Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Indication or control of braking – acceleration – or deceleration
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-06
2001-09-18
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Indication or control of braking, acceleration, or deceleration
C701S051000, C701S093000, C701S207000, C701S214000, C477S154000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292736
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle control system and a recording medium recorded with programs for the system.
2. Description of Related Art
In a vehicle of the prior art having a navigation system mounted thereon, a guide route is calculated on the basis of the present position of the vehicle, as recognized by the navigation system, and a target set by the driver, so that the vehicle can be driven according to the guide route calculated. When the vehicle approaches a corner, a corner control is made so that the vehicle can turn around the corner at a lower speed gear stage. For this cornering, there is arranged a vehicle control system which calculates a recommended vehicle speed optimum for turning the corner on the basis of road data read out from data files and the present position detected by present position detecting means. Moreover, the vehicle control system compares the recommended vehicle speed and the present vehicle speed to issue a deceleration command, when the present position exceeds the recommended vehicle speed, thereby effect a downshift at the time of a predetermined operation, such as when the driver releases the accelerator or applies the brakes.
When there occurs errors between actual road structures and conditions and the road data stored in the road files, such as detection errors by present position detecting means or logical errors, the present position may not be accurately recognized.
Therefore, the vehicle control system recognizes that the guide route is missed, when a deviation between the recognized present position and the guide route becomes large, to inhibit the corner control.
In the vehicle control system of the related art, however, the corner control is effected for a small deviation. As a result, the position or timing for a downshift may become so different, as estimated from the actual road situations, as to give the driver a feeling of physical disorder.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has been conceived to solve the above-specified problems of the vehicle control system of the related art and provides a vehicle control system, which is freed from giving the driver the feeling of physical disorder, and a recording medium which is storing programs for the system.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle control system comprising: a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the speed of a vehicle; road structures and conditions storage means for storing road structures and conditions; recommended gear stage determining means for determining a recommended gear stage of an automatic transmission on the basis of the vehicle speed and the road structures and conditions; present position detecting means for detecting the present position of the vehicle; present position recognizing means for recognizing the present position of the vehicle, as detected by the present position detecting means; control content selecting means for evaluating at least one of the present position detecting means and the present position recognizing means to select the control content on the basis of the evaluation result; and speed change processing means for changing the speed in accordance with the control content selected by the control content selecting means.
In the vehicle control system, the control content selecting means includes evaluating means for evaluating at least one of the present position detecting means and the present position recognizing means on the basis of both the present position of the vehicle recognized by the present position recognizing means and the road structures and conditions read out from the road structures and conditions storage means.
Moreover, the control content to inhibit cornering control is set on the basis of the evaluation result by the evaluating means whereas an upper limit gear stage is set on the basis of the recommended gear stage determined by the recommended gear stage determining means, thereby to select the control content in which the upper limit gear stage is fed to the speed change processing means.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording medium stored with programs: for determining a recommended gear stage of an automatic transmission on the basis of a vehicle speed and road structures and conditions; for detecting the present position of the vehicle; for recognizing the present position; for evaluating at least one of present position detecting means and present position recognizing means on the basis of the recognized present position and road structures and conditions; and for selecting control content on the basis of the evaluation result.
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Aruga Hideki
Hamada Takeo
Iwatsuki Kunihiro
Ota Takashi
Shiimado Toshihiro
Aisin Aw Co. Ltd.
Arthur Gertrude
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
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