Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Relative location – Collision avoidance
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-17
2001-09-18
Nguyen, Tan (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Relative location
Collision avoidance
C701S096000, C701S078000, C340S435000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292753
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a braking control system for a vehicle, in which a braking device is automatically operated, based on a relative positional relationship between the vehicle and an object detected by an object detecting device such as a laser radar to thereby avoid contact of the vehicle with the object.
BACKGROUND ART
Such a braking control system for a vehicle is already known, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 6-298022. This braking control system is designed so that when the contact of the vehicle with the object can be avoided only by the steering operation, the avoidance of the contact is performed by the steering operation without carrying out an automatic braking operation, and in the case of emergency where the contact of the vehicle with the object cannot be avoided by only the steering operation, the automatic braking operation is carried out to enable the avoidance of the contact.
The automatic braking operation is effective for avoiding the contact of the vehicle with the object. However, at present, it is technically difficult to avoid the contact of the vehicle with the object in a perfect automatic braking operation due to the limits of the accuracy of detection of an object detecting means such as a laser radar. Therefore, desirably, it is premised that a driver basically carries out the braking operation of his or her own will and, in case the driver conducts an erroneous operation, the braking operation is assisted by the automatic braking operation. For this purpose, it is required that, respecting the braking operation carried out by the driver, the automatic braking operation be carried out so as not to interfere with such driver's braking operation, thereby to effectively achieve the avoidance of the contact.
The present invention has been accomplished with the above circumstances in view, and it is an object of the present invention to effectively avoid the contact of the vehicle with an object, while preventing the automatic braking operation from interfering with the braking provided by the braking operation carried out by the driver.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a braking control system for a vehicle, comprising an object detecting device for detecting an object existing ahead of the vehicle in the direction of movement of the vehicle, a braking device for braking the vehicle, a determining means for determining the possibility of a contact of the vehicle with the object from the relative positional relationship between the vehicle and the object, based on the result of the detection conducted by the object detecting device, and an automatic braking means for operating the braking device based on the result of the determination conducted by the determining means to carry out an automatic braking operation, characterized in that the braking control system further includes a braking-will detecting means for detecting a driver's braking will, so that the automatic braking means assists in the braking operation conducted by the driver, when the driver's braking will is detected by the braking-will detecting means during the automatic braking operation conduced by the automatic braking means.
With the above arrangement, when the object detecting device detects an object existing ahead of the vehicle in the direction of movement of the vehicle, the determining means determines the possibility of contact of the vehicle with the object from the relative positional relationship between the vehicle and the object, based on the result of the detection. When it is determined that there is the possibility of contact, the automatic braking means operates the braking device to carry out the automatic braking operation in order to avoid the contact of the vehicle with the object. When the driver's braking will is detected by the braking-will detecting means during the automatic braking operation conducted by the automatic braking means, the automatic braking means assists in the braking operation of the driver. Therefore, the avoidance of the contact by the automatic braking operation is smoothly switched over to the avoidance of the contact by the braking operation based on the driver's will, and a high braking force assisted by the automatic braking operation is generated to effectively enable the avoidance of the contact.
In addition to the above arrangement, there is provided a braking control system for a vehicle, characterized in that the braking-will detecting means detects the driver's braking will, based on at least one of the operation of depressing a brake pedal by the driver, the operation of returning an accelerator pedal by the driver and the movement of a foot of the driver toward the brake pedal.
With the above arrangement, the driver's braking will can be detected easily and reliably, based on the operation of depressing the brake pedal by the driver, the operation of returning the accelerator pedal by the driver, or the movement of the driver's foot toward the brake pedal.
In addition to the above arrangement, there is provided a braking control system for a vehicle, characterized in that the braking control system further includes a warning device for outputting a warning to the driver prior to the start of the automatic braking operation provided by the automatic braking means, and the braking-will detecting means detects the driver's braking will, based on at least one of the operation of depressing the brake pedal by the driver, the operation of returning the accelerator pedal by the driver and the movement of the driver's foot toward the brake pedal, within a predetermined period of time after output of the warning by the warning device.
With the above arrangement, the warning device is operated before starting of the automatic braking operation by the automatic braking means to output the warning to the driver, and the driver's braking will is detected with such a timing that the driver's reaction to the warning is expected. Therefore, the braking will can be detected with further high accuracy.
The predetermined period of time is set at two seconds in an embodiment, but the value is a matter of design choice that can be set as desired.
In addition to the above arrangement, there is provided a braking control system for a vehicle, characterized in that the assisting in the braking operation of the driver by the automatic braking means is to maintain the braking force in the automatic braking operation before detection of the driver's braking will, or to increase the braking force in the automatic braking operation.
With the above arrangement, the braking operation of the driver is assisted by maintaining or increasing the braking force in the automatic braking operation. Therefore, the braking operation of the driver can be assisted effectively to enable the avoidance of the contact effectively by the braking operation.
In addition to the above arrangement, there is provided a braking control system for a vehicle, characterized in that the assisting in the braking operation of the driver by the automatic braking means is to generate a braking force exceeding the braking force corresponding to the braking operation of the driver.
With the above arrangement, a braking force exceeding the braking force corresponding to the braking operation of the driver is generated by the automatic braking operation. Therefore, the braking operation of the driver can be assisted effectively to enable the avoidance of the contact effectively by the braking operation.
In addition to the above arrangement, there is provided a braking control system for a vehicle, characterized in that the braking control system further includes an emergency-degree presuming means for presuming the degree of emergency in the driver's braking will, and as the degree of emergency presumed by the emergency-degree presuming means is higher, the automatic braking means incr
Hada Satoshi
Ichikawa Shoji
Sugimoto Yoichi
Urai Yoshihiro
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Nguyen Tan
LandOfFree
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