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Vehicle safety running apparatus

  • US 6,421,601 B2
  • Filed: 04/05/2001
  • Issued: 07/16/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A vehicle safety running apparatus comprising:

  • storage means (M1) for storing road data including intersections;

    subject vehicle position detecting means (M2) for detecting the position of a subject vehicle;

    route setting means (M3) for setting a route to a destination;

    vehicle condition detecting means (M4) for detecting a vehicle condition of said subject vehicle including at least a vehicle speed thereof;

    bend portion detecting means (M5) for detecting curves and intersections existing along a traveling direction of said subject vehicle based on a road data stored in said storage means and the subject vehicle position detected by said subject vehicle position detecting means (M2); and

    proper condition determining means (M6) for calculating, based on information on curves and intersections detected by said bend portion detecting means (M5), proper vehicle conditions for passing through said curves and intersections, and determining whether or not said subject vehicle can properly pass through said curves and intersections based on the result of a comparison of the proper vehicle condition calculated with the vehicle condition detected by said vehicle condition detecting means (M4); and

    running difficulty determining means (M7) for determining a degree of difficulty in running on a road on which said subject vehicle is traveling, wherein when said bend portion detecting means (M5) detects an intersection branching into a plurality of branch roads in a state in which a route guidance based on a set route is not carried out, said proper condition determining means (M6) selects a branch road determined by said running difficulty determining means (M7) as having a lowest degree of difficulty in running and determining whether or not said subject vehicle can pass through said branch road.

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