EP1820173B1 - Apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle in relation to keeping the safety distance with respect to a vehicle or obstacle in front - Google Patents

Apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle in relation to keeping the safety distance with respect to a vehicle or obstacle in front Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1820173B1
EP1820173B1 EP05818901A EP05818901A EP1820173B1 EP 1820173 B1 EP1820173 B1 EP 1820173B1 EP 05818901 A EP05818901 A EP 05818901A EP 05818901 A EP05818901 A EP 05818901A EP 1820173 B1 EP1820173 B1 EP 1820173B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
vehicle
processing
control unit
signal
distance
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP05818901A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1820173A1 (en
Inventor
Marco Morocutti
Roberto Cerruti
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
EC Elettronica Srl
Original Assignee
EC Elettronica Srl
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by EC Elettronica Srl filed Critical EC Elettronica Srl
Publication of EP1820173A1 publication Critical patent/EP1820173A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1820173B1 publication Critical patent/EP1820173B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
    • G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
    • G08G1/16—Anti-collision systems
    • G08G1/161—Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle, particularly for keeping the safety distance with respect to a vehicle in front.
  • the invention relates to an apparatus for assisted driving, which is capable of giving an indication of the degree of risk that the vehicle driver is running at a given instant in relation to the distance from the vehicle in front.
  • the driver acts so as to keep a distance which he believes is optimum with respect to the vehicles in front.
  • the assurance of avoiding collision is therefore entrusted exclusively to a subjective assessment, which he performs by viewing the external scene and by means of the instruments provided on board the vehicle.
  • the assessment of one's own speed can be determined, with a varying degree of precision, by viewing the scene and/or by reading the indications of the onboard speedometer.
  • the distance from the vehicle in front, or in any case the obstacle-free space, must instead be assessed exclusively by viewing the scene, since in common practice currently there are no instruments capable of giving this indication objectively.
  • US 5 278 764 discloses an automatic braking system with proximity detection to a preceding vehicle having a combination of features as set forth in the pre-characterizing portion of the appended claim 1.
  • the aim of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle which allows to objectivize the assessments of the distance from the vehicle in front which the driver normally performs subjectively.
  • an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for assisted driving which allows to provide the driver with a constantly updated degree of risk.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for assisted driving which is capable of giving the driver an assessment of the risk of collision in an extremely straightforward and simple way.
  • Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for assisted driving which also takes into account the environmental conditions in order to assess the risk status.
  • a further object of the present invention is to provide an assisted driving apparatus which is highly reliable, relatively simple to manufacture and at competitive costs.
  • an apparatus for assisted driving particularly for maintaining the safety distance between two vehicles, as defined in the appended claims.
  • An apparatus comprises at least one sensor 2, which is adapted to measure the obstacle-free space in the direction of travel of the vehicle and at the same time to determine the relative speed with respect to the vehicle (or obstacle) in front.
  • sensor can be constituted conveniently by a radar device, which operates by emitting a narrow microwave beam 3 in the forward direction of the vehicle, said beam being reflected by a vehicle or obstacle 4 that lies ahead and then reaching again the radar sensor device 2.
  • the reflected beam is designated by the reference numeral 5 in the figure.
  • the sensor device 2 comprises a processing circuit 6, which compares the signal emitted by the radar sensor 2 with the reflected signal and obtains from them an additional signal in order to determine the distance and relative-speed information.
  • This signal is conveniently sent to a processing and control unit 7, which further receives other signals which arrive from the vehicle or from the external environment.
  • the processing and control unit 7 receives a speed signal 8 from a speedometer 9 which is normally present on board the vehicle, temperature signal 10 acquired by an external temperature sensor 11, and a wheel rolling signal 12, which is detected by an appropriate sensor 13 (if the output signal 8 is not sent to the processing and control unit 7).
  • the processing and control unit 7 further receives a windshield wiper activation signal 14 obtained from the onboard electrical system 15.
  • processing and control unit 7 processes the following signals:
  • the apparatus according to the invention can comprise at least one, and preferably a plurality of, parking sensors 16, managed by an independent control unit 17 connected to the processing and control unit 7.
  • the apparatus has a display unit 18, which is suitable to display information for the driver, such as an excessive speed alarm and/or the indication of the distance margin of the vehicle, in addition to the possibility to select various possible functions of the apparatus by operating appropriate setup buttons.
  • the apparatus according to the invention can be provided with an acoustic alarm capable of adequately alerting the driver if the estimated degree of risk exceeds a certain threshold.
  • the radar sensor emits a narrow beam of microwaves from the moving vehicle and detects the return beam, which can be reflected by an obstacle or by a vehicle in front, which is also moving.
  • the circuit 6 By processing the data between the emitted beam and the reflected beam, the circuit 6 is capable of determining distance and relative-speed information.
  • the signal which contains distance and relative-speed information is then sent to the processing and control unit 7, which performs the necessary processing; in particular, such unit uses the signal received from the sensor device 2 together with a signal indicating the vehicle's own speed 8, with the external temperature signal 10, and with the windshield wiper activation signal 14, to perform a whole series of processing operations so as to obtain an indication of the degree of risk correlated to the current position of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle in front or with respect to any fixed obstacle.
  • the physical values measured by the apparatus according to the invention are as follows:
  • Deceleration max_dec * effic / 100 m / s 2
  • brk_space 0.5 * speed * brk_time m
  • rea_space rea_time * speed m
  • stop_space brk_space + rea_space m
  • safe_dist own_stop_space - other_veh_stop_space m
  • the safety factor used previously in the calculation is a parameter which expresses the extent to which it is necessary to consider the instantaneous stopping of the vehicle in front.
  • a zero value leads to considering in its entirety the braking space of the vehicle in front, whereas a value 100 means considering only one's own stopping space, as if the vehicle in front could stop instantly with a nil stopping space.
  • the safety margin is instead the time that elapses between the current instant and the last instant when it is possible to start braking and yet be able to stop in time.
  • the danger is the complement of the safety margin with respect to the scale start value, applied to the interval 0-1 (negative values are limited to zero).
  • the method according to the present invention provides for a first step, in which values related to one's own vehicle and to the vehicle in front are determined, and a second step, in which the degree of risk of collision is calculated.
  • the apparatus is capable of performing some auxiliary functions, which are also oriented toward vehicle safety.
  • the apparatus activates a visual/acoustic alarm, which intervenes if the speed of one's own vehicle exceeds a limit and can be preset by the driver.
  • Another function is to provide the driver with an indication of the distance margin during parking maneuvers. This function is performed by using the unit 17 with the corresponding parking sensors 16 arranged so as to detect the front and rear distance with respect to obstacles.
  • the apparatus according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, since it allows to provide an unambiguous and summary assessment of the current degree of risk during driving, said degree of risk being expressed optionally in other terms, such as the degree of safety, and being reported to the driver by means of an appropriate visual and/or acoustic system, which is capable of communicating straightforwardly and unambiguously said information to the driver.
  • the indication provided to the driver allows said driver to change his behavior during travel and therefore constantly remain at a distance from the vehicle in front which accordingly ensures adequate safety.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
  • Control Of Driving Devices And Active Controlling Of Vehicle (AREA)
  • Lighting Device Outwards From Vehicle And Optical Signal (AREA)
  • Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)
EP05818901A 2004-12-10 2005-11-29 Apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle in relation to keeping the safety distance with respect to a vehicle or obstacle in front Expired - Lifetime EP1820173B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IT002359A ITMI20042359A1 (it) 2004-12-10 2004-12-10 Apparecchiatura di ausiio alla guida di un veicolo in relazione al mantenimento della distanza di sicurezza rispetto a un veicolo o ostacolo che precede
PCT/EP2005/056333 WO2006061342A1 (en) 2004-12-10 2005-11-29 Apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle in relation to keeping the safety distance with respect to a vehicle or obstacle in front

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1820173A1 EP1820173A1 (en) 2007-08-22
EP1820173B1 true EP1820173B1 (en) 2008-10-15

Family

ID=35811625

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP05818901A Expired - Lifetime EP1820173B1 (en) 2004-12-10 2005-11-29 Apparatus for assisted driving of a vehicle in relation to keeping the safety distance with respect to a vehicle or obstacle in front

Country Status (6)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1820173B1 (it)
AT (1) ATE411585T1 (it)
DE (1) DE602005010474D1 (it)
ES (1) ES2317337T3 (it)
IT (1) ITMI20042359A1 (it)
WO (1) WO2006061342A1 (it)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2917760B1 (en) 2012-11-09 2018-03-28 Nederlandse Organisatie voor toegepast- natuurwetenschappelijk onderzoek TNO Vehicle spacing control

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2722746B2 (ja) * 1990-01-29 1998-03-09 日産自動車株式会社 自動ブレーキ装置
DE4209047C1 (it) * 1992-03-20 1993-08-26 Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft, 7000 Stuttgart, De
JP4201155B2 (ja) * 2000-11-22 2008-12-24 道弘 観音寺 車間距離警報装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE602005010474D1 (de) 2008-11-27
ITMI20042359A1 (it) 2005-03-10
ES2317337T3 (es) 2009-04-16
WO2006061342A1 (en) 2006-06-15
ATE411585T1 (de) 2008-10-15
EP1820173A1 (en) 2007-08-22

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