System with user input for autonomous vehicle control
AssigneeFca US LLC
InventorsTravis D Bechtel, Brandon F Brady, Johannes Blum
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for controlling a vehicle includes a steering actuator, a brake actuator a throttle actuator, an interface device and a control system. The interface device has a drive controller coupled to the brake actuator and the throttle actuator, and a steering controller coupled to the steering actuator. The control system is responsive to actuation of the interface device to change one or both of the speed and direction of the vehicle as compared to the instructions executed by the vehicle controller, and the control system is responsive to actuation of the interface device to adjust the instructions as a function of the actuation of the interface device in at least some operating conditions.
Claims20
A system for controlling a vehicle, comprising:
- a steering actuator arranged to permit adjustment of a direction of travel of the vehicle;
- a brake actuator arranged to permit reduction in a speed of the vehicle;
- a throttle actuator arranged to permit an increase in a speed of the vehicle;
- an interface device having a drive controller adapted to be movable about a pivot axis relative to a base, the drive controller being coupled to the brake actuator and the throttle actuator, and the interface device having a steering controller carried by the drive controller for movement with the drive controller and rotatable relative to the drive controller about an axis of rotation that is not parallel to the pivot axis, and the steering controller is coupled to the steering actuator;
- and
- a control system connected to the steering actuator, the brake actuator and the throttle actuator wherein the control system includes a processor and memory that are arranged to execute instructions to control the speed and direction of the vehicle along a path of travel, and the control system is responsive to actuation of the interface device to change one or both of the speed and direction of the vehicle as compared to the instructions executed by the control system, and wherein the control system is responsive to actuation of the interface device to adjust the instructions as a function of the actuation of the interface device in at least some operating conditions.
A method of controlling a vehicle, including:
- controlling a speed and a direction of a vehicle with a vehicle control system including one or more electronic controllers;
- determining a driver actuation of one or more of a steering controller and a drive controller having one or both of a braking input and a throttle input and allowing the driver actuation to adjust one or both of the speed and direction of the vehicle;
- storing in memory said driver actuation and a context in which the driver actuation occurred;
- and
- adjusting the manner in which the vehicle control system thereafter controls, independent of a driver actuation of the steering controller or the drive controller, one or both of the speed and the direction of the vehicle as a function of the driver actuation and the context in which the driver actuation occurred that is stored in the memory.
A method of controlling a vehicle, including:
- controlling a speed and a direction of a vehicle with a vehicle control system including one or more electronic controllers;
- determining a driver actuation of one or more of a steering controller and a drive controller having one or both of a braking input and a throttle input and allowing the driver actuation to adjust one or both of the speed and direction of the vehicle;
- storing in memory said driver actuation and a context in which the driver actuation occurred;
- and
- adjusting the manner in which the vehicle control system controls one or both of the speed and the direction of the vehicle as a function of the driver actuation, wherein controlling the direction of the vehicle includes at least controlling a lateral position of the vehicle within a lane of a road on which the vehicle is traveling and wherein, after repeated driver actuations of the steering controller to change the lateral position of the vehicle within the lane, the vehicle control system changes a setting relating to the lateral position of the vehicle within the lane of the road on which the vehicle is traveling.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.