Denso Corporation

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Kagawa University

Naohiko Tsuru

Kazuyoshi Isaji

Yoshihisa Nomura

Nobuyasu Nakanishi

Hideaki Suzuki

Hiromi Otsuki

Kenichi Numata

Shou Morikawa

Takashi Watanabe

Noboru Noguchi

Hajime Kumabe

Takao Nishimura

Hiroyuki Oka

Shinichi Hori

Hiroshi Fujinami

Shoichi Masaki

Ryoichi Matsuura

Takahiro Wada

Takayuki Nagai

Hiroshi Kaneko

Syuichi Yonemura

Akihide Yosida

A vehicle control device includes: a distance-acquisition section acquiring a path end distance between a vehicle and an end of a turn-travel path, on which the vehicle travels with turning; a path-width-acquisition section acquiring a path width of the turn-travel path; a velocity-acquisition section acquiring a velocity of the vehicle; an anticipated-curvature-radius-acquisition section acquiring a curvature radius of an anticipated turn-travel path obtained by assuming that the turn-travel path starts from a pre-turn position, based on the path width and the path end distance obtained at the pre-turn position; a target-velocity-setting section setting a target velocity at which the vehicle should travel on the turn-travel path, based on the anticipated curvature radius; a target-acceleration/deceleration-calculation section calculating a target acceleration/deceleration for accelerating/decelerating the vehicle to the target velocity, based on the velocity of the vehicle and the target velocity, and a vehicle-control section performing acceleration/deceleration control based on the target acceleration/deceleration.

Vehicle control device

A vehicle behavior control apparatus mounted in a vehicle to control steering of the vehicle. A virtual road outline, which is an outline of a drivable road region where the vehicle will travel, is determined on the basis of detection results from a location sensor. The virtual road outline is reconstructed as a sequence of road segments, such as straight road segments, and right- and left-hand curved road segments. When a current road segment where the vehicle is currently present is a right- or left-hand curved road segment, a subsequent road segment where the vehicle will be present subsequently is tentatively set to a straight road segment until the vehicle reaches the subsequent road segment. The steering angle is controlled so that a virtual-road boundary distance is adapted to a proper distance from the vehicle to a boundary of the virtual road outline situated in front of the vehicle.

Vehicle behavior control apparatus

The vehicle-use speed control apparatus sets a virtual preceding vehicle assumed to run at a target speed at a predetermined initial distance ahead of the own vehicle when the brake pedal is operated causing a relative speed between the actual vehicle speed and the target speed exceeds a predetermined value, calculates an initial value of a performance index for approach and alienation based on the initial distance and the target speed. Thereafter, the vehicle-use speed control apparatus repeatedly calculates a following distance to the virtual preceding vehicle based on a time elapsed from when a speed control start condition is satisfied, the current relative speed and the initial distance, and a target relative speed based on the initial distance, the initial value of the performance index and the following distance, and controls the vehicle speed based on the difference between the target relative speed and the actual relative speed.

Vehicle-use speed control apparatus

A vehicle behavior control apparatus disposed in a subject vehicle performs a steering angle control of the subject vehicle. The apparatus acquires lead vehicle information transmitted from a lead vehicle to determine a virtual shape of a road (i.e., a virtual road shape) based on a travel locus of the lead vehicle. A virtual road border distance is calculated as a distance from the subject vehicle to a road border of a virtual curve road positioned straight in front of the subject vehicle. The apparatus, calculates an appropriate turn radius for travel along the virtual curve road and, based on the appropriate turn radius, calculates an appropriate distance from the subject vehicle to the virtual road border positioned in front of the subject vehicle. A steering unit then controls a steering angle of the subject vehicle by maintaining the virtual road border distance with the appropriate distance.

A vehicle behavior control device for controlling acceleration/deceleration includes: a velocity acquisition device; a current position acquisition device; a preceding vehicle determination device; a following distance detection device; a preceding vehicle information acquisition device; a relative velocity calculation device of a preceding vehicle; a first evaluation index calculation device of a first evaluation index indicating an approaching/separating state to the preceding vehicle in view of the preceding vehicle velocity; a first deceleration target determination device for determining whether the first evaluation index exceeds a first deceleration threshold; and a following deceleration calculation device for calculating a first required deceleration when the first evaluation index exceeds the first deceleration threshold. The first required deceleration provides to match an actual relative velocity with a first target relative velocity, which is determined based on the first evaluation index and the following distance.

Vehicle behavior control device

A device executes a preceding vehicle following driving control and successively calculates a friction-braking-start threshold value, an engine-braking-start threshold value, an acceleration-control-completion threshold value by using equations L, Land L, respectively. The device uses a constant vehicle speed zone determined between the engine-braking-start threshold value and the acceleration-control-completion threshold value. When a compensated-evaluation-index value KdB_c of a vehicle distance between the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle is within the constant vehicle speed zone, the device drives the own vehicle at a constant speed. This control suppresses fuel consumption because of decreasing an acceleration and deceleration frequency of the own vehicle. Decreasing the deceleration frequency makes it possible to provide good vehicle following because less frequent acceleration is needed for following the preceding vehicle even if another vehicle cuts in between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle or the preceding vehicle accelerates after decelerating.

Device for executing preceding vehicle following driving control

A steering control device for a vehicle includes: a position detection sensor for detecting a position of a road boundary and accessories in front of the vehicle; a road curvature radius calculator for calculating an outer curvature radius of a road; a turning radius calculator for calculating an appropriate turning radius; an appropriate distance calculator for calculating an appropriate road boundary distance between a front end of the vehicle and the road boundary in front of the vehicle; an actual distance detector for detecting an actual road boundary distance between the front end of the vehicle and the road boundary in front of the vehicle; and a steering wheel angle determination element for determining acceptability of the turning angle of the steering wheel based on comparison between the appropriate road boundary distance and the actual road boundary distance.

Steering control device for vehicle

A vehicle speed control method calculates a present value KdB_c(a)_p of a corrected evaluation index of approach/separation condition by the following equation, and starts deceleration control when the determined present value KdB_c(a)_p exceeds a threshold value determined by a braking determining equation. In the deceleration control, a corrected target relative speed is determined based on an evaluation index KdB: wherein VrGy_offset, VrGy, a, Ds indicate a curve-time target speed, a difference between the curve-time target speed and a speed of a subject vehicle, a constant and a curve entrance arrival distance, respectively.

Vehicle travel speed control method

An inter-vehicle distance control apparatus is provided to provide comfortable acceleration feeling to a driver of a vehicle in various situations. The inter-vehicle distance control apparatus is configured to perform an acceleration control operation when a correction distance condition evaluation index at a present time, which takes into account a velocity of a forward object, is smaller than a threshold given by a judgment equation. The inter-vehicle distance control apparatus is configured to perform the acceleration control operation to accelerate the vehicle at a target acceleration, which is calculated from an actual relative velocity and a target relative velocity corresponding to the threshold given by the judgment equation.

Inter-vehicle distance control apparatus and method for controlling inter-vehicle distance

In a vehicle speed control system, a preset offset distance is taken as a zero value of an inter-vehicle distance in a brake discriminant. When the current value of a corrected distance condition evaluation index is higher than the brake discriminant, a value on the brake discriminant is set as a target value of the corrected distance condition evaluation index. Deceleration control is started to decelerate the subject vehicle so that the deceleration of the subject vehicle becomes equal to the target deceleration of the subject vehicle computed based on the target relative speed corresponding to the set target value and the actual relative speed.

Speed control system for vehicles

In a vehicle drive control system, a control unit calculates an evaluation index indicating an approach/separation condition of a subject vehicle during a travel and stores this evaluation index together with an inter-vehicle distance with respect to each driver in a memory device. The control unit further calculates a maximum value of the stored evaluation index for each distance, and calculates a relational equation between the distance and the calculated maximum evaluation index. The control unit determines, by correcting the relational equation, a speed control start determination equation, which determines the start timing of the automatic acceleration and/or deceleration control.

Vehicle control system

A collision determination apparatus detects a current value of a lateral acceleration of a subject vehicle for calculating a collision risk index, and the collision risk index is used to determine the risk of collision of the subject vehicle with a front object. As the collision risk index takes the lateral acceleration of the subject vehicle into account, the collision risk index correctly represents a risk of collision of the subject vehicle with the front object when the subject vehicle is traveling in a condition that is under an influence of the lateral acceleration.

Vehicle collision determination apparatus

A vehicle control system controls the speed of a vehicle according to actual road conditions and state of the vehicle. The control system acquires a present value of lateral acceleration occurring in a direction lateral to a controlled vehicle when the controlled vehicle avoids a collision with an obstacle or passes the obstacle. A target relative speed between the obstacle and the controlled vehicle is calculated from the present value of lateral acceleration and a turning radius of the controlled vehicle required for the controlled vehicle to avoid a collision with the obstacle or to pass the obstacle. Then, deceleration control is executed based on target relative deceleration rate at which the controlled vehicle is to be decelerated to reach the target relative speed.

A collision possibility determining unit determines that a subject vehicle has possibility of colliding with a certain vehicle when both the following two determinations are fulfilled. The first determination is that the traveling state of the subject vehicle is proper. The second determination is that a relative position between the subject vehicle and the certain vehicle continues to be maintained at the same relationship for a given period. When the collision possibility is determined to be existing, an alarm generating unit generates an alarm that arouses driver's attention. Thus, collision possibility is determined based on the relative position relationship with another vehicle, so that an alarm relating to another vehicle as an obstacle can be generated at a proper timing.

Collision possibility determining device

When there is a preceding vehicle in a traveling direction of a subject vehicle, an ECU computes a driver condition coefficient that represents degree of change in the size of an image of the preceding vehicle as viewed from the driver is computed. The driving condition of the driver is detected from this driver condition coefficient and used to provide an alarm indicative of the driving condition and to control vehicle travel condition.

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Handa, Japan

Naohiko Tsuru