CN-115610420-B - Lane change support device

Abstract

A lane change support apparatus includes a control unit configured to be able to execute a lane change control for automatically changing a vehicle from a driving lane to an adjacent lane, the control unit counting a holding time for which an operation portion for starting the lane change control is held at a predetermined operation position by being operated to the operation position, starting the lane change control when the counted holding time reaches a predetermined threshold time set in advance, calculating a proficiency of an operation of the lane change support apparatus by a driver of the vehicle during execution of the lane change control, and setting the threshold time used in a next lane change control based on the proficiency.

Inventors

• TAKAHASHI KENTARO

Assignees

• 丰田自动车株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20220613

Priority Date

20210713

Claims (4)

1. 1. A lane change support device is provided with a control unit, The control unit is configured to be able to execute a lane change control for automatically making a lane change of the vehicle from a driving lane to an adjacent lane, The control unit is configured to control the control unit, The holding time for which the operation portion for starting the lane change control by being operated to a predetermined operation position is continuously held at the operation position is counted, When the counted holding time reaches a preset predetermined threshold time, the lane change control is started, Calculating a proficiency level of an operation of the lane change support apparatus by a driver of the vehicle during execution of the lane change control, and setting the threshold time to be used in the next lane change control based on the proficiency level, The control unit is configured to control the control unit, Comparing a previous proficiency level, which is the calculated proficiency level during the execution period of the previous lane change control, with a current proficiency level, which is the calculated proficiency level during the execution period of the current lane change control, When the current proficiency level is higher than the previous proficiency level, the threshold time used in the next lane change control is shortened, When the current proficiency level is lower than the previous proficiency level, the threshold time used for the next lane change control is prolonged.
2. 2. The lane change support apparatus according to claim 1, The proficiency level is calculated from an evaluation result obtained based on the driving condition of the driver during the execution period of the lane change control and an evaluation result obtained based on the end state of the lane change control.
3. 3. The lane change support apparatus according to claim 2, The driving condition of the driver includes a hold steering condition of the driver and a surrounding vehicle condition.
4. 4. The lane change support apparatus according to claim 3, The proficiency level is calculated based on an evaluation score concerning the proficiency level obtained from the state of maintaining steering of the driver, an evaluation score concerning the proficiency level obtained from the state of surrounding vehicles, and an evaluation score concerning the proficiency level obtained from the ending state of the lane change control.

Description

Lane change support device Technical Field The present invention relates to a lane change support apparatus that automatically changes a host vehicle from a driving lane to an adjacent lane. Background Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2018-103769 discloses a lane change support apparatus for automatically changing a host vehicle from a driving lane to an adjacent lane. The lane change support device detects an operation of the operation lever by the driver, and counts a holding time for which the operation lever is continuously held at a predetermined operation position. When the counted holding time reaches a predetermined threshold time, the lane change support apparatus starts lane change control. Disclosure of Invention In the lane change support apparatus, if the threshold time for determining the start of control is set long, there is a case where a difference occurs between the timing at which the driver intends to start the lane change and the timing at which the lane change control is actually started. In addition, depending on the situation, there is a case where the lane change cannot be performed due to a change in the positional relationship between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles before the lane change control is started. As a result, there is a possibility that the usability of the device is impaired or trouble is brought to the driver. On the other hand, if the threshold time is set to be short, the device may operate even in a situation where the intention of the driver to use the device is not clear or in a situation where the driver is not aware of the surrounding situation, and there is a possibility that the safety may be affected. The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lane change support apparatus that can optimize the start timing of the lane change control by appropriately setting a threshold time used for determination of the start of the control. The lane change support device according to the present invention includes a control unit (10), The control unit (10) is configured to be capable of executing a lane change control (LCA control) for automatically changing a Vehicle (VS) from a driving lane to an adjacent lane, The control unit (10), The holding time (Th) for continuously holding the operation part (80) for starting the lane change control (LCA control) at the operation position (P1L, P R) by being operated to a predetermined operation position is counted, When the counted holding time (Th) reaches a preset threshold time (Tv), the lane change control (LCA control) is started, A proficiency level (L) of an operation of the lane change support apparatus by the driver of the vehicle during execution of the lane change control (LCA control) is calculated, and the threshold time (Tv) used in the next lane change control (LCA control) is set based on the proficiency level (L). According to the above configuration, the control unit (10) calculates the proficiency of the driver during execution of the lane change control (LCA control), and appropriately updates the threshold time (Tv) used in the next lane change control according to the calculated proficiency. This enables lane change control (LCA control) to be performed safely and efficiently, and improves usability of the lane change support apparatus. In another aspect of the vehicle change support device of the present invention, The control unit (10), Comparing a previous proficiency level (L n-1) with a current proficiency level (L n), wherein the previous proficiency level (L n-1) is the calculated proficiency level during the execution period of the previous lane change control (LCA control), the current proficiency level (L n) is the calculated proficiency level during the execution period of the current lane change control (LCA control), When the current proficiency level (L n) is higher than the previous proficiency level (L n-1), the threshold time (Tv) used in the next lane change control is shortened, When the current proficiency level (L n) is lower than the previous proficiency level (L n-1), the threshold time (Tv) used for the next lane change control is prolonged. According to the present embodiment, the threshold time (Tv) can be appropriately increased or decreased according to the proficiency of the driver, and lane change control (LCA control) suitable for the driver can be realized. In another aspect of the lane change support apparatus of the present invention, The proficiency level (L) is calculated from an evaluation result (S) obtained based on the driving condition of the driver during the execution period of the lane change control (LCA control), and an evaluation result (R) obtained based on the ending state of the lane change control (LCA control). In this case, the driving condition of the driver may include a keep-steering condition of the driver and a surrounding vehicle co