Vehicular control system with steering adjustment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10994774-B2
Application number	US-201916266183-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 4, 2019
Priority date	Apr 10, 2014
Publication date	May 4, 2021
Grant date	May 4, 2021

Abstract

A vehicular control system includes a forward viewing camera having a field of view forward of the vehicle. A control includes an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera to determine road curvature of a curved section of a road being traveled by the vehicle. Based on the determined road curvature, the control determines tangents to the determined road curvature along the curved section of the road. The control steers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road by adjusting steering of the vehicle to follow the determined tangents to the determined road curvature as the vehicle moves along the curved section of the road.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular control system, said vehicular control system comprising:
a forward viewing camera disposed at an interior-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular control system and having a field of view through the windshield exterior and forward of the equipped vehicle;
said camera comprising at least 1 million photosensor elements arranged in a two-dimensional photosensor array having rows and columns;
a control comprising an image processor operable to process image data captured by said camera;
wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine lane boundaries along opposite sides of a traffic lane occupied by the equipped vehicle as the equipped vehicle moves along a road;
wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine road curvature of a curved section of the road being traveled by the equipped vehicle;
wherein, based on the determined road curvature, said control determines tangents to the determined road curvature along the curved section of the road;
wherein said control steers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road and between the determined lane boundaries by adjusting steering of the equipped vehicle to follow the determined tangents to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road; and
wherein said control steers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road and between the determined lane boundaries at least in part responsive to vehicle yaw rate, vehicle speed and vehicle lateral acceleration.

2. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle to have a wheel of the equipped vehicle parallel to a determined tangent to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road.

3. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle to have a front wheel of the equipped vehicle parallel to a determined tangent to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road.

4. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control determines a heading of the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road and between the determined lane boundaries.

5. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control, at least in part responsive to processing by said image processor of captured image data, maintains the equipped vehicle within the determined lane boundaries of the traffic lane.

6. The vehicular control system of claim 5 , wherein said control applies a steering correction to maintain the equipped vehicle within the determined lane boundaries of the traffic lane.

7. The vehicular control system of claim 6 , wherein the steering correction comprises a torque applied to a steering mechanism of the equipped vehicle.

8. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control, responsive at least in part to processing by said image processor of captured image data, determines an end of the curved section of the road where the road straightens, and wherein said control, responsive to determination that the equipped vehicle is at the end of the curved section of the road where the road straightens, adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle such that the equipped vehicle travels parallel to a tangent of the road after the equipped vehicle has traversed the curved section of the road and is at a straight section of the road.

9. The vehicular control system of claim 8 , wherein, after the equipped vehicle has traversed the curved section and is at the straight section of the road, the equipped vehicle has zero lateral acceleration and zero lateral velocity.

10. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said image processor processes captured image data to detect at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) an object present in the field of view of said camera, (ii) a vehicle present in the field of view of said camera and (iii) a pedestrian present in the field of view of said camera.

11. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera for at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) a vehicle headlamp control system of the equipped vehicle, (ii) a pedestrian detection system of the equipped vehicle, (iii) a collision avoidance system of the equipped vehicle and (iv) a traffic sign recognition system of the equipped vehicle.

12. A vehicular control system, said vehicular control system comprising:
a forward viewing camera disposed at an interior-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle equipped with said vehicular control system and having a field of view through the windshield exterior and forward of the equipped vehicle;
said camera comprising at least 1 million photosensor elements arranged in a two-dimensional photosensor array having rows and columns;
a control comprising an image processor operable to process image data captured by said camera;
wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine road curvature of a curved section of a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle;
wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine lane boundaries along opposite sides of a traffic lane occupied by the equipped vehicle as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road;
wherein, based on the determined road curvature, said control determines tangents to the determined road curvature along the curved section of the road;
wherein said control steers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road and between the determined lane boundaries by adjusting steering of the equipped vehicle to follow the determined tangents to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road;
wherein said control, at least in part responsive to processing by said image processor of captured image data, maintains the equipped vehicle within the determined lane boundaries of the traffic lane as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road;
wherein said control applies a steering correction to maintain the equipped vehicle within the determined lane boundaries of the traffic lane as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road;
wherein said control steers the equipped vehicle along the curved section of the road and between the determined lane boundaries at least in part responsive to vehicle yaw rate, vehicle speed and vehicle lateral acceleration; and
wherein said control, responsive at least in part to processing by said image processor of captured image data, determines an end of the curved section of the road where the road straightens, and wherein said control, responsive to determination that the equipped vehicle is at the end of the curved section of the road where the road straightens, adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle such that the equipped vehicle travels parallel to a tangent of the road after the equipped vehicle has traversed the curved section of the road and is at a straight section of the road.

13. The vehicular control system of claim 12 , wherein said control adjusts steering of the equipped vehicle to have a wheel of the equipped vehicle parallel to a determined tangent to the determined road curvature as the equipped vehicle moves along the curved section of the road.

14. The vehicular control system of claim 12 , wherein the steeri

Assignees

• Magna Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Bajpai Devendra
• Tan Honghao

Classifications

• B62D6/00 Primary

  Arrangements for automatically controlling steering depending on driving conditions sensed and responded to, e.g. control circuits (means for initiating a change in direction B62D1/00; steering valves B62D5/06; combined with means for inclining the vehicle body or wheels on bends B62D9/00) · CPC title

• B62D15/025 Primary

  Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation (B62D1/28 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H04N23/54

  Mounting of pick-up tubes, electronic image sensors, deviation or focusing coils · CPC title

• H04N23/51

  Housings · CPC title

• G06V20/588

  Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road · CPC title