Vehicle control apparatus

• US 10,017,178 B2
• Filed: 08/17/2016
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Morimoto, Kazuhiro, Matsuoka, Katsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Rodney Allen
• Application Number:
  US15/239,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20170080930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4026 Cycles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4029 Pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4041 Position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/802 Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/181 Preparing for stopping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

A vehicle control apparatus of the invention is applied to a vehicle having at least one device configured to acquire a road situation information from an outside of the vehicle. The apparatus determines whether or not a particular situation regarding a vehicle traveling occurs on the basis of the road situation information. The particular situation being a situation that a driver of the vehicle should be alerted. The apparatus can perform an informing for alerting the driver and execute a cruise control for causing the vehicle to travel automatically without an operation of an acceleration operator of the vehicle. The apparatus performs the informing when the particular situation occurs, the cruise control is not executed and the acceleration operator is operated. The apparatus performs the informing when the particular situation occurs and the cruise control is executed, independently of whether or not the acceleration operator is operated.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus, applied to a vehicle having at least one road situation information acquisition device configured to acquire road situation information on a road situation from a device outside of the vehicle, the vehicle control apparatus comprising:

one or more electronic control units configured to;

determine whether or not a particular situation regarding a vehicle traveling occurs on the basis of the road situation information from the device outside the vehicle, the particular situation being a situation that a driver of the vehicle should be alerted;

execute a cruise control for causing the vehicle to travel automatically without an operation of an acceleration operator of the vehicle;

perform alerting the driver when the one or more electronic control units determines (1) that the particular situation occurs, (2) that the cruise control is not executed and (3) that the acceleration operator is operated; and

perform the alerting the driver when the one or more electronic control units determines (1) that the particular situation occurs and (2) that the cruise control is executed, independently of whether or not the acceleration operator is operated.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic control units is configured to determine whether or not the particular situation occurs on the basis of a distance between a present position of the vehicle and a position of an object which is included in the road situation information and requests a stop of the vehicle.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the one or more electronic control units is configured to determine whether or not the particular situation occurs on the basis of the distance and a traveling speed of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the particular situation is a situation that the one or more electronic control units predicts that a traffic light lights a red signal when the vehicle reaches the traffic light, the traffic light being installed at an intersection and regulating a traveling of the vehicle.