ACTIVE SAFETY CONTROL FOR VEHICLES

• US 20130030657A1
• Filed: 07/25/2011
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: CHATTERJEE, AAMRAPALI, ZAGORSKI, CHAD T., WILLIAMS, PAUL R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,014,915 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/46
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/085 Taking automatic action to adjust vehicle attitude in preparation for collision, e.g. braking for nose dropping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/00 Estimation or calculation of non-directly measurable driving parameters for road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub unit, e.g. by using mathematical models
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/08 Interaction between the driver and the control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

Methods, systems, and vehicles are provided for controlling active safety functionality for a vehicle. The active safety functionality provides an action during a drive cycle of the vehicle based on a predetermined threshold. Data pertaining to driving conditions, usage conditions of the vehicle, or both, is obtained for a drive cycle of the vehicle. A risk factor grade is calculated using the data. The risk factor grade corresponds to a level of situational risk for the drive cycle. The predetermined threshold of the active safety system is adjusted based on the risk factor grade.

Claims

1. A method for controlling active safety functionality for a vehicle, the active safety functionality providing an action during a drive cycle of the vehicle based on a predetermined threshold, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining data pertaining to driving conditions, usage conditions of the vehicle, or both, for the drive cycle;

calculating a risk factor grade using the data, the risk factor grade corresponding to a level of situational risk for the drive cycle via a processor; and

adjusting the predetermined threshold of the active safety functionality based on the risk factor grade.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the risk factor grade is calculated as a measure of responsiveness of the driver.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the risk factor grade is calculated as a measure of alertness of the driver.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the method further comprises the step of:

obtaining prior data pertaining to a driving behavior of the driver during a prior driving cycle;

wherein;

the step of obtaining the data comprises the step of obtaining the data pertaining to the driving behavior of the driver during a current driving cycle; and

the step of calculating the risk factor grade comprises the step of calculating the risk factor grade based at least in part on a comparison between the driving behavior during the current driving cycle and the driving behavior during the prior driving cycle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the active safety functionality is selected from the group consisting of:

a forward collision alert (FCA) system, a collision preparation system (CPS), an enhanced collision avoidance (ECA) system, a lane departure warning (LDW) system, a lane keeping assistance (LKA) system, a lane change assistance (LCA) system, an adaptive cruise control system (ACC), a full-speed range adaptive cruise control system (FSRACC), and a freeway limited ability autonomous driving (FLAAD) system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined threshold comprises a predetermined distance threshold, a predetermined time threshold, or both, and the step of adjusting the predetermined threshold comprises the step of:

adjusting the predetermined distance threshold, the predetermined time threshold, or both, based on the risk factor grade.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the step of calculating the risk factor grade comprises the steps of;

calculating a first value of the risk factor grade at a first time during the drive cycle; and

calculating a second value of the risk factor grade at a second time during the drive cycle, the second time being subsequent to the first time; and

the step of adjusting the predetermined threshold comprises the steps of;

adjusting the predetermined threshold based on the second value of the risk factor grade if the second value of the risk factor grade is greater than or equal to the first value of the risk factor grade; and

adjusting the predetermined threshold based on the second value of the risk factor grade if the second value of the risk factor grade is less than the first value of the risk factor grade.

8. A system for controlling active safety functionality for a vehicle, the active safety functionality providing an action during a drive cycle of the vehicle based on a predetermined threshold, the system comprising:

a memory configured to store the predetermined threshold; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

obtain data pertaining to driving conditions, usage conditions of the vehicle, or both, for the drive cycle;

calculate a risk factor grade using the data, the risk factor grade corresponding to a level of situational risk for the drive cycle; and

adjust the predetermined threshold of the active safety functionality based on the risk factor grade.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the processor is further configured to calculate the risk factor grade as a measure of responsiveness of the driver.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the processor is further configured to calculate the risk factor grade as a measure of alertness of the driver.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the processor is further configured to:

obtain prior data pertaining to a driving behavior of the driver during a prior driving cycle;

obtain the data pertaining to the driving behavior of the driver during a current driving cycle; and

calculate the risk factor grade based at least in part on a comparison between the driving behavior during the current driving cycle and the driving behavior during the prior driving cycle.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the active safety functionality is selected from the group consisting of:

a forward collision alert (FCA) system, a collision preparation system (CPS), an enhanced collision avoidance (ECA) system, a lane departure warning (LDW) system, a lane keeping assistance (LKA) system, a lane change assistance (LCA) system, an adaptive cruise control system (ACC), a full-speed range adaptive cruise control system (FSRACC), and a freeway limited ability autonomous driving (FLAAD) system.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the predetermined threshold comprises a predetermined distance threshold, a predetermined time threshold, or both; and

the processor is further configured to adjust the predetermined distance threshold, the predetermined time threshold, or both, based on the risk factor grade.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to:

calculate a first value of the risk factor grade at a first time during the drive cycle;

calculate a second value of the risk factor grade at a second time during the drive cycle, the second time being subsequent to the first time;

adjust the predetermined threshold based on the second value of the risk factor grade if the second value of the risk factor grade is greater than or equal to the first value of the risk factor grade; and

adjust the predetermined threshold based on the second value of the risk factor grade if the second value of the risk factor grade is less than the first value of the risk factor grade.

15. A vehicle comprising:

a drive system;

an active safety system coupled to the drive system and configured to provide an action during a drive cycle of the vehicle based on a predetermined threshold; and

a controller coupled to the active safety system and configured to;

obtain data pertaining to driving conditions, usage conditions of the vehicle, or both, for the drive cycle;

calculate a risk factor grade using the data, the risk factor grade corresponding to a level of situational risk for the drive cycle; and

adjust the predetermined threshold of the active safety system based on the risk factor grade.

16. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the controller is further configured to calculate the risk factor grade as a measure of responsiveness of the driver.

17. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the controller is further configured to calculate the risk factor grade as a measure of alertness of the driver.

18. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the vehicle has a driver, and the controller is further configured to:

obtain prior data pertaining to a driving behavior of the driver during a prior driving cycle;

obtain the data pertaining to the driving behavior of the driver during a current driving cycle; and

calculate the risk factor grade based at least in part on a comparison between the driving behavior during the current driving cycle and the driving behavior during the prior driving cycle.

19. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the active safety system is selected from the group consisting of:

a forward collision alert (FCA) system, a collision preparation system (CPS), an enhanced collision avoidance (ECA) system, a lane departure warning (LDW) system, a lane keeping assistance (LKA) system, a lane change assistance (LCA) system, an adaptive cruise control system (ACC), a full-speed range adaptive cruise control system (FSRACC), and a freeway limited ability autonomous driving (FLAAD) system.

20. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein:

the predetermined threshold comprises a predetermined distance threshold, a predetermined time threshold, or both; and

the controller is further configured to adjust the predetermined distance threshold, the predetermined time threshold, or both, based on the risk factor grade.