Method for spacing control for a vehicle

• US 6,765,494 B1
• Filed: 05/20/1997
• Issued: 07/20/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Original Assignee: Volkswagen AG
• Inventors: Weisser, Hubert, Timm, Klaus, Bergholz, Ralf
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US08/859,635
• Time in Patent Office: 2,618 Days
• Field of Search: 340/903, 340/436, 340/435, 340/439, 340/576, 340/573.1, 340/575, 364/701.044, 701/301
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/0008 including means for detecting potential obstacles in vehicle path
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0057 Frequency analysis, spectral techniques or transforms
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour

Abstract

A method for spacing control for a vehicle in which an intended vehicle spacing from a vehicle in front is determined as a function of at least the current vehicle speed by an arrangement for calculating the intended spacing. In order to increase the acceptability of the spacing control method by a vehicle driver, the control arrangement has a transfer function which is adaptable to an individual driving characteristic of the vehicle driver.

Claims

1. A method for spacing control for a vehicle having an arrangement for determining an intended spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based at least in part on the vehicle speed and a normal driving style of a particular driver and utilizing a transfer function, the method comprising the step of:

adapting the transfer function to the normal driving style of the particular driver to produce an intended spacing adapted to the normal driving style of the driver

wherein the normal driving style is determined by at least one driving technique of the driver.

2. A method according to claim 1 including the step of:

adapting the transfer function of the spacing-determining arrangement in such a way that the normal following time of a particular driver with respect to a vehicle traveling in front is maintained based on the determination of the intended spacing.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the adaptation to the normal driving style of the particular driver is carried out while the vehicle is being operated by the particular driver.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the prevailing road friction and/or a variable for the prevailing visibility conditions is used as the further input variable.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least two drivers are capable of operating the vehicle, and wherein the intended spacing is adapted depending which of the drivers is operating the vehicle.

6. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining the normal driving style of the particular driver based on a previous operation of the vehicle by the particular driver.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein the previous operation is performed while the vehicle is being driven.

8. A method for spacing control for a vehicle having an arrangement for determining an intended spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based at least in part on the vehicle speed and utilizing a transfer function comprising the step of:

adapting the transfer function to a driving characteristic of a particular driver to produce an intended spacing adapted to the driving characteristic wherein the arrangement for determining an intended spacing comprises a fuzzy controller having the vehicle speed as an input variable and having at least one further input variable and having the intended spacing as an output variable, wherein the fuzzy controller has input membership functions with which truth values of linguistic values are determined at least for the input variables, has a control mechanism in which truth values for the intended spacing are determined from the truth values for the input variables, and has an output membership function with which the intended spacing which is to be adjusted is determined from the truth values of the intended spacing.

9. A method according to claim 8 including the steps of:

defining a number of classes over the value ranges of the input variables;

registering, in a learning phase, value combinations of the input variables and of the spacing which occur;

altering or removing classes and/or forming new classes as a function of the registered value combinations; and

generating, as a function of the current classes, adapted membership functions and adapted rules of the control mechanism.

10. A method according to claim 9 wherein the number and the positions of the classes are defined as a function of the existing input membership functions.

11. A method according to claim 9 including the steps of:

defining areas around the classes in the value range of the input variables, in which defined areas no new classes are formed;

distributing value combinations of the input variables and of the spacing which occur in and which fall in one of the defined areas but in none of the classes in accordance with a weighting;

altering the width of the areas surrounding such adjacent classes to produce free areas, and;

forming a new class in a free area when a value combination arrives which does not fall in an existing class.

12. A method according to claim 9 including the step of:

removing an existing class when a new class is formed;

distributing the value combinations of the input variables and the spacing in the removed class to adjacent classes; and

altering the adjacent classes in accordance with the value combinations of the input variables and the spacing assigned to them.

13. A method according to claim 9 wherein, following the adaptation of existing classes, each class forms at least one reference point of a set of the input membership function.

14. A method according to claim 9 wherein the rules of the fuzzy controller are formed by the points of the sets of the output membership functions.

15. A method according to claim 9 wherein the spacing value of each point of intersection of the classes forms a reference point of the sets of the output membership functions.

16. A method according to claim 9 including the step of:

carrying out a local and/or global interpolation in areas of the value ranges of the input variables for which no value combinations of the input variables and the spacing were registered during the learning phase and/or which have classes with extremely prominent value combinations.

17. An arrangement for determining an intended vehicle spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based on a normal driving style of a particular driver, comprising:

a controller with an adaptable transfer function having the vehicle speed and at least one further variable as input-variables and having intended vehicle spacing as an output variable, and

a spacing modifier for adapting the transfer function of the controller to the normal driving style of the particular driver to adjust the intended vehicle spacing in accordance with the normal driving style of the particular driver,

wherein the normal driving style is determined by at least one driving technique of the driver.

18. A method for spacing control for a vehicle having an arrangement for determining an intended spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based at least in part on the vehicle speed and utilizing a transfer function, the method comprising the step of:

adapting the transfer function to a normal driving characteristic of a particular driver to produce an intended spacing adapted to the normal driving characteristic of the driver,

wherein the adaptation to the normal driving characteristic of the particular driver is carried out while the vehicle is being driven by the particular driver.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the normal driving characteristic is a normal driving style of the particular driver.

20. A method according to claim 18, wherein at least two drivers are capable of operating the vehicle, and wherein the intended spacing is adapted depending which of the drivers is operating the vehicle.

21. An arrangement for determining an intended vehicle spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based on a normal driving style of a particular driver, comprising:

a controller with an adaptable transfer function having the vehicle speed and at least one further variable as input variables and having intended vehicle spacing as an output variable, and

a spacing modifier for adapting the transfer function of the controller to the normal driving style of the particular driver to adjust the intended vehicle spacing in accordance with the normal driving style of the particular driver,

wherein at least two drivers are capable of operating the vehicle, and wherein the intended spacing is adapted depending which of the drivers is operating the vehicle.

22. An arrangement for determining an intended vehicle spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based on a normal driving style of a particular driver, comprising:

a controller with an adaptable transfer function having the vehicle speed and at least one further variable as input variables and having intended vehicle spacing as an output variable, and

a spacing modifier for adapting the transfer function of the controller to the normal driving style of the particular driver to adjust the intended vehicle spacing in accordance with the normal driving style of the particular driver,

wherein the controller determines the normal driving style of the particular driver based on a previous operation of the vehicle by the particular driver.

23. An arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the previous operation is performed while the vehicle is being driven.

24. An arrangement for determining an intended vehicle spacing from a vehicle traveling in front, comprising:

a controller with an adaptable transfer function having the vehicle speed and at least one further variable as input variables and having intended vehicle spacing as an output variable, and

a spacing modifier for adapting the transfer function of the controller to a normal driving characteristics of a particular driver to adjust the intended vehicle spacing in accordance with the normal driving characteristic of the particular driver,

wherein the adaptation to the normal driving characteristic of the particular driver is carried out while the vehicle is being driven by the particular driver.

25. An arrangement according to claim 24, wherein the normal driving characteristic is a normal driving style of the particular driver.

26. An arrangement according to claim 24, wherein at least two drivers are capable of operating the vehicle, and wherein the intended spacing is adapted depending which of the drivers is operating the vehicle.

27. A method for spacing control for a vehicle having an arrangement for determining an intended spacing from a vehicle traveling in front based at least in part on the vehicle speed and a normal driving style of a particular driver and utilizing a transfer function, the method comprising the steps of:

adapting the transfer function to the normal driving style of the particular driver to produce an intended spacing adapted to the normal driving style of the driver; and

determining the normal driving style of the particular driver based on a previous operation of the vehicle by the particular driver.