Patent ID: 7864034
Filing Date: 2011-01-04
Classification: B60N,B60Q,B60W

Abstract:
1. A system for assisting a driver within a vehicle traveling on a road, the system comprising: a front view camera configured to pick up image of the road ahead of the vehicle; a vehicle speed sensor configured to detect a vehicle speed of the vehicle; a navigation system configured to detect a current position of the vehicle and provide information regarding the road; a driver seat mounted to the vehicle, the driver seat including a cushion and a back rest that includes a right side portion, a left side portion and a middle portion between the right and left side portions; a seat driver mechanism including a right-side actuator for the right side portion of the back rest and a left-side actuator for the left side portion of the back rest; a controller including a lane marker detecting section that processes the image, picked up by the front view camera, of the road ahead of the vehicle to detect lane boundaries defining a lane on which the vehicle is traveling, and an in-lane lateral position calculating section that calculates an in-lane lateral position of the vehicle within the lane, the in-lane lateral position of the vehicle indicating a relative lateral position of the vehicle to a centerline of the lane, the controller also including a standard speed calculating section that calculates a standard vehicle speed for the road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the information provided by the navigation system, and an excess vehicle speed calculating section that calculates an excess vehicle speed by which the vehicle speed of the vehicle exceeds the standard vehicle speed, the controller further including a seat motion control parameter calculating section that calculates control parameters based on the in-lane lateral position and the excess vehicle speed and provides the control parameters to the seat driver mechanism; the seat driver mechanism being operative in response to the control parameters to cause the right-side actuator to press the right side portion of the back rest against the driver occupying the driver seat when the in-lane lateral position indicates that the vehicle is deviated from the centerline toward the lane boundary on the right-hand side of the lane, the seat driver mechanism being operative in response to the control parameters to cause the left-side actuator to press the left side portion of the back rest against the driver occupying the driver seat when the in-lane lateral position indicates that the vehicle is deviated from the centerline toward the lane marker which defines the lane boundary on the left-hand side of the lane.