Running control device for a vehicle
First Claim
1. A cruise control system for an automotive vehicle, for controlling cruising of own vehicle with maintaining a distance to a preceding vehicle constant, comprising:
- traffic signal characteristics obtaining means for obtaining characteristics of a traffic signal ahead;
road information obtaining means for obtaining intersection information including a distance to an intersection;
intersection arrival time calculating means for calculating arrival timing of the own vehicle and/or the preceding vehicle on the basis of a distance to the intersection, an own vehicle speed and/or a preceding vehicle traveling condition;
traffic signal condition estimating means for estimating said condition of the traffic signal on the basis of the traffic signal characteristics and said intersection arrival timing; and
control content modifying means for modifying a content of cruise control of the own vehicle depending upon said estimated traffic signal condition.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A cruise control system for an automotive vehicle controls the speed of the vehicle by estimating conditions for not only when the vehicle passes through an intersection but also when a preceding vehicle passes through the intersection, in order to permit travel on an ordinary road with a given following distance. The cruise control system includes a traffic signal characteristics obtaining device for obtaining characteristics of an upcoming traffic signal, a road information obtaining device for obtaining intersection information including a distance to an intersection, an intersection arrival time calculating device for calculating arrival timing of the vehicle and the preceding vehicle on the basis of a distance to the intersection, the vehicle speed and the preceding vehicle traveling conditions, a traffic signal condition estimating device for estimating the condition of the traffic signal on the basis of the traffic signal characteristics and the intersection arrival timing, and a control content modifying device for modifying the content of the cruise control of the vehicle depending upon the estimated traffic signal condition.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A cruise control system for an automotive vehicle, for controlling cruising of own vehicle with maintaining a distance to a preceding vehicle constant, comprising:
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traffic signal characteristics obtaining means for obtaining characteristics of a traffic signal ahead;
road information obtaining means for obtaining intersection information including a distance to an intersection;
intersection arrival time calculating means for calculating arrival timing of the own vehicle and/or the preceding vehicle on the basis of a distance to the intersection, an own vehicle speed and/or a preceding vehicle traveling condition;
traffic signal condition estimating means for estimating said condition of the traffic signal on the basis of the traffic signal characteristics and said intersection arrival timing; and
control content modifying means for modifying a content of cruise control of the own vehicle depending upon said estimated traffic signal condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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6. A cruise control system for an automotive vehicle, for controlling cruising of own vehicle with maintaining a distance to a preceding vehicle constant, comprising:
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traffic signal characteristics obtaining means including image pick-up means having zooming means, image processing means obtaining traffic signal characteristics by processing an image of said image pick-up means and communication means, for serving as measuring means for obtaining characteristics of a traffic signal ahead;
road information obtaining means for obtaining intersection information including a distance to an intersection ahead;
intersection arrival time calculating means for calculating arrival timing of the own vehicle and/or the preceding vehicle on the basis of a distance to the intersection, an own vehicle speed and/or a preceding vehicle traveling condition;
traffic signal condition estimating means for estimating said condition of the traffic signal on the basis of the traffic signal characteristics and said intersection arrival timing;
right and left turn control signal generating means for generating operation pattern of the own vehicle from a state of turn signal or a route information to a destination generated by said road information obtaining means to input to said control content modifying means;
control content modifying means for modifying a content of cruise control of the own vehicle depending upon said estimated traffic signal condition; and
alarm means for generating a corresponding alarm before modifying the content of the cruise control. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A cruise control system for an automotive vehicle, for controlling cruising of a vehicle while maintaining a distance to a preceding vehicle constant, comprising:
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traffic signal characteristics obtaining means for obtaining characteristics of a traffic signal ahead representing switching timing between a green lamp and a red lamp of the traffic signal;
road information obtaining means for obtaining intersection information including a distance to an intersection;
intersection arrival time calculating means for calculating arrival timing of the vehicle and/or the preceding vehicle on the basis of a distance to the intersection, a speed of the vehicle and/or a preceding vehicle traveling condition;
traffic signal condition estimating means for estimating said condition of the traffic signal on the basis of the traffic signal characteristics and said intersection arrival timing; and
control content modifying means for modifying a content of the cruise control of the vehicle depending upon said estimated traffic signal condition.
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14. A method for operating a cruise control system of an automotive vehicle, the method comprising the acts of:
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obtaining characteristics of a traffic signal ahead of the vehicle, said characteristics representing switching times between a green lamp and a red lamp of the traffic signal;
obtaining intersection information on a road network, including a distance to an upcoming intersection;
calculating arrival timing of the vehicle and/or a preceding vehicle to the upcoming intersection based on a distance to the intersection, a speed of the vehicle and/or a traveling condition of the preceding vehicle;
estimating a condition of the traffic signal on the basis of the traffic signal characteristics and the intersection arrival timing; and
modifying operation of the cruise control system of the vehicle depending upon the estimated condition of the traffic signal.
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Specification