# US 2019/0315355 A1 · Cruise control device

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- Number: US 2019/0315355 A1
- Document ID: US20190315355A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/421,954
- Filed: 2019-05-24
- Published: 2019-10-17
- Earliest claimed: 2016-11-29
- Assignees: Denso Corporation; Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Denso Corporation; Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Mitsuhiro TOKIMASA; Takuma SUDO; Takashi MAEDA; Naoki KUSUMOTO
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190315355A1

## CPC

- B60W 30/16: Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
- B60K 31/00: Vehicle fittings, acting on a single sub-unit only, for automatically controlling vehicle speed, i.e. preventing speed from exceeding an arbitrarily established velocity or maintaining speed at a particular velocity, as selected by the vehicle operator
- B60W 30/14: {Adaptive} cruise control
- B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
- B60W 2554/00: Input parameters relating to objects
- B60W 2554/4026: Cycles
- B60W 2554/801: Lateral distance
- B60W 2554/802: Longitudinal distance
- B60W 2554/804: Relative longitudinal speed
- B60W 2720/106: Longitudinal acceleration
- B60W 2754/10: Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
- B60W 2754/30: Longitudinal distance
- B60W 2754/50: Relative longitudinal speed
- 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
- B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES

## Abstract

A cruise control device applied to a vehicle including a target detection unit and including a following control unit includes a determination unit configured to determine, during the period of execution of following control, whether a small vehicle switching state in which a following target is a small vehicle has occurred or not, an upper limit storage unit configured to store, as an upper limit value, a target acceleration set before determination as the small vehicle switching state by the determination unit under a condition where the determination unit determines that the small vehicle switching state has occurred, and a target acceleration setting unit configured to set the target acceleration to equal to or lower than the upper limit value stored in the upper limit storage unit during a period until the following control performed for the switched small vehicle as the following target ends.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A cruise control device applied to a vehicle including a target detection unit configured to detect targets present in front of an own vehicle in a cruising direction thereof, including a following control unit configured to recognize, as a following target, a target for following among the targets detected by the target detection unit, to set a target acceleration such that the following is performed with a target inter-vehicular distance being maintained with respect to the following target, and to perform a following control of controlling an acceleration of the own vehicle based on the set target acceleration while the own vehicle is following the following target, and setting the target acceleration such that a speed of the following target relative to the own vehicle is increased by a predetermined speed in a case where a distance between the own vehicle and the following target becomes shorter than the target inter-vehicular distance during a period of execution of the following control by the following control unit, the cruise control device comprising:
a determination unit configured to determine whether a small vehicle switching state has occurred or not, the following target having been switched to the target different from the target recognized as the following target so far during the period of execution of the following control by the following control unit and a vehicle type of the switched target being a small vehicle in the small vehicle switching state;
an upper limit storage unit configured to store, as an upper limit value, the target acceleration set before determination as the small vehicle switching state by the determination unit under a condition where the determination unit determines that the small vehicle switching state has occurred; and
a target acceleration setting unit configured to set the target acceleration to equal to or lower than the upper limit value stored in the upper limit storage unit during a period until the following control performed for the target, which has been determined as the small vehicle, as the following target ends after the determination unit has determined that the small vehicle switching state has occurred.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
the target acceleration setting unit cancels the control of setting the target acceleration to equal to or lower than the upper limit value under a condition where the distance between the own vehicle and the following target is longer than a predetermined distance.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
the determination unit determines that the following target has been switched to the target different from the target recognized as the following target under a condition where the distance between the own vehicle and the following target becomes shorter than the predetermined distance during the period of execution of the following control.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein
the predetermined distance is a distance shorter than the target inter-vehicular distance and longer than a rapid deceleration distance required to avoid the own vehicle if the own vehicle rapidly slows down.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The cruise control device according to claim 2, wherein
the predetermined distance is set equal to the target inter-vehicular distance.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
in a case where the upper limit value stored in the upper limit storage unit is a negative value, the target acceleration setting unit limits the target acceleration with the upper limit value being taken as an upper limit.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
in a case where the upper limit value stored in the upper limit storage unit is a positive value, the target acceleration setting unit limits the target acceleration with zero being taken as the upper limit.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
the switched following target is a motorcycle, and
the target acceleration setting unit is configured to use the upper limit storage unit as the motorcycle accelerates, even in a situation where the motorcycle has accelerated to pass the target that has been recognized as the following target so far, the own vehicle is prevented from approaching the target which has been recognized as the following target before the motorcycle at an acceleration exceeding the stored upper limit.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
the target detection unit includes an image capturing device configured to capture at least an image in front of the own vehicle in the cruising direction thereof, and
the determination unit determines, based on information on the image captured by the image capturing device, whether a type of the following target is the small vehicle.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The cruise control device according to claim 1, wherein
the target inter-vehicular distance is set longer as a speed of the own vehicle increases.

### Claim 11

A cruise control device applied to a vehicle including a target detection unit configured to detect targets present in front of an own vehicle in a cruising direction thereof, including a following control unit configured to recognize, as a following target, a target for following among the targets detected by the target detection unit, to set a target acceleration or target speed such that the following is performed with a target inter-vehicular distance being maintained with respect to the following target, and to perform a following control of controlling an acceleration of the own vehicle based on the set target acceleration or target speed while the own vehicle is following the following target, and setting the target acceleration or target speed such that a speed of the following target relative to the own vehicle is increased by a predetermined speed in a case where a distance between the own vehicle and the following target becomes shorter than the target inter-vehicular distance during a period of execution of the following control by the following control unit, the cruise control device comprising:
a determination unit configured to determine whether a small vehicle switching state has occurred or not, the following target having been switched to the target different from the target recognized as the following target so far during the period of execution of the following control by the following control unit and a vehicle type of the switched target being a small vehicle in the small vehicle switching state;
an upper limit storage unit configured to store, as an upper limit value, the target acceleration or target speed set before determination as the small vehicle switching state by the determination unit under a condition where the determination unit determines that the small vehicle switching state has occurred; and
a target acceleration setting unit configured to set the target acceleration or target speed to equal to or lower than the upper limit value stored in the upper limit storage unit during a period until the following control performed for the target, which has been determined as the small vehicle, as the following target ends after the determination unit has determined that the small vehicle switching state has occurred.