Patent ID: 7501938
Filing Date: 2009-03-10
Classification: B60Q

Abstract:
1. A system for assisting the driver of a vehicle to maneuver a lane change, said system comprising: a range sensor mounted on a vehicle for detecting an object in a side detection zone adjacent to one side of the vehicle and sensing range to the object; a controller for determining when the side detection zone is clear for the vehicle to change lanes based on the sensed range, wherein the controller determines whether the side detection zone is sufficiently clear to initiate a lane change maneuver based on the sensed range and generates an output signal indicative thereof; and a range threshold control input providing a user selectable range threshold, wherein the controller processes the sensed range and the range threshold and determines whether the side detection zone is sufficiently clear to initiate a lane change maneuver based on the sensed range and range threshold and generates the output signal indicative thereof; and an output for outputting the output signal indicative of the determined state for initiating the lane change maneuver.