# US 11,440,547 B2 · Vehicle travel assistance device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,440,547 B2 - Document ID: US11440547B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/764,820 - Filed: 2018-11-16 - Published: 2020-11-19 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2017-11-17 - Assignees: Advics Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Advics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Mako Noguchi - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11440547B2 ## CPC - B60W 30/181: {Preparing for stopping} - B60T 7/12: for automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger {(limiting speed of vehicles other than rail vehicles B60K31/00)} - B60T 7/22: initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle {, or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle} - B60T 13/662: {characterised by specified functions of the control system components} - B60W 10/184: with wheel brakes - B60W 30/18109: {Braking} - B60W 40/076: Slope angle of the road - B60T 2201/022: Collision avoidance systems - B60T 2201/10: Automatic or semi-automatic parking aid systems - B60T 2210/10: Detection or estimation of road conditions - B60T 2250/04: Vehicle reference speed; Vehicle body speed - B60W 2510/18: Braking system - B60W 2552/15: Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - B60T: VEHICLE BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF; BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEMS OR PARTS THEREOF, IN GENERAL (electrodynamic brake systems for vehicle, in general B60L; brakes per se, i.e. devices where braking effect occurs, including ultimate brake actuators, F16D); ARRANGEMENT OF BRAKING ELEMENTS ON VEHICLES IN GENERAL; PORTABLE DEVICES FOR PREVENTING UNWANTED MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES; VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS TO FACILITATE COOLING OF BRAKES ## Abstract A parking assistance unit comprises: a step determination unit that executes a first determination process for determining whether a step that a vehicle wheel has contacted is a step for stopping the vehicle; and a braking/drive force setting unit that executes a stop request control for requesting stopping of a vehicle by increasing the braking force of the vehicle, when a step has been determined by the first determination process to be a step for stopping the vehicle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle travel assistance device configured to assist vehicle travel, the vehicle travel assistance device comprising: a step determination unit that, when a step for stopping a vehicle of steps for which it is possible to detect that a vehicle wheel has contacted is set as a step for stopping a vehicle, executes a determination process for determining whether the step that the vehicle wheel has contacted is the step for stopping a vehicle; and a braking/drive force setting unit that, when it is determined by the determination process that the step is the step for stopping a vehicle, executes a stop request control for requesting stopping of a vehicle by increasing a braking force of the vehicle, wherein the step determination unit is configured to execute the determination process, based on a drive force of the vehicle at the time when the vehicle wheel has contacted the step. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising a height estimation unit configured to calculate an estimation value of a height of the step so that the estimation value of the height of the step increases as the drive force of the vehicle at the time when the vehicle wheel has contacted the step increases, wherein in the determination process, the step determination unit determines that the step is the step for stopping a vehicle, when the estimation value of the height of the step calculated by the height estimation unit is equal to or greater than a height determination value. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 2, wherein in the determination process, the step determination unit determines that the step is the step for stopping a vehicle, in a state where the drive force of the vehicle is lower when a vehicle body speed of the vehicle is high than when the vehicle body speed is low. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 2, wherein in the determination process, the step determination unit determines that the step is the step for stopping a vehicle, in a state where the drive force of the vehicle is lower when a slope of a road surface on which the vehicle travels is a downhill slope than when the slope of the road surface is not a downhill slope. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the step determination unit is configured to execute another determination process for determining whether the vehicle wheel has climbed over the step for stopping a vehicle, based on a magnitude of shock that is applied to the vehicle wheel, and wherein the braking/drive force setting unit executes the stop request control when it is determined by another determination process that the vehicle wheel has climbed over the step for stopping a vehicle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 1, wherein in the determination process, the step determination unit determines that the step is the step for stopping a vehicle, in a state where the drive force of the vehicle is lower when a vehicle body speed of the vehicle is high than when the vehicle body speed is low. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 6, wherein the step determination unit is configured to execute another determination process for determining whether the vehicle wheel has climbed over the step for stopping a vehicle, based on a magnitude of shock that is applied to the vehicle wheel, and wherein the braking/drive force setting unit executes the stop request control when it is determined by another determination process that the vehicle wheel has climbed over the step for stopping a vehicle. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 1, wherein in the determination process, the step determination unit determines that the step is the step for stopping a vehicle, in a state where the drive force of the vehicle is lower when a slope of a road surface on which the vehicle travels is a downhill slope than when the slope of the road surface is not a downhill slope. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the step determination unit is configured to execute the determination process, based on a pitch angle of the vehicle at the time when the vehicle wheel has contacted the step. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is provided with a monitoring device configured to monitor a periphery of the vehicle, and wherein the step determination unit is configured to execute the determination process, based on an analysis result on the step detected by the monitoring device. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the step determination unit is configured to execute another determination process for determining whether the vehicle wheel has climbed over the step for stopping a vehicle, based on a magnitude of shock that is applied to the vehicle wheel, and wherein the braking/drive force setting unit executes the stop request control when it is determined by another determination process that the vehicle wheel has climbed over the step for stopping a vehicle. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 11, further comprising an execution decision unit configured to acquire position information of the vehicle, and to decide whether or not to permit executions of the respective determination processes by the step determination unit, based on the position information. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The vehicle travel assistance device according to claim 11, wherein the step determination unit does not execute the respective determination processes when a vehicle body speed of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a vehicle body speed determination value.