Vehicle travel control apparatus

• US 10,065,643 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2017
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Tatsuya, Nohara, Takayoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Cass, Jean Paul
• Application Number:
  US15/475,911
• Publication Number:
  US 20170305422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 701 48
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2510/18 Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4041 Position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/803 Relative lateral speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/18 Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/10 Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/30 Longitudinal distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/40 Relative lateral speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2754/50 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18163 Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention

Abstract

In a vehicle travel control apparatus configured to determine a target acceleration of an own vehicle based on an inter-vehicle distance to a predicted cutting-in vehicle predicted to cut in between the own vehicle and a following target vehicle as well as an inter-vehicle distance to the following target vehicle, it is necessary to notify a driver of the presence of the predicted cutting-in vehicle at an appropriate timing. A cutting-in probability, which is a probability that the predicted cutting-in vehicle carries out the cutting in, is acquired, and information on the predicted cutting-in vehicle is notified to the driver from a time point when a state where the cutting-in probability is higher than a start probability threshold has continued for a predetermined period to a time point when a state where the cutting-in probability is lower than an end probability threshold has continued for a predetermined period.

Claims

1. A vehicle travel control apparatus, comprising:

following target vehicle detection means for detecting a following target vehicle traveling ahead of an own vehicle;

predicted cutting-in vehicle detection means for detecting a predicted cutting-in vehicle predicted to carry out cutting-in of merging between the own vehicle and the following target vehicle;

first acceleration acquisition means for acquiring, as a first acceleration, an acceleration of the own vehicle required to cause an inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the following target vehicle to be a first inter-vehicle distance;

second acceleration acquisition means for acquiring, as a second acceleration, an acceleration of the own vehicle required to cause an inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the predicted cutting-in vehicle to be a second inter-vehicle distance;

target acceleration acquisition means for acquiring a target acceleration of the own vehicle based on the first acceleration and the second acceleration;

travel control means for controlling a driving force and a braking force of the own vehicle, the travel control means configured to autonomously control the driving force and the braking force based on the target acceleration to cause an actual acceleration of the own vehicle to approach the target acceleration;

cutting-in probability acquisition means for acquiring a cutting-in probability, which is a probability that the predicted cutting-in vehicle carries out the cutting-in; and

information notification means for notifying a driver of the own vehicle of the cutting-in of the predicted cutting-in vehicle from a first time point to a second time point, wherein the first time point occurs when the cutting-in probability has been higher than a predetermined start probability threshold for a first fixed predetermined period of time to limit display inversion phenomena, and the second time point occurs when the cutting-in probability has been lower than a predetermined end probability threshold for a second fixed predetermined period of time to limit display inversion phenomena.

2. A vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information notification means is configured to:

acquire a smoothed probability acquired by smoothing a change in the cutting-in probability with respect to time;

determine that the notification start condition is satisfied when the smoothed probability transitions from a state where the smoothed probability is lower than the start probability threshold to a state where the smoothed probability is higher than the start probability threshold; and

determine that the notification end condition is satisfied when the smoothed probability transitions from a state where the smoothed probability is higher than the end probability threshold to a state where the smoothed probability is lower than the end probability threshold.

3. A vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information notification means is configured to:

determine a merging direction of the predicted cutting-in vehicle based on a movement direction of the predicted cutting-in vehicle in a vehicle width direction of the own vehicle with respect to the own vehicle when the notification start condition is satisfied; and

notify the driver of the merging direction when the intention of the cutting-in of the predicted cutting-in vehicle is notified to the driver.

4. A vehicle travel control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the information notification means is configured to:

determine a merging direction of the predicted cutting-in vehicle based on a movement direction of the predicted cutting-in vehicle in a vehicle width direction of the own vehicle with respect to the own vehicle when the notification start condition is satisfied; and

notify the driver of the merging direction when the intention of the cutting-in of the predicted cutting-in vehicle is notified to the driver.