Vehicle control method and vehicle warning method

• US 6,311,123 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2000
• Issued: 10/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Car Engineering Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Car Engineering Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.), Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nakamura, Mitsuru, Bai, Jie
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan
• Assistant Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US09/605,052
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: 701/96, 701/301, 701/223, 340/903, 342/70, 342/69
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0008 including means for detecting potential obstacles in vehicle path
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/20 Road profile, i.e. the change in elevation or curvature of a plurality of continuous road segments
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/30 Road curve radius
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/403 in azimuth, i.e. in the horizontal plane
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4082 using externally generated reference signals, e.g. via remote reflector or transponder

Abstract

In order to occur a collision warning to prevent the collision in accurate by detecting the preceding vehicle or target, a vehicle lane position estimation device comprising a means for measuring a distance between said host vehicle and said preceding vehicle or a oncoming vehicle, a direction angle from said host vehicle, an angular velocity and a velocity of said host vehicle, a means for calculating lateral and longitudinal distance between said host vehicle and said preceding vehicle or said oncoming vehicle, a means for capturing a front stationary object, a means for obtaining movement of the preceding vehicle or position of the oncoming vehicle, and a means to estimate a lane position of said front stationary object from a relationship of the stationary object being captured and the preceding vehicle being obtained and a positional relationship with the oncoming vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle lane position estimation device for capturing a preceding vehicle or a target by searching forward of an host vehicle and estimating vehicle lane position thereof, said vehicle lane position estimation device comprising

means for measuring a distance TR between said host vehicle and said preceding vehicle or said target, a direction angle from said host vehicle, an angular velocity Ws and a velocity Vs of said host vehicle,

one vehicle lane sensing means for obtaining a lane Ly of a road,

means for calculating a lateral displacement TC between said host vehicle and said preceding vehicle or said target, a longitudinal displacement TD therebetween and a curvature radius R of said host vehicle based on a following equation

2. A vehicle lane position estimation device as defined in claim 1, wherein

a CCD camera and a navigation device having a route guidance function are used as said means force measuring.

3. A vehicle lane position estimation device as defined in claims 1, further comprising

means obtaining a distance of the vehicles from said preceding vehicle, and

means for warning when said distance becomes a predetermined distance.