Vehicle Travel Control Device

• US 20170327117A1
• Filed: 10/07/2015
• Published: 11/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: OCHI, Isao
• Granted Patent: US 10,414,398 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2310/266 releasing distance control, e.g. inhibiting control if target vehicle lost or changing lane
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/00 Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator fittings acting on two or more sub-units B60W30/14; speedometers G01P; systems or devices for controlling speed in general G05D13/00 ; in traffic anti-collision system for road vehicles G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/12 for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/54 Audio sensitive means, e.g. ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/803 Relative lateral speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/55 using telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/165 Automatically following the path of a preceding lead vehicle, e.g. "electronic tow-bar"
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/04 Traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/00 Arrangements for automatically controlling steering depending on driving conditions sensed and responded to, e.g. control circuits means for initiating a change in direction B62D1/00; steering valves B62D5/06; combined with means for inclining the vehicle body or wheels on bends B62D9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle travel control device capable of improving the usability of a following control by detecting dangerous behavior in a preceding vehicle, and differing the release timing of the following control. A vehicle travel control device having a preceding vehicle behavior recognition means for obtaining behavior information for a preceding vehicle, a preceding vehicle behavior determination means for detecting the degree of risk of dangerous behavior in the preceding vehicle from the behavior information, and determining the feasibility of a following control targeting the preceding vehicle on the basis of the detected dangerous behavior risk degree, and a vehicle operation control means for outputting an acceleration/deceleration/braking/steering control command to an actuator on the basis of the feasibility determination for the following control, wherein dangerous behavior is detected on the basis of the preceding vehicle behavior information, and the timing differs between a first release timing for the following control when a first dangerous behavior is detected and a second release timing for the following control when a second dangerous behavior different from the first dangerous behavior is detected.

Claims

1. A vehicle travel control device that controls following and releasing following targeting a preceding vehicle, wherein

the vehicle travel control device sets a first dangerous behavior on the basis of a dangerous behavior detected by behavior information of the preceding vehicle and a second dangerous behavior different from the first dangerous behavior and performs following release control by a following control release timing set on the basis of the first dangerous behavior and a following control release timing set on the basis of the second dangerous behavior.

2. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, wherein

a release timing set on the basis of the first dangerous behavior and a release timing set on the basis of the second dangerous behavior are different.

3. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, wherein

the first dangerous behavior is set on the basis of the type and degree of danger of the dangerous behavior.

4. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, wherein

the second dangerous behavior is set on the basis of the type and total degree of danger of the dangerous behavior or the occurrence frequency of the dangerous behavior.

5. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

preceding vehicle behavior recognition means that obtains behavior information of a preceding vehicle;

preceding vehicle behavior determination means that determines the feasibility of following control targeting the preceding vehicle on the basis of the detected dangerous behavior; and

vehicle operation control means that outputs an acceleration/deceleration/braking/steering control command to an actuator on the basis of the feasibility determination for the following control.

6. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 5, wherein

the preceding vehicle behavior determination means determines to release following control targeting the preceding vehicle at a release timing of the second dangerous behavior in which the total degree of danger of the detected dangerous behavior reaches a predetermined threshold.

7. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 5, wherein

the preceding vehicle behavior determination means determines to release following control targeting the preceding vehicle at the release timing of the second dangerous behavior in which the occurrence frequency of the detected dangerous behavior reaches a predetermined threshold.

8. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 1, wherein

the dangerous behavior is at least one of excess of the speed limit, sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, abrupt steering, unsteadiness, non-keeping of lane, excessively slow vehicle speed, and excessively fast vehicle speed.

9. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 5, wherein

the preceding vehicle behavior determination means determines the feasibility of following control targeting the preceding vehicle on the basis of the type and degree of danger of the dangerous behavior and the total degree of danger or the occurrence frequency of the dangerous behavior.

10. The vehicle travel control device according to claim 9, wherein

when the following control is negative, the release timing of the following control is different depending on the type and degree of danger of the dangerous behavior and the total degree of danger or the occurrence frequency of the dangerous behavior.