Vehicle control system, vehicle mounting apparatus, base station apparatus and vehicle control method

• US 5,926,117 A
• Filed: 06/10/1998
• Issued: 07/20/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nakamura, Kozo, Takenaga, Hiroshi, Gunji, Yasuhiro, Kuroda, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/094,504
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/435, 340/961, 340/988, 340/903, 340/989, 340/990, 340/991, 340/992, 340/993, 340/994, 340/995, 701/200, 701/213, 701/214, 701/215, 701/301, 342/46, 342/455, 342/456, 342/457
• US Class Current: 340/988
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/04 providing carrier phase data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/071 DGPS corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0278 using satellite positioning signals, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

A vehicle control system and method which can realize automatic driving of a vehicle under control of a base station with a high accuracy of the order of cm, low costs and a high reliability. On the basis of information relating to positions or speeds of other vehicles or fixed vehicles obtained through communication units installed in the vehicles and base station, the system know presence of vehicles in proximity to each vehicle, proximity distances, proximity directions or relative speeds thereof, informs an associated driver of it, or controls movement states of the proximity vehicles to avoid any contact with the proximity vehicles on the basis of the proximity information.

Claims

1. A vehicle control system, comprising:

a group of vehicles, each vehicle having positioning means, information receiving means and information transmitting means;

a plurality of base stations, each base station having information receiving means for receiving first information relating to respective vehicles in said group of vehicles, and also having information transmitting means for transmitting second information relating to selected other ones of said vehicles in said group of vehicles to a specific vehicle in said group of vehicles;

wherein said specific vehicle has selection means for selecting the second information received from the plurality of base stations, and base station selection means for selecting base station information to be used from among the plurality of base stations based upon vehicle position information; and

further wherein, during selection, distances from said specific vehicle to said plurality of base stations are calculated, and the base station information from the base station having the shortest distance to the specific vehicle is selected.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein, during selection, said base station selection means calculates distances from said specific vehicle to said plurality of base stations while considering an advancing direction of said specific vehicle, and selects one of the plurality of base stations located in the advancing direction even if said one base station is further from the specific vehicle than other ones of said plurality of base stations.