Vehicle control apparatus

• US 10,030,599 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2015
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishii, Kenichi, Miura, Hiroto
• Primary Examiner(s): Cronin, Stephen K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bacon, Anthony L
• Application Number:
  US15/305,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20170107926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,159 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/042 where at least one electrical quantity is set by the vehicle operator
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/17 with provision for special action when the preceding vehicle comes to a halt, e.g. stop and go
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18018 Start-stop drive, e.g. in a traffic jam
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 2200/501 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/042 for stopping the engine
• CPC Class Codes: F02D 41/107 and deceleration
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0825 related to prevention of engine restart failure, e.g. disabling automatic stop at low battery state
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/0837 Environmental conditions thereof, e.g. traffic, weather or road conditions
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 11/108 for diagnosis of the starter or its components
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/0801 Vehicle speed
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2200/125 Information about other vehicles, traffic lights or traffic congestion
• CPC Class Codes: F02N 2300/304 with other systems inside the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/40 Engine management systems

Abstract

A vehicle control apparatus is provided that can maintain an automatic engine stop function when an abnormality occurs in a preceding vehicle following control function. The vehicle control apparatus includes a first control unit configured to include a preceding vehicle following control function to control vehicle speed, based on a traveling state of a preceding vehicle, and to output a prohibition request to an automatic engine stop function; and a second control unit configured to include the automatic engine stop function, and to maintain the automatic engine stop function, contrary to the prohibition request output from the first control unit, when an abnormality occurs in the preceding vehicle following control function.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus, comprising:

a first control unit configured to include a preceding vehicle following control function to control vehicle speed, based on a traveling state of a preceding vehicle, and to output a prohibition request to an automatic engine stop function; and

a second control unit configured to include the automatic engine stop function, and to maintain the automatic engine stop function, contrary to the prohibition request output from the first control unit, when an abnormality occurs in the preceding vehicle following control function,

wherein the first control unit outputs the prohibition request when executing acceleration control in a state where the vehicle speed is less than or equal to a predetermined vehicle speed,

wherein the second control unit detects the abnormality in the preceding vehicle following control function in a case where the vehicle speed becomes greater than the predetermined vehicle speed after the prohibition request has been output from the first control unit, and sets a flag to mask a prohibition request to be output by the first control unit after the abnormality has been detected.

2. The vehicle control apparatus, as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the prohibition request is output from the first control unit when the abnormality occurs in the preceding vehicle following control function, the second control unit has the automatic engine stop function operate when a predetermined condition is satisfied.