Vehicle and method for advising driver of same

• US 9,707,975 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Filev, Dimitar Petrov, Lu, Jianbo, Syed, Fazal Urrahman, Prakah-Asante, Kwaku O., Tseng, Fling
• Primary Examiner(s): Sample, Jonathan L
• Application Number:
  US13/063,393
• Publication Number:
  US 20110193693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,818 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/30 Driving style
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/801 Lateral distance
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/107 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/16 Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal

Abstract

A method for advising a driver of a vehicle including a haptic driver interface may include determining a speed of the vehicle, determining a distance between the vehicle and another vehicle, and activating the haptic driver interface based on the speed and distance.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a haptic interface; and

a controller configured to

activate the haptic interface responsive to a distance between the vehicle and another vehicle being less than a threshold distance initially set according to a learned driver behavior that is based on how a driver is driving the vehicle, and

decrease the threshold distance to not less than a predefined minimum responsive to the distance not increasing following activation of the haptic interface.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the haptic interface is a haptic accelerator pedal.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the controller is further configured to activate the haptic interface at an intensity that depends on the distance between the vehicles.

4. The vehicle of claim 3 wherein the intensity increases as the distance decreases.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the threshold distance is decreased to a predefined minimum.

6. A vehicle comprising:

a haptic interface; and

a controller configured to

responsive to a time to collision with another vehicle being less than a threshold time initially set according to a learned driver behavior that is based on how a driver is driving the vehicle, activate the haptic interface, and

responsive to the time to collision not increasing following activation of the haptic interface, decrease the threshold time to not less than a predefined minimum.

7. The vehicle of claim 6 wherein the haptic interface is a haptic accelerator pedal.

8. The vehicle of claim 6 wherein the controller is further configured to activate the haptic interface at an intensity that depends on the time to collision.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the intensity increases as the time to collision decreases.

10. A method for advising a driver of a vehicle comprising:

by a processor,

responsive to a gap time between the vehicle and another vehicle being less than a threshold time initially set according to a learned driver behavior that is based on how the driver is driving the vehicle, activating a haptic interface; and

responsive to the gap time not increasing following activation of the haptic interface, decreasing the threshold time to a predefined minimum.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the haptic interface is activated with an intensity that depends on the gap time.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the threshold time is decreased to a predefined minimum.