US 12,311,943 B2
Vehicle driving assistance apparatus, vehicle driving assistance method, and computer-readable storage medium storing vehicle driving assistance program
Tatsuya Ito, Toyota (JP); and Hideki Kamatani, Nagoya (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed on Jan. 17, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/155,370.
Claims priority of application No. 2022-010818 (JP), filed on Jan. 27, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0234587 A1, Jul. 27, 2023
Int. Cl. B60W 30/00 (2006.01); B60W 30/14 (2006.01); B60W 30/165 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01); B60W 40/02 (2006.01)
CPC B60W 30/165 (2013.01) [B60W 30/143 (2013.01); B60W 30/18072 (2013.01); B60W 40/02 (2013.01); B60W 2510/244 (2013.01); B60W 2554/802 (2020.02); B60W 2555/20 (2020.02)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle driving assistance apparatus, comprising an electronic control unit configured to execute:
a first following control to move an own vehicle, following a preceding vehicle by autonomously controlling acceleration and deceleration of the own vehicle so as to maintain an inter-vehicle distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle within a first predetermined distance range;
a second following control to move the own vehicle, following the preceding vehicle by autonomously controlling the acceleration and the deceleration of the own vehicle so as to (i) maintain an own vehicle moving speed corresponding to a moving speed of the own vehicle within a predetermined speed range or (ii) maintain the inter-vehicle distance within a second predetermined distance range greater than the first predetermined distance range; and
a third following control to move the own vehicle, following the preceding vehicle by accelerating and decelerating the own vehicle synchronously or almost synchronously with an acceleration and a deceleration of the preceding vehicle, the third following control being a control to (i) accelerate the own vehicle by an optimum acceleration control to accelerate the own vehicle by operating the driving apparatus of the own vehicle at an operation state which realizes the smallest consumed energy amount of the driving apparatus or the consumed energy amount close to the smallest consumed energy amount when the own vehicle is required to be accelerated and (ii) decelerate the own vehicle by a coasting control to coast the own vehicle when the own vehicle is required to be decelerated,
wherein the electronic control unit is configured to:
predict (i) a first consumed energy amount corresponding to a consumed energy amount consumed by a driving apparatus of the own vehicle when executing the first following control and (ii) a second consumed energy amount corresponding to the consumed energy amount consumed by the driving apparatus of the own vehicle when executing the second following control;
execute the second following control when the second consumed energy amount is smaller than the first consumed energy amount; and
execute the first following control when the second consumed energy amount is equal to or greater than the first consumed energy amount, and
transfer the own vehicle to behind another vehicle and execute the third following control when both conditions are met: (i) the other vehicle including a driving apparatus having the same or almost the same power output property as a power output property of the driving apparatus of the own vehicle, is detected, and (ii) the other vehicle is moved by the same control as the second following control or the third following control.