Vehicle cruise control system with voice command

• US 5,592,385 A
• Filed: 11/08/1995
• Issued: 01/07/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Naito, Yasuo, Katayama, Kazuyori
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US08/555,311
• Time in Patent Office: 426 Days
• Field of Search: 364/426.04, 364/424.05, 395/460, 395/2, 395/2.55, 395/2.6, 395/2.7, 395/2.84, 381/86, 381/41, 381/42, 381/43, 381/51, 180/170
• US Class Current: 701/93
• 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: B60K 31/047 the memory being digital

Abstract

A vehicle cruise control system includes a voice instruction inputting element 11. A driver inputs a desired voice instruction, which is digitally compared with several previously recorded voice instructions to identify the input instruction and alter the vehicle speed, cancel or resume the cruise control, etc. Manual control switch manipulation is thus avoided.

Claims

1. A vehicle running speed control system, comprising:

a) means for setting a target speed of a vehicle;

b) means for detecting a running speed of said vehicle as an actual running speed;

c) voice command input means for receiving a verbal target speed command from the driver;

d) target speed instructing means including;

1) memory means for storing in advance a plurality of driver'"'"'s voice commands, each corresponding to a numerical target speed,

2) means for matching and identifying the verbal target speed command as one of the stored numerical target speeds, and

3) means responsive to an identification of the stored numerical target speed for changing the setting means to a new target speed corresponding to the identified numerical target speed, and

e) means for controlling an opening of a throttle valve depending on a deviation of the actual running speed from the new target speed to implement a smooth transition from the actual running speed to the new target speed without any disruptive and potentially dangerous overshooting or undershooting.

2. A vehicle running speed control system according to claim 1, further comprising voice registering means (18) for registering voice commands of a plurality of drivers.

3. A vehicle running speed control system according to claim 2, further comprising identification means (20) for identifying driver'"'"'s voices based on the registered voice commands.