Method of controlling inter-vehicle gap(s)

• US 10,515,553 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Issued: 12/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation (AB Volvo)
• Original Assignee: Volvo Truck Corporation (AB Volvo)
• Inventors: Deragarden, Hans, Cider, Lennart
• Primary Examiner(s): Amin, Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US15/553,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20180126931A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,399 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0233 Vehicle tilting, overturning or roll over
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/10 including control of change-speed gearings
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/10 Buses
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2300/125 Heavy duty trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/802 Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/18 Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/165 Automatically following the path of a preceding lead vehicle, e.g. "electronic tow-bar"
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0293 Convoy travelling
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0295 by at least one leading vehicle of the fleet
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle is configured to perform the steps of: obtaining an indicator of a potential collision threat identified by an autonomous emergency braking system of the vehicle, wherein the autonomous emergency braking system of the vehicle comprises pre-defined control phases, and wherein the indicator at least partly determines a current control phase of the autonomous emergency braking system; and sending the obtained indicator to one or more following vehicles.

Claims

1. A vehicle configured to perform the steps of:

determining a time to a potential collision threat identified by using an autonomous emergency braking system of the vehicle, wherein the autonomous emergency braking system of the vehicle comprises pre-defined control phases the pre-defined control phases comprising a first alert phase, a second warning brake phase, and a third full brake phase, and wherein a current one of the control phases depends on the determined time to collision; and

sending the determined time to collision to one or more following vehicles,

wherein the determined time to collision is based on a relative speed between the potential collision threat and the lead vehicle or on a distance between the potential collision threat and the lead vehicle.

2. A method of controlling inter-vehicle gap(s) between a lead vehicle and one or more following vehicles, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

determining a time to a potential collision threat identified by an autonomous emergency braking system of the lead vehicle, wherein the autonomous emergency braking system of the lead vehicle comprises pre-defined control phases, the pre-defined control phases comprising a first alert phase, a second warning brake phase, and a third full brake phase, and wherein a current one of the control phases depends on the determined time to collision;

sending the determined time to collision to the one or more following vehicles;

receiving, in the one or more following vehicles, the determined time to collision;

obtaining, in the one or more following vehicles, a reading from one or more on-board sensors that measure an actual gap to a vehicle ahead, and

automatically adjusting inter-vehicle gap(s) based on the received determined time to collision or the obtained reading,

wherein the received determined time to collision overrides the obtained reading when the received determined time to collision indicates a greater deceleration than the obtained reading, and wherein the obtained reading overrides the received determined time to collision when the obtained reading indicates a greater deceleration than the received time to collision.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein sending the determined time to collision is performed using vehicle-to-vehicle communication means.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein receiving the determined time to collision is performed using vehicle-to-vehicle communication means.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein the one or more on-board sensors include at least one radar or at least one LIDAR device or at least one camera.

6. A method of controlling inter-vehicle gap(s) between a lead vehicle and one or more following vehicles, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

receiving, in the one or more following vehicles, an indicator of a potential collision threat identified by an autonomous emergency braking system of the lead vehicle, wherein the autonomous emergency braking system of the lead vehicle comprises pre-defined control phases, the pre-defined control phases comprising a first alert phase, a second warning brake phase, and a third full brake phase, wherein a current one of the control phases depends on the determined time to collision;

obtaining, in the one or more following vehicles, a reading from one or more on-board sensors that measure an actual gap to a vehicle ahead; and

automatically adjusting the inter-vehicle gap(s) based on the determined time to collision or the obtained reading,

wherein the received determined time to collision overrides the obtained reading when the received determined time to collision indicates a greater deceleration than the obtained reading, and wherein the obtained reading overrides the received determined time to collision when the obtained reading indicates a greater deceleration than the received time to collision.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more on-board sensors include at least one radar or at least one LIDAR device or at least one camera.