VEHICLE CRUISE CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20150291160A1
• Filed: 09/10/2014
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: KIM, Dong Woo, KIM, Ju Hyun
• Granted Patent: US 9,434,384 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/15 Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00

Abstract

A vehicle cruise control apparatus of a vehicle includes a display and a controller. The display displays virtual information by projecting the virtual information on an information display region in front of a driver of the vehicle through augmented reality. The controller determines whether the front road is a slope road or a curved road based on road information while controlling driving of the vehicle according to an inter-vehicle distance and a driving speed of the preceding vehicle, determines whether the preceding vehicle exists in an information display region in front of a driver when it is determined that the front road is the slope road or the curved road, and controls the display to display a virtual preceding vehicle in the information display region through augmented reality when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not exist.

Claims

1. A vehicle cruise control method for performing a vehicle cruise control of a vehicle, comprising steps of:

receiving road information on a front road of the vehicle during a preceding vehicle following cruise;

determining whether the front road is a slope road or a curved road based on the road information;

determining whether the preceding vehicle exists in an information display region in front of a driver of the vehicle when it is determined that the front road is the slope road or the curved road; and

displaying a virtual preceding vehicle in the information display region through augmented reality when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not exist.

2. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein the road information is one of a straight road, a slope road, and a curved road.

3. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a virtual preceding vehicle comprises steps of:

displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and determining whether the preceding vehicle deviates from an inter-vehicle distance detecting range;

operating a timer when it is determined the preceding vehicle deviates from the inter-vehicle distance detecting range;

determining whether a set time is elapsed by the timer; and

stopping displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and following driving when it is determined that the set time is elapsed.

4. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a virtual preceding vehicle comprises steps of:

determining whether a set time is elapsed after displaying the virtual preceding vehicle; and

stopping displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and following driving when it is determined that the set time is elapsed.

5. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 4, further comprising steps of:

determining whether the preceding vehicle is re-detected in the information display region when it is determined the set time is not elapsed; and

switching from a virtual display mode displaying the virtual preceding vehicle to a basic display mode when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is re-detected.

6. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 5, wherein the set time is calculated based on a driving condition including at least one of a driving speed and an inter-vehicle distance set by the driver.

7. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, further comprising step of maintaining a basic display mode, when it is determined that the preceding vehicle exists in the information display region.

8. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 7, further comprising:

in the basic display mode, displaying a preceding vehicle indicator at a side of the preceding vehicle located in the information display region.

9. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 8, wherein the preceding vehicle indicator is implemented as a type of at least one of an image, a text, and an animation.

16. A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region; and

displaying the virtual preceding vehicle as an image other than an image of a vehicle when it is determined that the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region.

10. A vehicle cruise control apparatus, comprising:

a front camera configured to obtain a front image of a road in which a vehicle is driving;

an inter-vehicle distance detector configured to measure an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle;

a road information provider configured to provide road information on a front road of the vehicle;

a display configured to display virtual information by projecting the virtual information on an information display region in front of a driver of the vehicle through augmented reality; and

a controller configured to determine whether the front road is a slope road or a curved road based on the road information while controlling driving of the vehicle according to the inter-vehicle distance and a driving speed of the preceding vehicle, determine whether the preceding vehicle exists in the information display region using the front image when it is determined that the front road is a slope road or a curved road, and control the display to display a virtual preceding vehicle in the information display region when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not exist.

11. A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the controller maps the information display region to the front image and determines whether the preceding vehicle exists in the information display region.

12. A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the controller stops the preceding vehicle following cruise when a lane of the vehicle is changed.

13. A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the virtual preceding vehicle is indicated in a type of any one of an image, a text, and an animation.

14. A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the controller stops displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and following driving when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not exist in the information display region within a set time after displaying the virtual preceding vehicle.

15. A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the controller stops displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and displays a preceding vehicle indicator at a side of the preceding vehicle when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is re-detected in the information display region within the set time.

17. A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein:

the controller is configured to determine whether the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region; and

the display is configured to display the virtual preceding vehicle as an image other than an image of a vehicle when the controller determines that the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region.