Vehicle control system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11167764-B2
Application number	US-201916369385-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2019
Priority date	Apr 2, 2018
Publication date	Nov 9, 2021
Grant date	Nov 9, 2021

Abstract

A vehicle control system includes a control part in which a public road mode that is selected at a time of traveling on a public road and a non-public road mode of a setting that is suitable for a travel in a non-public road region are set as a travel mode, wherein the control part is configured to allow a safety protection component of a vehicle to perform a normal operation that is required at a time of traveling on a public road when the public road mode is selected and is configured to allow the safety protection component to perform an alarm operation that is different from the normal operation when the non-public road mode is selected.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle control system capable of switching a travel mode of a vehicle, the vehicle control system comprising:
a smart key system that performs a communication between the vehicle and a smart key which is portable by a driver and performs locking and unlocking of each part of the vehicle based on a result of the communication; and
a hardware controller executing software, hardware including circuitry, or a cooperation of the software and the hardware configured to set, as the travel mode, a public road mode or a non-public road mode,
wherein the public road mode is selected at a time of traveling on a public road and the non-public road mode is selected at a time of traveling on a non-public road region,
wherein the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware facilitates a normal operation of at least one of a group consisting of a winker, a horn, a meter, a headlight, a stop lamp, and a tail lamp of the vehicle when the public road mode is selected and facilitates an alarm operation of the at least one of the group consisting of the winker, the horn, the meter, the headlight, the stop lamp, and the tail lamp when the non-public road mode is selected, wherein the alarm operation is different from the normal operation, wherein
the alarm operation is an operation that notifies at least one of the group consisting of the driver and vehicle surroundings of an abnormality that indicates the vehicle is in the non-public road mode, and
wherein the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware determines whether or not selection of the non-public road mode is permitted in accordance with a reception situation of a radio wave that is emitted by the smart key.

2. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one of the group consisting of the winker, the horn, the meter, the headlight, the stop lamp, and the tail lamp continues during selecting the non-public road mode.

3. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation includes an intermittent operation of the horn.

4. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , further comprising an operation detection means capable of detecting whether the vehicle is in a travel state,
wherein the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware facilitates the selection of the non-public road mode at a time of traveling in a situation in which the radio wave that is emitted by the smart key is not received.

5. The vehicle control system according to claim 4 ,
wherein the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware facilitates the selection of the non-public road mode when the radio wave that is emitted by the smart key is not received for a certain period of time.

6. The vehicle control system according to claim 4 ,
wherein the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware facilitates the selection of the non-public road mode when stopping in a situation in which the radio wave that is emitted by the smart key is not received.

7. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware sets the travel mode to the public road mode when a main switch of the vehicle is turned off.

8. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 ,
wherein when an engine is stopped at a time of traveling in the non-public road mode, the hardware controller, the hardware including the circuitry, or the cooperation of the software and the hardware permits a restart of the engine by at least one of the group consisting of a prescribed state and a prescribed operation regardless of a reception situation of a radio wave of the smart key.

9. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation is an operation that notifies in an auditory manner based on an intermittent operation of the horn.

10. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation is an operation that notifies in a visual manner based on alternative blinking of the winker.

11. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation is an operation that notifies in a visual manner based on blinking of the headlight.

12. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation is an operation that notifies in a visual manner based on blinking of the tail lamp.

13. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation is an operation that notifies in a visual manner based on blinking of the stop lamp.

14. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm operation is an operation that notifies in a visual manner based on switching of a display screen of the meter.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Inada Kyosuke
• Hosokawa Fuyuki

Classifications

• B60W2552/05

  Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads · CPC title

• B60W30/182 Primary

  Selecting between different operative modes, e.g. comfort and performance modes · CPC title

• B60Q1/50

  for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking · CPC title

• B60T8/1706

  for single-track vehicles, e.g. motorcycles · CPC title

• B60Q5/005

  automatically actuated · CPC title