# US 9,434,384 B2 · Vehicle cruise control apparatus and method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,434,384 B2 - Document ID: US9434384B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/482,808 - Filed: 2014-09-10 - Published: 2015-10-15 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - Earliest claimed: 2014-04-15 - Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company - Applicants: Hyundai Motor Company - Inventors: Dong Woo Kim; Ju Hyun Kim - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9434384B2 ## CPC - B60W 30/16: Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle - G06F 3/011: {Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00)} - B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera - B60W 2552/15: Road slope, i.e. the inclination of a road segment in the longitudinal direction - B60W 2552/30: Road curve radius - G06T 19/006: {Mixed reality (object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00)} - 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 - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL ## Abstract A vehicle cruise control apparatus of a vehicle includes a display and a controller. The display displays virtual information by projecting the virtual information on an information display region in front of a driver of the vehicle through augmented reality. The controller determines whether the front road is a slope road or a curved road based on road information while controlling driving of the vehicle according to an inter-vehicle distance and a driving speed of the preceding vehicle, determines whether the preceding vehicle exists in an information display region in front of a driver when it is determined that the front road is the slope road or the curved road, and controls the display to display a virtual preceding vehicle in the information display region through augmented reality when it is determined that the preceding vehicle does not exist. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle cruise control method for performing a vehicle cruise control of a vehicle, comprising steps of: receiving, by a controller of a vehicle cruise control apparatus that is communicatively connected to a navigation terminal, road information on a road located in front of the vehicle from the navigation terminal during a preceding vehicle following cruise; determining, by the controller, whether the road located in front of the vehicle is a slope road or a curved road based on the received road information; determining, by the controller, based on an image captured by a front camera of the vehicle that is communicatively connected to the controller, whether the preceding vehicle is present in an information display region in front of a driver of the vehicle, when it is determined that the road located in front of the vehicle is the slope road or the curved road; and displaying, in a display mounted in the vehicle and communicatively connected to the controller, a virtual preceding vehicle in the information display region through augmented reality when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is not present. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein the road information is classified as one of a straight road, a slope road, and a curved road. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a virtual preceding vehicle comprises steps of: displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and determining whether the preceding vehicle deviates from an inter-vehicle distance detecting range; operating a timer when it is determined the preceding vehicle deviates from the inter-vehicle distance detecting range; determining whether a set time is elapsed by the timer; and stopping displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and following driving when it is determined that the set time is elapsed. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, wherein the step of displaying a virtual preceding vehicle comprises steps of: determining whether a set time is elapsed after displaying the virtual preceding vehicle; and stopping displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and following driving when it is determined that the set time is elapsed. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 4, further comprising steps of: determining whether the preceding vehicle is re-detected in the information display region when it is determined the set time is not elapsed; and switching from a virtual display mode displaying the virtual preceding vehicle to a basic display mode when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is re-detected. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 5, wherein the set time is calculated based on a driving condition including at least one of a driving speed and an inter-vehicle distance set by the driver. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, further comprising step of maintaining a basic display mode, when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is present in the information display region. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 7, further comprising: in the basic display mode, displaying a preceding vehicle indicator at a side of the preceding vehicle located in the information display region. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 8, wherein the preceding vehicle indicator is implemented as a type of at least one of an image, a text, and an animation. ### Claim 10 A vehicle cruise control apparatus, comprising: a front camera configured to obtain a front image of a road in which a vehicle is driving; an inter-vehicle distance detector configured to measure an inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle; a road information provider configured to provide road information on a road located in front of the vehicle; a display configured to display virtual information by projecting the virtual information on an information display region in front of a driver of the vehicle through augmented reality; and a controller communicatively connected to the front camera, the inter-vehicle distance detector, the road information provider, and the display, and configured to: determine whether the road located in front of the vehicle is a slope road or a curved road based on the road information provided by the road information provider while controlling driving of the vehicle according to the inter-vehicle distance measured by the inter-vehicle distance detector and a driving speed of the preceding vehicle, determine whether the preceding vehicle is present in the information display region using the front image obtained by the front camera when it is determined that the road located in front of the vehicle is a slope road or a curved road, and control the display to display a virtual preceding vehicle in the information display region when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is not present. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the controller maps the information display region to the front image and determines whether the preceding vehicle is present in the information display region. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the controller stops the preceding vehicle following cruise when a lane of the vehicle is changed. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the virtual preceding vehicle is indicated in a type of any one of an image, a text, and an animation. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising; a timer configured to transmit an interrupt signal to the controller when a set time has elapsed; wherein the controller operates the timer when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is not present in the information display region after displaying the virtual preceding vehicle, and stops displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and following driving when the interrupt signal is received from the timer. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the controller stops displaying the virtual preceding vehicle and displays a preceding vehicle indicator at a side of the preceding vehicle when it is determined that the preceding vehicle is re-detected in the information display region within the set time. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) A vehicle cruise control method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining whether the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region; and displaying the virtual preceding vehicle as an image other than an image of a vehicle when it is determined that the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) A vehicle cruise control apparatus according to claim 10, wherein: the controller is configured to determine whether the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region; and the display is configured to display the virtual preceding vehicle as an image other than an image of a vehicle when the controller determines that the preceding vehicle deviates from the information display region.