LANE SELECTING DEVICE, VEHICLE CONTROL SYSTEM AND LANE SELECTING METHOD

• US 20170082452A1
• Filed: 05/14/2015
• Published: 03/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Inventors: Sumizawa, Akio
• Granted Patent: US 10,697,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/10 Path keeping cruise control for automatically following a preceding vehicle B60W30/165
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/001 Planning or execution of driving tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/133 within the vehicle ; Indicators inside the vehicles or at stops
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

To make it possible to execute processing taking into account the fact that a plurality of lanes are provided in a road. An automatic driving support device 500 includes a map database 541 including lane information concerning lanes of a road, a position specifying section 173 that specifies a present position of a vehicle, and a recommended-lane selecting section 171 that calculates, on the basis of the lane information, a recommendation degree of each of lanes of a road on which the vehicle is traveling and selects, on the basis of the calculated recommendation degree, a lane in which the vehicle travels. Therefore, it is possible to select a recommended lane taking into account the fact that a plurality of lanes are provided in a road.

Claims

1. A lane selecting device comprising:

a storing section that stores a map database including lane information, which is information concerning lanes of a road;

a position specifying section that specifies a present position of a vehicle; and

a recommended-lane selecting section that calculates, on the basis of the present position specified by the position specifying section and the lane information included in the map database, for each of lanes of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, a recommendation degree indicating a degree of recommending traveling and selects, on the basis of the calculated recommendation degree, a lane in which the vehicle travels.

2. The lane selecting device according to claim 1, wherein the recommended-lane selecting section calculates the recommendation degree of each of the lanes using a predicted value of traveling vehicle speed for each of the lanes as the lane information.

3. The lane selecting device according to claim 1, wherein, when a branching point is present ahead of the vehicle, the recommended-lane selecting section specifies a lane in which the vehicle should travel in entering the branching point and calculates the recommendation degree of each of the lanes using, as the lane information, a number of times of a lane change from a lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling to the specified lane.

4. The lane selecting device according to claim 3, wherein the recommended-lane selecting section sets a predetermined section immediately before the branching point as a lane unchangeable section in which the lane change cannot be performed and calculates the recommendation degree to be lower as a remaining distance from a present position to entrance in the lane unchangeable section is shorter or in a lane in which the number of times of the lane change to the specified lane in which the vehicle should travel is larger.

5. The lane selecting device according to claim 4, wherein the recommended-lane selecting section changes length of the lane unchangeable section according to presence or absence of occurrence of a traffic jam.

6. The lane selecting device according to claim 1, wherein, when it is determined that a number of lanes of the road decreases ahead of the vehicle, the recommended-lane selecting section calculates the recommendation degree to be lower in a lane in which the lane change needs to be performed according to the decrease in the number of lanes.

7. The lane selecting device according to claim 1, wherein information concerning an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle located ahead of the vehicle measured by a measuring section is input to the recommended-lane selecting section, and the recommended-lane selecting section calculates the recommendation degree of each of the lanes on the basis of the input information concerning the inter-vehicle distance.

8. The lane selecting device according to claim 7, wherein, when a lane in which the inter-vehicle distance to the other vehicle located ahead is determined as being equal to or larger than a distance set in advance is detected, the recommended-lane selecting section instructs the measuring section not to perform the measurement of the inter-vehicle distance to another lane.

9. The lane selecting device according to claim 7, wherein the recommended-lane selecting section calculates a recommendation degree of a lane in which the inter-vehicle distance to the other vehicle located ahead cannot be measured to be lower than a recommendation degree of another lane in which the inter-vehicle distance can be measured.

10. The lane selecting device according to claim 9, wherein, when an inter-vehicle distance measured by the measuring section is an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in an own lane in which the vehicle travels and an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in a lane other than the own lane cannot be measured, the recommended-lane selecting section instructs a vehicle control device, which controls the traveling of the vehicle, to move the vehicle to, in the traveling lane, a lane side on which the other vehicle traveling in the lane other than the own lane travels.

11. A vehicle control system comprising:

a lane selecting device that selects a traveling lane in which a vehicle travels; and

a vehicle control device that controls the traveling of the vehicle such that the vehicle travels in a lane selected by the lane selecting device, wherein

the lane selecting device includes;

a storing section that stores a map database including lane information, which is information concerning lanes of a road;

a position specifying section that specifies a present position of a vehicle; and

a recommended-lane selecting section that calculates, on the basis of the present position of the vehicle specified by the position specifying section and the lane information included in the map database, for each of lanes of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, a recommendation degree indicating a degree of recommending traveling and selects, on the basis of the calculated recommendation degree, a lane in which the vehicle travels,

when an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle located ahead of the vehicle measured by the measuring section is an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in an own lane in which the vehicle travels and an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in a lane other than the own lane cannot be measured, the recommended-lane selecting section instructs the vehicle control device to move the vehicle to, in the traveling lane, a lane side on which the other vehicle traveling in the lane other than the own lane travels, and

when determining on the basis of a monitoring result of a periphery monitoring section, which is mounted on the vehicle and monitors a periphery of the vehicle, that the movement of the vehicle is possible, the vehicle control device moves the vehicle to, in the traveling lane, the lane side on which the other vehicle travels.

12. A lane selecting method comprising:

a step of specifying a present position of a vehicle;

a step of calculating, on the basis of the specified present position and lane information, which is information concerning lanes of a road included in a map database, for each of lanes of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, a recommendation degree indicating a degree of recommending traveling; and

a step of selecting, on the basis of the calculated recommendation degree, a lane in which the vehicle travels.

13. The lane selecting method according to claim 12, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, the recommendation degree of each of the lanes is calculated using a predicted value of traveling vehicle speed in each of the lanes as the lane information.

14. The lane selecting method according to claim 12, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, when a branching point is present ahead of the vehicle, a lane in which the vehicle should travel in entering the branching point is specified and the recommendation degree of each of the lanes is calculated using, as the lane information, a number of times of a lane change from a lane in which the vehicle is currently traveling to the specified lane.

15. The lane selecting method according to claim 12, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, a predetermined section immediately before the branching point is set as a lane unchangeable section in which the lane change cannot be performed and the recommendation degree is calculated to be lower as a remaining distance from a present position to entrance in the lane unchangeable section is shorter or in a lane in which the number of times of the lane change to the specified lane in which the vehicle should travel is larger.

16. The lane selecting method according to claim 15, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, length of the lane unchangeable section is changed according to presence or absence of occurrence of a traffic jam.

17. The lane selecting method according to claim 12, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, when it is determined that a number of lanes of the road decreases ahead of the vehicle, the recommendation degree is calculated to be lower in a lane in which the lane change needs to be performed according to the decrease in the number of lanes.

18. The lane selecting method according to claim 14, further comprising a step of inputting, from a measuring section that measures the inter-vehicle distance, information concerning an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle located ahead of the vehicle, wherein

in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, the recommendation degree of each of the lanes is calculated on the basis of the information concerning the inter-vehicle distance input in the inputting step.

19. The lane selecting method according to claim 18, wherein, when a lane in which the inter-vehicle distance to the other vehicle located ahead of the vehicle is determined as being equal to or larger than a distance set in advance is detected according to the inter-vehicle distance input in the inputting step, the measuring section is instructed not to perform the measurement of the inter-vehicle distance to another lane.

20. The lane selecting method according to claim 18, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, a recommendation degree of a lane in which the inter-vehicle distance to the other vehicle located ahead cannot be measured is calculated to be lower than a recommendation degree of another lane in which the inter-vehicle distance can be measured.

21. The lane selecting method according to claim 20, wherein, in the step of calculating the recommendation degree, when an inter-vehicle distance measured in the step of measuring the inter-vehicle distance is an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in an own lane in which the vehicle travels and an inter-vehicle distance to another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in a lane other than the own lane cannot be measured, a vehicle control device, which controls the traveling of the vehicle, is instructed to move the vehicle to, in the traveling lane, a lane side on which the other vehicle traveling in the lane other than the own lane travels.