Adaptive cruise control system and navigation system's media with vehicle control information included

• US 20070005218A1
• Filed: 06/28/2006
• Published: 01/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ueyama, Mikio
• Granted Patent: US 7,650,217 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle

Abstract

On the basis of headway distance information issued from a headway distance detecting device for detecting a headway distance between a controlled vehicle and a preceding vehicle and terrain shape information issued from a terrain shape estimating device for estimating a terrain shape around the position of the controlled vehicle, a terrain shape at a position spaced from the position of the controlled vehicle by the headway distance is detected, and the speed of the controlled vehicle is controlled according to the terrain shape information.

Claims

1. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle comprising:

a terrain shape detector for detecting a terrain shape between a position of said controlled vehicle and a position spaced away therefrom by a headway distance between the controlled vehicle and a preceding vehicle on the basis of headway distance information issued from a headway distance detecting device for detecting said headway distance and terrain shape information issued from a terrain shape estimating device for estimating a terrain shape around the position of the controlled vehicle; and

a vehicle speed controller for controlling a speed of said controlled vehicle on the basis of an output issued from said terrain shape detector.

2. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 1, comprising:

a cruise control executing means for acquiring the headway distance information from said headway distance detecting device and controlling an actuator of the controlled vehicle so as to keep the headway distance between said controlled vehicle and said preceding vehicle at a headway distance set by a driver; and

a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner, when the preceding vehicle departs from a detection range of said headway distance detecting device and the preceding vehicle is lost at a time when the actuator is controlled by said cruise control executing means, for determining whether or not said lost condition of the preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape on the basis of an output issued from said terrain shape detector,

wherein said vehicle speed controller controls the speed of said controlled vehicle is controlled on the basis of an output issued from said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner.

3. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 1, comprising:

a first cruise control executing means for controlling so as to keep the speed of the controlled vehicle at a target speed entered by the driver or externally inputted;

a second cruise control executing means for acquiring the headway distance information from said headway distance detecting device and controlling an actuator of the controlled vehicle so as to keep said headway distance at a headway distance set by the driver;

a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner, when said preceding vehicle departs from a detection range of said headway distance detecting device and the preceding vehicle is lost at a time when the actuator is controlled by said second cruise control executing means, for determining whether or not the lost condition of said preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape on the basis of an output issued from said terrain shape detector;

a target speed setter, when said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner determines that said preceding-vehicle lost condition is caused by the terrain shape, for setting a predetermined vehicle speed in said first cruise control executing means; and

a cruise control switch for switching to the first cruise control executing means with said predetermined vehicle speed set by said target speed setter.

4. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said target speed setter sets the target vehicle speed to be within the set vehicle speed set by the driver.

5. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said target speed setter sets the target vehicle speed at a speed of said controlled vehicle when said preceding vehicle is lost.

6. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein, when said controlled vehicle arrives at a position away by said headway distance from the position of the controlled vehicle in a preceding vehicle lost state and fails to detect said preceding vehicle, said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner, on the basis of a headway distance in said preceding vehicle lost state and the terrain shape information from said terrain shape estimating device, again determines whether or not said preceding-vehicle lost condition is caused by a terrain shape.

7. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein, when said controlled vehicle arrives at the position away by said headway distance from the position of said controlled vehicle in the preceding-vehicle lost condition, said cruise control mode switch switches to said second cruise control mode or to the first cruise control mode with the target vehicle speed set by the driver.

8. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein, when said controlled vehicle arrives at a site point spaced by a headway distance corresponding to an integral multiple of said headway distance from the position of the controlled vehicle in the preceding-vehicle lost condition, said cruise control mode switch switches to said second cruise control mode.

9. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said terrain shape estimating device is an information transmitter which is installed at a road side for transmitting the terrain shape information to the running controlled vehicle.

10. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner uses the terrain shape information about a terrain shape over the headway distance in said preceding-vehicle lost condition obtained from said terrain shape estimating device as an inclination difference between the position of said controlled vehicle in the preceding-vehicle lost condition and a position spaced by said headway distance from the position of said controlled vehicle.

11. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner uses the terrain shape information about a terrain shape over the headway distance in said preceding-vehicle lost condition obtained from said terrain shape estimating device as an advancing angle difference between the position of said controlled vehicle in the preceding-vehicle lost condition and a position spaced by said headway distance from the position of said controlled vehicle.

12. An adaptive cruise control apparatus of a controlled vehicle according to claim 3, comprising a unit for displaying said preceding-vehicle lost condition or outputting the preceding-vehicle lost condition by sound when said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner determines that said preceding-vehicle lost condition is caused by the terrain shape.

13. An adaptive cruise control system of a controlled vehicle, comprising:

a headway distance detecting device for detecting a headway distance between a controlled vehicle and a preceding vehicle;

a terrain shape estimating device for estimating a terrain shape;

a terrain shape detector for detecting a terrain shape between a position of said controlled vehicle and a position spaced by said headway distance on the basis of headway distance information issued from said headway distance detecting device and terrain shape information issued from said terrain shape estimating device; and

a vehicle speed controller for controlling a speed of said controlled vehicle on the basis of said terrain shape information.

14. An adaptive cruise control system of a controlled vehicle according to claim 13, wherein said cruise control apparatus comprises:

a cruise control mode for acquiring headway distance information from said headway distance detecting device and controlling an actuator of the controlled vehicle so as to keep the headway distance between said controlled vehicle and the preceding vehicle at a headway distance set by a driver; and

a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner, when said preceding vehicle departs from a detection range of said headway distance detecting device and loses the preceding vehicle in said cruise control mode, for determining whether or not said preceding-vehicle lost condition is caused by a terrain shape on the basis of an output issued from said terrain shape detector, and

wherein said vehicle speed controller controls of a speed of said controlled vehicle on the basis of an output issued from said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner.

15. An adaptive cruise control system of a controlled vehicle according to claim 13, wherein said cruise control apparatus comprises:

a first cruise control mode for controlling the controlled vehicle so as to keep a speed of the controlled vehicle at a target vehicle speed entered by the driver or externally inputted;

a second cruise control mode for acquiring headway distance information from said headway distance detecting device and controlling an actuator of the controlled vehicle so as to keep said headway distance at a set headway distance set by the driver;

a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner, when the preceding vehicle departs from a detection range of said headway distance detecting device and the preceding vehicle is lost in said second cruise control mode, for determining whether or not the lost condition of said preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape on the basis of an output issued from said terrain shape detector;

a target speed setter, when said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner determines that the lost condition of said preceding vehicle is caused by the terrain shape, for setting a predetermined target vehicle speed in said first cruise control mode; and

a cruise control mode switch for switching to the first cruise control mode with said predetermined target vehicle speed set by said target speed setter.

16. An adaptive cruise control system of a controlled vehicle according to claim 15, wherein said terrain shape estimating device comprises a memory for storing the terrain shape information for use in said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner.

17. An adaptive cruise control system of a controlled vehicle according to claim 16, wherein, when the terrain shape information stored in said memory is road inclination information and when an inclination difference between the position of said controlled vehicle and a position spaced from the position of said controlled vehicle by said headway distance in a preceding-vehicle lost condition is not smaller than a predetermined value on the basis of the inclination information, said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner determines that the lost condition of said preceding vehicle is caused by the terrain shape.

18. An adaptive cruise control system of a controlled vehicle according to claim 16, wherein, when the terrain shape information stored in said memory is curvature information about a curve in a road and when an advancing angle difference between the position of said controlled vehicle and a position spaced from the position of said controlled vehicle by said headway distance in a preceding-vehicle lost condition is not smaller than a predetermined value on the basis of the curvature information, said preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner determines that the lost condition of said preceding vehicle is caused by the terrain shape.

19. A navigation device comprising:

a unit for receiving headway distance information from a headway distance detecting device for detecting a headway distance between a controlled vehicle and a preceding vehicle; and

a terrain shape estimating device for estimating a terrain shape over said headway distance on the basis of the headway distance information.

20. A navigation device according to claim 19, wherein said terrain shape estimating device estimates an inclination difference across said headway distance.

21. A navigation device according to claim 19, comprising:

a memory for previously storing a range of road inclinations of a predetermined value or higher values; and

an inclination information output unit for outputting inclination information having said predetermined value or higher values to a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner for determining whether or not a lost condition of the preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape.

22. A navigation device according to claim 19, wherein said terrain shape estimating device estimates a curvature of a curve in a road over said headway distance.

23. A navigation device according to claim 19, comprising:

a memory for previously storing a range of road curvatures not smaller than a predetermined value; and

a curvature information output unit for outputting curvature information about inclinations not smaller than said predetermined value to a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner for determining whether or not a lost condition of the preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape.

24. An information recording media for a navigation device comprising:

a memory for previously storing a range of road inclinations not smaller than a predetermined value; and

an inclination information output unit for outputting inclination information about inclinations not smaller than said predetermined value to a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner for determining whether or not a lost condition of the preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape.

25. An information recording media for a navigation device comprising:

a memory for previously storing a range of curvatures not smaller than a predetermined value; and

a curvature information output unit for outputting curvature information about curvatures not smaller than said predetermined value to a preceding-vehicle lost cause determiner for determining whether or not a lost condition of the preceding vehicle is caused by a terrain shape.