Lane-change assistance system and lane-change assistance method for the automated performance of multiple lane changes

Abstract

A lane-change assistance system for a motor vehicle performs a plurality of lane changes from the current lane to a target lane, which are required in order to follow a navigation system outputted route. The plurality of lane changes is performed in response to the lane-change assistance system ascertaining a triggering operation action by the driver, which indicates that the driver wants the lane-change assistance system to perform the plurality of lane changes.

Claims

1. A system for a motor vehicle for an automated performance of lane changes with at least automated transverse guidance, comprising: a lane-change assistance system, including a controller, which is operatively configured to: ascertain, based on information from a navigation system outputting a route, that a plurality of lane changes, proceeding from a current lane to a target lane, are required in order to follow the route; inform a driver of the vehicle of a need to change lanes; ascertain a presence of a triggering operation action by the driver for triggering the plurality of lane changes required; and in response to ascertaining the presence of the triggering operation action, perform successively and in an automated manner the plurality of lane changes required, proceeding from the current lane to the target lane, with at least automated transverse guidance, wherein only a single operation action is required for triggering the plurality of lane changes.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane-change assistance system is configured to inform the driver of the need to change lanes, in response to ascertaining the plurality of lane changes required.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lane-change assistance system is further operatively configured to inform the driver of a need to change lanes such that the multiple lane changes necessary are signaled to the driver.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein a travel direction indicator operating element for activating a travel direction indicator visible from outside the vehicle is provided in the vehicle cockpit, and the triggering operation action by the driver is an actuation of the travel direction indicator operating element.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the travel direction indicator operating element is a turn signal lever, wherein the turn signal lever has: (i) a rest position for a non-activated travel direction indicator, (ii) an engaged position, in which the travel direction indicator is permanently activated without the driver having to hold the turn signal lever, and (iii) before the engaged position, a one-touch turn signal position, in which the travel direction indicator is activated and returns to the rest position upon the turn signal lever being released, and wherein the triggering operation action is: (i) switching the turn signal lever from the rest position to the engaged position, or (ii) switching the turn signal lever from the rest position to the one-touch turn signal position, with the turn signal lever being held in the one-touch turn signal position for at least as long as until a specific criterion is satisfied.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane-change assistance system is further operatively configured to ascertain that the plurality of lane changes is required on account of an exit ahead from the road currently being traveled, which exit is to be taken in the context of the navigation.

7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane-change assistance system is further operatively configured to: determine or receive a distance with respect to a lane change cause ahead, in particular with respect to an exit ahead that is to be taken, and initiate informing the driver of the need for the lane change depending on the distance.

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane-change assistance system is further operatively configured to ascertain the current lane, wherein a point in time or the vehicle position at which the lane-change assistance system informs of the need for the lane change is dependent on the current lane.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the lane-change assistance system is further operatively configured to, depending on the current lane, determine a number of lane changes to be performed proceeding from the current lane, wherein the point in time or the vehicle position at which the lane-change assistance system informs of the need for the lane change is dependent on said number.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lane-change assistance system is configured to determine or receive information concerning traffic volume of the surrounding traffic, wherein a point in time or the vehicle position at which the lane-change assistance system informs of a need for the lane change is dependent on the information concerning the traffic volume of the surrounding traffic.

11. A lane-change assistance method for a motor vehicle for automated performance of lane changes with at least automated transverse guidance, the method comprising the steps of: ascertaining, based on information from a navigation system outputting a route, that a plurality of lane changes proceeding from a current lane to a target lane are required in order to follow the route; informing a driver of a need to change lanes; ascertaining that a triggering operation action by the driver for triggering the plurality of lane changes required is present; and in response to ascertaining the presence of the triggering operation action, performing, in an automated manner, the plurality of lane changes required, proceeding from the current lane to the target lane, wherein only a single operation action is required for triggering the plurality of lane changes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary automobile with one exemplary embodiment of a lane-change assistance system according to the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is an exemplary flow diagram for the automated performance of a plurality of lane changes for following an exit ahead.

(3) FIG. 3 shows an exemplary traveling sequence.

(4) FIG. 4 shows an exemplary lane-change indication.

(5) FIGS. 5A-5B show exemplary use scenarios.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(6) FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary automobile 1 moving in the direction of the arrow in a starting lane 10 with one exemplary embodiment of a driver assistance system 12 integrated in the vehicle. The starting lane 10 is for example an overtaking lane on an interstate having three lanes per direction of travel. In addition to the direction of travel, the arrow illustrated also marks the lane center of the lane 10.

(7) The vehicle comprises a steering wheel 3 for manually steering the vehicle 1 and a turn signal lever 4 integrated in particular in the steering column. The turn signal lever 4 can be in the neutral position, in one of the two one-touch turn signal positions for a lane change left or right or in one of the two engaged continuous turn signal positions left or right.

(8) Operating electronics 2 serve to detect the position of the turn signal lever 4 and forward the position of the turn signal lever 4 to the driver assistance system 12.

(9) Furthermore, provision is made of electromechanical steering with a steering actuator 5 with an electric motor, which is controlled via an electronic steering control unit 6.

(10) Furthermore, an environment sensor system with front camera 13 is present, the camera image from said front camera being evaluated in a camera evaluation facility. By means of the camera image from the front camera, in the camera evaluation facility of the driver assistance system 12, the lateral boundary lines of the current lane 10 can be measured and the adjacent lane 11 can be identified and measured. This lane information is used in the driver assistance system 12.

(11) The environment sensor system 13 comprises, besides the front camera, a radar system for detecting other road users. For detecting lateral objects, provision can be made of radar sensors that are situated at the four corners of the vehicle and look laterally toward the front and back on the left and right.

(12) The driver assistance system 12 serves, inter alia, to keep the vehicle in a transverse position relative to the current lane 10 in an automated manner (lane keeping function). For this purpose, the steering control unit 6 is controlled in a suitable manner on the part of the driver assistance system 12 in the context of the automated transverse guidance. The driver assistance system 12 also serves for the automated longitudinal guidance of the motor vehicle 1. During the active lane keeping function, the automated longitudinal guidance works like a cruise control. For the automated longitudinal guidance, the driver assistance system 12 controls both the drive torque of the vehicle drive 25 and a possibly required braking torque of the operating braking system 26.

(13) The driver assistance system 12 additionally also comprises a lane-change assistance function. By means of the lane-change assistance function, in reaction to a triggering actuation of the turn signal lever 4, the vehicle 1 is controlled in an automated manner in the context of an automated lane-change maneuver with automated transverse and longitudinal guidance proceeding from the current lane 10 to a directly adjacent target lane (e.g. the lane 11). By way of example, an automated lane change is triggered if the turn signal lever 4 is held in a one-touch turn signal position for a time duration greater than, or greater than or equal to, a threshold value (e.g. 1 s). During the automated lane-change maneuver, both the transverse guidance and the longitudinal guidance are undertaken by the driver assistance system 12.

(14) Furthermore, a navigation system 23 for navigation is provided. During active navigation, the navigation system 23 informs the driver assistance system 12, inter alia, with information regarding the nearest interstate exit ahead which is on the navigation route.

(15) If the driver assistance system 12, with knowledge of the current lane 10 and the target lane, ascertains that one or more lane changes are required in order to follow an exit ahead that is to be taken in the context of the navigation, the driver is informed of the lane changes by a display in the vehicle cockpit or by way of a head-up display. By means of a suitable triggering operation action, e.g. switching the turn signal lever 4 to the engaged position, the driver can then trigger automated performance of the lane changes required.

(16) The functioning of the driver assistance system 12 when performing automated lane changes in the case of an exit ahead is described below in association with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

(17) It is assumed, for example, that the vehicle 1 is initially traveling at high speed in the left lane 10 of a, for example, three-lane interstate with active automated transverse and longitudinal guidance, as is illustrated in FIG. 3.

(18) In step 100, the driver assistance system 12 then ascertains, on the basis of the information from the navigation system 23, that an exit ahead must be taken.

(19) Step 102 involves ascertaining the lane currently being traveled (here: the lane 10) and the target lane (here lane 32 of the exit) in order to follow the navigation destination (here the exit). This information can either be determined by the driver assistance system 12 itself and/or be determined with the aid of the navigation system 23. The lane currently being traveled can be determined for example by the vehicle sensor system present and by the total number of lanes communicated by the navigation device. Distances to roadside structures can be measured by the sensor system. In the case of small distances to a roadside structure, it can be assumed that the vehicle is in the respective outermost lane. Generally, the lane that the vehicle is in can be deduced from the distance to a roadside structure. The fact that the ego vehicle is in one of the respective outermost lanes can likewise be deduced from the identification of solid and broken lane boundary markings. The current lane can likewise be deduced by observing other vehicles and measuring primarily the transverse distance with respect to these vehicles. If the correct lane has been identified (the initial identification is always the most important and most difficult), then with lane boundary markings present it is always possible to identify lane changes and the current lane is always known.

(20) The target lane is communicated to the driver assistance system 12 by the navigation system 23, for example.

(21) Step 104 involves determining the number n (here n=3) of lane changes required from the current lane 10 to the target lane (here lane 32).

(22) Step 110 involves estimating a distance d.sub.sw that is expected to be covered in the context of n−1 lane changes proceeding from the current lane to the lane 31 adjacent to the lane 32 of the exit.

(23) For this purpose, by way of example, the intensity of the traffic volume of the surrounding traffic can be determined and, depending thereon, an average time ΔT for a lane change can be determined.

(24) From the number n−1 of lane changes, the average time ΔT per lane change and an assumed vehicle speed v, in step 110 it is possible to determine the distance d.sub.sw=f (n; ΔT; v) that is covered in the context of n−1 lane changes.

(25) Furthermore, the distance d to the exit is determined in step 120. The distance d to the exit is, for example, the distance to the beginning of the lane 32 of the deceleration lane of the exit, as is indicated in FIG. 3.

(26) The determination of the distance to the exit is then constantly updated.

(27) In the position P1 in FIG. 3, the driver assistance system 12 knows the lane in which the vehicle 1 is currently situated (namely the lane 10) and the target lane (here the lane 32) to which it is necessary to change in order to follow the navigation destination (here the exit). Furthermore, the vehicle knows that n lane changes (here n=3) are required in order to follow the exit. Furthermore, the distance d to the exit and also the travel distance d.sub.sw for the n−1 lane changes are known.

(28) A check is then made in the interrogation 130 to establish whether the current distance d to the beginning of the lane 32 of the exit is less than or equal to the distance d.sub.sw required for the n−1 lane changes plus a prior distance Δd. If this is the case, a for example optical lane-change indication is output to the driver in step 140. The prior distance Δd takes account of the fact that the lane-change indication is not only output if the distance to the exit corresponds to the required distance d.sub.sw for the n−1 lane changes, but rather already earlier by the prior distance Δd. It would also be contemplated to dispense with a prior distance Δd.

(29) The outputting of the lane-change indication to the driver is carried out for example at the vehicle position P2 in FIG. 3. An exemplary optical lane-change indication is illustrated in FIG. 4. All the display elements illustrated in FIG. 4 are output for example only with the outputting of the lane-change indication at the vehicle position P2. In FIG. 4, the arrows mark the individual lanes. The arrows in the row 200 mark the lanes at the current position, and the arrows in the row 210 mark the lanes at the position of the exit, wherein the arrow 215 identifies the lane 32 of the exit. The marker 220 marks the lane currently being traveled. The lane changes required to reach the lane 32 of the exit are highlighted by the rectangular markings 230 of the lanes in FIG. 4. The marked arrows in the lower row 200 indicate which lane changes ought to be started at the current position in order to follow the navigation destination; the marked upper arrow 215 in the upper row 210 indicates the lane in which the vehicle 1 should be located after the required lane-change maneuver.

(30) In reaction to the outputting of the lane-change indication, the driver assistance system 12 checks whether the driver carries out an operation action for triggering the n lane changes required on account of the navigation. Preferably, the operation action for the automated performance of the lane changes required on account of the navigation is different than the operation action for the automated performance of a single lane change. The operation action for the automated performance of the lane changes required on account of the navigation is, for example, the actuation of the turn signal lever 4 from the rest position to the engaged position, while a single lane change, independently of the current navigation, is triggered for example by switching from the rest position to the one-touch turn signal position.

(31) In response to the operation action by the driver, n−1 lane changes from the starting lane 10 to the lane 31 adjacent to the lane 32 of the exit are performed successively taking account of the surrounding traffic in an automated manner by the driver assistance system 12 (see step 160). The performance of the n−1 lane changes begins at the position P3 in FIG. 3. The n−1 lane changes are performed taking account of the surrounding traffic if possible such that the exit can be reached in good time.

(32) The n−1 lane changes are concluded at the position P4.

(33) After reaching the beginning of the deceleration lane 32, a lane change from the lane 31 to the lane 32 of the exit is performed in an automated manner at the position P5 without the need for a further operation action.

(34) If the exit does not have an additional deceleration lane, in step 110 it is possible to determine the distance d.sub.sw for n lane changes instead of n−1, such that all n lane changes required can be performed in an automated manner in step 160.

(35) FIGS. 5A-B show different exemplary scenarios for automated performance of a plurality of lane changes in response to an operation action by a driver.

(36) The automated performance of a plurality of lane changes in response to an operation action by a driver on account of an exit ahead has been described above (see e.g. FIG. 5B). The above-described explanations concerning the automated performance of a plurality of lane changes in response to an operation action by a driver can also be applied to the case of a different local lane-change cause ahead, for example a separation of lanes ahead and the lane changes associated therewith (see FIG. 5A). In FIGS. 5A-B, the arrows in each case indicate the lane that ought to be changed to in order to reach the destination with active navigation.

(37) The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.