Cruise control system for determining object as target for cruise control

• US 20080243351A1
• Filed: 11/26/2007
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Isogai, Akira, Oooka, Masao
• Granted Patent: US 9,481,369 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/30 Road curve radius
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle

Abstract

In a cruise control system installed in a vehicle, a monitoring unit monitors a region predetermined in front of the vehicle when the vehicle is located on a lane of a road. An instruction input unit is configured to allow a driver of the vehicle to input an instruction indicative of driver'"'"'s recognized information in front of the vehicle. A target determining unit executes determination of a target for adjusting an interval with respect thereto based on a result of the monitor and on the instruction when the instruction is input from the instruction input unit thereto.

Claims

1. A cruise control system installed in a vehicle, the cruise control system comprising:

a monitoring unit to monitor a region predetermined in front of the vehicle when the vehicle is located on a lane of a road;

an instruction input unit configured to allow a driver of the vehicle to input an instruction indicative of driver'"'"'s recognized information in front of the vehicle; and

a target determining unit to execute determination of a target for adjusting an interval with respect thereto based on a result of the monitor and on the instruction when the instruction is input from the instruction input unit thereto.

2. A cruise control system according to claim 1, wherein the target determining unit has a first condition to determine another vehicle in a first driving state as the target, and is configured to:

determine, when the result of the monitor represents that an object is located in front of the vehicle, whether the object meets the first condition; and

when the instruction indicative of another vehicle in a second driving state different from the first driving state is input from the instruction input unit thereto, determine whether the object meets, in addition to the first condition, a second condition to determine another vehicle in the second driving state as the target.

3. A cruise control system according to claim 1, wherein the target determining unit has a first condition to determine another vehicle in a first driving state as a first candidate for the target, and further comprising:

a first extracting unit to extract, when the result of the monitor represents that a plurality of objects are located in front of the vehicle, at least one of the objects that meets the first condition as the at least one first candidate for the target;

a target selecting unit to definitely select the target from the at least one first candidate therefor; and

a second extracting unit to, when the instruction indicative of another vehicle in a second driving state different from the first driving state is input from the instruction input unit thereto, extract, as at least one second candidate for the target, at least one of the objects that meets one of the first condition and a second condition, the second condition being required to determine another vehicle in the second driving state as the at least one second candidate for the target, the target selecting unit definitely selecting the target from the at least one second candidate therefor when the instruction indicative of another vehicle in the second driving state is input from the instruction input unit to the second extracting unit.

4. A cruise control system according to claim 3, wherein the second condition is required to determine another vehicle that is either stopped on the same lane as the vehicle or cutting in front of the vehicle as the at least one second candidate for the target in the second driving state.

5. A cruise control system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a vehicle-speed control unit to start one of deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof in response to the instruction indicative of another vehicle in the second driving state being input from the instruction input unit to the second extracting unit.

6. A cruise control system according to claim 3, wherein the instruction input unit comprises a lever switch arranged at least close to a steering wheel of the vehicle to be movable by the driver in a first direction and a second direction different thereto, the instruction input unit being configured to:

send, when the driver operates the lever switch in any one of the first and second directions and keeps the operated state of the lever switch during a first period, the instruction indicative of another vehicle in the second driving state to the second extracting unit; and

send, when the driver operates the lever switch in any one of the first and second directions and keeps the operated state of the lever switch during a second period lower than the first period, another instruction to the second extracting unit, and the second extracting unit further comprises;

a driver'"'"'s operation determining unit to determine whether information being input thereto from the instruction input unit represents the instruction indicative of another vehicle in the second driving state based on the first period and a duration of the lever switch being kept operated by the driver.

7. A cruise control system according to claim 5, further comprising:

an instruction determining unit to determine whether the instruction represents another vehicle that is stopped on the same lane as the vehicle or that is cutting in front of the vehicle,

wherein the vehicle-speed control unit executes one of the deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof so as to change a rate of a speed of the vehicle depending on a result of the determination by the instruction determining unit.

8. A cruise control system according to claim 7, wherein the instruction determining unit is configured to:

determine the instruction represents another vehicle that is cutting in front of the vehicle upon the instruction being input to the second extracting unit after the target has been definitely selected by the target selecting unit; and

determine the instruction represents another vehicle that is stopped on the same lane as the vehicle upon the instruction being input to the second extracting unit when the target has been unselected yet by the target selecting unit.

9. A cruise control system according to claim 7, wherein the vehicle-speed control unit executes, when the instruction represents another vehicle that is stopped on the same lane as the vehicle, one of the deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof so as to increase the rate of the speed of the vehicle in its negative direction as compared with when the instruction represents another vehicle that is cutting in front of the vehicle.

10. A cruise control system according to claim 7, wherein the vehicle-speed control unit continuously executes, when the instruction represents another vehicle that is cutting in front of the vehicle, one of the deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof until the target has been definitely selected by the target selecting unit.

11. A cruise control system according to claim 10, further comprising:

an accelerator-pedal operation detecting unit to detect operation of an accelerator pedal of the vehicle by the driver,

wherein, during execution of one of the deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof, the vehicle-speed control unit terminates the executed one of the deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof when the accelerator-pedal operation detecting unit detects operation of the accelerator pedal by the driver.

12. A cruise control system according to claim 7, further comprising:

an obtaining unit that obtains, based on the result of the monitor, a same-lane probability of each of the objects is present on the same lane as the vehicle and at least one of a lateral position of each of the objects with respect to the vehicle in a lateral direction of the lane and a shift amount of each of the objects with respect to the vehicle in the lateral direction of the lane,

wherein the second extracting unit is configured to;

extract, as the at least one second candidate for the target, at least one of the objects that meets one of the first condition and the second condition based on the same-lane probability of each of the objects; and

extract, as the at least one second candidate for the target, at least one of the objects that meets one of the first condition and the second condition based on the same-lane probability and at least one of the lateral direction and the amount of lateral movement of each of the objects when receiving the instruction corresponding to another vehicle cutting in front of the vehicle.

13. A cruise control system according to claim 12, wherein, when the instruction indicative of another vehicle in the second driving state is input from the instruction input unit thereto, the second extracting unit extracts, as some of the second candidates for the target, corresponding some of the objects that meet one of the first condition and the second condition, and

wherein the target selecting unit definitely selects, as the target, one of some of the extracted second candidates, the one of some of the second candidates having the smallest distance with respect to the vehicle in some of the extracted second candidates.

14. A cruise control system according to claim 13, wherein the vehicle-speed control unit continuously executes one of the deceleration of the vehicle and holding-down of acceleration thereof until the target selecting unit changes to select, as the target, from a previous one of some of the extracted second candidates to a new one of some of the extracted second candidates, a distance of the new one of some of the extracted second candidates being smaller than that of the previous one of some of the extracted second candidates.

15. A cruise control system according to claim 12, further comprising:

an accelerator-pedal operation detecting unit to detect operation of an accelerator pedal of the vehicle by the driver,

wherein, during execution of one of the deceleration and holding-down of acceleration of the vehicle, the vehicle-speed control unit terminates the executed one of the deceleration and holding-down of acceleration of the vehicle when the accelerator-pedal operation detecting unit detects operation of the accelerator pedal by the driver.