Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Yusuke Ueda

Tomohiko Tsuruta

Takeshi Hatoh

Motonori Tominaga

Naoya Inoue

Takayuki Kondoh

Naoki Kawasaki

Shotaro Fukuda

Masao Oooka

Shunsuke Suzuki

Osamu Shimomura

Norio Sanma

Junichiro Funabashi

Hirotane Ikeda

Kazuhisa Ishimaru

Tatsuru Kuwabara

Masaya Okada

Yuu Maeda

Hossein Tehrani Niknejad

Seiichi Mita

A tracking control apparatus for tracking a preceding vehicle includes information acquiring unit for acquiring information about surrounding the own vehicle, preceding vehicle determining unit for determining the preceding vehicle running ahead of the own vehicle, control unit controls the tracking control to be maintained or released, and turn signal determining unit for determining whether or not a turn signal of a turn signal unit of the preceding vehicle is active. The control unit maintains or releases the tracking control by determining the surrounding of the own vehicle concerning a traffic lane change by the preceding vehicle based on the information acquired by the information acquiring unit, when the turn signal determining unit determines that the turn signal of the turn signal unit is active.

On-vehicle tracking control apparatus

In a lane boundary line information acquiring device, a detection unit detects lane boundary lines. A driving environment acquiring unit acquires a driving environment. A probability information acquiring unit acquires probability information containing a probability of presence of a lane boundary line, etc. based on the detected lane boundary lines and the acquired driving environment. A position information acquiring unit acquires position information of the own vehicle. A memory unit associates the probability information with the position information of the own vehicle. Where the position information is acquired by the position information acquiring unit at a time when the probability information acquiring unit acquires the probability information, and stores the probability information associated with the position information into the memory unit. A readout unit reads out the probability information associated with the position information at a location in front of the own vehicle.

Lane boundary line information acquiring device

A vehicle controller includes a follow travel instructor conducting a lead vehicle follow control by auto-steering for a following of an own vehicle to follow a lead vehicle, an other vehicle information obtainer obtaining transmitted information transmitted from the lead vehicle, the transmitted information including information regarding a front situation of the lead vehicle, and an across-boundary move determiner determining whether the lead vehicle may cross a traffic lane boundary to an opposite traffic lane, based on the front situation information of the lead vehicle obtained by the other vehicle information obtainer. The follow travel instructor stops conducting the lead vehicle follow control based on a determination by the across-boundary move determiner that the lead vehicle may cross the traffic lane boundary. In such manner, an occupant of the own vehicle is prevented from becoming frightened by the auto-steering.

Vehicle controller

When a travel path is to be generated for a vehicle, road surface lines (white lines, etc.) delimiting the traffic lane of the vehicle, and also external objects in the vehicle environment, are detected and registered as respective obstacles. Specific points are defined at appropriate locations on each obstacle, and the travel path is generated by connecting respective mid-point positions between opposed pairs of specific points, each pair defined on respective ones of an opposed (left-side, right-side) pair of the registered obstacles.

Vehicle travel path generating apparatus

A vehicle control apparatus includes a steering amount calculation unit which calculates a steering amount for decreasing a lateral deviation of a vehicle with respect to a target route, a vehicle position acquisition unit which acquires a position of the vehicle, and a past information acquisition unit which acquires the lateral deviation, which is related to the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit or a position ahead of the position of the vehicle, from a storage section in which the lateral deviation is stored with the position of the vehicle being related to the lateral deviation. The steering amount calculation unit feeds back the lateral deviation acquired by the past information acquisition unit to calculate the steering amount.

Vehicle control apparatus

A traffic lane marking recognition apparatus includes a candidate detecting unit, a gap detecting unit, and a recognition reducing unit. The candidate detecting unit detects a lane dividing line candidate which is a candidate for a lane dividing line that defines a traffic lane on a road, based on an image of the road captured by an on-board camera that is mounted in a vehicle. The gap detecting unit detects a gap included in the lane dividing line candidate detected by the candidate detecting unit. When the gap is detected by the gap detecting unit, the recognition reducing unit reduces a probability of recognition of the lane dividing line candidate as a lane dividing line to a first probability that is lower than the probability when the gap detecting unit does not detect the gap, in a region from the gap closest to the vehicle towards a direction away from the vehicle.

Traffic lane marking recognition apparatus and traffic lane marking recognition program

A selection track setting section in a driving route generation device determines as a selected track a track of a preceding vehicle when a detection section and a track generation section detects a track of the preceding vehicle which is running on the same driving lane of a host vehicle. A candidate track selection section outputs as a candidate track one of tracks of front vehicles, detected by the detection section and the track generation section, other than the track of the preceding vehicle. A switching selection section switches as the selected track from the track of the preceding vehicle to the candidate track when a detection of the track of the preceding vehicle is interrupted during a predetermined detection period. An estimate route generation section generates an estimated driving route of the host vehicle on the bass of the selected track.

Driving route generation device

A vehicle driving assistance apparatus mounted in a vehicle. In the apparatus, a drivable route detection unit detects a drivable route, a vehicle state quantity detection unit detects state quantities of the vehicle, and a steering control unit controls steering of the vehicle. Further, in the apparatus, an allowable region estimation unit estimates a driving allowable region on the basis of the detected state quantities and a predetermined allowable range of behavior of the vehicle. A deviation determination unit determines that the vehicle will deviate from the drivable route when a minimum width of an overlap region of the drivable route and the driving allowable region is less than a predetermined threshold. An intervention instruction unit then outputs to the steering control unit an intervention control signal to control steering of the vehicle.

Vehicle driving assistance apparatus

A vehicle control apparatus capable of automatic steering control while reducing discomfort or stress on vehicle occupants. In the apparatus, a lane detection unit detects a lane in which the vehicle is traveling. An offset setting unit sets an offset within the lane suitable for making a driver feel less stressed. An occupant detection unit detects the presence of a designated occupant of a seat opposite a driver's seat. An offset adjustment unit, when the designated occupant is detected, adjusts the offset set by the offset setting unit to be decreased. A vehicle-path estimation unit estimates a vehicle path in the lane such that the vehicle can travel along the vehicle path from a current lateral position to a target lateral position of the vehicle. An automatic steering control unit automatically controls steering so that the vehicle travels along the estimated vehicle.

An inter-vehicle distance control device is provided. In this control device, an inter-vehicle distance detecting section detects an inter-vehicle distance between an own vehicle and a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the own vehicle. A laterally adjacent vehicle detecting section detects another vehicle present beside the own vehicle. A cut-in detecting section judges whether or not a cut-in by the other vehicle detected by the laterally adjacent vehicle detecting section is likely to occur, before the other vehicle cuts in between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle. An inter-vehicle distance adjusting section performs an inter-vehicle distance extension adjustment to increase the inter-vehicle distance when the cut-in detecting section judges that a cut-in is likely to occur. An inter-vehicle distance control section controls the inter-vehicle distance based on information from the inter-vehicle distance adjusting section.

Inter-vehicle distance control device

A driving control apparatus mounted on a present vehicle used for tracking a preceding vehicle includes: control module for controlling the present vehicle to accelerate or decelerate; vehicle detecting module for detecting the preceding vehicle; region detecting module for detecting a lateral region existing on an adjacent lane being adjacent to a present lane where the present vehicle exists, the lateral region being laterally to the present vehicle; and region determining module for determining whether or not the lateral region is an avoidance region that has a predetermined area. The control module performs an avoidance standby operation that allows the present vehicle to accelerate or decelerate based on a result of determining by the region determining module, when the vehicle detecting module detects the preceding vehicle existing on the present lane.

Driving control apparatus mounted on vehicle to avoid collision with preceding vehicle

In a vehicle travel assisting device, a vehicle speed, a yaw rate, a traveling lane of an own vehicle, and a position of a leading vehicle are detected. Target travel coordinates of the own vehicle are calculated, based on the traveling lane and the position of the leading vehicle A travel path curvature of a target travel coordinate group is estimated, based on information related to the target travel coordinate group. A steering quantity to be steered in advance by the own vehicle is calculated, based on the currently estimated travel path curvature. A weight for each of the target travel coordinates for estimating the travel path curvature is adjusted based on the vehicle speed, the yaw rate and the previously estimated travel path curvature. Steering control is performed such that the own vehicle travels so as to follow the estimated travel path curvature, based on the calculated steering quantity.

Vehicle travel assisting device

A vehicle control apparatus that for automatic steering control that reduces occupant discomfort and stress is provided. A lane width of a subject lane and a current in-lane ratio are detected. If an off-lane obstacle which may place stress on the occupant is present within a prescribed area, a relative position between each off-lane obstacle and the vehicle is determined. A target in-lane ratio is determined based on the relative position. Specifically, when the off-lane obstacles are present on both the left and right sides of the subject lane, the target in-lane ratio is such that lateral distances to both off-lane obstacles are equal. When the off-lane obstacle is present on only one of either the left or right of the subject lane, the target in-lane ratio is set such that a lateral position away from the off-lane obstacle by a lateral distance set in advance is the target lateral position.

Vehicle automatic steering control apparatus

A driving assistance apparatus mounted to a vehicle is disclosed. The apparatus determines whether an amount of change in tire wheel speed of each tire wheel of the vehicle exceeds a threshold. The apparatus specifies a tire wheel crossing order, which is an order in which the tire wheels of the vehicle cross over a level difference between a road and a parking lot when the vehicle crosses over the level difference. The apparatus determines whether or not the vehicle has crossed over the level difference between the road and the parking lot, based on whether a threshold-exceeding order is identical to the specified tire wheel crossing order. The threshold-exceeding order is an order in which the amounts of change in the tire wheel speed of the respective tire wheels exceed the threshold.

Driving assistance apparatus and vehicle driving assistance system for determining entry into or exit from a parking lot

Each of a plurality of distance sensors is provided adjacent to a corresponding one of a plurality of displaceable portions that are displaced upon application of at least one of a brake force and a drive force to a tire. Each distance sensor measures an amount of displacement of the corresponding displaceable portion upon the application of the at least one of the brake force and the drive force to the tire. An ECU computes a target tire receiving force component based on the amounts of displacement, which are measured with the plurality of displacement measurement sensors, respectively, while eliminating an unnecessary tire receiving force component.

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Nishio, Japan

Yusuke Ueda