Dangerous approach prevention device for vehicle

• US 6,393,361 B1
• Filed: 11/05/1999
• Issued: 05/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Yano, Takuto, Nishida, Minoru
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/435,025
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 701/301, 701/96, 340/436, 340/903, 340/435, 382/106, 382/107, 348/77
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/824 Travel path sensing; Track monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/704 predicting unorthodox driving conditions for safe or optimal driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/022 Collision avoidance systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/08 Lane monitoring; Lane Keeping Systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/086 using driver related features
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/14 operated upon collapse of driver deadman's devices for electrically propelled vehicles B60L3/02
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/4863 closed systems B60T8/4845, B60T8/489 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0881 Seat occupation; Driver or passenger presence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/106 Rate of change
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

The present invention is to enhance safety of a vehicle by avoiding excessive approaches and collisions with preceding vehicles without spoiling a drive feeling of a driver by controlling the vehicle by, for example, initializing CPU and RAM in Step 201, operating a velocity and an acceleration of an own vehicle, following-on ranges from the preceding vehicles, relative velocities, a variable amount of steering angle, the amount of stepping brake from various sensor outputs in Step 202, judging an unconsciousness such as dozing from the variable amount of the steering angle in Step 203, obtaining an approach index expressing degrees of approaching to the preceding vehicles in Step 205, operating a target braking force by the amount of stepping brake pedal and controlled variables corresponding to the approach index based on the following-on ranges or the like when the driver is judged to be dozing in a case of excessively approaching in Step 205, and controlling the own vehicle by outputting these results of operation, wherein a braking force corresponding to an ordinary amount of stepping brake is applied when the driver is not unconscious and the vehicle does not excessively approach to the preceding vehicles.

Claims

1. A dangerous approach prevention device which prevents a vehicle from being in a dangerous situation in approaching to a preceding vehicle, comprising:

an unconsciousness judging means for detecting a state of a driver of the vehicle, an intention of accelerating the vehicle by the driver and an intention of changing a driving lane of the vehicle by the driver, and judging whether the driver is unconscious based on the detected state of the driver, a time after the intention of accelerating the vehicle by the driver is detected minus a predetermined time, and a time after the intention of changing the driving lane of the vehicle by the driver is detected minus a predetermined time; and

a means for adjusting a braking force of the vehicle in response to a degree of approaching to the preceding vehicle when the driver is unconscious and applying a braking force corresponding to an ordinary amount of braking force when the driver is not unconscious, wherein the degree of approaching to the preceding vehicle is determined based on at least one of an accelerating degree of the vehicle and an accelerating degree of the preceding vehicle.

2. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the degree of approaching to the preceding vehicle is an approach index indicating a level of dangerous approach to the preceding vehicle, which is obtained based on data including a target following-on range, the accelerating degree of the vehicle, the acceleration of the preceding vehicle, relative velocity and a following-on range.

3. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 2, wherein said approach index is a time for colliding with the preceding vehicle, a target acceleration of the vehicle for running with a safe following-on range from the preceding vehicle, or a result of comparison acquired between said target acceleration of the vehicle for running with a safe following-on range from the preceding vehicle and said accelerating degree of the vehicle.

4. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 2, wherein said accelerating degree of the vehicle is an accelerating degree introduced based on a velocity of the vehicle or that corresponding to the amount of stepping a brake.

5. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 3, wherein said accelerating degree of the vehicle is an accelerating degree introduced based on a velocity of the vehicle or that corresponding to the amount of stepping a brake.

6. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 2, wherein

said relative velocity is a relative velocity introduced based on the following-on range or that detected by a relative velocity sensor.

7. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 3, wherein

said relative velocity is a relative velocity introduced based on the following-on range or that detected by a relative velocity sensor.

8. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 1, wherein

when the driver is unconscious, said braking force adjusting means adjusts a braking force in response to a target braking force introduced based on said degree of approaching to the preceding vehicle, adjusts the braking force in response to a target braking force introduced based on the amount of stepping a brake pedal and said degree of approaching to the preceding vehicles, or adjusts the braking force by a constant target braking force based on said degree of approaching to the preceding vehicles.

9. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 2, wherein

when the driver is unconscious, said braking force adjusting means adjusts a braking force in response to a target braking force introduced based on said degree of approaching to the preceding vehicle, adjusts the braking force in response to a target braking force introduced based on the amount of stepping a brake pedal and said degree of approaching to the preceding vehicles, or adjusts the braking force by a constant target braking force based on said degree of approaching to the preceding vehicles.

10. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 1, wherein said unconsciousness judging means is a dozing detecting means for judging that the driver is unconscious when a dozing of the driver is detected, a looking-aside detecting means for judging that the driver is unconscious when a looking-aside of the driver is detected, or a lane changing intention detecting means for detecting an intention of changing lanes by the driver and judging that the driver is unconscious in response to this intention, or a means composed of a plurality of said three means arbitrarily selected and a means for judging unconsciousness by an AND or OR condition of the driver unconscious judgments by the plurality of said three means.

11. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 2, wherein said unconsciousness judging means is a dozing detecting means for judging that the driver is unconscious when a dozing of the driver is detected, a looking-aside detecting means for judging that the driver is unconscious when a looking-aside of the driver is detected, or a lane changing intention detecting means for detecting an intention of changing lanes by the driver and judging that the driver is unconscious in response to this intention;

or a means composed of a plurality of said three means arbitrarily selected and a means for judging unconsciousness by an AND or OR condition of the driver unconscious judgments by the plurality of said three means.

12. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a consciousness judging means for detecting an intention of accelerating by the driver working as an accelerating intention detecting means for judging that the driver is not unconscious in response to the intention of accelerating by the driver, wherein

said braking force adjusting means controls with an ordinary braking force in response to the judgement that the driver is not unconscious.

13. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a consciousness judging means for detecting an intention of accelerating by the driver working as an accelerating intention detecting means for judging that the driver is not unconscious in response to the intention of accelerating by the driver, wherein

said braking force adjusting means controls with an ordinary braking force in response to the judgement that the driver is not unconscious.

14. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 10, wherein

said dozing detecting means is a means for detecting the dozing of the driver based on a steering angle, a variable amount of the steering angle, or a frequency of changing the steering angle.

15. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 10, wherein said dozing detecting means is a means for detecting the dozing based on a directional change of the vehicle by a gyro sensor, a means for detecting the dozing based on an accelerating degree in a lateral direction of the own vehicle, or a means for detecting the dozing based on a position in a lateral direction in a lane where the own vehicle travels.

16. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 10, wherein

said dozing detecting means or said looking-aside detecting means detects the dozing of the driver based on a face image of the driver shot by a camera.

17. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 10, wherein said dozing detecting means or said lane changing intention detecting means operates a radius or a curvature each of a road based on a shape of a lane and a radius or a curvature each of a lane where the vehicle travels based on a velocity and a steering angle of the vehicle, and detects the dozing or the intention of changing lanes in response to a comparison between results of these operations.

18. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 10, wherein said lane changing intention detecting means is a means for judging the intention of changing lanes in response to a steering angle, a variable amount of the steering angle, or a frequency of changing the steering angle each manipulated by a driver, or a means for judging that the driver has the intention of changing lanes in response to a lateral position of the vehicle with respect to positions of lanes.

19. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 10, wherein said lane changing intention detecting means judges that the driver has the intention of changing lanes when a turn indicator light indicates a direction of the vehicle.

20. The dangerous approach prevention device according to claim 12, wherein

said accelerating intention detecting means is a means for judging the intention of accelerating based on the amount of stepping an accelerator pedal, a variable amount of stepping the accelerator pedal, or a frequency of changing a stepping of the accelerator pedal or a means for judging that the driver has the intention of accelerating in response to a gear change of a transmission to lower gears and the stepping of the accelerator pedal.