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Collision prediction apparatus

  • US 7,848,884 B2
  • Filed: 05/28/2004
  • Issued: 12/07/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2003
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A collision prediction apparatus mounted on a vehicle, the collision prediction apparatus comprising:

  • a front obstacle detection unit configured to detect a front obstacle present on a route of travel of the vehicle and adapted to predictively determine whether the vehicle will collide with the detected front obstacle as a result of traveling of the vehicle;

    a road information acquisition unit configured to acquire road information regarding a road on which the detected front obstacle is present;

    a navigation apparatus mounted on the vehicle configured to store road information, and provide the road information to the road information acquisition unit, the road information comprising at least one of road type data selected from the group consisting of highway information, interstate information, and state route information, and road environment data selected from the group consisting of tunnel information and bridge information;

    a parameter value detection unit configured to detect a parameter value representing a state of traveling of the vehicle;

    a parameter value correction unit which corrects, on the basis of the road information, the parameter value detected by the parameter value detection unit;

    a predictive collision determination unit which is configured to calculate a first radius of a road on which the vehicle is present, calculate a relative distance between the vehicle and the front obstacle, calculate a first relative lateral distance based on the first radius, calculate a second radius of the road on which the detected front obstacle is present, calculate a clothoid curve connecting the first radius and the second radius, calculate a third radius of a curve passing through a point on the clothoid curve separated from the vehicle by the relative distance, calculate a second relative lateral distance based on the third radius, and determine whether the vehicle, whose state of traveling is represented by the corrected parameter value, will collide with the front obstacle detected by the front obstacle detection unit; and

    a vehicle occupant protection unit configured to, as a result of the collision prediction, perform at least one of automatically rotating a steering wheel, optimizing operation of an airbag, moving operation pedals forward, and cutting off power to units other than the vehicle occupant protection unit.

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