Vehicle control method and apparatus
AssigneeJaguar Land Rover Limited
InventorsNavid Shamshiri, Arun Raveendran, Robin Boyd
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A control system (1) for controlling operation of a host vehicle (2). The control system (1) includes a controller (4) having a processor (5) and a memory (6). The processor (5) is operable to receive a signal (S1) from a sensor (7) and to process the signal (S1) to identify a target vehicle (3). The processor (5) determines a vertical offset (ΔV) between the host vehicle (2) and the target vehicle (3). A target follow distance (D1) may be set based on the determined vertical offset (ΔV). Also provided is a vehicle (1) incorporating the control system (1); a related method of controlling a vehicle (2); and a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
Claims11
A control system for controlling operation of a host vehicle, the host vehicle being a land vehicle;
- wherein the control system comprises:
- a processor for receiving a signal from a sensor, the processor being operable to:
- process the signal to identify a target vehicle which is a land vehicle;
- determine a vertical offset between the host vehicle and the target vehicle, the vertical offset being indicative of a height of the target vehicle above or below an elevation of the host vehicle;
- adjust a target follow distance between the host vehicle and the target vehicle dynamically in dependence on the determined vertical offset between the host vehicle and the target vehicle;
- and
- control a speed of the host vehicle to maintain the adjusted target follow distance;
- wherein the processor is operable to determine a rate of change of the determined vertical offset;
- wherein the processor is operable to determine when the rate of change of the vertical offset decreases below a first threshold value;
- or to determine when the rate of change of the vertical offset increases above a second threshold value;
- and
- wherein the processor is configured to estimate a location at which a slope begins in dependence on the rate of change of determined vertical offset, and to determine, in dependence on a steepness of the gradient of the slope, whether to follow the target vehicle onto the slope, or to wait at a base or a crest of the slope until either a driver confirmation to proceed is received or automatically in response to it being established that the target vehicle has cleared the base or the crest of the slope.
A method of controlling operation of a host vehicle, the host vehicle being a land vehicle;
- wherein, the method comprising:
- receiving a signal from a sensor;
- processing the signal to identify a target vehicle which is a land vehicle;
- determining a vertical offset between the host vehicle and the target vehicle, the vertical offset being indicative of a height of the target vehicle above or below an elevation of the host vehicle;
- adjusting a target follow distance between the host vehicle and the target vehicle dynamically in dependence on the determined vertical offset between the host vehicle and the target vehicle;
- and
- controlling a speed of the host vehicle to maintain the adjusted target follow distance,
- wherein the method further comprises estimating a location at which a slope begins in dependence on the rate of change of determined vertical offset, and determining, in dependence on a steepness of the gradient of the slope, whether to follow the target vehicle onto the slope, or to wait at a base or a crest of the slope until either a driver confirmation to proceed is received or automatically in response to it being established that the target vehicle has cleared the base or the crest of the slope.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.