Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Kiichiro Sawamoto

Shigeru Inoue

Hiroshi Sato

Hayato Kikuchi

Hiroyuki Ando

Hiroyuki Koike

Hiroshi Satoh

A vehicle control device includes: a camera unit and a radar device that detect objects in front of the vehicle; and a travel control device that recognizes an object detected by the camera unit and the radar device as an object to be controlled, and performs travel control in accordance with the object to be controlled. The travel control device, when starting travel control from when the own vehicle is in a stopped state, recognizes the object to be controlled when a determination has been made that the own vehicle has moved from a stopped state to a travel state.

Vehicle control device

A vehicle travel control apparatus including an object detector, a yaw-rate detector, a vehicle speed detector, a movement path estimator, a preceding vehicle assignment device, a travel controller, a still object determination device, and a stable-movement-state determination device, wherein the preceding vehicle assignment device avoids assigning the object as the preceding vehicle, or assigns the object as the preceding vehicle after waiting for a predetermined time, when: the present vehicle performs the follow-travel control targeting the preceding vehicle; the object detected at a position between the preceding vehicle and the present vehicle is determined to be the still object by the still object determination device; and the present vehicle is determined to be in the stable-movement-state by the stable-movement-state determination device.

Vehicle travel control apparatus

A travel controller which controls the travel of a subject vehicle based on a distance to and a relative speed with respect to a control object determined by a control object determiner. If stoppage of the subject vehicle by a decelerating operation of a driver is detected by a manual stoppage detector and a comparator determines that a distance to the object in or on a travel locus is equal to or larger than a determination threshold value, the comparator excludes the object from being considered as a control object.

Travel control system for vehicle

In a vehicular control object determination system, locus correlation degree calculator calculates a degree of correlation between a future travel locus of a vehicle estimated by first travel locus estimator based on a vehicle speed and a yaw rate and a future travel locus of the vehicle estimated by second travel locus estimator based on a past travel locus of the vehicle calculated by travel locus calculator. When control object determiner determines a control object based on the travel locus estimated by the first travel locus estimator and predetermined control object determination conditions, the control object determination conditions are modified according to the degree of correlation, that is, the degree of reliability of the travel locus estimated by the first travel locus estimator, thereby achieving both accuracy with which the control object is determined and determination of the control object at a distance.

Vehicular control object determination system and vehicular travel locus estimation system

A vehicular control object determination system includes: a radar device for detecting an object that is present in the direction of travel of a vehicle; a travel locus estimator for estimating a future travel locus of the vehicle; a control object determiner for determining a control object based on a detection result obtained by the radar device, a future travel locus of the vehicle estimated by the travel locus estimator based on a vehicle speed and a yaw rate and predetermined control object determination conditions; and a swing rate detector for detecting a swing rate of side-to-side swing of the estimated travel locus. When the detected swing rate is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the control object determiner excludes from determination of a control object an object that is further than a predetermined distance. Therefore, when the swing rate is large and the estimation accuracy is lowered, an object that is farther than a predetermined distance is excluded from determination of a control object, thereby avoiding erroneous determination of a control object.

Vehicular control object determination system

A vehicular control object determination system includes: a radar device for detecting an object that is present in the direction of travel of a vehicle; a travel locus estimator for estimating a future travel locus of the vehicle; and a control object determiner for determining a control object based on a detection result obtained by the radar device, a travel locus estimated by the travel locus estimator. The control object determiner modifies the control object determination conditions when the estimated travel locus is not a straight line and the detected relative sideways speed is less than the threshold value, and when the estimated travel locus is a straight line and the detected relative sideways speed is equal to or greater than the threshold value, thereby preventing erroneous identification of a preceding vehicle traveling on an adjacent lane as a control object.

In a vehicular control object determination system, the position of an object detected by a radar device is stored by a detection position memory, and a predetermined area having the position of the object as the center is set as the determination region by a determination region setter. When the determination region set for one of two objects is passed through by the other object, the passing direction is determined by a passing direction determiner. During this process, the direction in which a fixed object or an object dropped on the road moves relative to a preceding vehicle is a direction in which the fixed object or the dropped object on the road approaches the subject vehicle with the preceding vehicle as a reference. Then, a control object determiner excludes from determination of the control object an object for which the passing direction determined by the passing direction determiner is a direction approaching the subject vehicle, thereby preventing the fixed object or the dropped object from being erroneously determined as the control object when the preceding vehicle passes over the fixed object or the dropped object on the road.

Vehicular control object determination system and vehicle control system

An ACC system includes a radar device for detecting an object in front of a subject vehicle, locus estimator for estimating a travel locus of the subject vehicle, detection area setter for setting a predetermined detection area in front of the subject vehicle based on the travel locus of the subject vehicle, obstacle extractor for extracting a preceding vehicle based on a detection result of the radar device and the detection area, and acceleration/deceleration intention detector for detecting an intention of an occupant to accelerate or decelerate. Since the detection area setter increases the detection area for an obstacle when the acceleration/deceleration intention detector detects an intention of the occupant to decelerate, it is possible to reliably detect a cutting-in vehicle that cuts in front of the subject vehicle and to prevent the subject vehicle from coming into contact with the cutting-in vehicle, thus preventing the driver from feeling uncomfortable and ensuring reliable operation of the ACC system.

Vehicular object detection system, tracking control system, and vehicle control system

When a deceleration intention detector detects that an occupant has apprehension about a condition ahead of his own vehicle and attempts to decelerate the own vehicle, a detection area setter enlarges a detection area in which a control object is detected, upon a command from a control object determinator. Therefore, a new control object such as a cutting-in vehicle can be more reliably detected in accordance with an increase in an amount of attention which the occupant pays to the condition ahead of the own vehicle. As a result, a vehicle controller changes a vehicle control content of the own vehicle, thereby performing an appropriate vehicle control with respect to the newly detected control object to eliminate a sense of discomfort of the occupant.

System and method for detecting an object ahead of a vehicle and controlling the vehicle in response to the detected object

Whether or not a radar device detects an object is determined by a detection state determinator. Whether or not a time during which the object is not detected and which is measured by a clocking device becomes a determination threshold value or more, is determined by a non-detection determinator. Based on the determination results, an informing device informs an occupant that the object is not detected for a predetermined time or more. Therefore, a state in which the radar device does not detect an object due to absence of the object on a road in a desert or the like is prevented from being erroneously determined as a state caused by contamination of the radar device. Also, the occupant can easily determine whether the operation of the informing device is actually caused by absence of an object or contamination of the radar device, based on the environment around the road on which the own vehicle is traveling. Especially because a reflected wave from a road surface, of which intensity changes in accordance with the condition, is not used for determination, it becomes unnecessary to change the setting of the determination threshold value and determination frequency region, and thus the structure and operation are simplified.

In an object-detecting system using an FM-CW wave, points fto fcorresponding to detection peaks of a reflected wave from a road-side object such as guardrail and points mand mcorresponding to detection peaks of a reflected wave from a moving object such as a reflector of a preceding vehicle are indicated on two-dimensional coordinates along with the shape of a road ahead of a subject vehicle. Among the points fto f, mand m, the points fto fare determined as being provided by the reflected wave from the road-side object, and a distance from the subject vehicle to the object and a speed of the subject vehicle relative the object are calculated using the remaining points mand mexcluding the points fto f. Thus, only the moving object except the road-side object can be detected.

Object-detecting system for vehicle

A drive control apparatus for a vehicle includes an object detecting device for detecting objects in front of the vehicle, a running track calculation device, a preceding vehicle detecting device, a vehicle control device for controlling a speed of the vehicle so that the vehicle runs following the preceding vehicle, a preceding vehicle information output device, and a control mode selecting device for selecting one of a first control mode in which the vehicle control device is allowed to execute a follow-up control operation, and the preceding vehicle information output device is allowed to output information about the preceding vehicle, and a second control mode in which the vehicle control device is not allowed to execute a follow-up control operation, and the preceding vehicle information output device is allowed to output information about the preceding vehicle.

Drive control apparatus for vehicle

An object detecting device mounted on a vehicle transmits an electromagnetic wave to a detecting area established in a traveling direction of the vehicle. The object detecting device receives a wave resulting from the reflection of the electromagnetic wave from an object in the detecting area, thereby detecting the object. A reference reflector is disposed at a predetermined location in front of the object detecting device. A plurality of tires are stacked on top of one another behind the reference reflector to form an electromagnetic wave absorber. An object detecting axis of the object detecting device is adjusted by transmitting the electromagnetic wave so that the reference reflector assumes a reference position of the detecting area.

Process for adjusting the detecting axis of an object detector

Stationary objects are determined from objects detected by a radar device mounted on a vehicle. Objects detected with a dispersion in the level of the reception of a reflected wave at a relative distance in a range of 20 m to 100 m that is equal to or smaller than a first threshold value, are extracted from the extracted objects, and objects existing on a predicted course for the vehicle is extracted from the extracted objects. Further, it is determined if one of the extracted objects detected with rate of decrease in level of reception at a relative distance in a range of 10 m to 20 m is equal to or larger than a second threshold value and with a level of reception equal to or smaller than a third threshold value is an object which provides no hindrance even if the vehicle passes over the object. A warning or an automatic braking is discontinued or moderated based on the type of object. Thus, it is possible to precisely determine whether the object detected by the radar device mounted on the vehicle is an object particularly providing no hindrance even if the vehicle travels astride the object as it is, or whether it is an object the contact of the vehicle with which is required to be avoided, thereby carrying out a precise warning or automatic braking.

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Saitama, Japan

Kiichiro Sawamoto