Vehicle cruise control device

• US 9,399,464 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2012
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kunihiro, Yoji, Kojo, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, RODNEY ALLEN
• Application Number:
  US14/412,530
• Publication Number:
  US 20150134204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/00 Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; devices, apparatus or methods for life-saving in general A62B; safety devices for propulsion unit control specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles B60K28/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19; harnessing in aircraft B64D25/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0008 Feedback, closed loop systems or details of feedback error signal
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0012 Feedforward or open loop systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/215 Selection or confirmation of options
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/10 Path keeping cruise control for automatically following a preceding vehicle B60W30/165
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/143 Speed control B60W30/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18159 Traversing an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/112 Roll movement
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/025 Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation B62D1/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/002 computing target steering angles for front or rear wheels B62D7/159 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance

Abstract

A vehicle cruise control device is provided that obtains a target trajectory of a vehicle based on white lines 102 and 104 as traveling route specification targets contained in information acquired by a device that acquires at least information in front of the vehicle, and performs traveling trajectory control so as to cause the vehicle to travel along the target trajectory. When the vehicle travels a particular area 110 where a traveling route branches into a plurality of traveling routes and a target trajectory cannot be obtained based on white lines, an interim target trajectory 116 is obtained for the particular area, based on the white lines 102 and 104 in an area adjacent to the particular area and a traveling route that the vehicle is to travel after traveling the particular area, and interim traveling trajectory control is executed so that the vehicle travels along the interim target trajectory.

Claims

1. A vehicle cruise control device comprising:

an image pickup device configured to acquire at least information about a situation in front of the vehicle; and

a control unit configured to obtain a target trajectory of the vehicle based on a traveling route specification target included in the information acquired by the image pickup device, and perform traveling trajectory control so as to cause the vehicle to travel along the target trajectory,

when a target trajectory cannot be obtained based on the traveling route specification target, an area where a traveling route branches into a plurality of traveling routes is considered to be a particular area, and

wherein, when the vehicle travels to the particular area, the control unit determines a first traveling route that the vehicle is to travel after traveling the particular area, obtains an interim target trajectory for the particular area based on a first traveling route specification target of the first traveling route and a second traveling route specification target of a second traveling route that the vehicle is traveling, and executes interim traveling trajectory control so that the vehicle travels along the interim target trajectory.

2. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein:

when the first traveling route that the vehicle is to travel has been already selected from the plurality of traveling routes, the control unit sets a virtual traveling route specification target based on the second traveling route specification target of the second traveling route and the first traveling route specification target of the first traveling route determined by the selection, and obtains the interim target trajectory based on the virtual traveling route specification target.

3. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein:

when the first traveling route that the vehicle is to travel has not been selected yet from the plurality of traveling routes, the control unit estimates the first traveling route that the vehicle is to travel from the plurality of traveling routes based on a driving situation of the vehicle and a driver'"'"'s driving operation, sets a virtual traveling route specification target based on the second traveling route specification target of the second traveling route and the first traveling route specification target of the first traveling route determined by the estimation, and obtains the interim target trajectory based on the virtual traveling route specification target.

4. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein:

the control unit determines a vehicle travelable range in the particular area based on the virtual traveling route specification target, and obtains the interim target trajectory based on a position of the vehicle under the execution of the traveling trajectory control and the travelable range.

5. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a map information acquisition unit configured to acquire map information about the particular area and an area around thereof,

wherein the control unit sets the virtual traveling route specification target based on the second traveling route specification target of the second traveling route and the first traveling route specification target of the first traveling route which are included in the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit.

6. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 4, wherein:

when the vehicle has to turn in the particular area, the control unit estimates a minimum turning radius and a maximum turning radius of a body of the vehicle based on a radius of the interim target trajectory; and

when the minimum turning radius or the maximum turning radius is not within the vehicle travelable range, the control unit sets an interim target trajectory anew so that the minimum turning radius and the maximum turning radius fall in the vehicle travelable range.

7. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 4, wherein:

the control unit uses, as the interim target trajectory, such a trajectory that at least one of a magnitude of a turning lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a magnitude of a rate of change in the turning lateral acceleration is minimized, among trajectories that pass through the vehicle travelable range.

8. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 4, wherein:

the control unit modifies the interim target trajectory within the vehicle travelable range based on a driver'"'"'s driving operation after start of the interim traveling trajectory control.

9. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein:

when a situation in which a magnitude of a difference between a steering angle indicating a driver'"'"'s driving operation amount at start of the interim traveling trajectory control and a present steering angle is equal to or more than a reference value for target trajectory change continues for a period of time equal to or longer than a reference period of time for target trajectory change, the control unit changes the first traveling route that the vehicle is to travel to a third traveling route based on the driver'"'"'s driving operation, and obtains an interim target trajectory anew based on the second traveling route specification target of the second traveling route and a third traveling route specification target of the third traveling route.

10. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein:

in the interim traveling trajectory control, the control unit calculates an interim target rudder angle of a steered wheel for causing a trajectory of the vehicle to coincide with the interim target trajectory by at least one of feedback control and feedforward control, and controls the rudder angle of the steered wheel based on the interim target rudder angle.

11. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein:

the control unit causes cruise control to make gradual transition from traveling trajectory control to interim traveling trajectory control before the vehicle enters the particular area.

12. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein:

the control unit causes cruise control to make gradual transition from interim traveling trajectory control to traveling trajectory control after the vehicle finishes traveling in the particular area.

13. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein:

the particular area is any one of a crossing, a T-intersection, and a branched road.

14. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein:

the control unit determines a vehicle travelable range in the particular area based on the virtual traveling route specification target, and obtains the interim target trajectory based on a position of the vehicle under the execution of the traveling trajectory control and the travelable range.

15. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a map information acquisition unit configured to acquire map information about the particular area,

wherein the control unit sets the virtual traveling route specification target based on the map information acquired by the map information acquisition unit.

16. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein:

when a situation in which a magnitude of a difference between a steering angle indicating a driver'"'"'s driving operation amount at start of the interim traveling trajectory control and a present steering angle is equal to or more than a reference value for target trajectory change continues for a period of time equal to or longer than a reference period of time for target trajectory change, the control unit changes the first traveling route that the vehicle is to travel to a third traveling route based on the driver'"'"'s driving operation, and obtains an interim target trajectory anew based on the second traveling route specification target of the second traveling route and a third traveling route specification target of the third traveling route.

17. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein:

in the interim traveling trajectory control, the control unit calculates an interim target rudder angle of a steered wheel for causing a trajectory of the vehicle to coincide with the interim target trajectory by at least one of feedback control and feedforward control, and controls the rudder angle of the steered wheel based on the interim target rudder angle.

18. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein:

the control unit causes cruise control to make gradual transition from traveling trajectory control to interim traveling trajectory control before the vehicle enters the particular area.

19. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein:

the control unit causes cruise control to make gradual transition from interim traveling trajectory control to traveling trajectory control after the vehicle finishes traveling in the particular area.

20. The vehicle cruise control device according to claim 3, wherein:

the particular area is any one of a crossing, a T-intersection, and a branched road.