Vehicle safety running system

Details Vehicle safety running system Vehicle safety running system

1999-10-18

2001-08-14

Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)

Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location

Relative location

Collision avoidance

C701S300000, C701S001000, C180S169000, C180S197000, C340S435000, C340S436000, C340S903000, C340S904000, C340S933000, C342S062000, C342S070000, C342S071000, C342S174000, C280S735000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06275772

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle safety running system in which an object is detected with an object detection means such as a laser radar, and in which when it is judged that there is a probability of a subject vehicle's coming into contact with the object so detected, a braking system of the subject vehicle is automatically actuated in order to avoid such a contact.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle safety running system is already known wherein the relative distance and relative speed of an object such as a preceding vehicle running in the same lane as that where a subject vehicle runs are detected with an object detection means such as a laser radar, millimeter wave radar and CCD camera, and wherein if there is estimated a probability of the subject vehicle's coming into contact with the object so detected, an alarm means is actuated to try to force the driver to take a voluntary contact avoidance operation with an automatic braking device being actuated so as to avoid the probable contact of the subject vehicle with the object, or even if there is occurring a contact therebetween, the alarm means and the automatic braking device so actuated cooperate to reduce a damage to a minimum level.
Incidentally, when the driver voluntarily performs an steering operation while automatic braking is in operation so as to avoid a probable contact, such a steering operation would result in a problem of interference with the automatic braking in operation, thereby making it difficult to effectively avoid the contact or making the driver experience a feeling of physical disorder. For instance, in a case where a probable contact can be avoided by a steering operation by the driver, if automatic braking is allowed to continue to be in operation, the driver will be forced to experience a strong feeling of physical disorder. On the contrary, if the automatic braking is cancelled in a state in which a probable contact cannot be avoided by a steering operation by the driver and therefore there is no other way but to rely on the automatic braking, the automatic braking is thus not permitted to fully exhibit its effectiveness.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to obtain a maximum effectiveness in avoiding a contact with an object by harmonizing automatic braking for avoiding a contact with the object with a voluntary steering operation by the driver.
In order to attain the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a vehicle safety running system comprising: object detection means for detecting an object in front of a subject vehicle in a direction in which the subject vehicle travels; contact probability estimation means for estimating probability in which the subject vehicle comes into contact with the detected object; automatic braking means for automatically actuating a brake system of the subject vehicle when the contact probability estimation means estimates that there is a probability of such contact; and steering operation amount detection means for detecting a steering operation amount based on a steering operation by a driver, wherein when the steering operation amount detection means detects that the driver performs the steering operation while the automatic braking means is in operation, the automatic braking means cancels automatic braking for a time period or at a speed determined based on at least one of the contact probability estimated by the contact probability estimation means and the steering operation amount detected by the steering operation amount detection means.
According to the above construction, while the automatic braking means performs automatic braking in order to avoid a probable contact of the subject vehicle with the object that is estimated by the contact probability estimation means, when the driver voluntarily performs the steering operation in order to try to avoid the estimated contact, since the automatic braking means cancels automatic braking for a time period or at a speed determined based on at least either of the contact probability estimated by the contact probability estimation means and the amount of the steering operation detected by the steering operation amount detection means, it is possible to avoid the interference of the steering operation by the driver with the automatic braking, while securing a maximum effectiveness of the automatic braking in avoiding the contact by canceling the automatic braking quickly or moderately depending on states.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4641136 (1987-02-01), Kowalczyk
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patent: 5495254 (1996-02-01), Uemura et al.
patent: 5529138 (1996-06-01), Shaw et al.
patent: 5646612 (1997-07-01), Byon
patent: 5699040 (1997-12-01), Matsuda
patent: 5808561 (1998-09-01), Kinoshita et al.
patent: 5986601 (1999-11-01), Sugimoto
patent: 6157294 (2000-12-01), Urai et al.

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