Vehicle cruise control apparatus and vehicle cruise control method

• US 20090076701A1
• Filed: 09/04/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advics Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Advics Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kitaori, Ichiro, Inoue, Gen, Ishida, Yasuhito, Sawada, Hiroyuki, Kawai, Katsuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,355,851 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/93
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/15 Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/105 Output torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/30 Wheel torque
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18118 Hill holding

Abstract

A vehicle cruise control apparatus includes a vehicle speed adjusting device that adjusts a vehicle speed to a set target vehicle speed, a brake operation detecting device that detects brake operation performed by a driver, and a first controller that controls the vehicle speed adjusting device based on a target driving force that maintains a vehicle in a stopped condition, when the brake operation performed by the driver is detected.

Claims

1. A vehicle cruise control apparatus comprising:

a vehicle speed adjusting device that adjusts a vehicle speed to a set target vehicle speed;

a brake operation detecting device that detects brake operation performed by a driver; and

a first controller that controls the vehicle speed adjusting device based on a target driving force that maintains a vehicle in a stopped condition, when the brake operation performed by the driver is detected.

2. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an inclination detecting device that detects an inclination of a road surface on which the vehicle is traveling; and

a vehicle speed detecting device that detects the vehicle speed;

wherein;

the first controller calculates a driving force that makes the detected vehicle speed equal to the target vehicle speed; and

the target driving force includes an inclination target driving force that maintains the vehicle in a stopped condition at the detected inclination, and a feedback target driving force determined by subtracting the inclination target driving force from the calculated driving force.

3. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first controller calculates that the feedback target driving force is 0 or less, when the brake operation detecting device detects the brake operation.

4. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first controller calculates the feedback target driving force so that the feedback target driving force decreases from 0 over time until the detected vehicle speed is 0, when the brake operation detecting device detects the brake operation.

5. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first controller calculates that the feedback target driving force is 0, when the brake operation detecting device detects the brake operation.

6. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising

a second controller that controls the vehicle speed adjusting device,

wherein the first controller calculates the inclination target driving force and the feedback target driving force, and outputs at least one of the inclination target driving force and the feedback target driving force to the second controller, and

the second controller stops controlling the vehicle speed adjusting device based on the target driving force, when the feedback target driving force calculated by the first controller exceeds 0.

7. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first controller calculates the inclination target driving force based on the detected inclination.

8. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising

a brake operation amount detecting device that detects an amount of the brake operation performed by the driver, wherein the first controller calculates the inclination target driving force based on the detected amount of the brake operation and the detected inclination.

9. The vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inclination target driving force calculated when the detected inclination is a positive value is larger than the inclination target driving force calculated when the detected inclination is 0 or less.

10. A vehicle cruise control method, comprising:

detecting brake operation performed by a driver;

calculating a target driving force that maintains a vehicle in a stopped condition, when brake operation performed by the driver is detected; and

providing the calculated target driving force to the vehicle.

11. The vehicle cruise control method according to claim 10, further comprising:

detecting an inclination of a road surface on which the vehicle is traveling; and

calculating the target driving force based on the detected inclination.

12. The vehicle cruise control method according to claim 11, further comprising:

detecting an amount of brake operation performed by the driver; and

calculating the target driving force based on the detected amount of the brake operation and the detected inclination.

13. The vehicle cruise control method according to claim 10, further comprising:

calculating the target driving force so that the target driving force decreases as the vehicle speed approaches 0, when the brake operation is detected.

14. The vehicle cruise control method according to claim 10, wherein the vehicle cruise control method is performed periodically.

15. A vehicle cruise control apparatus comprising:

a vehicle speed adjusting device that adjusts a vehicle speed to a set target vehicle speed;

brake operation detecting means for detecting brake operation performed by a driver; and

a first controller that controls the vehicle speed adjusting device based on a target driving force that maintains a vehicle in a stopped condition, when the brake operation performed by the driver is detected.