US 6,571,176 B1Granted

Vehicle travel safety device

AssigneeHonda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsTomoyuki Shinmura, Kenji Kodaka

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Abstract

A steering actuator is prevented from generating excess steering torque that gives an uncomfortable feeling to a driver who is holding a steering wheel when a collision between a vehicle and an oncoming vehicle is avoided by automatic steering by the actuator. When there is a possibility of a collision between the vehicle and an oncoming vehicle, the collision with the oncoming vehicle is avoided by supplying a lateral movement control current having a sinusoidal shape to the actuator of an electric power steering device to move the vehicle laterally. The yaw angle of the vehicle is detected by integrating the yaw rate simultaneously with the start of the lateral movement, and in order to return the vehicle attitude of the vehicle to its original state by converging the yaw angle to 0 in the final stage of the lateral movement, a yaw angle correction control current is superimposed on the lateral movement control current and supplied to the actuator. By using the current supplied to the actuator (that is, the steering torque generated by the actuator) as the steering target value for avoiding a collision instead of the steering angle, the actuator can be prevented from generating excess steering torque which gives an uncomfortable feeling to a driver.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A vehicle travel safety device comprising:

an object sensing means for detecting an object present in the direction in which a vehicle is traveling,
a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle,
a relationship calculating means for detecting an oncoming vehicle based upon the output of the object detecting means and the speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detecting means and calculating the relationship between the vehicle and the oncoming vehicle,
a correct route setting means for setting a correct route for the vehicle to pass the oncoming vehicle,
a collision position predicting means for determining a predicted collision position where the vehicle is presumed to collide with the oncoming vehicle based upon the relationship calculated by the relationship calculating means and the vehicle speed,
a collision avoidance steering torque calculating means for calculating a lateral movement steering torque required to avoid a collision with the oncoming vehicle by moving the vehicle laterally on the basis of a comparison between the predicted collision position and the correct route,
an actuator for steering the vehicle, and
an actuator control means for controlling the driving of the actuator based upon the lateral movement steering torque calculated by the collision avoidance steering torque calculating means.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/593,812Filed 15 Jun 2000
Priority: JP 11-16961916 Jun 1999
Granted: 27 May 2003
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

B62D 15/0265
Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation: automatic obstacle…
B60T 7/22
For automatic initiation; for initiation not subject to will of driver or passenger: initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an…
B60T 8/17558
Brake regulation specially adapted to control the stability of the vehicle, e.g. taking into account yaw rate or transverse acceleration in a…
B60T 2201/022
Active or adaptive cruise control system; Distance control: collision avoidance systems