Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

A vehicle control method used in a vehicle control device, comprising:

• determining a possibility of collision between an object present ahead of an own vehicle and the own vehicle;
• and
• performing, in response to determining that there is the possibility of collision, a first brake control for applying a first braking force to the own vehicle and a second brake control for applying a second braking force greater than the first braking force to the own vehicle, as an automatic brake control for applying a braking force to the own vehicle, wherein
• in the performing, timings of starting the first brake control and the second brake control are changed according to a lateral position of the object relative to the own vehicle, wherein a timing of starting the first brake control is set at a first threshold and a timing of starting the second brake control is set at a second threshold,
• in response to the object being present in a predetermined range of the lateral position that is defined with reference to the own vehicle, the brake control unit does not set the first threshold such that the first brake control is not performed but sets the second threshold to a braking limit time to collision such that the second brake control is performed at a timing in which a time to collision is less than or equal to the second threshold, and
• the braking limit time to collision is a limit time to collision that corresponds to a braking avoidance distance in which braking is actuated to avoid the possibility of collision.

A vehicle control device comprising:

• an object recognition unit that recognizes an object present ahead of an own vehicle;
• a collision determination unit that determines a possibility of collision between the object recognized by the object recognition unit and the own vehicle;
• and
• a brake control unit that, in response to the collision determination unit determining that there is the possibility of collision, performs a first brake control for applying a first braking force to the own vehicle and a second brake control for applying a second braking force greater than the first braking force to the own vehicle, as an automatic brake control for applying a braking force to the own vehicle, wherein
• the object is an other vehicle,
• the brake control unit sets a first threshold for a timing of starting the first brake control and a second threshold for a timing of starting the second brake control according to a lateral position of the object relative to the own vehicle,
• the brake control unit performs changing of the timings of starting the first brake control and the second brake control according to a vehicle overlap ratio that is an index indicating a percentage of overlap between the own vehicle and the other vehicle in a vehicle width direction,
• in response to the vehicle overlap ratio being greater than a predetermined value, the brake control unit does not set the first threshold such that the brake control unit does not perform the first brake control but sets the second threshold to a braking limit time to collision such that the second brake control is performed at a timing in which a time to collision is less than or equal to the second threshold, and
• the braking limit time to collision is a limit time to collision corresponding to a braking avoidance distance in which braking is actuated to avoid the possibility of collision.

A vehicle control method used in a vehicle control device, comprising:

• determining a possibility of collision between an object present ahead of an own vehicle and the own vehicle;
• and
• performing, in response to determining that there is the possibility of collision, a first brake control for applying a first braking force to the own vehicle and a second brake control for applying a second braking force greater than the first braking force to the own vehicle, as an automatic brake control for applying a braking force to the own vehicle, wherein
• the object is an other vehicle,
• in the performing, timings of starting the first brake control and the second brake control are changed according to a lateral position of the object relative to the own vehicle, wherein a timing of starting the first brake control is set at a first threshold and a timing of starting the second brake control is set at a second threshold,
• changing of the timings of starting the first brake control and the second brake control is performed according to a vehicle overlap ratio that is an index indicating a percentage of overlap between the own vehicle and the other vehicle in a vehicle width direction,
• in response to the vehicle overlap ratio being greater than a predetermined value, the brake control unit does not set the first threshold such that the first brake control is not performed and sets the second threshold to a braking limit time to collision such that the second brake control is performed at a timing in which a time to collision is less than or equal to the second threshold, and
• the braking limit time to collision is a limit time to collision corresponding to a braking avoidance distance in which braking is actuated to avoid the possibility of collision.