Vehicle control apparatus, vehicle control method and vehicle slip suppressing apparatus

• US 20070225882A1
• Filed: 03/26/2007
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Takemoto, Shinji, Yamaguchi, Kazuhi, Takatomi, Shinichiro, Ishio, Masato
• Granted Patent: US 7,548,805 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0173 Diagnostic or recording means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

A vehicle control section is operable to control the vehicle based on information on a degree of risk in a risky point through which the vehicle is predicted to drive.

Claims

1. A vehicle control apparatus adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle control section operable to control the vehicle based on information on a degree of risk in a risky point through which the vehicle is predicted to drive.

2. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the information on the degree of risk in the no point is information acquired from outside of the vehicle control apparatus.

3. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

an environment information acquiring section operable to acquire environment information on a driving route through which the vehicle is predicted to drive;

a degree-of-risk calculating section operable to calculate the degree of risk based on the acquired environment information on the driving route;

a point setting section operable to set a point on the driving route, where the calculated degree of risk thereof is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree of risk as a point where unique charging or discharging of a battery is predicted;

a safety function confirming section operable to confirm a safety function required at the set point on the driving route,

wherein the vehicle control section is a control section operable to judge whether the battery has a power required to activate the safety function required at the set point, and notify a driver of an predicted risk in a case where the battery do not have the power required to activate the safety

4. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:

an alternative availability judging section operable to judge whether the safety function required at the set point is replaceable with the other function equipped on the vehicle in a case where the required safety function is not equipped on the vehicle.

5. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the control section judges whether a restriction for feeding the power to the electric equipment and intervene in the charging control are required by predicting a charging or discharging control of the battery based on a battery condition of the battery, a driving condition of electric equipment mounted on the vehicle, the acquired environment information on the driving route, and the unique charging or discharging of the battery.

6. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 5, further comprising:

a driver'"'"'s intension acquiring section operable to acquire a driver'"'"'s intention,

wherein the control section judges whether the restriction for feeding the power to the electric equipment and the intervene in the charging control are required based on the acquired driver'"'"'s intention.

7. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a risky point determination section operable to determine whether a position through which the vehicle is predicted to drive is the risky point,

wherein the vehicle control section is an idling stop permission/prohibition determination section operable to determine whether an idling stop of the vehicle is permitted or prohibited by determining whether there is a possibility to occur a disablement of feeding to a safety equipment mounted on the vehicle based on the degree of risk at the determined risky point.

8. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the idling stop permission/prohibition determination section determines whether the disablement of the feeding to the safety equipment is occurred by predicting a quantity of residual electrical energy of a battery from a quantity of current predicted to be used and a quantity of current predicted to be generated until the vehicle reaches the risky point and a quantity of current predicted to be discharged by the safety equipment at the risky point.

9. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the idling stop permission/prohibition determination section determines whether the idling stop of the vehicle is permitted or prohibited only in a case where the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from the determined risky point.

10. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 9, wherein the idling stop determination section changes the predetermined distance according to the degree of risk at the risky point.

11. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein the risky point determination section calculates a degree of risk at the risky point by weighting a score of a risk element.

12. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

a degree-of-risk calculating section operable to calculate the degree of risk in a driving area through which the vehicle is predicted to drive,

wherein the vehicle control section is a load restriction executing section operable to compare the calculated degree of risk with a predetermined value and execute a cut-off of feeding to a load according to the calculated degree of risk in a case where the calculated degree of risk is greater than the predetermined value.

13. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 12, wherein the degree-of-risk calculating section calculates the degree of risk in the driving area by weighting a score of risk element.

14. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 12, wherein the load restriction executing section predicts an activation of a safety equipment mounted on the vehicle according to the calculated degree of risk and determines whether the cut-off of the feeding to the load is executed based on a quantity of power to be used by the predicted activation of the safety equipment, a quantity of power of the battery, and a quantity of power generated by an alternator.

15. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 12, wherein the load control executing section instruct the load to stop an operation thereof, whereby the load stops the operation thereof in a case where the load control executing section executes the cut-off of the feeding to the load.

16. The vehicle control apparatus as set forth in claim 12, wherein the load control executing section cuts off a power supply to the load in a case where the load control executing section executes the cut-off of the feeding to the load.

17. A vehicle control method comprising;

calculating a degree of risk in a risky point through which a vehicle is predicted to drive; and

controlling the vehicle based on the calculated degree of risk.

18. The vehicle control method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising:

calculating the degree of risk in the risky point based on environment information on a driving route through which the vehicle is predicted to drive;

setting a point on the driving route, where the calculated degree of risk there of is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree of risk as a point where unique charging or discharging of a battery is predicted;

judging whether the battery has a power required to activate a safety function required at the set point; and

notify a driver of an predicted risk in a case where the battery do not have the power required to activate the safety function.

19. A vehicle control method as set forth in claim 18, further comprising:

predicting a charging or discharging control of the battery based on a battery condition of the batter, a driving condition of electric equipment mounted on the vehicle, the acquired environment information on the driving route, and the unique charging or discharging of the battery; and

judging whether a restriction for feeding the power to the electric equipment and intervene in the charging control are required based on the predicted charging or discharging control.

20. The vehicle control method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising:

comparing the calculated degree of risk with a predetermined value; and

executing a cut-off of feeding to a load according to the calculated degree of risk in a case where the calculated degree of risk is greater than the predetermined value.

21. A vehicle slip suppressing apparatus adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, comprising:

a permissible G calculating section operable to calculate an ideal vehicle G;

a vehicle G detecting section operable to detect a vehicle G; and

a vehicle slip judging section operable to judge whether a vehicle slip is occurring,

wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus executes a vehicle slip avoidance control according to the result of the slip judgment.

22. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 21, further comprising:

a permissible speed calculating section operable to calculate a curve entering permissible speed,

wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus advise a user to reduce a vehicle speed to the curve entering permissible speed in a case where the vehicle speed is detected to be higher than a primary threshold value based on the curve entering permissible speed when the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from a curve entering point.

23. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 22, wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus reduces the vehicle speed in a case where the vehicle speed is detected to be higher than a secondary threshold value which is higher than the primary threshold value.

24. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus notify the user that the vehicle speed is reduced or a slip avoidance control is executed when the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus reduces the vehicle speed or executes the slip avoidance control.

25. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 21, wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus notify a user that the slip of the vehicle is likely to occur when a deviation between the permissible G and the vehicle G becomes less than the primary threshold value.

26. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 25, wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus executes a vehicle slip avoidance control when the deviation between the permissible G and the vehicle G becomes less than a secondary threshold value which is smaller than the primary threshold value.

27. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 21, further comprising:

a road condition detecting section operable to detect road information;

an external environment detecting section operable to detect an external environment;

a vehicle condition detecting section operable to detect a vehicle condition; and

a degree-of-risk predicting section operable to predict a degree of risk according to the results of detections,

wherein the permissible G is corrected according to the predicted degree of risk.

28. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 21, wherein the slip avoidance control is executed when a user does not perform an intervention prohibiting operation.

29. The vehicle slip suppressing apparatus as set forth in claim 28, wherein the vehicle slip suppressing apparatus advise the user to reduce a vehicle speed according to the result of the slip judgment when the user performs the intervention prohibiting operation.