Vehicle traveling control apparatus

• US 10,166,866 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2017
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Otake, Hirotada
• Primary Examiner(s): Marc-Coleman, Marthe Y
• Application Number:
  US15/667,947
• Publication Number:
  US 20180037112A1
• Time in Patent Office: 516 Days
• Field of Search: 701 70, 701301
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2210/12 Friction
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2210/36 Global Positioning System [GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2270/413 Plausibility monitoring, cross check, redundancy
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/00 Arrangements for adjusting wheel-braking force to meet varying vehicular or ground-surface conditions, e.g. limiting or varying distribution of braking force by changing number of effective brake cylinders in power brake systems B60T17/10
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/17 Using electrical or electronic regulation means to control braking detecting or indicating faulty operation B60T8/885
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/1703 for aircrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/182 including control of parking brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0818 Inactivity or incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/18 Steering angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/225 Direction of gaze
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/26 Incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 : Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 : Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/802 : Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/803 : Relative lateral speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 : Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/20 : Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
• 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 2710/18 : Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/10 : Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 : Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 : Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 : Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 : related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 : Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2302/05 : Leading to automatic stopping of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2055/0008 : Brake supports
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 2066/005 : Force, torque, stress or strain
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 55/36 : Brakes with a plurality of rotating discs all lying side by side
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 65/186 : with full-face force-applying member, e.g. annular
• CPC Class Codes: F16D 66/00 : Arrangements for monitoring working conditions, e.g. wear, temperature

Abstract

A vehicle traveling control apparatus includes an abnormality monitoring device which determines whether or not a driver of a vehicle is in an abnormal state where the driver loses an ability to drive the vehicle, and a decelerating device which decelerates the vehicle to automatically stop the vehicle after a conclusive abnormality determination time point which is a time point when the abnormality monitoring device finalizes the determination that the driver is in the abnormal state. The decelerating device is configured to prohibit the deceleration of the vehicle when the vehicle is in the deceleration prohibition situation after the conclusive abnormality determination time point.

Claims

1. A vehicle traveling control apparatus applied to a vehicle comprising:

circuitry configured to

monitor whether or not a driver of said vehicle is in an abnormal state where said driver loses an ability to drive said vehicle;

decelerate said vehicle to automatically stop said vehicle after a conclusive abnormality determination time point which is a time point when said circuitry finalizes a determination that said driver is in said abnormal state;

determine whether or not said vehicle is in a deceleration prohibition situation based on at least one set of self-vehicle information on a traveling state of said vehicle, information on a vehicle speed of another vehicle traveling around said vehicle, information on a speed limit of a road on which said vehicle is traveling, information on weather condition around said vehicle, and information on a road surface condition of said road on which said vehicle is traveling; and

prohibit said deceleration of said vehicle when it is determined that said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

2. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said circuitry is configured to:

start said deceleration of said vehicle from a tentative abnormal determination time point which is a time point at which it is determined that said driver is likely to be in said abnormal state by said circuitry and which is prior to said conclusive abnormal determination time point; and

prohibit said deceleration of said vehicle when it is determined that said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation in a period after said tentative abnormality determination time point.

3. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said circuitry is configured to:

acquire a vehicle speed of said vehicle as said self-vehicle information; and

determine whether or not said vehicle speed acquired as said self-vehicle information is higher than a threshold self-vehicle speed to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

4. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a cruise control apparatus which controls a vehicle speed of said vehicle in such a manner that a vehicle speed of said vehicle becomes equal to a target vehicle speed set by said driver, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to acquire said vehicle speed of said vehicle and said target vehicle speed which has been set most recently as said self-vehicle information, and to determine whether or not said vehicle speed of said vehicle is higher than said target vehicle speed which has been set most recently, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

5. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said circuitry is configured to determine whether or not said vehicle speed of another vehicle is higher than a threshold another vehicle speed to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

6. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a cruise control apparatus which controls a vehicle speed of said vehicle in such a manner that said vehicle speed of said vehicle becomes equal to a target vehicle speed set by said driver, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to acquire said target vehicle speed as said information on said speed limit, and to determine whether or not said target vehicle speed is higher than a threshold target vehicle speed, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

7. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a navigation device having information on said speed limit of said road on which said vehicle is traveling, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to acquire said speed limit as said information on said speed limit from said navigation device, and to determine whether or not said acquired speed limit is higher than a threshold speed limit, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

8. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a communication device configured to be capable of receiving information on said speed limit of said road on which said vehicle is traveling from an external device of said vehicle, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to acquire said speed limit as said information on said speed limit from said communication device, and to determine whether or not said acquired speed limit is higher than a threshold speed limit, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

9. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with an imaging device which acquires image data by photographing a peripheral region of said vehicle, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to extract said speed limit indicated by a road sign included in said image data as said information on said speed limit, and to determine whether or not said extracted speed limit is higher than a threshold speed limit, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

10. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a rainfall information acquiring device which acquires rainfall information indicating whether or not the weather condition around said vehicle is rainy, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to determine whether or not said weather condition around said vehicle is rainy based on said rainfall information, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

11. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a dense fog information acquiring device which acquires dense fog information indicating whether or not the weather condition around said vehicle is densely foggy, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to determine whether or not said weather condition around said vehicle is densely foggy based on said dense fog information, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.

12. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said vehicle is provided with a road surface μ

acquiring device which acquires a road surface friction coefficient of said road on which said vehicle is traveling, and

wherein said circuitry is configured to acquire said road surface friction coefficient as said information on said road surface condition of said road on which said vehicle is traveling from road surface μ

acquiring device, and to determine whether or not said road surface friction coefficient is smaller than a threshold road surface friction coefficient, to determine whether or not said vehicle is in said deceleration prohibition situation.