Vehicle control apparatus

• US 10,040,452 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2016
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• 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): ANTONUCCI, ANNE MARIE
• Application Number:
  US15/243,063
• Publication Number:
  US 20170080934A1
• Time in Patent Office: 715 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2400/00 Indexing codes relating to detected, measured or calculated conditions or factors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/143 Speed control B60W30/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• 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 determines whether or not an informing condition is satisfied. The informing condition becomes satisfied when a particular situation regarding an own vehicle traveling that a driver of the own vehicle should be alerted occurs. The apparatus executes an informing control for alerting the driver when the informing condition is satisfied and executes a cruise control for causing the own vehicle to travel when a cruise condition is satisfied. The apparatus executes an adjustment process for forbidding the informing control and permitting the cruise control when both the informing and cruise conditions are satisfied and the own vehicle is accelerated or decelerated by the cruise control and for permitting both the informing and cruise controls when both the informing and cruise conditions are satisfied and the own vehicle is not accelerated nor decelerated by the cruise control.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus, comprising:

an electronic control unit configured to execute a cruise control for causing an own vehicle to travel without a driver of the own vehicle operating an acceleration operator of the own vehicle and a brake operator of the own vehicle when a cruise condition is satisfied; and

a road situation information acquisition device configured to acquire road situation information on a road situation from outside of the own vehicle through a wireless communication;

wherein the electronic control unit is configured;

to determine whether or not an informing condition is satisfied on the basis of the road situation information when the own vehicle is traveling, the informing condition becoming satisfied when a particular situation, of which the driver of the own vehicle should operate the brake operator to decelerate the own vehicle, occurs;

to execute an informing control for alerting the driver of the own vehicle when the informing condition is satisfied; and

to execute a first adjustment process;

for forbidding an execution of the informing control and permitting an execution of the cruise control when both the informing condition and the cruise condition are satisfied and the own vehicle is accelerated or decelerated by the cruise control, and

for permitting both the execution of the informing control and the execution of the cruise control when both the informing condition and the cruise condition are satisfied and the own vehicle is neither accelerated nor decelerated by the cruise control.

2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured:

to execute the first adjustment process when the informing condition becomes satisfied with the cruise control having been executed since the cruise condition becomes satisfied before the informing condition becomes satisfied; and

to execute a second adjustment process for permitting the execution of the informing control and forbidding the execution of the cruise control when the cruise condition becomes satisfied with the informing control having been executed since the informing condition becomes satisfied before the cruise condition becomes satisfied.

3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic control unit is configured:

to execute the first adjustment process when the own vehicle is accelerated or decelerated by the cruise control and a predetermined informing requirement level is a low requirement level with both the informing condition and the cruise condition being satisfied, the informing requirement level representing a level of a requirement of informing the driver of the own vehicle of an occurrence of the particular situation; and

to execute a third adjustment process for permitting the execution of the informing control and forbidding the execution of the cruise control when the own vehicle is accelerated or decelerated by the cruise control and the predetermined informing requirement level is a high level with both the informing condition and the cruise condition are satisfied.