VEHICLE TRAVELING CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20180079411A1
• Filed: 09/12/2017
• Published: 03/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: INOGUCHI, Takeshi, YAMASHITA, Keiji
• Granted Patent: US 10,604,153 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0066 using buttons or a keyboard connected to the on-board processor
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/143 Speed control B60W30/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/146 Speed limiting
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

A driving assist ECU calculates a speed deviation ΔV which is a magnitude of a deviation between a target speed Vset and a speed limit Vlim in a situation in which the target speed Vset and the speed limit Vlim are different from each other. When the speed deviation ΔV is equal to or smaller than a threshold A, the driving assist ECU sets an accept prohibition flag to “1”. When the speed deviation ΔV is higher than the threshold A, the driving assist ECU sets the accept prohibition flag to “0”. When the accept prohibition flag is “1”, the driving assist ECU regards/treats a long-push operation of an operating unit not as an accept operation, but as an acceleration operation or a coast operation.

Claims

1. A vehicle traveling control apparatus comprising:

cruise control means for executing a cruise control for keeping an own vehicle traveling at a constant speed in accordance with a target speed without an accelerator pedal operation by a driver;

an operating unit which is operated by the driver to increase or decrease the target speed to an arbitrary value;

speed limit acquisition means for acquiring a speed limit of a road on which the own vehicle travels;

display means for displaying the target speed and the speed limit on a display device;

target speed setting means for performing a first function to increase or decrease the target speed by an amount corresponding to an operation of the operating unit, and a second function to set the target speed to the speed limit by an operation of the operating unit, wherein the target speed setting means is configured to set the target speed through the second function in place of the first function when the operating unit is operated toward a side bringing the target speed closer to the speed limit in a situation in which the speed limit and the target speed are different from each other;

speed deviation acquisition means for acquiring a speed deviation which is a magnitude of a deviation between the speed limit and the target speed; and

prohibition means for prohibiting the target speed setting means from setting the target speed through the second function when the speed deviation is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold which is larger than zero.

2. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

the target speed setting means is configured:

as the first function, to increase or decrease the target speed by a predetermined change amount every time a certain time elapses while a push operation of the operating unit continues after a long-push operation is detected, wherein the long-push operation is a push operation of the operating unit which continues for a long-push completion time; and

as the second function, to set the target speed to the speed limit when the long-push operation of the operating unit is detected.

3. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,

the target speed setting means is configured, when it sets the target speed through the first function:

to increase or decrease the target speed by the predetermined change amount in such a manner that the target speed becomes one of multiples of the predetermined change amount; and

to set the target speed to a value which is closest to one of the multiples in a changing direction of the target speed, if the target speed at a time point of starting the push operation of the operating unit is not one of the multiples, and

the threshold is set to be a value which is the same as the predetermined change amount.

4. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising threshold adjustment means for changing the threshold to one of values including at least zero in response to an operation of the driver.

5. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operating unit is configured to perform a function to stop the cruise control in response to an operation of the driver, and perform a function to restart the cruise control which has been stopped, in response to an operation of the driver, and

the target speed setting means is configured to:

store the target speed at a time point at which the cruise control is stopped;

set the target speed at a time point at which the cruise control is restarted to the speed limit, when the cruise control is restarted in response to the long-push operation of the operating unit; and

set the target speed at the time point at which the cruise control is restarted to the stored target speed, when the cruise control is restarted in response to a short-push operation of the operating unit which is a push operation which is terminated before the long-push completion time elapses.

6. The vehicle traveling control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

display control means for displaying on the display device an operation instruction indicating operation procedures of the operating unit for setting the target speed to the speed limit; and

display prohibition means for prohibiting the display control means from displaying the operation instruction when the speed deviation is equal to or smaller than the threshold.

7. A vehicle traveling control apparatus comprising:

vehicle speed control means for controlling a driving force and a braking force of an own vehicle in such a manner that a vehicle speed of the own vehicle does not exceed an upper speed limit;

an operating unit which is operated by the driver to increase or decrease the upper speed limit to an arbitrary value;

speed limit acquisition means for acquiring a speed limit of a road on which the own vehicle travels;

display means for displaying the upper speed limit and the speed limit on a display device;

upper speed limit setting means for performing a first function to increase or decrease the upper speed limit by an amount corresponding to an operation of the operating unit, and a second function to set the upper speed limit to the speed limit through an operation of the operating unit, wherein the upper speed limit setting means is configured to set the upper speed limit through the second function in place of the first function when the operating unit is operated toward a side bringing the upper speed limit closer to the speed limit in a situation in which the speed limit and the upper speed limit are different from each other;

speed deviation acquisition means for acquiring a speed deviation which is a magnitude of a deviation between the speed limit and the upper speed limit; and

prohibition means for prohibiting the upper speed limit setting means from setting the upper speed limit through the second function when the speed deviation is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold which is larger than zero.