Driving assist apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018326979-A1
Application number	US-201815976559-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 10, 2018
Priority date	May 12, 2017
Publication date	Nov 15, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed is a driving assist apparatus which executes a process for collision avoidance when the possibility of collision of a vehicle with an obstacle is high. When the steering angle of the steering wheel is greater than an angle threshold, the apparatus determines that a driver is trying to avoid the collision by operating the steering wheel and does not execute the collision avoidance process. When the vehicle is making a right turn or a left turn, there arises a possibility that the collision avoidance process is not executed even in a situation where the collision avoidance process must be executed. In view of this, when the vehicle is making a right turn or a left turn, the angle threshold mentioned above is set to a larger value as compared with the case where the vehicle is not making a right turn or a left turn.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A driving assist apparatus comprising:
an obstacle detection section which detects an obstacle present in a heading direction of a vehicle; a steering angle sensor which detects steering angle which is the rotational position of a steering wheel of said vehicle represented by the operation direction of said steering wheel and the operation amount of said steering wheel from its neutral position; a collision possibility determination section which determines whether or not a possibility of said vehicle colliding with said detected obstacle is high; an execution condition determination section which determines that a process execution condition is satisfied when said detected steering angle falls within a range between a rotational position which is a clockwise direction reference position which said steering wheel reaches when said operation direction is a clockwise direction and said operation amount is a predetermined first angle and another rotational position which is a counterclockwise direction reference position which said steering wheel reaches when said operation direction is a counterclockwise direction and said operation amount is a predetermined second angle; and a collision avoidance process execution section which executes a collision avoidance process, including at least one of a process of providing a warning to a driver of said vehicle and a process of decreasing speed of said vehicle, when said collision possibility determination section determines that the possibility of said vehicle colliding with said obstacle is high and said execution condition determination section determines that said process execution condition is satisfied, wherein said execution condition determination section executes at least one of a clockwise adjustment process of changing said clockwise direction reference position to a predetermined third angle larger than said first angle when said vehicle is determined to be making a right turn and a counterclockwise adjustment process of changing said counterclockwise direction reference position to a predetermined fourth angle larger than said second angle when said vehicle is determined to be making a left turn.

2 . A driving assist apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said execution condition determination section executes at least one of a process of determining that said vehicle is making a right turn in the case where a state in which said operation direction is in the clockwise direction and said operation amount is larger than a predetermined clockwise angle threshold continues beyond a predetermined clockwise continuation time at the time when said clockwise adjustment process is performed and a process of determining that said vehicle is making a left turn in the case where a state in which said operation direction is in the counterclockwise direction and said operation amount is larger than a predetermined counterclockwise angle threshold continues beyond a predetermined counterclockwise continuation time at the time when said counterclockwise adjustment process is performed.

3 . A driving assist apparatus comprising:
an obstacle detection section which detects an obstacle present in a heading direction of a vehicle; a steering angle sensor which detects the steering angle of a steering wheel of said vehicle; a collision possibility determination section which determines whether or not a possibility of said vehicle colliding with said detected obstacle is high; an execution condition determination section which determines that a process execution condition is satisfied when said detected steering angle falls within a predetermined angular range; a collision avoidance process execution section which executes a collision avoidance process, including at least one of a process of providing a warning to a driver of said vehicle and a process of decreasing speed of said vehicle, when said collision possibility determination section determines that the possibility of said vehicle colliding with said obstacle is high and said execution condition determination section determines that said process execution condition is satisfied, wherein said execution condition determination section executes at least one of a process of expanding said angular range when said vehicle is determined to be making a right turn such that said angular range becomes wider as compared with said angular range in the case where said vehicle is not determined to be making a right turn and a process of expanding said angular range when said vehicle is determined to be making a left turn such that said angular range becomes wider as compared with said angular range in the case where said vehicle is not determined to be making a left turn.

4 . A driving assist apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said execution condition determination section executes at least one of a process of determining that said vehicle is making a right turn in the case where said steering angle represents a state in which the operation direction of said steering wheel is the clockwise direction and the operation amount of said steering wheel is larger than a predetermined right turn angle and a process of determining that said vehicle is making a left turn in the case where said steering angle represents a state in which the operation direction of said steering wheel is the counterclockwise direction and the operation amount of said steering wheel is larger than a predetermined left turn angle.

5 . A driving assist apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein said execution condition determination section executes at least one of a process of determining that said vehicle is making a right turn in the case where said steering angle represents a state in which the operation direction of said steering wheel is the clockwise direction and the operation amount of said steering wheel is larger than a predetermined right turn angle and a process of determining that said vehicle is making a left turn in the case where said steering angle represents a state in which the operation direction of said steering wheel is the counterclockwise direction and the operation amount of said steering wheel is larger than a predetermined left turn angle.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tsuruoka Noriyuki
• Morotomi Kohei

Classifications

• B60W2520/105

  Longitudinal acceleration · CPC title

• B60W2540/18

  Steering angle · CPC title

• B60W10/20

  including control of steering systems · CPC title

• B60W2050/143

  Alarm means · CPC title

• B60W10/184

  with wheel brakes · CPC title