Vehicle start notification control device

• US 8,989,942 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2014
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Koike, Masaki, Imura, Yoshikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALHARBI, ADAM MOHAMED
• Application Number:
  US14/166,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20140214252A1
• Time in Patent Office: 420 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 5/008 for signaling silent vehicles, e.g. for warning that a hybrid or electric vehicle is approaching
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/30 including control of auxiliary equipment, e.g. air-conditioning compressors or oil pumps

Abstract

Start notification is performed at appropriate timing by vehicle having braking force holding function to hold braking force even if brake application operation by driver is deactivated. Vehicle start notification control device includes speaker for performing start notification to notify behavior related to start of vehicle to surroundings of vehicle, control section for applying braking force to vehicle, corresponding to brake applying operation by driver of vehicle and performing control to hold braking force of vehicle even if brake applying operation is deactivated, and braking force holding flag setting section for setting ON or OFF of braking force holding flag for holding braking force of vehicle even if brake applying operation is deactivated. Control section controls speaker to perform start notification if both brake applying operation and ON setting of braking force holding flag are deactivated.

Claims

1. A vehicle start notification control device, comprising:

a start notification section for performing start notification to notify a behavior related to a start of a vehicle to surrounding of the vehicle;

a control section for performing control to apply a braking force to the vehicle, corresponding to a brake applying operation by a driver of the vehicle, and to hold the braking force of the vehicle even if the brake applying operation is deactivated; and

a braking force holding flag setting section for setting a braking force holding flag for holding the braking force of the vehicle to ON or OFF even if the brake applying operation is deactivated, wherein when the braking force holding flag is set to ON by the braking force holding flag setting section, the control section performs control to hold the braking force of the vehicle even if the brake applying operation is deactivated, and if both the brake applying operation and the ON setting of the braking force holding flag by the braking force holding flag setting section are deactivated, wherein ON setting of the braking force holding flag is deactivated when an instruction to decrease the braking operation of the vehicle having been held is issued by the control section, the control section controls the start notification section to perform the start notification.

2. The vehicle start notification control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a start detection section for detecting a behavior related to a start of the vehicle, wherein the control section controls the start notification section to perform the start notification if both the brake applying operation and the ON setting of the braking force holding flag by the braking force holding flag setting section are deactivated and the start detection section has detected a behavior related to a start of the vehicle.

3. A vehicle start notification control device, comprising:

a start notification section wherein the start notification section performs start notification to notify a behavior related to a start of a vehicle to surrounding of the vehicle;

a control section for performing control to apply a braking force to the vehicle, corresponding to a brake applying operation by a driver of the vehicle, and to hold the braking force of the vehicle even if the brake applying operation is deactivated;

a braking force holding flag setting section for setting a braking force holding flag for holding the braking force of the vehicle to ON or OFF even if the brake applying operation is deactivated, wherein when the braking force holding flag is set to ON by the braking force holding flag setting section, and the control section performs control to hold the braking force of the vehicle even if the brake applying operation is deactivated, and if both the brake applying operation and the ON setting of the braking force holding flag by the braking force holding flag setting section are deactivated;

wherein the ON setting of the braking force holding flag is deactivated when an instruction to decrease the braking operation of the vehicle having been held is issued by the control section, and the control section controls the start notification section to perform the start notification; and

the control device further comprises a start detection section for detecting a behavior related to a start of the vehicle, wherein the control section controls the start notification section to perform the start notification if both the brake applying operation and the ON setting of the braking force holding flag by the braking force holding flag setting section are deactivated and the start detection section has detected a behavior related to a start of the vehicle.