Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Subaru Corporation

Yutaka Hiwatashi

Atsushi Mine

Katsuyoshi Kamimura

Koji Matsuno

Masaru Kogure

Munenori Matsuura

Akira Takahashi

Saiichiro Oshita

Keiji Hanawa

Toshihiro Konno

Katsufumi Ichikawa

Takayuki Ushijima

Kentarou Yamasaki

Atsuyoshi Takazawa

Satoshi Naruse

An evaluation simulation system includes a driver monitor, operation members, a model calculator, a monitor image generator, a camera module, and a detection control apparatus. The driver monitor displays a field-of-view image from a virtual vehicle corresponding to a vehicle. The operation members receive operations performed by a driver. The model calculator executes a model control of the virtual vehicle. The monitor image generator generates the field-of-view image after a movement. The detection control apparatus extracts information regarding a virtual object from a captured image obtained by the camera module, and outputs the information to the front lamp control apparatus. The model calculator generates control output information related to the front lamp control apparatus. The monitor image generator causes the field-of-view image under illumination by the front lamp control apparatus to be displayed.

Evaluation simulation system for control including front lamp control of vehicle

A road surface &#x3bc; is updated with time on the basis of a present value (an estimation value E) of the road surface &#x3bc; estimated to estimate the road surface &#x3bc;. In this case, if there is acquired road-surface information in a vehicle travel direction that is detected by a road-side infrastructure, a specifying unitspecifies a road-surface friction coefficient based on the road-surface information. An estimating unitsets the road surface &#x3bc; (&#x3bc;inf) thus specified as an initial value, resets the present value of the road surface &#x3bc; to the initial value, and then starts estimation of the road-surface friction coefficient based on this initial value. Accordingly, estimation precision of a road-surface friction coefficient is enhanced by using an initial value having high reliability in autonomous estimation of the road-surface friction coefficient.

Road-surface friction coefficient estimating device and road-surface friction coefficient estimating method

A vehicle front-view monitoring system determines whether there is a fail occurring on the monitoring system based on luminance data on an image of a front view taken by camera and takes fail-safe measures if the fail is occurring. The luminance data indicates luminance-distribution characteristic values indicating horizontal luminance-distribution on the image. A fail can be determined based on a parameter obtained by normalizing the luminance-distribution characteristic values by a shutter speed for the camera equipment.

Vehicle front-view monitoring system

A base station is installed in a driver's house or the like where the precise position has been measured beforehand, includes a GPS antenna, a GPS receiver, and a wireless communication device, and functions to transmit various data to a vehicle serving as a moving station in a predetermined range. The vehicle has a GPS antenna, a GPS receiver, and a wireless communication device. When establishing communication between the base station and the moving station, if the current vehicle position generally matches any driving route created and stored in the storage unit earlier, automatic driving control is performed with the matching driving route serving as a target driving route. Conversely, if the current position of the vehicle matches no position on the driving routes created in the past even generally, the storage unit continuously stores the current driving route including the current position, as a new route to the destination.

Driving control device for a vehicle

Vehicle braking is precisely performed matching with a condition. A recognizing unitrecognizes a target object based on information from a preview sensorfor detecting a forward condition of a vehicle, and outputs positional information of the target object thus recognized as preview information. An information acquiring unitspecifies a target object located on a road based on information from an infrastructureequipped on a road, and outputs position information of the target object thus specified as infrastructure information. If an instructing unitauthorizes the automatic braking of the vehicle carried out by the controlling unitunder the condition that the matching between a position of the target object based on the preview information and a position of the target object based on the infrastructure information is established, the controlling unitcarries out the automatic braking of the vehicle.

Vehicle braking device and vehicle braking method

A vehicle front-view monitoring system takes fail-safe measures when a fail-safe measure-interruption requirement using first parameter are met on a monitored image for a predetermined first period. The functions interrupted by the fail-safe measure is resumed when a fail-safe measure-release requirement using second parameter which is different from the first parameter is met within a predetermined second period after the fail-safe measure-interruption requirement has been met. The first period is variable in accordance with how accurately lane marking on a road in the monitored image is recognized.

A correlation coefficient computing unit receives front-left and front-right wheel-accelerations from high-pass filters, each having a driver-operating component removed therefrom, and computes a correlation coefficient therebetween. A computing-unit of upper and lower limits of a correlation coefficient of a population sets upper and lower limits of a correlation coefficient of a population. First and second correction-gain setting units set first and second correction-gains varying in accordance with running and driving states, respectively. A correlation coefficient computing unit of a population computes a correlation coefficient of a population of this time based on the correlation coefficients computed as above, a correlation coefficient of a population of the previous time, the upper and lower limits, and the first and second correction-gains. A coefficient of friction on road surface estimating unit estimates a coefficient of friction on road surface by comparing the correlation coefficient of the population of this time with a determining threshold value previously set according to the running state.

Device for a vehicle for estimating friction coefficient of a road surface

To provide a new vehicle control technique, a calculation section calculates a cornering power ka using the detected longitudinal force Fx, lateral force Fy, and vertical force Fz, and the identified friction coefficient &#x3bc;. This calculation is made based on the correlation between a slip angle &#x3b2; of the wheels and the lateral force Fy. Based on thus calculated cornering power ka and a target cornering power ka' required for the wheels, a processing section determines a change amount for changing at least one action force out of the longitudinal force Fx, the lateral force Fy, and the vertical force Fz, all acting on the wheels. Based on thus determined change amount, a control section controls at least one action force out of the longitudinal force Fx, the lateral force Fy, and the vertical force Fz, all acting on the wheels.

Cornering power control device and method

A vehicle behavior control apparatus is divided into three major parts, sensors for detecting engine and vehicle operating conditions, a target yaw rate establishing section for establishing the rate and differential limiting apparatuses for selectively varying distribution ratios of driving force between front and rear wheels and/or between left and right wheels. The target yaw rate establishing section calculates a target yaw rate based on a vehicle mass, a mass distribution ratio between front and rear axles, front and rear axle mass, distances between front and rear axles and a center of gravity, a steering angle of a front wheel, and front and rear wheels equivalent cornering powers. A steady state yaw rate gain is separately calculated for left and right steering, respectively. A reference yaw rate is calculated by correcting a time constant of lag of yaw rate with respect to steering based on estimated road friction coefficient.

Vehicle behavior control apparatus

A road friction coefficient estimating apparatus primarily includes an adaptive control road friction coefficient estimating section and an actual value comparison road friction coefficient estimating section. The adaptive control road friction coefficient estimating section inputs signals indicative of a road surface condition with low friction coefficient from a wiper switch, low outside air temperature judging section and the like and estimates an accurate road friction coefficient even under the low friction coefficient road surface condition. When the vehicle travels at high speeds, the actual value comparison road friction coefficient estimating section renders a road friction coefficient estimating value by a yaw rate comparison method gradually close to a road friction coefficient of an asphalted road surface. When a signal IMAGE HALT indicative of a road surface totally covered with snow is inputted, the actual value comparison road friction coefficient estimating section renders the road friction coefficient estimating value gradually close to a low side road friction coefficient produced by the adaptive control road friction coefficient estimating section. Further, when the vehicle travels at high speeds and the signal IMAGE HALT is inputted, the road friction coefficient estimating value is rendered moderately, gradually close to the low side road friction coefficient.

Road friction coefficients estimating apparatus for vehicle

An easy-to-use vehicular active drive assist system is provided, which can continue to give a warning against the presence of a possibility of deviation of own vehicle from a traffic lane to such an extent that a driver would not find the warning noisy or annoying. A control unit makes a judgment on the possibility of deviation from a traffic lane based on the location of lane marker lines detected from a pair of camera images and the location of own vehicle, and generates a warning if the own vehicle is supposed to deviate from to the left or right of the traffic lane. This warning is produced at preset time intervals. When the direction of potential lane deviation has changed (from right to left or from left to right), a lane deviation warning of the current side of lane deviation is started immediately.

Vehicular active drive assist system

A vehicular active drive assist system including a lane deviation judgment unit which judges the possibility of deviation of own vehicle from a traffic lane on a roadway ahead and a warning control unit which controls a warning based on judgment results fed from the lane deviation judgment unit, wherein the lane deviation judgment unit sets a first judgment line approximately parallel to a lateral direction of the own vehicle at a first distance ahead of the own vehicle, sets a second judgment line approximately parallel to the lateral direction of the own vehicle at a second distance ahead of the own vehicle, makes a judgment on the possibility of deviation from the traffic lane based on the location of the own vehicle and the location of lane markings on the first judgment line, makes another judgment on the possibility of deviation from the traffic lane based on the location of the own vehicle and the location of the lane markings on the second judgment line, and finally judges the possibility of deviation from the traffic lane based on the results of these two judgments.

In the case that a brake controller is installed to a 4 wheel driven vehicle, braking force control should be carried out effectively enough so that running stability of the vehicle can be up-graded at cornering. The brake controller,calculates differential value of aimed yaw rate, differential value of predicted yaw rate on low friction road and deflection of the two differential values. And also it calculates deflection of real yaw rate and aimed yaw rate. Then the brake controller,determines aimed braking force and applies the aimed braking force to a selected wheel to carry out braking control. The torque distribution controller,receives control parameters and signals of status of brake control and carries out torque distribution control based on the parameters and signals through the hydraulic multi-plate clutch,The hydraulic multi-plate clutch,is so controlled with certain weak engaging force as to make each wheel rotate freely, when braking control is carried out by applying braking force to a selected wheel. Thus the brake controller,can perform as aimed.

Torque distribution control apparatus for 4 wheel driven vehicle

When an accelerator pedal is released, or when a brake pedal is depressed and if braking force is lower than a reference braking force corresponding to a braking force immediately before causing a wheel lock, differential limiting force of a center differential is set to a predetermined value so as to retain an under-steer condition while engine brake is applied. When the brake pedal is depressed and if braking force is higher than the reference braking force, differential limiting force of the center differential is set to zero so as to assist an anti-lock brake system. Further, the reference braking force can be determined according to a road friction coefficient, a grade of road, a lateral acceleration and the like. Further, the predetermined value of the differential limiting force may be a constant value or may be a value corresponding to a front-to-rear weight distribution ratio.

Differential limiting control apparatus for four wheel drive vehicle

In a four wheel drive vehicle, a driving force distribution control apparatus estimates a road friction coefficient and controls a transfer clutch of a center differential based on the estimated road friction coefficient so that a driving force distribution on the rear wheel side becomes larger as the estimated road friction coefficient becomes small. An initial value of the road friction coefficient is established to be a low value such as 0.3 when a wiper switch is turned on, an outside air temperature is low, a traction control apparatus operates, an anti-lock brake control apparatus operates, a braking force control apparatus operates, a slip detecting apparatus detects a slip and a transmission control unit outputs a signal and is established to be an intermediate value such as 0.5 when an initial start judgment section judges an initial start of the engine after a long period of stop.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Yutaka Hiwatashi