JP2005178530A - Road surface shape detection apparatus and road surface shape detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

A road surface shape is accurately estimated from the behavior of a preceding vehicle for predictive control of an active suspension device.
Detecting a mirror and a license plate of a preceding vehicle, detecting the behavior of the preceding vehicle from the behavior, and selecting a vehicle type of the preceding vehicle from the amplitude and convergence time of the behavior. The road surface shape is estimated from the selected vehicle type and the behavior of the preceding vehicle. When performing posture control of the host vehicle based on the estimated road surface shape, if the difference between the target value of posture control and the posture change value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the estimated road surface shape is different from the detected road surface shape. As a result, the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is changed to the vehicle type with the second highest priority.
[Selection] Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a road surface shape detection device that detects a road surface shape, and is particularly suitable for estimating a road surface shape based on the behavior of a preceding vehicle.

As such a road surface shape detection device, for example, a preceding vehicle is imaged with a camera, the behavior is image-analyzed to estimate the shape of the road surface, and based on the estimated road surface shape, for example, the suspension characteristics of the host vehicle are determined. There is something to control (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-5-262113

However, the road surface shape detection device described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that an accurate road surface shape cannot be estimated simply from the behavior of the preceding vehicle because the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is not taken into consideration.
The present invention has been developed to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a road surface shape detection device capable of estimating an accurate road surface shape by specifying a vehicle type of a preceding vehicle. .

  In order to solve the above problems, the road surface shape detection device of the present invention selects the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle based on the acquired preceding vehicle information including the behavior information of the preceding vehicle, and the vehicle type of the selected preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle type. The road surface shape is estimated based on vehicle behavior information.

  Thus, according to the road surface shape detection device of the present invention, the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is selected based on the acquired preceding vehicle information including the behavior information of the preceding vehicle, and the vehicle type of the selected preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle are selected. Since the road surface shape is estimated based on the behavior information, it is possible to accurately estimate the road surface shape from the behavior of the preceding vehicle in consideration of the vehicle behavior that differs for each vehicle type.

Next, an embodiment of an active suspension device using the road surface shape detection device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an active suspension device of the present embodiment, in which reference numeral 10 denotes a vehicle body side member, reference numerals 11FL to 11RR denote front left to rear right wheels, and reference numeral 12 denotes an active suspension. Each one is shown.

  The active suspension 12 includes hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR as actuators interposed between the vehicle body side member 10 and the wheel side members 14 of the wheels 11FL to 11RR, and operating pressures of these hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR. Pressure adjusting valves 20FL to 20RR that individually adjust the pressure, and hydraulic oil of a predetermined pressure is supplied to these pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR via the supply side pipe 21S, and the return oil from the pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR is returned. A hydraulic pressure source circuit 22 that recovers through the side pipe 21R, and accumulators 24F and 24R for pressure accumulation interposed in the supply side pipe 21S between the hydraulic pressure source circuit 22 and the pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR, and the vehicle speed is detected. Corresponding to the vehicle speed sensor 26 that outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the vehicle speed and each of the wheels 11FL to 11RR. Vertical acceleration sensors 28FL to 28RR that individually detect the vertical acceleration of the vehicle body at the position, a CCD camera 27 as an imaging unit that is attached to the front of the vehicle and captures a front image of the host vehicle, and the CCD camera 27 And a laser radar 29 as a distance measuring sensor that detects a distance to an object ahead of the host vehicle, detection values of the sensors 26 and 28FL to 28RR, and information of the CCD camera 27 and the laser radar 29. And a controller 30 for controlling the pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR.

  Each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR has a cylinder tube 18a. In the cylinder tube 18a, a lower pressure chamber L separated by a piston 18c having a through hole in the axial direction is formed. Thrust is generated according to the pressure difference between the upper and lower surfaces and the internal pressure. The lower end of the cylinder tube 18 a is attached to the wheel side member 14, and the upper end of the piston rod 18 b is attached to the vehicle body side member 10. Further, each of the pressure chambers L of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR is connected to an output port of the pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR via a hydraulic pipe 38, and is used for absorbing unsprung vibrations via a throttle valve 32. It is connected to the accumulator 34. In addition, a coil spring 36 having a relatively low spring constant and supporting a static load of the vehicle body is disposed between the springs of each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR.

  FIG. 2 shows an operating hydraulic circuit including the hydraulic source circuit 22 and pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR. Each of the pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR includes, for example, a three-port proportional electromagnetic pressure reducing valve having a cylindrical valve housing 20a in which a spool is slidably mounted and a proportional solenoid 20b provided integrally therewith, For example, the hydraulic pressure of each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR can be controlled by adjusting the supply current value i to the proportional solenoid 20b by, for example, voltage duty ratio control. In the figure, reference numeral 20c denotes a check valve for containing the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR.

  In addition, return accumulators 50F and 50R for accumulating return hydraulic oil are provided in the common return path of the front left and right pressure control valves 20FL and 20FR and the common return path of the rear left and right pressure control valves 20RL and 20RR, respectively. Return check valves 51F and 51R and switching cocks 52F and 52R are arranged in parallel between the left and right pressure control valves 20FL and 20RR and between the rear left and right pressure control valves 20RL and 20RR, respectively. Filters 53F and 53R are provided in the common supply path for the front left and right pressure control valves 20FL and 20FR and the common supply path for the rear left and right pressure control valves 20RL and 20RR, respectively.

  The hydraulic source circuit 22 includes a drain filter 58 for drain oil from each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR, an oil cooler 59 for cooling the return hydraulic oil, a reservoir tank 60 for storing the hydraulic oil, and pressurized supply of hydraulic oil. A pump 61 for storing pressure, a pump accumulator 62 for accumulating pressurized hydraulic pressure, a relief valve 63 and a line filter 64 interposed in parallel with the supply side pipe 21S, and between the supply side pipe 21S and the return side pipe 21R. A main relief valve 65 interposed between the supply side piping 21S and a flow control valve 67, and a fail valve 68 interposed between the supply side piping 21S and the return side piping 21R. And an operation check valve 69 and a pressure release cock 70 which are interposed in parallel with the return side pipe 21R. It is. Since most of these elements are the same as the sequence circuit, detailed description thereof will be omitted. However, the operation check valve 69 uses the operating oil pressure of each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR as a pilot pressure to operate the system. At the time of shutdown, for example, when the ignition switch is off, the hydraulic pressure of each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR is maintained at a predetermined pressure to maintain the vehicle height in an intermediate state.

  According to this hydraulic circuit, by adjusting the operating hydraulic pressure of each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR, it is possible to expand and contract the distance between the wheel and the vehicle body, and adjust the vehicle body support force at each wheel position. The wheel load of each wheel can be adjusted by combining them. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR is increased in the concave portion of the road surface to rebound the wheel, or the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR is decreased in the convex portion of the road surface. The vehicle body posture can be controlled to be flat, for example, by bouncing the wheels. Further, for example, it is possible to suppress the roll by increasing the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR on the turning outer wheel side, or to suppress the pitch by increasing the hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR on the scut side. is there.

  In the attitude control using such an active suspension device, when the road surface shape is not known in advance, the vertical acceleration sensor 28FL provided at the wheel position is described, for example, in JP-A-2001-47835. The vertical acceleration is detected at ~ 28RR, and as shown in FIG. 4A, a control amount for controlling the vehicle body posture to a predetermined state such as flat is calculated using these as vehicle body posture change inputs from the road surface. This control amount is the working hydraulic pressure of each of the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR, that is, the command current value i of the pressure control valves 20FL to 20RR, and the output to the vehicle body posture change input. The control amount is calculated by an arithmetic processing device such as a microcomputer in the controller 30.

  On the other hand, when the road surface shape is known in advance, more accurate vehicle body posture control can be performed by outputting a control amount corresponding to the road surface shape. For this purpose, for example, as described in JP-A-2001-47835, sensors for detecting the road surface shape are provided in front of the host vehicle, and the control amount is set according to the road surface shape detected by the sensors. You may make it calculate. However, as shown in FIGS. 4b and 4c, if the road surface shape can be detected or estimated from the behavior of the preceding vehicle of the host vehicle, the calculation of the control amount can be started at an earlier timing. Even if there is a delay in the calculation and processing of the control signal, it is possible to control at a more appropriate timing. The time required for the host vehicle to reach the position of the road surface shape detected from the behavior of the preceding vehicle corresponds to a so-called inter-vehicle time obtained by dividing the inter-vehicle distance between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle by the traveling speed of the host vehicle.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the road surface shape (road surface information) is detected from the behavior of the preceding vehicle by the arithmetic processing of FIG. 5 performed in the controller 30. This calculation process is executed by a timer interrupt process every predetermined sampling time ΔT set to about 10 msec., For example. In this calculation process, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not a preceding vehicle exists. If there is a preceding vehicle, the process proceeds to step S2, and if not, the process proceeds to step S20. The presence of the preceding vehicle is determined by, for example, recognizing the front object of the host vehicle imaged by the CCD camera 27 as a vehicle by pattern matching or the like, or by detecting the front object of the host vehicle detected by the laser radar 29 at a predetermined speed, for example, It can be detected based on whether or not the vehicle is moving at the same or substantially the same speed as the host vehicle. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, it may be determined that the preceding vehicle exists only when the preceding vehicle is in an area where the CCD camera 27 or the laser radar 29 can detect the preceding vehicle.

  In step S2, after detecting the shape of the road surface through which the host vehicle passes, the process proceeds to step S3. For example, when the posture control is to maintain the posture of the host vehicle in a flat state, the own vehicle passing road surface shape is obtained by conversion from the sum of the road surface shape or the amount of posture control with respect to the road surface input and the road surface input. At this time, the control amount of the attitude control and the direction of the road surface input are opposite. In other words, the control amount when maintaining the attitude of the host vehicle to be flat absorbs the road surface shape or the road surface input. Therefore, if the attitude of the host vehicle remains flat as a result of the attitude control, that is, the road surface. If the input from is “0” or substantially “0”, the portion corresponding to the reverse direction of the control amount becomes the road surface shape or road surface input. However, even if the attitude is controlled, if the attitude of the host vehicle is not flat, there will be a large amount of control for the road surface input, so it is possible to detect the road surface shape by taking this into account. Become.

  In step S3, the preceding vehicle captured image analysis in front of the host vehicle imaged by the CCD camera 27 is analyzed, and then the process proceeds to step S4. In the present embodiment, specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the left and right mirrors ML, MR and license plate (license plate) LP of the preceding vehicle are detected by model matching or the like, and their representative points, for example, The absolute coordinates of the barycentric points of elements and the relative positions of representative points are updated and stored, and if there is a previous update storage content, the behavior of the preceding vehicle is detected by comparison with this time. For example, assuming that the attitude of the host vehicle has not changed, that is, the angle of view of the front image of the host vehicle by the CCD camera 27 has not changed, representatives of the left and right mirrors ML and MR of the preceding vehicle and the license plate LP When all the points are moving downward, the preceding vehicle is bouncing, and when the representative points of the left and right mirrors ML, MR and the license plate LP are all rotating to the right, the preceding vehicle is When the distance between the representative points of the left and right mirrors ML, MR of the preceding vehicle and the representative point of the license plate LP is large, the preceding vehicle pitches to the tail scissor or nose lift side. It is judged that Since the actual behavior of the preceding vehicle should not be as simple as this, it is necessary to determine the size and ratio of the behavior component, such as a bounce component, a roll component, and a pitch component.

  In step S4, two vehicle type candidates for the preceding vehicle are selected from the behavior of the preceding vehicle detected in step S3, and priorities are assigned to each, and then the process proceeds to step S5. Specifically, at a certain traveling speed, for example, a vehicle body behavior as shown in FIG. 7b appears for a road surface shape (road surface fluctuation) as shown in FIG. 7a, and the maximum amplitude and convergence time of the vehicle body behavior are determined for each vehicle type. Are organized as shown in FIG. 8, for example. Therefore, the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is determined by collating the behavior of the preceding vehicle in the road surface shape of the own vehicle detected in step S2 with the road surface shape of FIG. 7a and the vehicle type characteristics of FIG. However, at this point in time, there is a possibility that the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle may not be completely specified, so two vehicle types are selected in descending order of the correlation between the behavior of the preceding vehicle and the road surface shape. Give priority. Note that the vehicle speed is intervened as a parameter in specifying the vehicle type based on the preceding vehicle behavior and the road surface shape.

In the step S5, it is determined whether or not the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle selected and prioritized in the step S4 is the same combination as the preceding vehicle vehicle type at the previous calculation, and the preceding vehicle vehicle type at the previous calculation is determined. If the combination is the same, the process proceeds to step S6. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S7.
In step S6, it is determined whether or not the vehicle type change flag F is in a reset state with “0”. If the vehicle type change flag F is in a reset state with “0”, the process proceeds to step S7. If not, the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S7, the vehicle type with the highest priority selected in step S4 is selected as the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle, and then the process proceeds to step S9.
In step S8, the vehicle type with the second highest priority selected in step S4 is selected as the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle, and then the process proceeds to step S9.
In step S9, the shape of the road surface on which the preceding vehicle passes (hereinafter simply referred to as the preceding vehicle road surface) from the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle selected in step S7 or step S8 and the behavior of the preceding vehicle detected in step S3. After detecting (estimating) a shape), the process proceeds to step S10. Specifically, the road surface shape of the preceding vehicle is detected by reversely estimating the road surface shape as shown in FIG. 7a from the behavior of the preceding vehicle detected as shown in FIG. 7b.

  In step S10, it is determined whether or not the road surface shape of the preceding vehicle road surface shape detected (estimated) in step S9 is a road surface shape that can be subjected to posture control by the active suspension device, and the road surface capable of posture control. If it is a shape, the process proceeds to step S11, and if not, the process proceeds to step S20. In general, in the active suspension device, the vibration frequency and amplitude of the road surface input (road surface shape) capable of posture control are limited, so if the posture controllable range is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S11. The process proceeds to step S20.

  In step S11, the preceding vehicle road surface shape detected (estimated) in step S9 is updated and stored, and then the process proceeds to step S12. When the preceding vehicle road surface shape is stored in step S11, the hydraulic cylinders 18FL to 18RR are actually driven and the posture is controlled according to the road surface shape. Since the vehicle travels ahead with a distance between the vehicles, there is a time lag until the host vehicle reaches the position of the stored road surface shape. For this reason, in actual posture control, after the preceding vehicle road surface shape is stored in step S11, an inter-vehicle time (time until the host vehicle reaches the position of the stored road surface shape) is calculated, and a timer is calculated. The control is started after waiting for the calculated inter-vehicle time and the timer count to match.

In step S12, it is determined whether or not posture control of the host vehicle has been performed based on the preceding vehicle road surface shape detected (estimated) in step S9 and updated and stored in step S11, and based on the preceding vehicle road surface shape. If the attitude control of the host vehicle is performed, the process proceeds to step S13. Otherwise, the process proceeds to the main program.
In step S13, after calculating the difference between the amount of change in own vehicle posture (posture change value) and the target value during own vehicle posture control based on the preceding vehicle road surface shape, the process proceeds to step S14. This obtains the difference between the posture change target value generated in the above-mentioned own vehicle posture control and the posture change value generated by the actual road surface input. In other words, for example, the target value of the posture change when the host vehicle is kept flat should be “0”, but the posture change does not occur even though the host vehicle posture control is performed based on the preceding vehicle road surface shape. When this occurs, the posture change value itself becomes the posture change value difference.

In the step S14, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle posture change value difference calculated in the step S13 is within a predetermined range, and when the own vehicle posture change value difference is within the predetermined range. The process proceeds to step S15, and if not, the process proceeds to step S18.
In step S15, the vehicle type change flag F is set to a reset state of “0”, and then the process proceeds to step S16.
In the step S16, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle attitude control has been performed with the vehicle model with the first vehicle type selection priority, and if the host vehicle posture control is performed with the vehicle model with the first vehicle model selection priority, the main program is executed. If not, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, the vehicle type change flag F is set to "1" and then the process returns to the main program.
On the other hand, in step S18, the vehicle type change flag F is set to “1” and then the process proceeds to step S19.
In step S19, it is determined whether or not the host vehicle attitude control has been performed on the vehicle model with the first vehicle type selection priority, and if the host vehicle posture control is performed on the vehicle model with the first vehicle model selection priority, the main program is executed. If not, the process proceeds to step S20.
In step S20, the stored contents and flags obtained by the arithmetic processing in FIG. 5 are initialized, and then the process proceeds to step S21.
In step S21, the main vehicle program is shifted to the main program after there is no preceding vehicle road surface shape. In this case, the posture control of the host vehicle is performed based only on the road surface shape detected in step S2.

  According to this calculation process, the vehicle passing road surface shape is detected, and two vehicle types of the preceding vehicle are selected with priorities from the behavior of the preceding vehicle when passing through the vehicle passing road surface shape. At this time, if the combination of the preceding vehicle models with priorities is the same as that at the time of the previous calculation process, the preceding vehicles are assumed to be the same as at the time of the previous calculation process, and the priority order when the vehicle type change flag F is in the reset state. The first model is selected as the model of the preceding vehicle, and when the model change flag F is in the set state, the model with the second priority is selected as the model of the preceding vehicle. Further, when the combination of the preceding vehicle models with priorities is different from that of the previous calculation process, the car model with the first priority is selected as the model of the preceding vehicle.

  Then, the road surface shape of the point where the preceding vehicle passes based on the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle selected in this way and the behavior of the preceding vehicle, that is, the joint amplitude (size) of the preceding vehicle and the convergence time of the behavior. Is estimated. When the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape is a shape that can be controlled by the active suspension device, the preceding vehicle road surface shape is updated and stored.

  There is a time lag corresponding to the inter-vehicle time until the own vehicle reaches the road surface of the preceding vehicle road surface shape that has been updated and stored. Need to delay. Therefore, after adjusting the timing using a timer or the like, the posture control of the host vehicle is performed based on the updated vehicle road surface shape. The difference between the target value of the attitude change control at that time and the actual attitude change value is within a predetermined range, that is, the difference between the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the detected own vehicle passing road surface shape is within the predetermined range. In addition, if the vehicle attitude control is performed on the first priority vehicle type, the vehicle type change flag F is reset, that is, the first priority vehicle type is selected as the preceding vehicle type. On the other hand, the difference between the target value of posture change control and the actual posture change value is not within the predetermined range, that is, the difference between the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the detected own vehicle passing road surface shape is within the predetermined range. If the vehicle type of the vehicle with the highest priority is not controlled and the vehicle attitude control is performed, the vehicle type change flag F is set, that is, when the same combination of vehicle types is selected in the next calculation process. Selects the second-priority vehicle type as the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle. That is, when the difference between the posture change value and the target value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the difference between the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the detected own vehicle passing road surface shape is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, To change.

  As a result of changing the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle in this way, the difference between the target value of the attitude change control and the actual attitude change value is within a predetermined range, that is, the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the detected own vehicle passing road surface If the difference from the shape is within the predetermined range, the vehicle type with the second highest priority is selected as the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle. In addition, the difference between the target value of the posture change control and the actual posture change value is not within the predetermined range even though the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is changed, that is, the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the detected vehicle passing If the difference from the road surface shape is not within the predetermined range, the preceding vehicle road surface shape information is canceled.

  As described above, the CCD camera 27, the laser radar 29, and step S3 of the calculation process of FIG. 5 constitute the preceding vehicle information acquisition means of the road surface shape detection device of the present invention. Steps S5 to S8 and Steps S12 to S19 constitute the preceding vehicle vehicle type selection means, Steps S9 to S11 of the arithmetic processing in FIG. 5 constitute road surface shape estimation means, and Step S2 of the arithmetic processing in FIG. Constitutes road surface shape detecting means.

Thus, in the road surface shape detection device of this embodiment, the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is selected from the preceding vehicle information including the behavior of the preceding vehicle, and the preceding vehicle road surface shape is determined from the selected preceding vehicle type and the behavior of the preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to accurately estimate the road surface shape of the portion through which the preceding vehicle passes.
Further, since the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is selected based on the amplitude of the behavior of the preceding vehicle, that is, the magnitude of the behavior and the convergence time of the behavior, the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle can be accurately specified.

Further, when the difference between the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the detected own vehicle passing road surface shape is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the vehicle type of the previously selected preceding vehicle is changed to the vehicle type with the second highest priority. Therefore, the accuracy of specifying the preceding vehicle model is improved.
Further, when the difference between the amount of change in posture of the host vehicle controlled based on the estimated preceding vehicle road surface shape and the target value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the estimated road surface shape and the detected road surface shape Therefore, the difference between the estimated road surface shape and the detected road surface shape can be evaluated without comparing the road surface shapes.

In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is selected and specified based only on the behavior of the preceding vehicle. For example, the size of the preceding vehicle that can be detected by the CCD camera 27 and the laser radar 29 is taken into consideration. The vehicle type of the preceding vehicle may be selected and specified, or the vehicle type may be specified from the behavior, shape, and size of the preceding vehicle.
In the above embodiment, the road surface shape detected by the road surface shape detection device of the present invention is used for the preview control of the active suspension device. However, any other road surface shape detected by the road surface shape detection device of the present invention is used. For example, the present invention can be applied to a semi-active suspension device that variably controls a damping force according to road surface input.
In the above embodiment, an arithmetic processing unit such as a microcomputer is used as the controller. However, other electronic devices and arithmetic circuits may be used.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows one Embodiment of the active suspension apparatus using the road surface shape detection apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is a hydraulic circuit diagram of the active suspension device of FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing of an effect | action of the active suspension apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of an effect | action of the active suspension apparatus of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the arithmetic processing for the road surface shape detection performed with the controller of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which detects the preceding vehicle performed by the arithmetic processing of FIG. 5, and its behavior. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between a road surface shape and a vehicle body behavior. It is explanatory drawing for selecting the vehicle type of a preceding vehicle from the behavior of a preceding vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

11FL to 11RR are wheels 12 is an active suspension device 18FL to 18RR is a hydraulic cylinder 20FL to 20RR is a pressure control valve 22 is a hydraulic power source circuit 27 is a CCD camera 28FL to 28RR is a vertical acceleration sensor 29 is a laser radar 30 is a controller

Claims (5)

  The preceding vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring the preceding vehicle information including at least the preceding vehicle behavior information, and the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is selected based on the preceding vehicle information including the preceding vehicle behavior information acquired by the preceding vehicle information acquiring means. Preceding vehicle vehicle type selection means, road surface shape estimation means for estimating the road surface shape based on the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle selected by the preceding vehicle vehicle type selection means and the behavior information of the preceding vehicle acquired by the preceding vehicle information acquisition means A road surface shape detection device comprising:   The preceding vehicle vehicle type selection unit selects the vehicle type of the preceding vehicle based on the magnitude of the behavior of the preceding vehicle acquired by the preceding vehicle information acquisition unit and the convergence time of the behavior. The road surface shape detection apparatus described.   Road surface shape detecting means for detecting a road surface shape from a control amount for controlling the posture of the own vehicle and a road surface input for changing the posture of the own vehicle is provided, and the preceding vehicle vehicle type selecting means is estimated by the road surface shape estimating means. The vehicle type of the preceding vehicle that has already been selected is changed when a difference between the road surface shape detected by the road surface shape detection means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Road surface shape detection device.   The preceding vehicle vehicle type selection means is configured to detect the road surface when a difference between a change amount of a posture of the host vehicle controlled based on the road surface shape estimated by the road surface shape estimation means and a target value thereof is a predetermined value or more. 4. The road surface shape detection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a difference between the road surface shape estimated by the shape estimation unit and the road surface shape detected by the road surface shape detection unit is determined to be a predetermined value or more.   The vehicle type of the preceding vehicle is selected based on the preceding vehicle information including the acquired preceding vehicle behavior information, and the road surface shape is estimated based on the selected preceding vehicle type and the acquired preceding vehicle behavior information. The road surface shape detection method characterized by the above-mentioned.

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