control device that can appropriately suppress the acceleration of the host vehicle after changing lanes as necessary.

In order to achieve the above object, a following cruise control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a following cruise control device that causes the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle by accelerating and decelerating the host vehicle so that the actual inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle ahead of it is maintained at a target inter-vehicle distance, and includes an external environment recognition means for recognizing the surroundings of the host vehicle, an acceleration/deceleration control means for controlling the acceleration/deceleration of the host vehicle, a lane change detection means for detecting a lane change of the host vehicle, and an acceleration suppression means for suppressing acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means when a lane change is detected by the lane change detection means and a preceding vehicle is recognized by the external environment recognition means in the lane to which the lane change is to be made, and the acceleration suppression means suppresses acceleration to a greater extent the closer the host vehicle is to the preceding vehicle.

According to this configuration, if a preceding vehicle is traveling in the lane into which the host vehicle has changed lanes, the acceleration of the host vehicle is suppressed. Moreover, the closer the host vehicle is to the preceding vehicle, that is, the shorter the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle, or the greater the relative speed of the host vehicle in the direction in which it is approaching the preceding vehicle, the more the host vehicle's acceleration is suppressed. Therefore, when the host vehicle changes lanes, the host vehicle can be prevented from approaching the preceding vehicle, preventing the user from feeling uneasy.

Conversely, the longer the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, or the slower the relative speed of the vehicle approaching the preceding vehicle (the faster the relative speed of the vehicle moving away from the preceding vehicle), the less the suppression of the vehicle's acceleration is. This allows the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle traveling in the new lane, preventing the user from feeling that the vehicle is being left behind by the preceding vehicle. It also prevents the user from feeling uncomfortable due to the acceleration of the vehicle being significantly suppressed each time the lane is changed.

This allows the vehicle's acceleration after changing lanes to be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

The acceleration suppression means may suppress acceleration for a predetermined suppression time. In this case, it is preferable that the suppression time is set to a longer time as the speed of the host vehicle increases.

This helps prevent the user from feeling anxious about the vehicle approaching the vehicle ahead at a high speed.

A following driving control device according to another aspect of the present invention is a following driving control device that causes the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle by accelerating and decelerating the host vehicle so that the actual inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle ahead of it is maintained at a target inter-vehicle distance, and includes an external environment recognition means for recognizing the surroundings of the host vehicle, an acceleration/deceleration control means for controlling the acceleration/deceleration of the host vehicle, a lane change detection means for detecting a lane change of the host vehicle, an acceleration suppression means for suppressing acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means for a predetermined time in response to a lane change request, and an acceleration suppression release means for releasing the suppression of acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means before the predetermined time has elapsed if a lane change is detected by the lane change detection means and no preceding vehicle is recognized by the external environment recognition means in the lane to which the lane is changed.

If the user cannot recognize whether there is a vehicle ahead in the lane to which the vehicle is to be changed because a vehicle ahead in the current lane is in the way, or if there is a vehicle ahead in the lane to which the vehicle is to be changed that is moving slower than the vehicle, if the vehicle accelerates after changing lanes, the vehicle may approach the vehicle ahead, which may make the user feel uneasy. As a countermeasure to this, the acceleration of the vehicle is suppressed when a lane change request is made.

If a preceding vehicle is detected in the new lane after a lane change, the vehicle's acceleration will be suppressed until a predetermined time has elapsed. This prevents the vehicle from approaching the preceding vehicle, preventing the user from feeling uneasy.

On the other hand, if a preceding vehicle is not recognized in the new lane after a lane change, the suppression of acceleration of the vehicle is released even before the specified time has elapsed. Therefore, the vehicle can be accelerated without waiting for the specified time. This prevents the user from feeling uncomfortable when the acceleration of the vehicle is suppressed for a specified time every time a lane change is made.

This allows the vehicle's acceleration after changing lanes to be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

A following cruise control device according to yet another aspect of the present invention is a following cruise control device that causes the host vehicle to follow a preceding vehicle by accelerating and decelerating the host vehicle so that the actual inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle ahead of it is maintained at a target inter-vehicle distance, and includes an acceleration/deceleration control means for controlling the acceleration/deceleration of the host vehicle, a lane change detection means for detecting lane changes of the host vehicle, and an acceleration suppression means for not suppressing acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means when the lane change detection means detects a lane change from the driving lane to the overtaking lane, and for suppressing acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means when the lane change detection means detects a lane change from the overtaking lane to the driving lane.

According to this configuration, when the vehicle changes lanes, if the lane change is from a driving lane to an overtaking lane, the acceleration of the vehicle is not suppressed. After changing lanes from a driving lane to an overtaking lane, the vehicle often accelerates. In this case, it is possible to suppress the discomfort felt by the user due to the suppression of the vehicle's acceleration.

On the other hand, when the host vehicle changes lanes from an overtaking lane to a driving lane, there is often a vehicle ahead in the driving lane to which the host vehicle is changing, which is moving slower than the host vehicle. In this case, the host vehicle's acceleration is suppressed. This makes it possible to prevent the host vehicle from approaching the vehicle ahead, and to prevent the user from feeling uneasy.

This allows the vehicle's acceleration after changing lanes to be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

According to the present invention, the acceleration of the vehicle after changing lanes can be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a vehicle equipped with a follow-up cruise control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of a target acceleration map. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a lane change of a vehicle; 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of an acceleration suppression process executed when changing lanes. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of an acceleration suppression process according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of an acceleration suppression process according to a third embodiment.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

<Vehicle Electrical Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a main part of a vehicle 1 equipped with a follow-up cruise control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The vehicle 1 is an automobile that uses an engine 2 as a drive source. The power of the engine 2 is transmitted to the left and right drive wheels via a transmission. The transmission may be a continuously variable transmission (CVT), a stepped automatic transmission (AT), or a manual transmission (MT).

Engine 2 is, for example, a gasoline engine, and is provided with an electronic throttle valve for adjusting the amount of intake air into the combustion chamber of engine 2, an injector (fuel injection device) for injecting fuel into the intake air, and a spark plug for generating an electrical discharge in the combustion chamber. Engine 2 is also provided with a starter for starting it.

In the passenger compartment of vehicle 1, an accelerator pedal operated to accelerate or decelerate vehicle 1, and a brake pedal operated to brake vehicle 1 are provided under the driver's feet. The accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are located in positions that are convenient for the driver sitting in the driver's seat to step on them with his or her right foot.

The vehicle 1 is also equipped with hydraulic brakes. The hydraulic brakes include a brake booster, a master cylinder, and a brake actuator 3. When the brake pedal is depressed, the depression force input to the brake pedal is transmitted to the brake booster. The depression force transmitted to the brake booster is amplified (doubled) by the negative pressure of the brake booster, and is input from the brake booster to the master cylinder. The master cylinder generates hydraulic pressure according to the force input from the brake booster. The hydraulic pressure generated by the master cylinder is transmitted to the brake actuator 3. Then, the function of the brake actuator 3 distributes hydraulic pressure to the wheel cylinders of the brakes provided on each wheel, and the hydraulic pressure applies braking force from each brake to the wheels, including the drive wheels.

The vehicle 1 is equipped with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 4 that includes a microcontroller (microcontroller unit). The microcontroller includes, for example, a CPU, a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and a volatile memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). Although only one ECU 4 is shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 is equipped with multiple ECUs that have the same configuration as the ECU 4 to control each part. The multiple ECUs including the ECU 4 are connected to enable two-way communication using the CAN (Controller Area Network) communication protocol.

The ECU 4 incorporates engine control logic and brake control logic. The engine control logic controls the electronic throttle valve, injectors, spark plugs, etc. to adjust the start, stop, output, etc. of the engine 2 based on detection signals input from various sensors connected to the ECU 4 and information input from other ECUs. The brake control logic controls the brake actuator 3, etc. to adjust the vehicle speed, attitude, etc. of the vehicle 1 based on detection signals input from various sensors and information input from other ECUs.

The various sensors include, for example, a vehicle speed sensor 5 and an external environment recognition sensor 6.

The vehicle speed sensor 5, for example, includes a rotor made of a magnetic material that rotates as the vehicle 1 travels, and an electromagnetic pickup that is not in contact with the rotor, and outputs a pulse signal from the electromagnetic pickup each time the rotor rotates a certain angle. The frequency of this pulse signal corresponds to the actual vehicle speed of the vehicle 1. The ECU 4 determines the frequency of the signal input from the vehicle speed sensor 5, and converts this frequency into vehicle speed.

The external environment recognition sensor 6 is, for example, a stereo camera. The stereo camera is a camera capable of continuously capturing still images at a predetermined frame rate, and is capable of detecting the distance to the position of a target in the captured image from the parallax information. The stereo camera is installed, for example, on a rearview mirror in the front center of the vehicle interior so that it can capture an image in front of the vehicle 1 at a wide angle. In addition to the stereo camera, the vehicle 1 may also be provided with a radar as the external environment recognition sensor 6. The radar is installed in the front of the vehicle 1, and is a sensor for detecting the situation in a predetermined search range in front of the vehicle 1. The radar irradiates the search range with radar waves (millimeter waves, laser), receives reflected waves from objects present in the search range, and outputs a detection signal according to the reflected waves.

Vehicle 1 is equipped with an adaptive cruise control (ACC) function as a driving assistance function.

The ACC function is a following driving function that causes vehicle 1 to follow another vehicle ahead of it. For example, the steering wheel is provided with an operation switch 7 related to the ACC function. The operation switch 7 includes an ACC main switch that turns the ACC function on and off, a set switch that sets the current vehicle speed of vehicle 1 as a set vehicle speed, a set vehicle distance changeover switch that changes the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, a cancel switch that cancels the operation of the ACC function, and a resume switch that reactivates the ACC function at the previous set vehicle speed.

When the ACC main switch is pressed, the ACC function is activated. After that, when the set switch is pressed, the current vehicle speed of vehicle 1 is set to the set vehicle speed. The set vehicle speed can be changed by pressing the resume switch or the set switch. That is, by pressing the resume switch, the set vehicle speed can be increased, and by pressing the set switch, the set vehicle speed can be decreased. In addition, by pressing the set vehicle distance changeover switch, it is possible to switch between setting the vehicle distance longer, shorter, or somewhere in between, for example.

When the set vehicle speed is set, the ECU 4 starts ACC control (follow-up control) to make the vehicle 1 follow the vehicle ahead of it. In ACC control, depending on whether there is a vehicle ahead, the vehicle automatically switches between following the vehicle ahead, with the set vehicle speed set by a switch operation as the upper limit vehicle speed, and constant speed driving at the set vehicle speed. When following the vehicle ahead, the vehicle 1 is accelerated or decelerated so that the distance between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle ahead of it is maintained at the target distance.

Specifically, a target inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle is set based on the vehicle speed of vehicle 1, and the inter-vehicle distance deviation between the target inter-vehicle distance and the actual inter-vehicle distance (= actual inter-vehicle distance - target inter-vehicle distance) is calculated. The relative speed between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle is also calculated. Then, a target acceleration of vehicle 1 is set according to the inter-vehicle distance deviation and the relative speed. A non-volatile memory built into the microcomputer of ECU 4 stores the characteristics (relationship) of the target acceleration with respect to the inter-vehicle distance deviation and the relative speed in the form of a map as a target acceleration map. This target acceleration map is conceptually shown in FIG. 2, and is created so that the smaller the inter-vehicle distance deviation, the larger the target acceleration is set in the negative direction (deceleration direction). Once the target acceleration is set, the engine output or braking force is controlled so that vehicle 1 accelerates or decelerates at the target acceleration.

<Acceleration suppression processing>
Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating lane changing of the vehicle 1. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the acceleration suppression process executed when changing lanes.

While vehicle 1 is traveling under ACC control, ECU 4 executes acceleration suppression processing at a predetermined interval to suppress acceleration when vehicle 1 changes lanes.

In the acceleration suppression process, first, it is determined whether vehicle 1 has changed lanes (step S11). For example, from an image captured by a stereo camera, which is the external environment recognition sensor 6, it is determined whether vehicle 1 has crossed a lane boundary line (vehicle lane boundary line) between the driving lane and the passing lane, as shown in FIG. 3, and it can be determined that vehicle 1 has changed lanes because vehicle 1 has crossed the lane boundary line.

If vehicle 1 is not changing lanes (NO in step S11), the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

When vehicle 1 changes lanes (YES in step S11), the presence of a preceding vehicle traveling in the lane to which the lane is to be changed is confirmed from images captured by the stereo camera, which is the external environment recognition sensor 6 (step S12).

If a preceding vehicle traveling in the lane to which the lane is to be changed is not recognized (NO in step S12), the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

If a preceding vehicle is present in the lane to which the lane is to be changed and is recognized (YES in step S12), the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed (step S13). At this time, the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle is acquired from the image captured by the stereo camera, and the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed to a degree according to the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle. Specifically, the shorter the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, the more the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed.

Note that suppressing the acceleration of vehicle 1 means suppressing the acceleration of vehicle 1 to be lower than the target acceleration set in accordance with the target acceleration map shown in FIG. 2, and includes prohibiting the acceleration of vehicle 1, i.e., limiting the acceleration of vehicle 1 to 0 or less.

After suppression of acceleration of the vehicle 1 starts, it is determined whether a predetermined suppression time has elapsed since the start of the suppression (step S14). The suppression time may be a fixed time, but may also be set, for example, according to the vehicle speed when the vehicle 1 changes lanes. In this case, it is preferable that the suppression time is set to a longer time as the vehicle speed increases.

When the suppression time has elapsed since the start of suppression of acceleration of the vehicle 1 (YES in step S14), the suppression of acceleration is released (step S15) and the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

<Action and effect>
As described above, when the preceding vehicle is traveling in the lane into which the vehicle 1 has changed lanes, the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is suppressed. Moreover, the shorter the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, the more the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is suppressed. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 changes lanes, the vehicle 1 can be prevented from approaching the preceding vehicle, and a sense of anxiety can be prevented from being given to the user.

Conversely, the longer the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, the less the suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 is. This allows vehicle 1 to follow the preceding vehicle traveling in the new lane, and prevents the user from feeling that vehicle 1 is being left behind by the preceding vehicle. It also prevents the user from feeling uncomfortable due to the large suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 each time the lane is changed.

Therefore, the acceleration of vehicle 1 after changing lanes can be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

Suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 continues from the start of the suppression until a predetermined suppression time has elapsed. The higher the speed of vehicle 1, the longer the suppression time is set, thereby suppressing the sense of anxiety felt by the user due to vehicle 1 approaching a preceding vehicle at a high speed.

Second Embodiment
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of the acceleration suppression process according to the second embodiment.

Instead of the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 4, the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 5 may be executed.

In the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 5, first, it is determined whether a lane change of the vehicle 1 has been requested (step S21). For example, it can be determined that a lane change has been requested based on the operation of the turn signal of the vehicle 1.

If a lane change is not requested (NO in step S21), the acceleration suppression process is terminated. If a lane change is requested (YES in step S21), the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed (step S22). At this time, the acceleration of vehicle 1 may be limited to a certain value or less, or, as in the case of the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 4, the shorter the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, the greater the suppression of the acceleration of vehicle 1.

After suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 begins, it is determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the suppression (step S23). The predetermined time may be a fixed time, or may be set to a longer time the greater the vehicle speed of vehicle 1 when changing lanes.

When a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of suppressing acceleration of the vehicle 1 (YES in step S23), the suppression of acceleration is released (step S24) and the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

It is determined whether vehicle 1 has changed lanes before the specified time has elapsed (step S25).

If vehicle 1 has not changed lanes (NO in step S25), it is again determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S23).

When the vehicle 1 changes lanes (YES in step S25), the presence of a preceding vehicle traveling in the lane to which the lane is to be changed is confirmed from images captured by the stereo camera, which is the external environment recognition sensor 6 (step S26).

If a vehicle ahead is present in the lane to which the lane is to be changed and the vehicle ahead is recognized (YES in step S26), it is again determined whether a predetermined time has elapsed (step S23).

On the other hand, if a preceding vehicle traveling in the lane to which the lane is to be changed is not recognized (NO in step S26), the suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 is released (step S24), and the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

<Action and effect>
In this acceleration suppression process, the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is suppressed in response to a request to change lanes.

If a preceding vehicle is detected in the new lane after a lane change, the suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 continues until a predetermined time has elapsed. This makes it possible to suppress vehicle 1 from approaching the preceding vehicle, and to prevent the user from feeling uneasy.

On the other hand, if a preceding vehicle is not recognized in the new lane after a lane change, the suppression of acceleration of vehicle 1 is released even before the specified time has elapsed. Therefore, vehicle 1 can be accelerated without waiting for the specified time. This makes it possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable due to the acceleration of vehicle 1 being suppressed for a specified time every time a lane change is made.

Therefore, the acceleration of vehicle 1 after changing lanes can be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

Third Embodiment
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the acceleration suppression process according to the third embodiment.

Instead of the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 4, the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 6 may be executed.

In the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 6, first, it is determined whether vehicle 1 has changed lanes (step S31).

If vehicle 1 is not changing lanes (NO in step S31), the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

When the vehicle 1 changes lanes (YES in step S31), it is determined from the image captured by the stereo camera, which is the external environment recognition sensor 6, whether the lane change is from the overtaking lane OL to the driving lane DL (step S32).

If the lane change is not from the overtaking lane OL to the driving lane DL (NO in step S32), that is, if the lane change is from the driving lane DL to the overtaking lane OL, the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

If the lane change is from the overtaking lane OL to the driving lane DL (YES in step S32), the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed (step S33). At this time, the acceleration of vehicle 1 may be limited to a certain value or less, or, as in the case of the acceleration suppression process shown in FIG. 4, the shorter the inter-vehicle distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, the greater the suppression of the acceleration of vehicle 1.

After suppression of acceleration of the vehicle 1 starts, it is determined whether a predetermined suppression time has elapsed since the start of the suppression (step S34). The suppression time may be a fixed time, or may be set to a longer time the greater the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 when changing lanes.

When the suppression time has elapsed since the start of suppression of acceleration of the vehicle 1 (YES in step S34), the suppression of acceleration is released (step S35) and the acceleration suppression process is terminated.

<Action and effect>
In this acceleration suppression process, when the vehicle 1 changes lanes, if the lane change is from the driving lane DL to the overtaking lane OL, the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is not suppressed. After changing lanes from the driving lane DL to the overtaking lane OL, the vehicle 1 often accelerates. In this case, it is possible to suppress the discomfort felt by the user due to the suppression of the acceleration of the vehicle 1.

On the other hand, when vehicle 1 changes lanes from the overtaking lane OL to the driving lane DL, there is often a preceding vehicle traveling slower than vehicle 1 in the driving lane DL to which vehicle 1 is about to change. In this case, the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed. This makes it possible to suppress vehicle 1 from approaching the preceding vehicle, and to prevent the user from feeling uneasy.

Therefore, the acceleration of vehicle 1 after changing lanes can be appropriately suppressed as necessary.

<Modification>
Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be embodied in other forms.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed, the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle is acquired, and the shorter the distance between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle, the more the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed. Without being limited to this, the relative speed between vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle may be acquired, and the greater the relative speed in the direction in which vehicle 1 approaches the preceding vehicle, the more the acceleration of vehicle 1 is suppressed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the engine control logic and brake control logic are incorporated in the ECU 4, but the engine ECU that controls the engine 2 and the brake ECU that controls the brake actuator 3 may be provided separately, and the functions of the ECU 4 may be realized by the cooperation of the engine ECU and the brake ECU.

In addition, various design modifications can be made to the above-mentioned configuration within the scope of the claims.

1: Vehicle (own vehicle)
2: Engine 4: ECU (adaptive cruise control device, acceleration/deceleration control means, lane change detection means, acceleration suppression means)
6: External recognition sensor (external recognition means)
DL: driving lane OL: passing lane

Claims (2)

A follow-up running control device that causes a host vehicle to run following a preceding vehicle by accelerating or decelerating the host vehicle so that an actual inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle is maintained at a target inter-vehicle distance,
an acceleration/deceleration control means for controlling acceleration/deceleration of the host vehicle;
lane change detection means for detecting a lane change of the host vehicle;
an acceleration suppression means for not suppressing acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means when a lane change from a driving lane to an overtaking lane is detected by the lane change detection means, and for suppressing acceleration by the acceleration/deceleration control means when a lane change from the overtaking lane to the driving lane is detected by the lane change detection means,
The acceleration suppression means sets a suppression time to a longer time as the speed of the host vehicle increases, and releases the suppression of acceleration when the suppression time has elapsed from the start of suppression of acceleration . The following driving control device according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration suppression means suppresses acceleration to a greater extent the closer the host vehicle is to the preceding vehicle.

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