AUTOMATIC SLOWDOWN CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A VEHICLE
First Claim
1. An automatic slowdown control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
- a braking mechanism for braking wheels of said vehicle;
vehicle stability parameter value detection means for detecting a parameter value of a parameter or one of parameters corresponding to a stability of the posture and/or behavior of said vehicle upon turning;
automatic slowdown control means for starting automatic slowdown control of rendering said braking mechanism operative to slow down said vehicle based on the parameter value detected by said vehicle stability parameter value detection means when the parameter value is displaced to the instability side of the vehicle stability with respect to a control start threshold value set in advance and ending the automatic slowdown control when the parameter value while the automatic slowdown control is being carried out is displaced to the stability side of the vehicle stability with respect to a control end threshold value set in advance as a value on the stability side of the vehicle stability; and
road gradient estimation means for estimating or detecting a road gradient of a road on which said vehicle travels;
the control end threshold value having a plurality of different values set therefor corresponding to different values of the road gradient such that the vehicle stability is displaced more to the instability side as the value of the road gradient becomes higher;
said automatic slowdown control means selecting one of the values of the control end threshold value in response to the value of the road gradient estimated or detected by said road gradient estimation means and deciding the end of the automatic slowdown control based on the selected value of the control end threshold value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic slowdown control apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed wherein automatic slowdown control can be ended appropriately and automatic slowdown is prevented from being performed excessively on a road of an ascending gradient. The automatic slowdown control apparatus starts automatic slowdown control of rendering a braking mechanism operative to slow down the vehicle when the stability of the posture and/or behavior of the vehicle upon turning is deteriorated. A control end threshold value is set such that the stability of the vehicle is displaced to the instability side as the ascending gradient of the uphill road increases.
36 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An automatic slowdown control apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
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a braking mechanism for braking wheels of said vehicle;
vehicle stability parameter value detection means for detecting a parameter value of a parameter or one of parameters corresponding to a stability of the posture and/or behavior of said vehicle upon turning;
automatic slowdown control means for starting automatic slowdown control of rendering said braking mechanism operative to slow down said vehicle based on the parameter value detected by said vehicle stability parameter value detection means when the parameter value is displaced to the instability side of the vehicle stability with respect to a control start threshold value set in advance and ending the automatic slowdown control when the parameter value while the automatic slowdown control is being carried out is displaced to the stability side of the vehicle stability with respect to a control end threshold value set in advance as a value on the stability side of the vehicle stability; and
road gradient estimation means for estimating or detecting a road gradient of a road on which said vehicle travels;
the control end threshold value having a plurality of different values set therefor corresponding to different values of the road gradient such that the vehicle stability is displaced more to the instability side as the value of the road gradient becomes higher;
said automatic slowdown control means selecting one of the values of the control end threshold value in response to the value of the road gradient estimated or detected by said road gradient estimation means and deciding the end of the automatic slowdown control based on the selected value of the control end threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An automatic slowdown control method for a vehicle which includes a braking mechanism for braking wheels of said vehicle, and vehicle stability parameter value detection means for detecting a parameter value of a parameter or one of parameters corresponding to a stability of the posture and/or behavior of said vehicle upon turning, comprising:
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a step of starting automatic slowdown control of rendering said braking mechanism operative to slow down said vehicle based on the parameter value detected by said vehicle stability parameter value detection means when the parameter value is displaced to the instability side of the vehicle stability with respect to a control start threshold value set in advance;
a step of ending the automatic slowdown control when the parameter value while the automatic slowdown control is being carried out is displaced to the stability side of the vehicle stability with respect to a control end threshold value set in advance as a value on the stability side of the vehicle stability;
the control end threshold value having a plurality of different values set therefor corresponding to different values of the road gradient such that the vehicle stability is displaced more to the instability side as the value of the road gradient becomes higher;
a step, executed while the automatic slowdown control is being carried out, of estimating or detecting a road gradient of a road on which said vehicle travels and selecting one of the values of the control end threshold value in response to the estimated or detected value of the road gradient such that the end of the automatic slowdown control is decided based on the selected value of the control end threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification