Travel safety system for vehicle

• US 7,412,329 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2004
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Urai, Yoshihiro, Kodaka, Kenji, Otabe, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Cuong H.
• Application Number:
  US10/832,451
• Publication Number:
  US 20050004760A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,568 Days
• Field of Search: 701/41, 701/301, 701/302, 340/437, 340435-436, 340/901, 340/903
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9318 Controlling the steering
• 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 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons

Abstract

In a travel safety system for a vehicle: a preceding vehicle V1 in a travel direction of a subject vehicle V is detected by a radar device; an overlap amount δ (smaller one of δ(L) and δ(R)), at which the preceding vehicle V1 overlaps a predicted course for the subject vehicle V, is calculated; and when time for which the over lap amount δ exceeding a predetermined value exceeds a predetermined period, it is determined that there is a possibility that the subject vehicle V comes into contact with the preceding vehicle V1, and a safety system comprising a warning or an automatic braking is actuated. Thus, if it is determined that there is a possibility of contact between the subject vehicle V and the preceding vehicle V1 due to course change of the subject vehicle V or the preceding vehicle, it is possible to prevent the safety system from being unnecessarily actuated to provide a sense of discomfort to a driver.

Claims

1. A travel safety system for a vehicle, comprising:

an object detecting means for detecting an object existing in a travel direction of the vehicle;

a correlation calculating means for calculating a correlation including a relative position of the object to the vehicle based on a result of the detection by the object detecting means;

a safety device comprising a primary warning means, and a secondary warning means, wherein the secondary warning means is actuated when a possibility of the vehicle contacting the object is higher than that needed for operation of the primary warning means; and

a safety device operation control means for determining presence or absence of a possibility of contact between the vehicle and the object based on the correlation calculated by the correlation calculating means, and controlling the operation of the safety device,

wherein the safety device operation control means actuates the primary warning means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a primary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a primary predetermined period, and actuates the secondary warning means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a secondary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a secondary predetermined period, and

wherein the primary predetermined period is longer than the secondary predetermined period.

2. A travel safety system for a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a course predicting means for predicting a future course of the vehicle based on a motional state of the vehicle;

wherein the correlation calculating means calculates an overlap amount in a vehicle-width direction in which the object is situated in the predicted future course; and

wherein the safety device operation control means construes that the object exists in the predetermined region when the overlap amount is equal to or larger than a predetermined value.

3. A travel safety system for a vehicle, comprising:

an object detecting means for detecting an object existing in a travel direction of the vehicle;

a correlation calculating means for calculating a correlation including a relative position of the object to the vehicle based on a result of the detection by the object detecting means;

a safety device comprising a primary decelerating means, and a secondary decelerating means, wherein the secondary decelerating means is actuated when a possibility of the vehicle contacting the object is higher than that needed for operation of the primary decelerating means;

a safety device operation control means for determining presence or absence of the possibility of contact between the vehicle and the object based on the correlation calculated by the correlation calculating means, and controlling the operation of the safety device,

wherein the safety device operation control means actuates the primary decelerating means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a primary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a primary predetermined period, and actuates the secondary decelerating means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a secondary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a secondary predetermined period, and

wherein the secondary predetermined period is longer than the primary predetermined period.

4. A travel safety system for a vehicle, comprising:

an object detecting means for detecting an object existing in a travel direction of the vehicle;

a correlation calculating means for calculating a correlation including a relative position of the object to the vehicle based on a result of the detection by the object detecting means;

a safety device comprising a primary steering means, and a secondary steering means, wherein the secondary steering means is actuated when a possibility of the vehicle contacting the object is higher than that needed for operation of the primary steering means;

a safety device operation control means for determining presence or absence of the possibility of contact between the vehicle and the object based on the correlation calculated by the correlation calculating means, and controlling the operation of the safety device,

wherein the safety device operation control means actuates the primary steering means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a primary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a primary predetermined period, and actuates the secondary steering means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a secondary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a secondary predetermined period, and

wherein the secondary predetermined period is longer than the primary predetermined period.

5. A travel safety system for a vehicle, comprising:

an object detecting means for detecting an object existing in a travel direction of the vehicle;

a correlation calculating means for calculating a correlation including a relative position of the object to the vehicle based on a result of the detection by the object detecting means;

a safety device comprising a primary warning means, a secondary warning means, a primary decelerating means and a secondary decelerating means, wherein the secondary warning means is actuated when a possibility of the vehicle contacting the object is higher than that needed for operation of the primary warning means, and wherein the secondary decelerating means is actuated when the possibility of the vehicle contacting the object is higher than that needed for operation of the primary decelerating means; and

a safety device operation control means for determining presence or absence of a possibility of contact between the vehicle and the object based on the correlation calculated by the correlation calculating means, and controlling the operation of the safety device,

wherein the safety device operation control means calculates a primary warning timing, a secondary warning timing, a primary braking timing and a secondary braking timing and control is carried out in an order of;

a primary warning, a secondary warning, a primary braking and a secondary braking, from the longer timing operation to the shorter timing operation,

wherein the safety device operation control means actuates the primary warning means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a primary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a primary predetermined period, and actuates the secondary warning means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a secondary predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a secondary predetermined period, and actuates the primary decelerating means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a thirdly predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a thirdly predetermined period, and actuates the secondary decelerating means when a duration of time for which the object exists in a fourthly predetermined region where there is the possibility of contact with the vehicle is equal to or larger than a fourthly predetermined period,

wherein the primary predetermined period is longer than the secondary predetermined period, and

wherein the fourthly predetermined period is longer than the thirdly predetermined period.