Method and apparatus for cruise control

• US 5,761,629 A
• Filed: 12/11/1995
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lucas Industries Limited (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Original Assignee: Lucas Industries Limited (Zeppelin - Stiftung der Stadt Friedrichshafen)
• Inventors: Gilling, Simon Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US08/567,984
• Time in Patent Office: 904 Days
• Field of Search: 364/426.041, 364/426.044, 364/431.07, 364/460, 364/461, 180/167-169, 180/176-179, 123/352, 342/454, 342/455, 340/901, 340/903, 340/904, 340/435, 340/436
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0008 including means for detecting potential obstacles in vehicle path
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/802 Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/805 Azimuth angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/17 with provision for special action when the preceding vehicle comes to a halt, e.g. stop and go
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9319 Controlling the accelerator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9321 Velocity regulation, e.g. cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles

Abstract

A cruise control system arranged to determine whether the closest targeted vehicle ahead of a vehicle being controlled is running in its lane or an adjacent lane and if it is determined that the closest vehicle is running in an adjacent slower lane, allowing the controlled vehicle to overtake the closest vehicle if the way ahead is clear, and if it is determined that the closest vehicle is running in an adjacent faster lane, selecting that closest vehicle as a prime target to control the acceleration of the controlled vehicle unless there is another vehicle running in the same lane as the controlled vehicle which requires deceleration of the controlled vehicle, in which case the vehicle running in the same lane is selected as the prime target.

Claims

1. A cruise control system comprising:

a controlled vehicle controlled by the cruise control system;

detecting means for detecting vehicles ahead of the controlled vehicle;

distance measuring means measuring an actual distance from the controlled vehicle to any detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

speed determining means determining an actual controlled vehicle speed of the controlled vehicle and an actual vehicle speed of any detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

distance error determining means which determine a distance error as a difference between a desired predetermined vehicle separation distance and the actual distance measured;

speed error determining means which determine a speed error as a difference between the actual controlled vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed of a detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

acceleration demand means which determine a positive or negative acceleration demand signal as a function of the distance error received by the acceleration demand means and of the speed error received by the acceleration demand means;

vehicle lane determining means determining which lane vehicles detected ahead of the controlled vehicle are in and providing a lane indicating output;

first selection control means receiving said lane indicating output and providing a first selection of a prime target vehicle as a closest same lane vehicle when an actual closest vehicle is in a slower lane than the controlled vehicle which permits the actual closest vehicle in the slower lane to be overtaken; and

second selection control means receiving said lane indicating output and providing a second selection of the prime target vehicle as the actual closest vehicle when the actual closest vehicle is in the same lane as or a faster lane than the controlled vehicle, said second selection resulting in monitoring of vehicles sharing the same lane ahead of said control vehicle by the second selection control means when the actual closest vehicle selected as said prime target vehicle is in said faster lane, said monitoring resulting in the closest vehicle in the same lane ahead of the controlled vehicle being selected by the second selection control means as the prime target vehicle when said monitoring indicates that a predetermined distance to the closest vehicle in the same lane ahead of the controlled vehicle has been reached.

2. A cruise control system comprising:

a controlled vehicle controlled by the cruise control system;

detecting means for detecting vehicles ahead of said controlled vehicle;

distance measuring means measuring an actual distance from the controlled vehicle to any vehicle detected ahead of the controlled vehicle;

speed determining means determining an actual controlled vehicle speed of the controlled vehicle and an actual vehicle speed of a detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

distance error determining means which determine a distance error as a difference between a desired predetermined vehicle separation distance and the actual distance measured;

speed error determining means which determine a speed error as a difference between the actual controlled vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed of a detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

acceleration demand means which determine a positive or negative acceleration demand signal as a function of the distance error received by the acceleration demand means and of the speed error received by the acceleration demand means;

wherein said detecting means further comprises,

a plurality of vehicle detectors, and

angular offset calculation means responsive to the detectors to determine an angular offset of each vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle and to determine each detected vehicle as being above, below or within a predetermined angular range in a direction of travel of said controlled vehicle; and

prime target vehicle selection means selecting a prime target vehicle from the vehicles detected by the plurality of vehicle detectors, said prime target selection means making a first selection of a vehicle having an angular position within the said predetermined angular range as the prime target vehicle when the vehicle within the predetermined angular range has a negative acceleration demand signal and is within a predetermined distance of the controlled vehicle, said prime target selection means making a second selection of a vehicle having a greatest acceleration demand signal value among the detected vehicles as the prime target vehicle when an actual closest vehicle is detected to be at an angular position below said predetermined angular range and when no vehicle having an angular position within the predetermined angular range is detected as also having a negative acceleration demand signal and as being within the predetermined distance of the controlled vehicle, said prime target selection means making a third selection of a vehicle having a least acceleration demand signal value among the detected vehicles as the prime target vehicle when an actual closest vehicle is detected to be at an angular position within or above said predetermined angular range and when no vehicle having an angular position within the predetermined angular range is detected as also having a negative acceleration demand signal and as being within the predetermined distance of the controlled vehicle.

3. A cruise control system comprising:

a controlled vehicle controlled by the cruise control system;

detecting means for detecting vehicles ahead of said controlled vehicle;

distance measuring means measuring an actual distance from the controlled vehicle to any detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

speed determining means determining an actual controlled vehicle speed of the controlled vehicle and an actual vehicle speed of any detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

distance error determining means which determine a distance error as a difference between a desired predetermined vehicle separation distance and the actual distance measured;

speed error determining means which determine a speed error as a difference between the actual controlled vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed of a detected vehicle ahead of the controlled vehicle;

acceleration demand means which determine a positive or negative acceleration demand signal as a function of the distance error received by the acceleration demand means and of the speed error received by the acceleration demand means;

wherein said detecting means further comprises,

a plurality of vehicle detectors, including first detectors detecting a first closest target vehicle and second detectors detecting a second next closest target vehicle, and

angular offset calculating and indicating means receiving outputs from the first and second detectors and calculating an angle between a direction of the first closest target vehicle and a direction of the second next closest target vehicle and outputting a first indicating signal when the calculated angle is more than a first predetermined value, outputting a second indicating signal when the calculated angle is less than a second predetermined value, and outputting a third indicating signal when the calculated angle lies between the first and second predetermined values;

prime target vehicle selection means receiving the first, second, and third indicating signals from the angular offset calculating and indicating means and using said received indicating signals at least in part in selecting a prime target vehicle from the vehicles detected to be ahead of the controlled vehicle by the plurality of vehicle detectors.

4. The cruise control system of claim 3, wherein the prime target vehicle selection means includes a selector having first and second inputs, the first input being connected to receive the first and third indicating signals which cause the selector to select a first detector detected vehicle or a second detector detected vehicle as the prime target vehicle based upon which one of the first detector detected vehicle and the second detector detected vehicle has an acceleration demand signal of a lesser value as determined by the acceleration demand means, and the second input being connected to receive the second indicating signal which causes the selector to select a first detector detected vehicle or a second detector detected vehicle as the prime target vehicle based upon which one of the first detector detected vehicle and the second detector detected vehicle has an acceleration demand signal of a greater value as determined by the acceleration demand means.