Control device and control method for vehicle

• US 8,924,122 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2011
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Shida, Mitsuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAIGE, TYLER D
• Application Number:
  US13/813,237
• Publication Number:
  US 20130131949A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 701/96, 701/300, 701/301, 340/903, 340/905, 340/990
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2310/26 Distance setting methods, e.g. determining target distance to target vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2310/28 Following time setting methods, e.g. elapsed delay between preceding and host vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/00 Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator fittings acting on two or more sub-units B60W30/14; speedometers G01P; systems or devices for controlling speed in general G05D13/00 ; in traffic anti-collision system for road vehicles G08G1/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/00 Brake-action initiating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0075 Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/30 Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

In control over a vehicle, inter-vehicle communication information of a preceding vehicle that runs ahead of the vehicle is acquired, follow-up running control for causing the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle is executed on the basis of the inter-vehicle communication information, and, during the follow-up running control, a parameter used in the follow-up running control is determined on the basis of a condition in which the inter-vehicle communication information is acquired.

Claims

1. A control device for a vehicle, the method comprising:

acquiring inter-vehicle communication information of a preceding vehicle that runs ahead of the vehicle;

executing follow-up running control that causes the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle based on the inter-vehicle communication information; and

during the follow-up running control, determining a value of a parameter used in the follow-up running control based on either

(1) a duration of a communication breakdown determination time, which is a variable period of time in which it is determined whether communication with the preceding vehicle is lost, and which is used to determine whether there has been a breakdown of an inter-vehicle communication between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, or

(2) a target value of a rate of occurrence of the breakdown of the inter-vehicle communication, which is a rate at which it is determined that communication with the preceding vehicle is lost within a predetermined period of time, the target value being a variable value.

2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein

the parameter is an inter-vehicle time or an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

3. The control method according to claim 2, wherein

a value of the inter-vehicle time or a value of the inter-vehicle distance is determined in the determining step to be longer as the duration of the communication breakdown determination time is increased, and

the value of the inter-vehicle time or the value of the inter-vehicle distance is determined in the determining step to be longer as the target value is decreased.

7. The control method according to claim 1, wherein

the value of the parameter is changed based on a change in the duration of the communication breakdown determination time or based on a change in the target value of the rate of occurrence of the breakdown of the inter-vehicle communication.

4. A control device for a vehicle, the control device comprising:

an acquisition unit that acquires inter-vehicle communication information of a preceding vehicle that runs ahead of the vehicle;

a running control unit that executes follow-up running control that causes the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle based on the inter-vehicle communication information; and

a determining unit that, during the follow-up running control, determines a parameter used in the follow-up running control based on either

(1) a duration of a communication breakdown determination time, which is a period of time in which it is determined whether communication with the preceding vehicle is lost, and which is used to determine whether there has been a breakdown of an inter-vehicle communication between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle, or

(2) a target value of a rate of occurrence of the breakdown of the inter-vehicle communication, which is a rate at which it is determined that communication with the preceding vehicle is lost within a predetermined period of time, the target value being a variable value.

5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein

the parameter is an inter-vehicle time or an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

6. The control device according to claim 5, wherein

the determining unit determines a value of the inter-vehicle time or a value of the inter-vehicle distance to be longer as the duration of the communication breakdown determination time is increased, and

the determining unit determines the value of the inter-vehicle time or the value of the inter-vehicle distance to be longer as the target value is decreased.

8. The control device according to claim 4, wherein

the value of the parameter is changed based on a change in the duration of the communication breakdown determination time or based on a change in the target value of the rate of occurrence of the breakdown of the inter-vehicle communication.