WO2003002367A1 - Warning system - Google Patents
Warning system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2003002367A1 WO2003002367A1 PCT/GB2002/002766 GB0202766W WO03002367A1 WO 2003002367 A1 WO2003002367 A1 WO 2003002367A1 GB 0202766 W GB0202766 W GB 0202766W WO 03002367 A1 WO03002367 A1 WO 03002367A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- vehicle
- driver
- cruise control
- setting means
- manual setting
- Prior art date
Links
- 230000003044 adaptive effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 13
- 230000035945 sensitivity Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 8
- 230000000994 depressogenic effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000001133 acceleration Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000007794 irritation Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000000116 mitigating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000035755 proliferation Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- 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
- B60W30/00—Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
- B60W30/14—Adaptive cruise control
- B60W30/16—Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- 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
- B60K31/00—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
- B60K31/0008—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 including means for detecting potential obstacles in vehicle path
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- 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
- B60W50/00—Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
- B60W50/08—Interaction between the driver and the control system
- B60W50/14—Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
- B60W2050/143—Alarm means
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a forward alert or collision warning system for a motor vehicle that serves to warn a driver of impending danger.
- Forward alert or collision warning systems that estimate a level of danger when they predict that a threshold level of deceleration will need to be exceeded in order to avoid a collision.
- Such system receive signals indicative of the vehicle speed and signals from a forward looking radar indicative of the distance to the vehicle or obstacle ahead. From derivatives of these signals and classical Newtonian mechanics, the system can estimate the distance at which the vehicle ahead will come to a stop (assuming it maintains its current level of deceleration) and the deceleration required of the vehicle in which the system is installed for it to come to a stop inside that distance and thereby avoid collision. Should the level of deceleration exceed a given threshold, then a warning is given to the driver.
- forward alert warning systems are regarded by drivers as being either too cautious or too optimistic.
- a warning system that is too sensitive will provide an alarm signal in situations where the driver does not require one, for example during his/her normal driving style, if the driver is in the habit of braking harder than the chosen deceleration threshold.
- a system with low sensitivity on the other hand will not provide a warning until the situation has developed to a higher level of danger than one with which the driver is comfortable.
- the optimum sensitivity will vary not only from driver to driver but also from one time to another with, the same driver. For the above reasons, warning systems have come to be regarded as a nuisance or else they have been perceived as being useless.
- US-5,631,639 it is known from US-5,631,639 to provide a vehicle forward alert warning system that includes a selector which allows the driver to set the alarm sensitivity.
- Forward looking radar is currently used not only in forward alert warning systems but also in adaptive cruise control system.
- Normal cruise control systems only act to maintain a constant vehicle speed and may result in the system vehicle driving too close to the vehicle ahead.
- adaptive cruise control on the other hand, an additional control is provided to set the desired headway, this being indicative of the time between the vehicle ahead and the system vehicle passing the same point on the road.
- the headway is of course not a fixed distance but one that increases as the vehicle speed increases.
- the present invention provides a vehicle fitted with both an adaptive cruise control system and a forward alert warning system, each of the two systems being selectively capable of actuation by the vehicle driver independently of the other, wherein the adaptive cruise control system includes manual setting means for enabling the driver to set the desired headway, which manual setting means additionally serve to set the sensitivity of the forward alert warning system when the latter is actuated by the driver.
- the same control as is used by the driver to set the headway in the adaptive cruise control system serves as the means for adjusting the reference deceleration limit in the forward alert warning system.
- the same control will serve to set the headway or acceleration threshold.
- the control is intuitive as both these settings will depend in the same way on the driver's current driving style.
- an aggressive driving style is adopted, the driver will wish to set a reduced sensitivity of the forward alert warning system and a reduced headway of the cruise control system. Moving the control in a manner to reduce the current setting will therefore achieve either of these objectives.
- the manual setting means preferably comprise UP/DOWN buttons, but it would be alternatively possible to provide a linear slider or a rotary control knob.
- the drawing shows an adaptive cruise control system ACC and a forward alert warning system FAW.
- Each of the ACC and FAW systems includes a microprocessor 10, 110 which is connected to a respective ON/OFF button 12,112 and to a radar sensor 14, 114 which determines the distance between the system vehicle and the vehicle ahead.
- radar is used herein to include any means of estimating the distance to the vehicle ahead, regardless of the nature of the energy that is transmitted and reflected. In particular, it may rely on infrared radiation rather than radiation in the microwave band.
- the term “the system vehicle” is used herein to refer to the vehicle to which the warning system is fitted in order to distinguish it from "the vehicle ahead", i.e. the vehicle being followed by the system vehicle.
- microprocessors 10 and 110 and radars 14, 114 can be considered as separate items but they are of course one and the same and it is only the tasks performed by the microprocessor that provide alarm warnings or set the vehicle speed.
- the ACC system is actuated by operating the ON/OFF button 12.
- the microprocessor 10 receives signals indicating the current speed of the vehicle and compares it with a speed that is stored in memory when a SET button 18 is depressed.
- the microprocessor then acts on the vehicle speed controls 22 (which can include the demand pedal, the brakes and the transmission ratio) in order to match the actual speed with the desired speed.
- This is the conventional cruise control function which can be temporarily disabled by clearing the memory, which occurs when the RESET button 20 is depressed or when the driver applied the brakes.
- the "adaptive" aspect of the cruise control is achieved with the aid of the signal from the radar 14.
- the vehicle speed is reduced to a value below the maximum speed set by the driver to avoid driving too near to the vehicle ahead.
- the headway is set by the driver using the UP/DOWN buttons 24 and 26.
- the forward alert system FAW is switched on by the driver using the button 112. The reason for having a button to switch the FAW system off is that during town driving the system tends to produce too many unwanted alarm warnings and becomes an irritation to the driver rather than a safety feature .
- the microprocessor 110 While the FAW system is operative, the microprocessor 110 constantly performs calculations on the distance from the vehicle ahead, to ascertain the speed and deceleration of the vehicle ahead. This allows the microprocessor to predict where the vehicle ahead will come to a standstill if it continues to decelerate at its current rate and the distance within which the system vehicle will need to come to a stop to avoid colliding with the vehicle ahead. This level of deceleration required to avoid collision is compared with a preset threshold and an alarm warning generator 116 which produces visible and audible signals is activated to alert the driver to the danger ahead and thereby allow the driver to take early evasive action.
- the deceleration threshold is preset by the driver using the same UP/DOWN buttons 24 and 26 as used by the ACC system to set the headway.
- These button in common with the SET and RESET buttons 18 and 20 and the ON/OFF buttons 12 and 112 may conveniently be mounted on the steering wheel of the vehicle for ease of operation by the driver.
- buttons 24 and 26 to set two different but intuitively related parameters reduced the total number of buttons thereby avoiding confusion to the driver at the same time as reducing system cost.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Transportation (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
- Control Of Driving Devices And Active Controlling Of Vehicle (AREA)
- Controls For Constant Speed Travelling (AREA)
- Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
Abstract
A vehicle is described which is fitted with both an adaptive cruise control system ACC and a forward alert warning system FAW, each of the two systems is selectively capable of actuation by the vehicle driver independently of the other. The adaptive cruise control system ACC includes manual setting means 24, 26 for enabling the driver to set the desired headway. The same manual setting means 24, 26 additionally serve to set the sensitivity of the forward alert warning system when the latter is actuated by the driver.
Description
Warning System
The present invention relates to a forward alert or collision warning system for a motor vehicle that serves to warn a driver of impending danger.
Forward alert or collision warning systems that estimate a level of danger when they predict that a threshold level of deceleration will need to be exceeded in order to avoid a collision. Such system receive signals indicative of the vehicle speed and signals from a forward looking radar indicative of the distance to the vehicle or obstacle ahead. From derivatives of these signals and classical Newtonian mechanics, the system can estimate the distance at which the vehicle ahead will come to a stop (assuming it maintains its current level of deceleration) and the deceleration required of the vehicle in which the system is installed for it to come to a stop inside that distance and thereby avoid collision. Should the level of deceleration exceed a given threshold, then a warning is given to the driver.
Depending on the driver's preferences, forward alert warning systems are regarded by drivers as being either too cautious or too optimistic. A warning system that is too sensitive will provide an alarm signal in situations where the driver does not require one, for example during his/her normal driving style, if the driver is in the habit of braking harder than the chosen deceleration threshold. A system with low sensitivity on the other hand will not provide a warning until the situation has developed to a higher level of danger than one with which the driver is comfortable. The optimum sensitivity will vary not only from driver to driver but also from one time to another with, the same driver.
For the above reasons, warning systems have come to be regarded as a nuisance or else they have been perceived as being useless. To avoid the above problem, it is known from US-5,631,639 to provide a vehicle forward alert warning system that includes a selector which allows the driver to set the alarm sensitivity.
Forward looking radar is currently used not only in forward alert warning systems but also in adaptive cruise control system. Normal cruise control systems only act to maintain a constant vehicle speed and may result in the system vehicle driving too close to the vehicle ahead. With adaptive cruise control, on the other hand, an additional control is provided to set the desired headway, this being indicative of the time between the vehicle ahead and the system vehicle passing the same point on the road. The headway is of course not a fixed distance but one that increases as the vehicle speed increases.
In a vehicle, fitted with both types of system, there is a confusing proliferation of controls and settings.
With a view to mitigating the foregoing disadvantage, the present invention provides a vehicle fitted with both an adaptive cruise control system and a forward alert warning system, each of the two systems being selectively capable of actuation by the vehicle driver independently of the other, wherein the adaptive cruise control system includes manual setting means for enabling the driver to set the desired headway, which manual setting means additionally serve to set the sensitivity of the forward alert warning system when the latter is actuated by the driver.
In present invention, in a vehicle fitted with both forward alert warning and adaptive cruise control systems, the same control as is used by the driver to set the headway in the adaptive cruise control system serves as the means
for adjusting the reference deceleration limit in the forward alert warning system.
When either one of the forward alert warning and adaptive cruise control system is actuated, the same control will serve to set the headway or acceleration threshold. The control is intuitive as both these settings will depend in the same way on the driver's current driving style. When an aggressive driving style is adopted, the driver will wish to set a reduced sensitivity of the forward alert warning system and a reduced headway of the cruise control system. Moving the control in a manner to reduce the current setting will therefore achieve either of these objectives.
If both system are' actuated at the same time, then the setting of the headway will automatically correctly dictate the sensitivity of the forward alert warning system avoiding the driver having to find a balance between two separate controls .
The manual setting means preferably comprise UP/DOWN buttons, but it would be alternatively possible to provide a linear slider or a rotary control knob.
The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a highly schematic block diagram illustrating the present invention.
The drawing shows an adaptive cruise control system ACC and a forward alert warning system FAW. Each of the ACC and FAW systems includes a microprocessor 10, 110 which is connected to a respective ON/OFF button 12,112 and to a radar sensor 14, 114 which determines the distance between the system vehicle and the vehicle ahead.
The term "radar" is used herein to include any means of estimating the distance to the vehicle ahead, regardless of the nature of the energy that is transmitted and reflected. In particular, it may rely on infrared radiation rather than radiation in the microwave band. To avoid confusion, the term "the system vehicle" is used herein to refer to the vehicle to which the warning system is fitted in order to distinguish it from "the vehicle ahead", i.e. the vehicle being followed by the system vehicle.
The microprocessors 10 and 110 and radars 14, 114 can be considered as separate items but they are of course one and the same and it is only the tasks performed by the microprocessor that provide alarm warnings or set the vehicle speed.
The ACC system is actuated by operating the ON/OFF button 12. When operative, the microprocessor 10 receives signals indicating the current speed of the vehicle and compares it with a speed that is stored in memory when a SET button 18 is depressed. The microprocessor then acts on the vehicle speed controls 22 (which can include the demand pedal, the brakes and the transmission ratio) in order to match the actual speed with the desired speed. This is the conventional cruise control function which can be temporarily disabled by clearing the memory, which occurs when the RESET button 20 is depressed or when the driver applied the brakes.
The "adaptive" aspect of the cruise control is achieved with the aid of the signal from the radar 14. When the headway (measured in units of time rather than distance) between the system vehicle from the vehicle ahead drops below a certain threshold then the vehicle speed is reduced to a value below the maximum speed set by the driver to avoid driving too near to the vehicle ahead. The headway is set by the driver using the UP/DOWN buttons 24 and 26.
The forward alert system FAW is switched on by the driver using the button 112. The reason for having a button to switch the FAW system off is that during town driving the system tends to produce too many unwanted alarm warnings and becomes an irritation to the driver rather than a safety feature .
While the FAW system is operative, the microprocessor 110 constantly performs calculations on the distance from the vehicle ahead, to ascertain the speed and deceleration of the vehicle ahead. This allows the microprocessor to predict where the vehicle ahead will come to a standstill if it continues to decelerate at its current rate and the distance within which the system vehicle will need to come to a stop to avoid colliding with the vehicle ahead. This level of deceleration required to avoid collision is compared with a preset threshold and an alarm warning generator 116 which produces visible and audible signals is activated to alert the driver to the danger ahead and thereby allow the driver to take early evasive action.
In accordance with the invention, the deceleration threshold is preset by the driver using the same UP/DOWN buttons 24 and 26 as used by the ACC system to set the headway. These button, in common with the SET and RESET buttons 18 and 20 and the ON/OFF buttons 12 and 112 may conveniently be mounted on the steering wheel of the vehicle for ease of operation by the driver.
Using the same buttons 24 and 26 to set two different but intuitively related parameters reduced the total number of buttons thereby avoiding confusion to the driver at the same time as reducing system cost.
Claims
1. A vehicle fitted with both an adaptive cruise control system (ACC) and a forward alert warning system
(FAW) , each of the two systems being selectively capable of actuation by the vehicle driver independently of the other, wherein the adaptive cruise control system (ACC) includes manual setting means (24,26) for enabling the driver to set the desired headway, which manual setting means (24,26) additionally serve to set the sensitivity of the forward alert warning system (FAW) when the latter is actuated by the driver.
2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the manual setting means comprise of UP/DOWN buttons (24,26).
3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , wherein the manual setting means are mounted on a steering wheel of the vehicle.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| EP02727793A EP1399326A1 (en) | 2001-06-29 | 2002-06-14 | Warning system |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBGB0115922.7A GB0115922D0 (en) | 2001-06-29 | 2001-06-29 | Warning system |
| GB0115922.7 | 2001-06-29 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| WO2003002367A1 true WO2003002367A1 (en) | 2003-01-09 |
Family
ID=9917606
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/GB2002/002766 WO2003002367A1 (en) | 2001-06-29 | 2002-06-14 | Warning system |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP1399326A1 (en) |
| GB (2) | GB0115922D0 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2003002367A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2006062452A1 (en) * | 2004-12-10 | 2006-06-15 | Volvo Lastvagnar Ab | Method and computer program at a vehicle for adjusting the distance to a vehicle ahead |
Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5631639A (en) * | 1994-04-20 | 1997-05-20 | Nippondenso Co., Ltd. | Collision alarm system for automotive vehicle |
| EP0876935A1 (en) * | 1997-05-07 | 1998-11-11 | MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Aktiengesellschaft | Selector lever and operation of a cruise controller with inter-vehicle distance regulator |
| EP1101647A2 (en) * | 1999-11-19 | 2001-05-23 | FIAT AUTO S.p.A. | Method and device for automatic speed and distance control of a vehicle |
Family Cites Families (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP3889131B2 (en) * | 1997-09-30 | 2007-03-07 | 本田技研工業株式会社 | Vehicle travel control device |
| DE19937818A1 (en) * | 1999-08-11 | 2001-02-15 | Continental Teves Ag & Co Ohg | Method and device for controlling a vehicle brake system |
-
2001
- 2001-06-29 GB GBGB0115922.7A patent/GB0115922D0/en not_active Ceased
-
2002
- 2002-06-14 WO PCT/GB2002/002766 patent/WO2003002367A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2002-06-14 GB GB0213697A patent/GB2379750B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 2002-06-14 EP EP02727793A patent/EP1399326A1/en not_active Ceased
Patent Citations (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US5631639A (en) * | 1994-04-20 | 1997-05-20 | Nippondenso Co., Ltd. | Collision alarm system for automotive vehicle |
| EP0876935A1 (en) * | 1997-05-07 | 1998-11-11 | MAN Nutzfahrzeuge Aktiengesellschaft | Selector lever and operation of a cruise controller with inter-vehicle distance regulator |
| EP1101647A2 (en) * | 1999-11-19 | 2001-05-23 | FIAT AUTO S.p.A. | Method and device for automatic speed and distance control of a vehicle |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2006062452A1 (en) * | 2004-12-10 | 2006-06-15 | Volvo Lastvagnar Ab | Method and computer program at a vehicle for adjusting the distance to a vehicle ahead |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP1399326A1 (en) | 2004-03-24 |
| GB2379750B (en) | 2005-03-09 |
| GB0213697D0 (en) | 2002-07-24 |
| GB0115922D0 (en) | 2001-08-22 |
| GB2379750A (en) | 2003-03-19 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| EP0897824B1 (en) | Adaptive cruise control system with mode change display | |
| US9365113B2 (en) | Cruise control system for motor vehicles | |
| US6945346B2 (en) | Method for operating a driver support system for motor vehicles | |
| JP5136685B2 (en) | Vehicle travel control device | |
| US7117077B2 (en) | Speed control with stop function | |
| JP5195672B2 (en) | Vehicle control device, vehicle, and vehicle control method | |
| US20070213905A1 (en) | Driver assistance system having a safety function | |
| EP3707045B1 (en) | Warning and adjusting the longitudinal speed of a motor vehicle based on the recognized road traffic lights | |
| GB2375190A (en) | Lane-keeping and speed regulating equipment for a motor vehicle | |
| US20090321229A1 (en) | "turn-signal switch for a motor vehicle which has an adaptive cruise control" | |
| JP2006500270A (en) | Method and apparatus for initiating an automatic emergency braking process for a vehicle | |
| JP2002512148A (en) | How to shorten braking distance | |
| JP2005153563A (en) | Vehicular driving operation assisting device and vehicle having vehicular driving operation assisting device | |
| JP3838005B2 (en) | Vehicle collision prevention device | |
| US20170009691A1 (en) | Emergency vehicle control device | |
| EP2388160B1 (en) | Motor vehicle distance information system and method | |
| JP2006507177A (en) | Speed controller with multiple drive modes | |
| JP2009023481A (en) | Vehicle control device | |
| EP1824700B1 (en) | Method and computer program at a vehicle for adjusting the distance to a vehicle ahead | |
| US20230136773A1 (en) | Driver Assistance System for a Motor Vehicle | |
| JPH1131299A (en) | Vehicle traveling controller | |
| JP2003205764A (en) | Travel controller for vehicle | |
| WO2003002367A1 (en) | Warning system | |
| EP1112889B1 (en) | Method and system for providing a headway function to an adaptive speed control activation switch | |
| US11167760B2 (en) | Vehicle alarming system |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| AK | Designated states |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): US |
|
| AL | Designated countries for regional patents |
Kind code of ref document: A1 Designated state(s): AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LU MC NL PT SE TR |
|
| 121 | Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application | ||
| WWE | Wipo information: entry into national phase |
Ref document number: 2002727793 Country of ref document: EP |
|
| WWP | Wipo information: published in national office |
Ref document number: 2002727793 Country of ref document: EP |
|
| WWR | Wipo information: refused in national office |
Ref document number: 2002727793 Country of ref document: EP |
|
| WWW | Wipo information: withdrawn in national office |
Ref document number: 2002727793 Country of ref document: EP |