# US 2018/0022336 A1 · Travel control device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0022336 A1 - Document ID: US20180022336A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/548,544 - Filed: 2016-01-28 - Published: 2018-01-25 - Earliest claimed: 2015-02-05 - Assignees: Denso Corporation - Applicants: Denso Corporation - Inventors: Youhei MORIMOTO; Noriaki IKEMOTO; Yuutarou ITOU; Masuhiro KONDO; Takahiro NARITA - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180022336A1 ## CPC - B60W 10/06: including control of combustion engines - B60W 10/08: including control of electric propulsion units, e.g. motors or generators - B60W 10/18: including control of braking systems - B60W 20/12: using control strategies taking into account route information {(estimation or calculation of non-directly measurable driving parameters B60W40/00)} - B60W 30/143: {Speed control (B60W30/16 takes precedence)} - B60W 30/16: Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle - B60W 30/18072: {Coasting} - F02D 29/02: peculiar to engines driving vehicles; peculiar to engines driving variable pitch propellers - F02D 41/021: {Introducing corrections for particular conditions exterior to the engine (conjoint control of vehicle sub-units for propelling the vehicle B60W30/18)} - F02D 41/107: {and deceleration} - B60L 2240/421: Speed - B60W 2520/10: Longitudinal speed - B60W 2520/14: Yaw - B60W 2520/16: Pitch - B60W 2520/18: Roll - B60W 2540/18: Steering angle - B60W 2554/00: Input parameters relating to objects - B60W 2554/802: Longitudinal distance - B60W 2554/804: Relative longitudinal speed - B60W 2555/20: Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain - B60W 2720/12: Lateral speed - F02D 2200/501: Vehicle speed - F02D 2200/70: said parameters being related to the vehicle exterior - F02D 2200/702: Road conditions - F02D 2250/18: Control of the engine output torque - F02N 11/0837: {Environmental conditions thereof, e.g. traffic, weather or road conditions} - F16H 2059/186: {Coasting} - Y02T 10/40: Engine management systems - Y02T 10/60: Other road transportation technologies with climate change mitigation effect - Y02T 10/62: Hybrid vehicles - 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 - F02D: CONTROLLING COMBUSTION ENGINES (vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed B60K31/00; conjoint control of vehicle sub-units of different type or different function, road vehicle drive control systems for purposes other than the control of a single sub-unit B60W) - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - F02N: STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - F16H: GEARING - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A travel control device repeats a burn control that accelerates a vehicle at a target acceleration until speed of the vehicle reaches an upper limit speed of a vehicle speed range and a coasting control that makes the vehicle travel by means of inertia until the speed of the vehicle reaches a lower limit speed of the vehicle speed range. Further, a vehicle speed width that is a width of the vehicle speed range and the target acceleration are changed based on calculated travel resistance. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A travel control device for controlling travel of a vehicle provided with an internal combustion engine, the travel control device comprising: a calculation unit that calculates a travel resistance of the vehicle; and a speed control unit that controls a speed of the vehicle, wherein: the speed control unit is configured to execute a burn-and-coast control that repeatedly executes a burn control which accelerates the vehicle by means of driving force of the internal combustion engine and a coasting control which stops generation of the driving force of the internal combustion engine so that the vehicle travels by means of inertia; the burn control is configured to accelerate the vehicle at a predetermined acceleration until the speed of the vehicle reaches an upper limit of a predetermined vehicle speed range; the coasting control is configured to make the vehicle travel by the inertia until the speed of the vehicle reaches a lower limit of the vehicle speed range; and a vehicle speed width that is a width of the vehicle speed range and the acceleration are changed based on the calculated travel resistance. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, wherein the calculation of the travel resistance by the calculation unit is executed based on a deceleration of the vehicle when the coasting control is executed. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rainfall amount measurement unit that measures a rainfall amount around the vehicle, wherein the calculation of the travel resistance by the calculation unit is executed based on the measured rainfall amount. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a wind speed measurement unit that measures a wind speed around the vehicle, wherein the calculation of the travel resistance by the calculation unit is executed based on the measured wind speed. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising: an inclination measurement unit that measures inclination of the vehicle, wherein the calculation of the travel resistance by the calculation unit is executed based on the measured inclination. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising: an air pressure measurement unit that measures an air pressure of a tire of the vehicle, wherein the calculation of the travel resistance by the calculation unit is executed based on the measured air pressure. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a steering angle measurement unit that measures a steering angle of the vehicle, wherein the calculation of the travel resistance by the calculation unit is executed based on the measured steering angle. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the vehicle speed width and the acceleration is set to be a smaller value as the calculated travel resistance becomes larger. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The travel control device according to claim 8, wherein at least one of a drift amount that is a parameter indicating magnitude of resistance force that the vehicle receives when the speed of the vehicle is a specific value and a change rate that is a parameter indicating a change amount of the magnitude of the resistance force when the speed of the vehicle is changed by a specific amount is used as an index indicating the magnitude of the travel resistance. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The travel control device according to claim 9, wherein an automatic following control that makes the vehicle travel to automatically follow another vehicle travelling ahead of the vehicle is executed. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The travel control device according to claim 10, wherein the burn control and the coasting control are switched based on at least one of a vehicular distance between the vehicle and the other vehicle, and a relative speed of the vehicle against the other vehicle. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The travel control device according to claim 11, wherein in the burn-and-coast control executed when the vehicular distance is in a predetermined first range, the vehicle speed range is defined as a range relating to the relative speed. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The travel control device according to claim 12, wherein when the vehicular distance is less than a minimum distance defined as a distance shorter than a distance in the first range, a control that brakes the vehicle is executed, and when the vehicular distance is less than the distance in the first range and more than the minimum distance, the coasting control is executed without executing the burn control. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The travel control device according to claim 12, wherein when the vehicular distance is more than a distance in the first range, the automatic following control is ended, and the vehicle speed range is defined as a range relating to the speed of the vehicle against the road. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The travel control device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is configured to travel by means of driving force of a rotating electric machine in addition to or instead of the driving force of internal combustion engine.