JP-2026074508-A - Driving assistance systems
Abstract
[Problem] To effectively prevent causing discomfort to the occupants. [Solution] A driving assistance device capable of performing inter-vehicle distance control, which controls the distance between the vehicle and another vehicle based on a predetermined target inter-vehicle distance, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires whether the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling or is scheduled to travel in the near future is on a downhill slope; a determination unit that determines whether the downhill slope continues for a predetermined amount or more; and an inter-vehicle distance changing unit that, if the determination unit determines that the downhill slope continues for a predetermined amount or more, changes the target inter-vehicle distance for inter-vehicle distance control to be longer. [Selection Diagram] Figure 4
Inventors
- 吉岡 祐之
Assignees
- トヨタ自動車株式会社
Dates
- Publication Date
- 20260507
- Application Date
- 20241021
Claims (1)
- A driver assistance device capable of performing inter-vehicle distance control, which controls the distance between one's own vehicle and other vehicles based on a predetermined target distance, An acquisition unit that acquires whether the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling or is scheduled to travel in the near future, based on the distance control between vehicles, is on a downhill slope. A determination unit that determines whether the downward slope continues for a predetermined amount or more, A driving assistance device comprising: a determination unit that determines that the downward slope continues for a predetermined amount or more, and then changes the target inter-vehicle distance of the inter-vehicle distance control to increase the target inter-vehicle distance.
Description
This disclosure relates to a driver assistance system. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle driver assistance system capable of performing Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). The system described in Patent Document 1 sets a large distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle when stopped, because if the road gradient is steep, the vehicle may move unintentionally. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-138217 Even when a vehicle is following a preceding vehicle using ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) follow-me control, it may be advisable to adjust the target following distance (or target following time) to increase it when traveling on inclines (especially downhill slopes) to prevent the following distance from becoming too short. However, making such an adjustment on short inclines could cause discomfort to the vehicle's occupants due to repeated increases and decreases in the following distance. This disclosure was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to effectively prevent discomfort to occupants by optimizing the target distance between vehicles while the vehicle is in motion using inter-vehicle distance control. The technology disclosed herein is A driver assistance device capable of performing inter-vehicle distance control, which controls the distance between one's own vehicle and other vehicles based on a predetermined target distance, An acquisition unit that acquires whether the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling or is scheduled to travel in the near future, based on the distance control between vehicles, is on a downhill slope. A determination unit that determines whether the downward slope continues for a predetermined amount or more, The system is characterized by comprising: a distance adjustment unit that, when the determination unit determines that the downward slope continues for a predetermined amount or more, changes the target distance between vehicles in the distance between vehicles control to increase the target distance between vehicles. This is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the vehicle according to this embodiment.This is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the control device according to this embodiment.This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a forward-facing image captured by a camera sensor mounted on a vehicle.This flowchart illustrates the routine for changing the target inter-vehicle distance according to this embodiment. The driver assistance system according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. [Hardware Configuration] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of vehicle VH according to this embodiment. Hereinafter, vehicle VH may be referred to as "our vehicle" when it is necessary to distinguish it from other vehicles, etc. The vehicle VH has an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10. The ECU 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, and an interface device 14, etc. The CPU 11 is a processor that executes various programs stored in the ROM 12. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that stores data necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various programs. The RAM 13 is a volatile memory that provides a work area that is expanded when various programs are executed by the CPU 11. The interface device 14 is a communication device for communicating with external devices. The ECU 10 is the central device that provides driving assistance such as ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). Driving assistance encompasses the concept of autonomous driving. The ECU 10 is connected to the drive unit 20, steering unit 21, braking unit 22, internal sensor device 30, external sensor device 40, navigation device 50, communication device 60, ACC control unit 70, etc., via communication. The drive unit 20 generates the driving force transmitted to the drive wheels of the vehicle VH. Examples of the drive unit 20 include an electric motor and an engine. The vehicle VH may be a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), a battery electric vehicle (BEV), or a conventional engine vehicle. The steering unit 21 applies steering force to the wheels of the vehicle VH. The braking unit 22 applies braking force to the wheels of the vehicle VH. The internal sensor device 30 consists of sensors that acquire the state of the vehicle's VH (vehicle height). The internal sensor device 30 includes a wheel speed sensor 31, an accelerator sensor 32, a brake sensor 33, a steering angle sensor 34, a yaw rate sensor 35, a longitudinal acceleration sensor 36, and the like. The wheel speed sensor 31 detects the vehicle speed (vehicle speed V) of the vehicle VH. The accelerator sensor 32 detects the amount of accelerator pedal operation by the driver (not shown). The brake sensor 33 detects the amount of brake pedal operation by the driver (not sho