Patent ID: 9637107
Date: 2017-05-02
CPC Classifications: B60W,B62D

Claim:
1. A travel control apparatus for a vehicle, the travel control apparatus having a travel environment information acquisition unit that acquires travel environment information relating to a travel environment in which the vehicle travels, and a travel information detector that detects travel information relating to the vehicle in order to execute automatic driving control on the basis of the travel environment information and the travel information relating to the vehicle, the travel control apparatus comprising: a lateral force generator that generates lateral force to be applied to the vehicle during the automatic driving control; a torsion bar interposed on a torque transmission path of a steering system that extends from a steering wheel to a steered wheel, the steering wheel configured to interlock with the lateral force generated by the lateral force generator; a steering wheel angle detector that detects a steering wheel angle; a lateral force detector that detects the lateral force acting on the vehicle; and an intervening steering operation determination unit that determines that a driver has performed an intervening steering operation when an actual characteristic of the steering wheel angle detected by the steering wheel angle detector and the lateral force detected by the lateral force detector during the automatic driving control differs from a reference characteristic of the steering wheel angle and the lateral force, the reference characteristics varying univocally for each vehicle speed according to an intervention by the lateral force generator when an intervening steering operation is in a no load condition where the intervening steering operation has not been performed by the driver to the steering wheel.