System for influencing the speed of a motor vehicle

• US 20050216137A1
• Filed: 05/19/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lucas Automotive GmbH (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Original Assignee: Lucas Automotive GmbH (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Inventors: Schroder, Marko
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,368 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0066 responsive to vehicle path curvature
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle

Abstract

System for evaluating the driving environment of a motor vehicle and for influencing the speed of the motor vehicle in its own lane, comprising an electronic control unit, which is connected to a signal generator generating a signal which is characteristic of the desired speed of the motor vehicle, a signal generator generating a signal which is characteristic of the yaw rate of the motor vehicle about its vertical axis, a signal generator which generates, for objects located in the space lying in front of the motor vehicle in its direction of travel, a signal which is characteristic of the distance and orientation of the objects with respect to the motor vehicle and which reproduces the speed relative to the speed of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, and/or the distance relative to the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, and/or the angular offset or the lateral deviation relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, and a signal generator generating a signal which is characteristic of the speed at least of one wheel of the motor vehicle, and which unit is connected to at least one control device influencing the road behavior of the motor vehicle in order to supply this with output signals which are derived from the road behavior of the target motor vehicle located in front of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, in which a “bendiness” characteristic value is established from the instantaneous yaw rate of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle in the electronic control unit, wherein, according to the “bendiness” characteristic value, those objects which are further away than others from the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle are excluded from the selection as target motor vehicle.

Claims

1. System for evaluating the driving environment of a motor vehicle and for influencing the speed of the motor vehicle in its own lane, comprising

an electronic control unit (ECU), which is connected to

a signal generator generating a signal which is characteristic of the desired speed of the motor vehicle,

a signal generator generating a signal which is characteristic of the yaw rate of the motor vehicle about its vertical axis,

a signal generator which generates, for objects located in the space lying in front of the motor vehicle in its direction of travel, a signal which is characteristic of the distance and orientation of the objects with respect to the motor vehicle and which reproduces at least one of

the speed relative to the speed of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle,

the distance relative to the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, and

the angular offset or the lateral deviation relative to the vehicle longitudinal axis of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, and

a signal generator generating a signal which is characteristic of the speed at least of one wheel of the motor vehicle, and which unit is connected

to at least one control device influencing the road behavior of the motor vehicle in order to supply this with output signals which are derived from the road behavior of the target motor vehicle located in front of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, in which a “

bendiness”

characteristic value is established in the ECU from the instantaneous yaw rate of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle, in which the bend characteristic of the lane in which the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle is traveling is differentiated in the ECU according to one of the distance traveled and the time in the ECU, and wherein, according to the “

bendiness”

characteristic value, those objects which are further away than the others from the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle are excluded from the selection as target motor vehicle.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the “

bendiness”

characteristic value of the lane in which the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle is traveling is differentiated in the ECU according to the distance traveled in order to be independent of the speed of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle.

3. System according to claim 1, wherein the “

bendiness”

characteristic value is evaluated in the electronic control unit in order to reduce the “

bendiness”

characteristic value with a predetermined rate in the case of long straight lane sections over a predetermined distance according to the result of the differentiation.

4. System according to claim 1, wherein the result of the differentiation of the bend characteristic of the lane in which the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle is traveling is evaluated in the electronic control unit in order to increase the “

bendiness”

characteristic value with a predetermined rate in the case of double bends (two contradirectional bend sections without a straight intermediate stretch) according to the result.

5. System according to one claim 1, wherein, given a signal which reproduces a bend in the lane of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle bend which lies above a first predetermined value, the “

bendiness”

characteristic value is increased in the ECU with a high rate by a dynamic component and, in the absence of the yaw rate signal lying above a second predetermined value, the dynamic component is restored in the ECU.

6. System according to claim 5, wherein, in the case of right-hand traffic, the dynamic component is one of added to the “

bendiness”

characteristic value and subtracted from this again only for right-hand bends in the ECU and, in the case of left-hand traffic, the dynamic component is one of added to the “

bendiness”

characteristic value and subtracted from this again only for left-hand bends in the ECU.

7. System according to claim 1, wherein the dynamic component is modified in the ECU according to the average bend of the lane and the change in the direction of travel since entering the bend.

8. System according to claim 1, wherein the change in the direction of travel is established in the ECU from the integral of the yaw rate of the motor vehicle over time.

9. System according to one claim 1, wherein, given a signal which reproduces a bend in the lane of the driver'"'"'s motor vehicle bend which lies above a first predetermined value, the “

bendiness”

characteristic value is increased in the ECU with a high rate by a dynamic component and, in the absence of the yaw rate signal lying above a second predetermined value, the dynamic component is subsequently subtracted in the ECU.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein, in the case of right-hand traffic, the “

bendiness”

characteristic value is modified in the ECU by the dynamic component only for right-hand bends and, in the case of left-hand traffic, the “

bendiness”

characteristic value is modified in the ECU by the dynamic component only for left-hand bends.