Method and system for controlling a vehicle

• US 20030093209A1
• Filed: 10/15/2002
• Published: 05/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Original Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Inventors: Andersson, Hans, Apelryd, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 6,836,719 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/93
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0058 responsive to externally generated signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2220/02 Driver type; Driving style; Driver adaptive features
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0029 Mathematical model of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/043 Identity of occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/103 Speed profile

Abstract

A method is disclosed for controlling a vehicle, said vehicle having a cruise control system (1) being connected with a position input connection (5), for receiving vehicle position information from a positioning system (11), a map database (3), a driver information database (4), and an output connection, said method comprising the steps of receiving vehicle position information via said position input connection (5), extracting, from said map database (3), map information relating to at least one of a current and an upcoming road section, based on said vehicle position information, extracting, from said driver information database (4), information regarding previous driver behaviour for at least one of said current road section and a similar road section, generating, based on information from said input connection (5), said map database (3) and said driver information database (4), a speed plan for at least on of the current and upcoming road section, outputting, via said output connection, said speed plan.

Also disclosed is a system implementing such a method and a vehicle (20) comprising such a system.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a vehicle comprising:

receiving an approximate vehicle position from a positioning system,

retrieving a plurality of map information from a map database, said plurality of map information being related to said approximate vehicle position,

retrieving a plurality of driver behavior information from a driver behavior database, said plurality of driver behavior being related to said plurality of map information,

generating a speed plan based on said plurality of map information and said plurality of driver behavior information, and

outputting said speed plan to a vehicle control module.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating a driver behavior model, said driver behavior model being related to said plurality of map information and said plurality of driver behavior information, wherein said speed plan is further based on said driver behavior model.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of retrieving a plurality of road attributes from said map database, wherein said speed plan is further based on said plurality of road attributes.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of generating said driver behavior model comprises the step of relating said plurality of road attributes to said plurality of driver behavior information by using a neural network device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of inputting to said driver behavior database a driver identification signal, wherein said retrieved plurality of driver behavior information is related to said driver identification signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle control module comprises an engine control device, whereby said engine control device controls said vehicle based on said speed plan.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle control module comprises a brake system control device, whereby said brake system control device controls said vehicle based on said speed plan.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said vehicle control module comprises a driver display unit, wherein said driver display unit presents to a driver of said vehicle at least one instruction related to said speed plan.

9. A system for controlling a vehicle comprising:

a positioning device, said positioning device being capable of determining an approximate position of said vehicle,

a map database, said map database being capable of determining a plurality of map information, said plurality of map information being related to said approximate position of said vehicle,

a driver behavior database, said driver behavior database being capable of determining a plurality of driver behavior information, said plurality of driver behavior information being related to said plurality of map information,

a computing device, said computing device being capable of generating a speed plan based on said plurality of map information and said plurality of driver behavior information, and

a vehicle control module, said vehicle control module being capable of controlling said vehicle based on said speed plan.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said computing device being further capable of generating a driver behavior model, said driver behavior model being related to said plurality of map information and said plurality of driver behavior information, wherein said speed plan is further based on said driver behavior model.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said computing device comprises a neural network device.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein said vehicle control module comprises a speed control device.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein said vehicle control module comprises a brake system control device.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said vehicle control module comprises a driver display unit.