Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshiaki Arai

Tadayoshi Okada

Yasuhiko Fujita

Hisaya Izawa

Makoto Matsumoto

Makoto Sato

Hayato Kikuchi

Hiroshi Sato

Yoshikazu Tsuchiya

Kunio Nanno

Yoshikazu Sato

Masami Ogura

Hideto Nebuya

Kohei Maruyama

Go Suzaki

Masashi Kitagawa

Akira Sugiyama

A pedal reaction force applying device includes an acceleration pedal used in a stepping-in operation and a returning operation, a motor configured to apply a pedal reaction force acting on an acceleration pedal in the stepping-in operation and the returning operation, a power transmitting device provided between the acceleration pedal and the motor and including a speed-reduction mechanism, an operation direction determiner configured to determine an operation direction of the acceleration pedal, and a reaction force controller configured to control the pedal reaction force on the acceleration pedal. The reaction force controller controls a magnitude of the pedal reaction force by controlling a power of the motor based on the operation direction of the acceleration pedal determined by the operation direction determiner.

Pedal reaction force applying device

A vehicular travel control device according to the invention includes an inter-vehicle distance measuring section that is mounted on a subject vehicle and measures an inter-vehicle distance between the subject vehicle and a preceding vehicle, a target inter-vehicle distance setting section that sets a target inter-vehicle distance, a following travel control section that performs a travel control so as to make the inter-vehicle distance become equal to the target inter-vehicle distance and stops the subject vehicle while following a stopping of the preceding vehicle, a gradient acquiring section that acquires a gradient of a road being traveled of the subject vehicle, and a vehicle speed sensor that measures a travel speed of the subject vehicle. The target inter-vehicle distance setting section sets the target inter-vehicle distance based on the gradient and the travel speed.

Vehicular travel control device

When a start-up operation by a driver is detected while a vehicle is maintained at a stopped state, a target driving force for suppressing the movement of the vehicle on the road to be driven is calculated, based on the grade obtained regarding the road to be driven on. After the vehicle is driven by the target driving force, the braking force is released so as to terminate the maintaining of the stopped state of the vehicle. Preferably, the state of being driven by the target driving force is maintained until the releasing of the braking force is completed. When the releasing of the braking force is completed, the driving force is increased to start-up the vehicle. With such a start-up control, vehicles are prevented from moving temporarily in a direction opposite from the traveling direction, and a smooth star-up can be achieved.

Apparatus and method for movement control of a vehicle

When a preceding vehicle (Vb) starts during deceleration of a vehicle (Va) which is trying to stop following the stopped preceding vehicle (Vb), if the vehicle (Va) accelerates following the preceding vehicle (Vb), the driver possibly mistakes that the vehicle is equipped with an automatic start function. A virtual preceding vehicle (Vb') is set at the stop position of the preceding vehicle (Vb), so that the vehicle (Va) is temporarily stopped following the stopping virtual preceding vehicle (Vb&#x2032;) even if the actual preceding vehicle (Vb) is started. As a result, the vehicle (Va) is not started until the driver indicates the intention to start by operating a start switch, and the driver can be prevented from mistaking that the vehicle is equipped with an automatic start function.

Car-following controller and car-following control method

A vehicle gradient estimating device includes: a vehicle speed sensor which detects a traveling speed of a subject vehicle; an acceleration calculating unit which calculates an acceleration of the subject vehicle on the basis of the traveling speed; an engine load deceleration calculating unit which calculates a deceleration due to an engine load of the subject vehicle; an acceleration correcting unit which corrects the acceleration by using the deceleration; a brake fluid pressure detecting unit which detects a brake fluid pressure of the subject vehicle; and a first gradient estimating unit which estimates a gradient of a road being traveled of the subject vehicle, wherein the first gradient estimating unit estimates the gradient on the basis of a ratio between the brake fluid pressure and the acceleration corrected by the acceleration correcting unit.

Vehicle gradient estimating device and vehicle traveling control device

A drive control apparatus for a vehicle includes: a follow-up control device; a stop hold device that is capable of holding the vehicle in a stopped state by controlling a brake pressure; and a driving operation detection device that detects at least one of a brake operation and a shift operation to a reverse or neutral position, wherein the follow-up control device cancels the holding of the vehicle in the stopped state by making the stop hold device cancel the holding of the vehicle in the stopped state after holding the vehicle in the stopped state for a predetermined time period or by making the stop hold device gradually reduce the brake pressure when the driving operation detection device detects at least one of the brake operation and the shift operation to the reverse or neutral position while the vehicle is held in the stopped state.

Drive control apparatus for vehicle

A follow running control system of the present invention includes a running control device for performing running control of the present vehicle based on data of the preceding vehicle and a signal from the driving operation detecting device. If advancing of the preceding vehicle is detected by a preceding vehicle advancing detecting device while the advancing request information is stored by a advancing request storing device, the running control device changes a control state of the present vehicle with respect to a follow running control device and starts follow running control.

Follow running control system

A driving control apparatus comprising: an detecting device that detects objects; a preceding vehicle determining device that determines a preceding vehicle; a driving control device that executes a driving control; a control start intention detection device that detects an intention of a driver to start the control; and a control start intention detection device that detects an intention of a driver to start the follow-up control or the stop hold control, wherein the control state determination device sets to the follow-up control state when the preceding vehicle is detected by the preceding vehicle detection device and when the intention is detected, and sets to the stop hold state when the intention is detected while the vehicle is substantially in the stopped and no object is detected by the object detection device.

Driving control apparatus

An apparatus for controlling the distance between vehicles enables the distance to be controlled smoothly. A target vehicle speed determining section sets target vehicle speed based on the distance deviation between actual inter-vehicular distance and target inter-vehicular distance between host vehicle and preceding vehicle, and on the traveling speed of the preceding vehicle; calculates a temporary target vehicle speed based on traveling speed of the preceding vehicle and on the distance deviation; calculates a predicted arrival time for the host vehicle to reach the preceding vehicle based on the actual inter-vehicular distance and on the relative speeds between the two vehicles; and calculates a target vehicle speed limit value based on this predicted arrival time and on the traveling speed of the host vehicle, and sets as the target vehicle speed a value obtained by limiting the temporary target vehicle speed using this target vehicle speed limit value.

Apparatus for controlling distance between vehicles

Systems and apparatuses are provided for controlling the speed of a driver's vehicle either in a first adaptive cruise control mode or a second travel or stop mode. In one embodiment, there is provided an apparatus comprising a speed control unit that executes a follow-up control based at least in part on a target inter-vehicle distance between the driver's vehicle and a preceding vehicle (i.e., another vehicle in front of the driver's vehicle). The speed control unit executes adaptive cruise control when the driver requests the follow-up control while traveling at a speed equal to or higher than a first predetermined vehicle speed. The control unit executes stop-or-travel control when the driver requests the follow-up control while traveling at a speed equal to or lower than another predetermined vehicle speed lower than the first predetermined vehicle speed.

In an adaptive cruise control (ACC) region where vehicle speed V is greater than a predetermined third vehicle speed #V, a decrease amount of a target inter-vehicle distance per predetermined unit vehicle speed decrease amount in a state where the vehicle speed V is less than a predetermined fourth vehicle speed #Vis smaller than a decrease amount of the target inter-vehicle distance per predetermined unit vehicle speed decrease amount in a state where the vehicle speed V is greater than the predetermined fourth vehicle speed #V. The decrease amount of the target inter-vehicle distance per predetermined unit vehicle speed decrease amount in a state where the vehicle speed V is less than a predetermined first vehicle speed #Vis larger than a decrease amount of the target inter-vehicle distance per predetermined unit vehicle speed decrease amount in a state where the vehicle speed V is greater than the predetermined first vehicle speed #Vand less than a predetermined second vehicle speed #V

Cruise control apparatus for vehicle

A running control system of the present invention includes a follow-up intention detection device for detecting an operation of requesting a follow-running control by the driver, and a running control device for aborting the follow-running control with respect to the preceding vehicle based on a signal from the braking operation detection device. If an operation by the driver for requesting the follow-running control is detected by the driver while the braking operation by the driver is detected by the braking operation detection device, the running control device starts the follow-running control after the end of the driver's braking operation.

Running control system

A follow running control system includes a running control section for performing running control of the present vehicle based on data of the preceding vehicle and a signal from a device for detecting a driving operation performed by a driver of the present vehicle. If a driving operation by the driver for requesting starting of the present vehicle is detected while the present vehicle is stopped in a stop control state, the running control section changes a control state of the present vehicle, with respect to a follow running control device for controlling follow running of the present vehicle based on a target speed of the vehicle, from the stop control state to a follow control state for following the preceding vehicle, regardless of starting of preceding vehicle.

An auto-cruise apparatus having a constant vehicle speed controller and a mode selector is provided. The constant vehicle speed controller controls the vehicle speed such that the vehicle speed is maintained at the set vehicle speed whether a preceding vehicle may exist or not. The mode selector selects in accordance with predetermined operations upon the input means, either a vehicle-to-vehicle distance control mode in which a travel of the subject vehicle is controlled by the vehicle-to-vehicle distance controller or a constant vehicle speed control mode in which the travel is controlled by the constant vehicle speed controller. A travel control by either the vehicle-to-vehicle distance controller or the constant vehicle speed controller is performed in accordance with a travel mode that has been selected by the mode selector.

Auto-cruise apparatus

In an auto-cruise system for a vehicle, when a distance detected by a distance detecting device becomes shorter than a reference distance based on a value detected by a vehicle speed detecting device, a speed reducing command signal is output from a distance regulating device. A travel speed control device is capable of being switched over among a cruise speed control mode for controlling the vehicle speed such that a vehicle speed is equalized to a vehicle speed set by a speed setting device upon non-outputting of a speed reducing command signal, a speed reducing control mode for reducing the vehicle speed upon outputting of the speed reducing command signal, and a speed increasing control mode for increasing the vehicle speed until it is restored to the set vehicle speed in response to the disappearing of the speed reducing command signal. In the speed increasing control mode of the travel speed control device, the acceleration until the restoration of the vehicle speed to the set vehicle speed is set such that it is lowered as the turning state detected by a turning state detecting device is enlarged. Thus, the restoration to the set vehicle speed after speed-reduction can be smoothed to ensure that a driver does not feel a discomfort or a sense of incompatibility.

Growing community of inventors

Utsunomiya, Japan

Toshiaki Arai