Vehicle Control System

• US 20170341652A1
• Filed: 11/27/2015
• Published: 11/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: SUGAWARA, Toshiharu, TANIMICHI, Taisetsu
• Granted Patent: US 10,501,084 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/00 Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; devices, apparatus or methods for life-saving in general A62B; safety devices for propulsion unit control specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles B60K28/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19; harnessing in aircraft B64D25/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/021 Means for detecting failure or malfunction
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2400/00 Indexing codes relating to detected, measured or calculated conditions or factors
• 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 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/53 Road markings, e.g. lane marker or crosswalk
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/80 Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/10 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• 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 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18145 Cornering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18163 Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/105 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 : Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 : where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 : Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

The present invention addresses the problem that a host vehicle changes lanes and comes into contact with a following vehicle or causes the following vehicle to rapidly decelerate when the other vehicle rapidly approaches the host vehicle from outside a recognizable zone in the presence of another vehicle traveling in the lane to which the host vehicle is about to travel. Provided is a vehicle control system characterized in that a driver is notified that a lane change is not possible, the vehicle control system having: an external recognition means for detecting the lane markers of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and/or detecting another vehicle in the surrounding area of the host vehicle; a limit-distance calculation means for determining the detectable limit distance of the external recognition means; a relative-speed calculation means for calculating the speed relative to a hypothetical vehicle present outside the detectable limit distance when no other vehicle is present within the distance; and a required detection distance calculation means for determining the required detection distance of the external recognition means required for the host vehicle to change lanes on the basis of the relative speed.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system of a vehicle, comprising:

an external recognition means for detecting a lane marker of a lane in which the vehicle is traveling and/or detecting another vehicle in a surrounding area of the vehicle;

a limit-distance calculation means for determining a detectable limit distance of the external recognition means;

a relative-speed calculation means for calculating a speed relative to a hypothetical vehicle present outside the detectable limit distance when no other vehicle is present within the detectable limit distance; and

a required detection distance calculation means for determining a required detection distance of the external recognition means required for the vehicle to change lanes on the basis of the relative speed,

wherein, when it is determined that the detectable limit distance is smaller than the required detection distance, the driver is notified that the lane change cannot be performed.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein, when it is determined that the detectable limit distance is larger than the required detection distance, an automatic lane change of the vehicle is performed.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein, when it is determined that the detectable limit distance is smaller than the required detection distance, the vehicle is accelerated.

4. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the relative-speed calculation means calculates the speed relative to the hypothetical vehicle based on a speed limit of the lane.

5. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the relative-speed calculation means calculates the speed relative to the hypothetical vehicle based on traveling speed history data of the lane.

6. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the limit-distance calculation means detects a plurality of objects, which are sequentially detectable from the vehicle, and, based on the objects, the detectable limit distance is set in a vicinity of a farthest object.

7. The vehicle control system according to claim 6, wherein the limit-distance calculation means extracts objects having brightness equal to or lower than a predetermined value from the objects, and sets the detectable limit distance based on one of the objects having brightness equal to or lower than the predetermined value.

8. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein, when it is determined the detectable limit distance is smaller than the required detection distance, timing to turn on a direction indicator is set earlier.

9. A vehicle control system of a vehicle, comprising:

an external recognition unit configured to detect outside environment information of the vehicle;

a relative speed calculation unit configured to calculate a relative speed between a hypothetical vehicle outside a detectable area and the vehicle when any other vehicle is not recognized in the detectable area by the external recognition unit; and

a notification unit configured to determine whether or not a right turn, a left turn, or a lane change can be performed based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit and notify the driver of the determination result.

11. A vehicle control system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a detection area calculation unit configured to calculate an area detectable by the external recognition unit; and

an another vehicle recognition unit configured to recognize another vehicle based on whether or not there is any other vehicle in the detectable area calculated by the detection area calculation unit.

13. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, further comprising a required detection distance calculation unit configured to calculate a required detection distance of the external recognition unit required for the lane change by the vehicle, based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit,

wherein, when it is determined that the required detection distance is smaller than a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit, the notification unit notifies the driver that the lane change cannot be performed or is risky.

14. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a required detection distance calculation unit configured to calculate a required detection distance of the external recognition unit required for the lane change by the vehicle, based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit; and

a lane change control unit configured to automatically perform the lane change of the vehicle when it is determined that the required detection distance is larger than a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit.

15. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a required detection distance calculation unit configured to calculate a required detection distance of the external recognition unit required for the lane change by the vehicle based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit; and

a vehicle speed control unit configured to control to accelerate the vehicle when it is determined that the required detection distance is larger than a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit.

16. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, further comprising a vehicle speed control unit configured to control to accelerate the vehicle when it is determined that the lane change can be performed based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit.

17. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, wherein the relative speed calculation unit calculates the relative speed between the hypothetical vehicle and the vehicle based on a speed limit of the lane.

18. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, wherein the relative speed calculation unit calculates the relative speed between the hypothetical vehicle and the vehicle based on a traveling speed history of the lane.

19. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, wherein

among recognition targets recognized by the external recognition unit, a vicinity of a farthest recognition target is set as a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit, and

it is determined whether or not a lane change can be performed, based on a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit.

20. The vehicle control system according to claim 9, further comprising a required detection distance calculation unit configured to calculate a required detection distance of the external recognition unit required for the lane change by the vehicle, based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit,

wherein

among recognition targets recognizable by the external recognition unit, a vicinity of a farthest recognition target is set as a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit, and

when it is determined that the required detection distance is larger than a limit of the detectable area of the external recognition unit, it is determined that the vehicle can change the lane.

10. A vehicle control system of a vehicle, comprising:

an external recognition unit configured to detect outside environment information of the vehicle;

a relative speed calculation unit configured to calculate a relative speed between another vehicle and the vehicle when the external recognition unit recognizes the another vehicle; and

a notification unit configured to determine whether or not a right turn, a left turn, or a lane change can be performed based on the relative speed calculated by the relative speed calculation unit and notify the determination result to the driver of the vehicle.

12. The vehicle control system according to claim 10, wherein, when the external recognition unit does not recognize any other vehicle in the detectable area, a relative speed between a hypothetical vehicle outside the detectable area and the vehicle is calculated, it is determined whether or not a lane change can be performed based on the calculated relative speed, and the determination result is notified to the driver.