Method of automatically controlling traveling of vehicle

• US 6,138,064 A
• Filed: 06/02/1998
• Issued: 10/24/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tagaki, Akira, Matsumoto, Shinichi, Saeki, Hiroshi, Mochidome, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US09/077,609
• Time in Patent Office: 875 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/24, 701/25, 701/26, 701/96, 701/300, 701/301, 340/903, 340/435, 340/436, 342/455, 180/167, 180/168, 180/169, 318/587
• US Class Current: 701/23
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/34 for indicating the distance between vehicles or trains by the transmission of signals therebetween
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/00 Central railway traffic control systems; Trackside control; Communication systems specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/04 Automatic systems, e.g. controlled by train; Change-over to manual control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/075 Ramp control

Abstract

A running section on a main line 5 and a branching lane 7, leading to platforms 6, including a branching and merging is represented as a moving target control section 11. The running section of the main lane not including the branching and merging sections is represented as a vehicle-to-vehicle distance control section 12. When a vehicle enters the moving target control section 11, the vehicle is detected by a vehicle detector 13 and the position information, course information, etc., are output to an operation control computer. Based on the detected information the operation control computer temporarily shifts the generation interval of the moving target to be matched to an entry of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for controlling automatic runnings of a plurality of vehicles on a road having main and branching lanes, comprising:

controlling a vehicle running in a MT running section of the road, including a branching point and a merging point, by a moving target method that controls running of a real vehicle on a real road to follow a moving target running on an imaginary road in a computer; and

controlling the vehicle running in a section of the road, not including the branching point and the merging point by a vehicle-to-vehicle distance control method that measures a distance to a forwardly running vehicle by a distance measuring device mounted on the vehicle and controls the running of the vehicle to maintain the vehicle-to-vehicle distance above a set value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the vehicle enters the main lane section of the road not including the branching point and the merging point, the moving target method temporarily shift-controls a generation interval of the moving target to be matched to the entry of the vehicle.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when, onto the vehicle running in the main lane section of the road not including the branching point and the merging point, another vehicle joins from the branching lane, the moving target method shift-controls the generation of the moving target of said another vehicle to enable the moving target of said vehicle to be matched to that of said another vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the road is allocated a moving target MT control section to which the moving target method is applied and a vehicle-to-vehicle distance control section to which the vehicle-to-vehicle distance control method is applied.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle-to-vehicle distance control section is allocated to sections of the road other than the moving target control section.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein an equipment is provided in the moving target MT control section to send and receive information to and from the vehicle running in said moving target MT control section.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein a position information equipment is provided in the moving target MT control section to detect position information on the vehicle running on said moving target MT control section.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein a vehicle detector for detecting a running position, speed, and course of the vehicle running in the vehicle-to-vehicle control section is provided at a boundary to the moving target MT control section of the vehicle-to-vehicle distance control section.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein each vehicle has a distance measuring device mounted to measure a distance to a forwardly running vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein each vehicle has a computer mounted to store at least information representing a passage of the vehicle in the MT running section and branching of the vehicle from the MT running section.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein each vehicle has its own vehicle number set thereon.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the moving target method and the vehicle-to-vehicle distance control method are executed by an operation control computer.