US 12,344,274 B2
Vehicle traveling control apparatus
Shuu Ogino, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to SUBARU CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by SUBARU CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Oct. 4, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/493,658.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-168083 (JP), filed on Oct. 2, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0105957 A1, Apr. 7, 2022
Int. Cl. B60W 60/00 (2020.01); B60W 30/18 (2012.01); B62D 15/02 (2006.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01)
CPC B60W 60/0015 (2020.02) [B60W 30/18109 (2013.01); B60W 60/0059 (2020.02); B62D 15/021 (2013.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01); B60W 2554/4046 (2020.02); B60W 2554/4049 (2020.02)] 15 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A vehicle traveling control apparatus comprising:
an autonomous sensor configured to recognize an obstacle ahead of a vehicle;
a braking controller configured to
determine whether the vehicle is likely to come into contact with the obstacle based on determining that the obstacle is present, and a relative distance and a relative speed between the vehicle and the obstacle,
in response to determining that the vehicle is likely to come into contact with the obstacle, determine whether a distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold,
in response to determining that the distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is greater than the predetermined threshold, execute a primary braking control based on a first deceleration rate, and
in response to determining that the distance from the vehicle to the obstacle is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold while the primary braking control is being executed, execute a secondary braking control of reducing the relative speed to “0” based on a second deceleration rate higher than the first deceleration rate during the primary braking control;
a determination unit configured to, during the execution of the secondary braking control:
calculate a predicted travel distance to be traveled until the relative speed with respect to the obstacle is reduced to “0” by the secondary braking control,
permit steering intervention for avoidance of contact with the obstacle in a case where the predicted travel distance is longer than the relative distance,
calculate an overlap ratio between the vehicle and the obstacle in a width direction of the vehicle, and
determine, after permitting the steering intervention, a time threshold for a start of the steering intervention by using (i) the relative speed between the vehicle and the obstacle and (ii) the overlap ratio;
a calculator configured to, during the execution of the secondary braking control, calculate time-to-contact to be taken until the vehicle comes into contact with the obstacle based on a difference between the second deceleration rate and the first deceleration rate; and
a steering controller configured to, during the execution of the secondary braking control:
execute a steering control for the avoidance of the contact with the obstacle in a case where the determination unit determines that the time-to-contact becomes equal to or less than the time threshold; and
cancel the steering control for the avoidance of the contact with the obstacle in a case where the determination unit determines that the time-to-contact becomes greater than the time threshold, wherein
the time threshold is configured to delay the start of the steering intervention by setting the time threshold to a smaller value as the relative speed becomes lower, and setting the time threshold to a smaller value as the overlap ratio becomes lower.