Driver's feeling control apparatus

• US 20080154460A1
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Uenuma, Kenya, Sakai, Tatsuo, Iwao, Keijiro, Sakurai, Yuichiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,775,018 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/026 varying hardness or support of upholstery, e.g. for tuning seat comfort when driving curved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0273 taking into account user data, e.g. knee height or physical state
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/99 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system

Abstract

A driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus which includes: a steering detection unit which detects the amount of steering operation by a driver; a seat in which the driver sits, and which has a movable part displaceable in a perpendicular direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of a vehicle, or in a yaw direction; and a control unit which determines the amount of the displacement of the movable part in response to the amount of steering operation.

Claims

1. A driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus comprising:

a steering detection unit which detects an amount of steering operation of a steering wheel performed by a driver;

a seat in which the driver sits, and which has a movable part displaceable in a perpendicular direction with respect to a longitudinal direction of a vehicle, or in a yaw direction; and

a control unit which determines a displacement amount of the movable part based on the steering operation amount,

wherein the movable part is displaced in the same direction as directions of yaw and of centripetal acceleration which occur in the vehicle.

2. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driving unit which drives the movable part, wherein the control unit transmits, to the driving unit, a command for driving the movable part in accordance with a corresponding one of gain maps which determines the displacement amount of the movable part in relation to the steering operation amount.

3. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a vehicle speed detection unit which detects a vehicle speed, wherein the control unit shifts the gain maps in response to the vehicle speed.

4. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in a case where the steering operation amount is fixed, the control unit switches the gain maps to increase the displacement amount of the movable part as the vehicle speed increases.

5. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the gain map has a linear characteristic when a value of the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined speed threshold value, and has a non-linear characteristic when the vehicle speed is at the vehicle speed threshold value or more.

6. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when a steering angle as the steering operation amount is within ±

90°

, a yaw rotation angle α

as the displacement amount of the movable part is set to be 0<

α

≦

θ

where θ

is an angle that the longitudinal direction of the vehicle forms with a straight line connecting an eye point of the driver to a point to be a topmost point of the steering wheel when the vehicle moves straight forward.

7. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, when the steering angle exceeds ±

90°

, the yaw rotation angle α

is set to be saturated, or to be 0<

α

≦

θ

with respect to a change characteristic of a virtual angle θ

extrapolated in a manner that the virtual angle θ

is continuous with the angle θ

for the steering angle within ±

90°

.

8. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the movable part is a pair of right and left side supports respectively placed on both sides of a seat back, and

the side supports are displaced in the yaw direction or in a lateral direction of the vehicle, relative to the other parts of the seat.

9. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the movable part is at least a part of a seat back, and

at least the part of the seat back is displaced in any one of the yaw direction and a lateral direction of the vehicle, relative to the other parts of the seat.

10. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable part is the entire seat, and the entire seat rotates in the yaw direction relative to the vehicle.

11. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit sets any one of a displacement amount and a moving speed of the side support on the inner side of a turn, to be larger than the corresponding one of a displacement amount and a moving speed of the side support on the outer side of a turn.

12. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the control unit sets a timing at which the side support positioned toward the inside of a turn starts to be displaced, to be earlier than a timing at which the side support positioned toward the outside of a turn starts to be displaced.

13. The driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

an axis of displacement of the side support leans further backward of the vehicle than a torso angle of the seat.

14. A driver'"'"'s feeling control apparatus which

detects a steering operation amount of a steering wheel performed by a driver, and

determines, on the basis of the steering operation amount, a displacement amount of a movable part of a seat in which the driver sits, the movable part is displaced in any one of a perpendicular direction with respect to a longitudinal direction of a vehicle and a yaw direction.