Radio communications for vehicle speed adjustment

• US 7,474,231 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2006
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Sohr, Juergen
• Primary Examiner(s): La; Anh V
• Application Number:
  US11/485,157
• Publication Number:
  US 20080021600A1
• Time in Patent Office: 909 Days
• Field of Search: 340/435, 340/436, 340/937, 340/903, 340/904, 340/466, 340/464, 700/300, 700/301, 701/45, 701/300, 701/301, 180/271, 180/250, 180/275, 348/143, 348/148, 348/161, 342 70- 72
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered

Abstract

A method is provided comprising the following steps. A vehicle receives by radio from another vehicle an indication of speed of said another vehicle. The vehicle determines its own speed. A speed adjustment is automatically determined to be effected by said another vehicle so as to control relative speed of the vehicles. A speed adjustment request is transmitted by radio to said another vehicle.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

a vehicle receiving by radio from another vehicle that is in front an indication of speed of said another vehicle,

the vehicle detecting its own speed,

automatically determining a speed adjustment to be effected by said another vehicle so as to control relative speed of the vehicles,

transmitting by radio to said another vehicle a speed adjustment request to make the speed adjustment in which the vehicle requests that said another vehicle, which is in front, slows down for faster overtaking,

calculating additional journey time of said another vehicle assuming the speed adjustment were made, and providing said additional journey time for display to the driver of said another vehicle.

2. A method according to claim 1, in which the radio is in accordance with Bluetooth protocol.

3. A method according to claim 1, in which the vehicles are on a multilane roadway, and are trucks or other motorised land vehicles.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising making the speed adjustment automatically.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising making the speed adjustment under driver control.

6. Vehicle speed control apparatus comprising:

for use in a vehicle at least one radio transmitter-receiver, a processor, a speed controller, and a speed detector,

the processor being operative to;

receive data of speed of a vehicle from the speed detector;

receive data of speed of another vehicle that is in front of the vehicle, said data being received by the transmitter-receiver;

determine a speed adjustment to be requested of said another vehicle, said speed adjustment being a speed reduction; and

the transmitter-receiver being operative to transmit the speed adjustment request;

the apparatus further comprising, for use in said another vehicle, a further speed controller, in which said further speed controller comprises a driver interface for displaying a speed adjustment command corresponding to the received speed adjustment request and to which the driver of said another vehicle can respond by effecting adjustment of vehicle speed, the speed adjustment command including data of additional journey duration.

7. Vehicle speed control apparatus according to claim 6, in which a speed adjustment to be requested of said another vehicle is determined and the transmitter-receiver is operative to transmit the speed adjustment request.

8. Vehicle speed control apparatus according to claim 6, in which the processor is also operative to determine a speed adjustment to be made by the vehicle;

and

the speed controller is operative to receive a speed adjustment control signal from the processor and adjust speed of the vehicle in consequence.

9. Vehicle speed control apparatus according to claim 8, in which the speed controller comprises a cruise control system operative to automatically respond to the speed adjustment control signal to adjust speed.