Collision-prediction unit for a vehicle
First Claim
1. A collision-prediction unit for a vehicle comprising:
- a road condition detector for detecting a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle travels;
a maximum deceleration estimator for estimating a maximum vehicle deceleration of the vehicle on the condition detected by the road condition detector;
a forward vehicle detector for detecting a moving condition of a forward vehicle located ahead of the vehicle;
a forward vehicle deceleration calculator for calculating a forward vehicle deceleration based on the moving condition of the forward vehicle detected by the forward vehicle detector; and
a collision examiner for determining whether a collision between the vehicle and the forward vehicle is imminent by comparing the forward vehicle deceleration calculated by the forward vehicle deceleration calculator based on the moving condition detected by the forward vehicle detector to the maximum vehicle deceleration estimated by the maximum deceleration estimator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A collision-prediction unit for a vehicle including a road condition detector, a maximum deceleration estimator, a forward vehicle detector, a forward vehicle deceleration calculator, and a collision examiner is provided. The road surface detector detects a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle travels. The maximum deceleration estimator calculates a maximum vehicle deceleration for the vehicle on the road surface having the detected condition. The forward vehicle detector detects a moving condition of a forward vehicle located ahead of the vehicle. The forward vehicle deceleration calculator calculates a forward vehicle deceleration based on the moving condition of the forward vehicle. The collision examiner determines whether a collision between the vehicle and the forward vehicle is imminent by comparing the forward vehicle deceleration to the maximum vehicle deceleration of the vehicle.
66 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A collision-prediction unit for a vehicle comprising:
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a road condition detector for detecting a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle travels;
a maximum deceleration estimator for estimating a maximum vehicle deceleration of the vehicle on the condition detected by the road condition detector;
a forward vehicle detector for detecting a moving condition of a forward vehicle located ahead of the vehicle;
a forward vehicle deceleration calculator for calculating a forward vehicle deceleration based on the moving condition of the forward vehicle detected by the forward vehicle detector; and
a collision examiner for determining whether a collision between the vehicle and the forward vehicle is imminent by comparing the forward vehicle deceleration calculated by the forward vehicle deceleration calculator based on the moving condition detected by the forward vehicle detector to the maximum vehicle deceleration estimated by the maximum deceleration estimator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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4. A collision-prediction unit for a vehicle comprising:
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a vehicle velocity detector for detecting a velocity of the vehicle;
a relative velocity retriever for retrieving a relative velocity between the vehicle and a forward vehicle; and
a collision examiner for determining whether a collision is imminent by comparing the relative velocity to the velocity of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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11. A method of predicting a collision between a vehicle and a forward vehicle, comprising:
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estimating a maximum deceleration of the vehicle;
estimating a forward deceleration of the forward vehicle;
comparing the maximum deceleration to the forward deceleration; and
generating an alarm when the forward deceleration is greater than the maximum deceleration to notify at least one of a driver of the vehicle and a driver of the forward vehicle of an imminent collision. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification