CONTROL APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE IN WHICH TRAVELING ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION APPARATUS IS INSTALLED

• US 20100250064A1
• Filed: 03/22/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Higuchi, Mirai, OTA, Ryo, Oosawa, Toshiya, Kubo, Jun
• Application Number:
  US12/728,341
• Publication Number:
  US 20100250064A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/072 Curvature of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/076 Slope angle of the road

Abstract

In a control apparatus for a vehicle in which a traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, a road shape prediction section configured to predict a road shape of a traveling road in a forward direction of the vehicle on a basis of a result of recognition by an object recognition section; a travel trajectory predicting section configured to predict a travel trajectory of the vehicle; a point of intersection calculation section configured to calculate a point of intersection between a road end of the road predicted by the road shape prediction section and a travel trajectory predicted by the travel trajectory prediction section; and a speed control section configured to control a speed of the vehicle with the point of intersection calculated by the point of intersection calculation section as a target point of place.

Claims

1. A control apparatus for a vehicle in which a traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, comprising:

a traveling road state detection section configured to detect a state of a traveling road in a forward direction of the vehicle;

an object recognition section configured to recognize at least a presence of an object on the traveling road from a detection result of the traveling road state detection section;

a road shape prediction section configured to predict a road shape of the traveling road in the forward direction of the vehicle on a basis of a result of recognition by the object recognition section;

a travel trajectory predicting section configured to predict a travel trajectory of the vehicle;

a point of intersection calculation section configured to calculate a point of intersection between a road end of the road predicted by the road shape prediction section and a trajectory predicted by the travel trajectory prediction section; and

a speed control section configured to control a speed of the vehicle, with the point of intersection calculated by the point of intersection calculation section as a target point of place.

2. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 1, wherein the traveling road state detection section comprises a stereo camera in which at least two cameras are installed and wherein the object recognition section recognizes the object according to a parallax of a photographed image photographed by means of the respective cameras.

3. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 1, wherein traveling road detection section comprises an object of deceleration detection section configured to detect an object of deceleration for the vehicle and wherein the vehicle control section is configured to calculate a target deceleration from a present vehicle speed and from the target point of place and configured to execute a deceleration control to automatically decelerate the vehicle according to the calculated target deceleration.

4. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control apparatus further comprises an acceleration intention detection section configured to detect an acceleration intention of a vehicle driver and wherein the vehicle control section inhibits the deceleration control when the acceleration intention detection section detects the acceleration intention of the driver, even if the object of deceleration is detected by the object of deceleration detection section.

5. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control apparatus further comprises a reliability determination section configured to determine a reliability of a result of recognition by the object recognition section and wherein the road shape prediction section predicts the road shape in a case where the reliability determined by the reliability determination section is lower than a predetermined reliability.

6. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 5, wherein the road shape prediction section predicts the road shape on a basis of an object information equal to or higher than a predetermined reliability.

7. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 6, wherein the object is a white line painted on the traveling road and the road shape prediction section predicts the road shape on a basis of a curvature of a white line having a reliability equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value.

8. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 6, wherein the object is a white line painted on the traveling road and wherein the road shape prediction section predicts the road shape on a basis of a gradient of a white line having a reliability equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value.

9. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 6, wherein the object includes a three-dimensional body located aside the road and a white line painted on the traveling road and wherein the road shape prediction section predicts the road shape on a basis of the three-dimensional body located aside the road and the white line.

10. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed as claimed in claim 9, wherein the road shape prediction section corrects a distance to the three-dimensional body located in the forward direction of the vehicle and predicts the road shape on a basis of the information on the three-dimensional body and the white line.

11. A control apparatus for a vehicle in which a traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, wherein the traveling environment recognition apparatus comprises:

a road state recognition section configured to recognize a presence of a white line or an object located aside a traveling road in a forward direction of the vehicle;

a reliability determination section configured to determine a reliability of a result of recognition by the road state recognition section; and

a road shape prediction section configured to predict a road shape on the traveling road located in the forward direction of the vehicle on a basis of the information from the road state recognition section in a case where the reliability determined by the reliability determination section is lower than a predetermined reliability.

12. A control apparatus for a vehicle in which a traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, wherein the traveling environment recognition apparatus as claimed in claim 11 and wherein the control apparatus comprises:

a travel trajectory prediction section configured to predict a travel trajectory of the vehicle;

a point of intersection calculation section configured to calculate a point of intersection between a road end of the road predicted by the road shape prediction section and the projected trajectory by the travel trajectory prediction section; and

a control section configured to control the speed of the vehicle with the point of intersection calculated by the point of intersection calculation section as a target point of place.

13. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, as claimed in claim 12, wherein the control apparatus further comprises a stereo camera in which at least two cameras are installed and wherein the road state recognition section recognizes the object according to a parallax of the photographed image photographed by the respective cameras.

14. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, as claimed in claim 13, wherein the road state recognition section comprises an object of deceleration detection section configured to detect an object of deceleration detection section and wherein the vehicle control section calculates a target deceleration from a present vehicle speed and the target point of place and configured to perform a deceleration control to automatically decelerate the vehicle according to the calculated target deceleration.

15. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control apparatus further comprises an acceleration intention detection section configured to detect an acceleration intention by a vehicle driver and wherein the vehicle control section inhibits an execution of the deceleration control when the acceleration intention by the vehicle driver is detected by the acceleration intention detection section even when the object of deceleration is detected by the object of deceleration detection section.

16. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, as claimed in claim 15, wherein the road shape prediction section predicts the road shape on a basis of an object information equal to or higher than a predetermined reliability.

17. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, as claimed in claim 16, wherein the object is a white line painted on the traveling road and wherein the road shape prediction section predicts a road shape on a basis of a curvature or a gradient of the white line having a considerably high reliability.

18. The control apparatus for the vehicle in which the traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, as claimed in claim 11, wherein the object includes a three-dimensional body located aside a road and a white line photographed by the stereo camera and wherein the road shape prediction section corrects a distance from the vehicle to the solid body located in the forward direction of the vehicle on a basis of the information of the three-dimensional body and the white line and predicts the road shape on a basis of a result of correction.

19. A control apparatus for a vehicle in which a traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, wherein the traveling environment recognition apparatus comprises:

a stereo camera configured to photograph at least a white line present on a traveling road in a forward direction of the vehicle;

a road shape prediction section configured to predict a road shape on a basis of an image photographed by the stereo camera and wherein the road shape prediction section predicts the shape of the road on a basis of an image photographed by the stereo camera and a result of prediction by the road shape prediction section.

20. A control apparatus for a vehicle in which a traveling environment recognition apparatus is installed, wherein the control apparatus comprises:

the traveling environment recognition as claimed in claim 19;

a point of intersection calculation section configured to calculate a point of intersection between an end of the road predicted by the road shape prediction section and a trajectory predicted by a travel trajectory prediction section; and

a speed control section configured to control a speed of the vehicle with a point of intersection calculated by the point of intersection calculation section as a target point of place, wherein the road shape prediction section includes an object of deceleration detection section configured to detect an object of deceleration and the speed control section executes a deceleration control to calculate a target deceleration from a present vehicle speed and the target point of place in a case where the object of deceleration is detected by the object of deceleration detection section.