Driving support system and method

Abstract

A driving support system according to the present invention is provided with an actuator for steering steered wheels and performs a driving support control of a vehicle to apply an additional torque to a steering mechanism incorporating the steered wheels, by means of the actuator to steer the steered wheels. The driving support system has an image taking device for taking a forward image ahead the vehicle, a controller for driving the actuator to generate the torque on the steering mechanism on the basis of the forward image acquired by the image taking device, to perform the driving support control, a steering wheel torque detector for detecting a steering wheel torque on a steering wheel, and a control suppressor for prioritizing a steering operation by a driver to the driving support control when a magnitude of the steering wheel torque is not less than a predetermined value. The control suppressor sets the predetermined value so that the predetermined value in a case where a direction of the steering torque for the driving support control agrees with a direction of the steering wheel torque by the driver is larger than the predetermined value in a case where the direction of the steering torque does not agree with the direction of the steering wheel torque. This configuration enables the system to accurately grasp a driver's intension and to prioritize the steering operation by the driver more accurately when the steering operation by the driver should be prioritized to the driving support control.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.