Driving assistance device

• US 10,494,022 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2017
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ide, Hirohito
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Application Number:
  US15/843,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20180178839A1
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/025 Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation B62D1/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/002 computing target steering angles for front or rear wheels B62D7/159 takes precedence

Abstract

A driving assistance device includes an ECU configured to make a warning unit issue the warning to a driver, when a first condition and a second condition are both satisfied. The first condition is a condition that there is a possibility that the host vehicle deviates from a deviation-side traveling lane edge specified by one of right and left lane division lines when LKA is executed. The second condition is a condition that behavior of the host vehicle approaching the deviation-side traveling lane edge occurs at the current position of the host vehicle at at least one point of time of a first point of time at which determination is made that the first condition is satisfied and a third point of time in a period from the first point of time to a second point of time after a predetermined time elapses.

Claims

1. A driving assistance device comprising:

a warning unit configured to issue a warning to a driver of a host vehicle; and

an electronic control unit configured to

acquire information in front of the host vehicle relating to a traveling lane, on which the host vehicle is traveling,

determine a target traveling line based on the acquired information,

acquire a driving state parameter of the host vehicle that changes according to at least one of a steering angle and a temporal change rate of the steering angle,

execute lane keeping assistance control for changing the steering angle of the host vehicle such that the host vehicle travels along the target traveling line, and

make the warning unit issue the warning,

wherein the electronic control unit is configured to

control the steering angle such that a magnitude of the driving state parameter that occurs through the lane keeping assistance control does not exceed a predetermined allowable limit value, and

make the warning unit issue the warning in a case where the electronic control unit determines that a first condition is satisfied when the electronic control unit determines that a second condition is satisfied, the first condition being a condition that there is a possibility that the host vehicle deviates from a deviation-side traveling lane edge specified by one of right and left lane division lines defining the traveling lane due to the magnitude of the driving state parameter exceeding the allowable limit value when the lane keeping assistance control is executed along the target traveling line at a position of a predetermined distance forward from a current position of the host vehicle, the second condition being a condition that behavior of the host vehicle approaching the deviation-side traveling lane edge occurs at the current position of the host vehicle, at at least one point of time of a first point of time at which determination is made that the first condition is satisfied and a third point of time in a period from the first point of time to a second point of time after a predetermined time elapses.

2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to

acquire a lateral acceleration of the host vehicle as the driving state parameter,

control the steering angle such that a magnitude of the acquired lateral acceleration does not exceed a maximum lateral acceleration set as the allowable limit value,

estimate, based on a curvature of the target traveling line at the position forward of the host vehicle and a current speed of the host vehicle, a lateral acceleration that is generated when the lane keeping assistance control is executed,

determine whether a magnitude of the estimated lateral acceleration exceeds the maximum lateral acceleration, and

determine that the first condition is satisfied when the electronic control unit determines that the magnitude of the estimated lateral acceleration exceeds the maximum lateral acceleration.

3. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to

acquire a yaw rate change rate of the host vehicle as the driving state parameter,

control the steering angle such that a magnitude of the acquired yaw rate change rate does not exceed a maximum yaw rate change rate set as the allowable limit value,

estimate, based on a curvature of the target traveling line at the position forward of the host vehicle and a current speed of the host vehicle, a yaw rate change rate that is generated when the lane keeping assistance control is executed,

determine whether a magnitude of the estimated yaw rate change rate exceeds the maximum yaw rate change rate, and

determine that the first condition is satisfied when the electronic control unit determines that the magnitude of the estimated yaw rate change rate exceeds the maximum yaw rate change rate.

4. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to determine that the second condition is satisfied when the electronic control unit determines that a distance between the deviation-side traveling lane edge and the host vehicle at the current position of the host vehicle is within a predetermined distance and an approach speed that is a speed of the host vehicle moving toward the deviation-side traveling lane edge is equal to or higher than a threshold lateral speed.

5. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to determine that the second condition is satisfied when the electronic control unit determines that a deviation estimation time obtained by dividing a distance between the deviation-side traveling lane edge and the host vehicle at the current position of the host vehicle by an approach speed that is a speed of the host vehicle moving toward the deviation-side traveling lane edge is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold time.

6. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein:

the warning unit includes a display unit configured to display an image to the driver of the host vehicle; and

the electronic control unit is configured to

make the display unit display a first image indicating that the lane keeping assistance control is executed during the execution of the lane keeping assistance control, and

make the display unit display a second image for a warning instead of the first image to issue the warning when the electronic control unit determines that both of the first condition and the second condition are satisfied.

7. The driving assistance device according to claim 6, wherein the display unit is configured to

display, as the first image, an image including plotting elements modeled after a pair of lane division lines and erect wall portions respectively erected from the lane division lines, and

display, as the second image, an image with a color, a shape, and a lighting state of the erect wall portions changed from the first image.