Automatic steering apparatus for vehicles

• US 6,016,881 A
• Filed: 12/17/1997
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Shimizu, Yasuo, Sakai, Katsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Douglas C.
• Application Number:
  US08/992,338
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 180/204, 180/199, 180/200, 180/201, 180/202, 180/203, 180/446, 180/443, 180/168, 701/41, 701/42, 701/48, 701/23-28, 701/224, 318/587, 318/568.1, 318/489, 318/434, 340/441, 340/438, 192/13 R, 477/96
• US Class Current: 180/204
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/10 Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically

Abstract

An apparatus for preventing a vehicle from deviating from the correct locus of movement thereof when the vehicle travels in a direction opposite to the direction designated by a gear selecting lever during an automatic parking control operation. When automatic parking control operation is started, the wheels are automatically steered on the basis of the relation between the traveling distance of the vehicle and a standard steering angle which is stored in advance in a storage device, and the vehicle is guided automatically to a parking position. When the vehicle, for which the automatic parking control operation has been started from a position O, moves back from a position Q due to the inclination of the road surface, the automatic parking control operation necessarily continues to be carried out unless the forward movement or backward movement of the vehicle is recognized and the vehicle travels to a different position O'"'"'. When the forward or backward movements of the vehicle is recognized, and when the vehicle moves back from the position Q, the standard steering angle θref is reproduced reversely from the position Q and outputted, whereby the vehicle can be returned to the original position O.

Claims

1. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a steering actuator that controls a steering angle of the wheels of said vehicle in response to a steering operation performed by a user of said vehicle;

storage means for storing a predetermined locus of movement of the vehicle to a target stopping position;

control means for automatically controlling said steering actuator based upon data stored in said storage means; and

actual moving direction detecting means for detecting an actual direction of movement of said vehicle, said actual direction of movement of said vehicle including a direction of vehicle travel opposite to a designated direction of movement of said vehicle selected by a gear selecting lever,

wherein said storage means provides an output to said control means of a locus of movement of said vehicle based on the actual direction of movement of said vehicle detected by said moving direction detecting means.

2. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said storage means stores the locus of movement of the vehicle as a steering angle of the wheels with respect to a distance traveled.

3. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, movement of said vehicle and

further comprising informing means for informing the driver when the actual direction of movement of said vehicle detected by said moving direction detecting means is different from said designated direction selected by said gear selecting lever.

4. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said control means stops automatic steering control of said steering actuator when the actual direction of movement of said vehicle detected by said moving direction detecting means is different from said designated direction selected by said gear selecting lever.

5. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said storage means outputs the locus of movement such that said vehicle travels in reverse along an original traveling path when the actual direction of movement of said vehicle detected by said moving direction detecting means is different from said designated direction selected by said gear selecting lever.

6. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising braking means for braking said wheels of said vehicle, wherein said control means executes automatic control of said steering actuator while said braking means is in operation.

7. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 6, further comprising speed control means for controlling a speed of the vehicle in accordance with an amount of braking executed by said braking means.

8. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 7, wherein said vehicle speed control means controls said vehicle speed such that said vehicle speed increases as an amount of braking executed by said braking means decreases from a first amount of operation and said vehicle speed decreases as the amount of

braking executed by said braking means decreases from a second amount of operation, said second amount of operation being smaller than the first amount of operation.

9. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 8, wherein an upper limit level is set for the increase of the vehicle speed which occurs when the amount of braking executed by said braking means decreases from the first amount of operation.

10. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the first amount of operation is the amount of braking at which said vehicle can be stopped against a creeping force thereof, and said second amount of operation is an amount of braking at which no substantial braking force is generated.

11. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 6, wherein said vehicle speed control means sets the vehicle speed at zero when the amount of braking executed by said braking means is zero.

12. An automatic steering apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle speed control means sets the vehicle speed at or near zero until the amount of braking executed by said braking means reaches a level equal to or greater than the first amount of operation when the vehicle is started by the automatic steering control operation.