Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Indication or control of braking – acceleration – or deceleration
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-15
2001-10-09
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Indication or control of braking, acceleration, or deceleration
C701S096000, C340S903000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301542
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cruise control system for vehicles, in particular for motor vehicles.
The automatic control of vehicles is a goal worth striving for. In this field, adaptive cruise control (ACC) is playing an increasingly significant role because it permits the automatically controlled vehicle to react to obstacles and/or moving objects that may be encountered. In conventional ACC systems a sensor is provided which determines a distance and a velocity of an object located in a sensing range of the sensor. The distance data and the velocity data relating to the detected object are used to regulate the velocity of the vehicle only if the detected object is unambiguously identified as being located in a path of the vehicle.
A cruise control system that operates in this way has the disadvantage that the way in which the vehicle is controlled by the cruise control system is unsteady and unpleasant for passengers.
Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 196 14 061 A1 discloses a cruise control system for motor vehicles in which the probability of any object determined by the sensor device to be on the same path is determined and a target vehicle traveling ahead, from which target vehicle a constant distance is to be maintained, is selected as a function of the probability of traveling on the same path. The probability of traveling on the same path is dependent here on the size and the severity of a bend and on the relative position and the relative speed of a sensed object with respect to the system vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a cruise control system for vehicles, in particular for motor vehicles, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which ensures that a vehicle is controlled in a uniform and steady way.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a cruise control system for vehicles, including motor vehicles, containing:
a sensor device for determining movement data and position data of an object located in a sensing range of the sensor device; and
an evaluation unit connected to the sensor device, the evaluation unit receiving and processing the movement data and the position data of the object determined by the sensor device and further receiving and processing vehicle data on a movement of a vehicle, the evaluation unit regulating at least one of a velocity and a direction of travel of the vehicle in dependence on the movement data, the position data and the vehicle data, the evaluation unit determining a tracking probability P which is a measure of a control-related quality of a detection of the object, the velocity and the direction of travel of the vehicle being regulated in dependence on the tracking probability P such that as the tracking probability P rises a degree of control being intensified.
The solution according to the invention has the advantage that the automatically controlled vehicle is accelerated or decelerated uniformly. Severe deceleration or braking processes are initiated only to the degree to which it is certain that the vehicle is located on a collision course with another object. By changing the velocity of the vehicle as a function of the tracking probability, a more rapid reaction to objects is achieved and reaction to incorrect objectives that are detected is attenuated or avoided.
The velocity and/or direction of travel of the vehicle are regulated as a function of the tracking probability P in such a way that as P rises the degree of control is preferably intensified. This can be carried out by a number of intermediate stages or by a regulating function which rises continuously as P increases.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the movement data and the position data determined via the sensor device relate to at least one of a distance between the object and the vehicle, a relative velocity of the object with respect to the vehicle, and an angle between the direction of travel of the vehicle and the direction of travel of the vehicle with respect to the object.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the vehicle data relates to at least one of the velocity of the vehicle, a yaw velocity of the vehicle, and a lateral acceleration of the vehicle.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the vehicle has an engine, a transmission and a brake system and the velocity of the vehicle is regulated by controlling an operation of at least one of the engine, the transmission and the brake system.
In accordance with another added feature of the invention, the tracking probability P depends on at least one of the following variables:
variable f
T
being a number of measurement cycles passed through since a detection of the object,
variable f
A
being a stability of a sensor signal reflected by the object,
variable f
D
being a quality of a distance determined from the vehicle to the object,
variable f
V
being a quality of a relative velocity determined between the vehicle and the object,
variable f
W
being a quality of an angle determined between the direction of travel of the vehicle and the direction of travel of the vehicle with respect to the object, and
variable f
P
being a probability of the object being located in a path of the vehicle.
In accordance with another additional feature of the invention, the variable f
T
is a number that is increased if an observed object detected in a current measurement cycle is assigned to the object which has already been pursued.
In accordance with further features of the invention, the variable f
A
is greater the smaller the fluctuations of sensor measurement signals of the object are between successive measurement cycles. The variable f
D
is greater the smaller a deviation between the distance determined from the object and a distance which is to be expected in terms of criteria due to dynamics of vehicle movement. The variable f
V
is greater the smaller a deviation between the relative velocity determined between the vehicle and the object and a relative velocity which is to be expected in terms of criteria of dynamics of vehicle movement. The variable f
W
is greater the smaller a deviation between a first angle determined between the direction of travel of the vehicle and a direction of the vehicle with respect to the object and a second angle which is to be expected in terms of criteria of dynamics of vehicle movement. The variable f
P
is a location probability and is determined by a current angle between the direction of travel of the vehicle and the direction of travel of the vehicle with respect to the object, a path of the vehicle and an expected path of the object, and the variable f
P
is greater the greater an associated probability.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the tracking probability P is determined by the equation:
P=w
T
*f
T
+w
A
*f
A
+w
D
*f
D
+w
V
*f
V
+w
W
*f
W
+w
P
*f
P
,
where w
T
, w
A
, w
D
, w
V
, w
W
and w
P
are weighting factors resulting from a relative significance of a quality of an individual measurement results.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a cruise control system for vehicles, in particular for motor vehicles, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5510990 (1996-04-01), Hibino et al.
p
Kirchberger Andreas
Mosner Rainer
Gibson Eric M
Greenberg Laurence A.
Lerner Herbert L.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Stemer Werner H.
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