Patent ID: 8825355
Filing Date: 2014-09-02
Classification: B62D

Abstract:
1. A lane departure control apparatus for controlling a lane departure of a vehicle using a steering mechanism, the apparatus comprising: an angle determiner which determines a controlled angle between a direction in which the vehicle is heading within a given area of a lane on a road and a target angular direction in which the vehicle is to be pointed, wherein the angle determiner determines a correction angle between a direction in which the vehicle is now pointing and a virtual line, the virtual line being defined to extend parallel to a lane boundary of the lane; and a lane departure controller configured to operate in a first steering control mode and a second steering control mode following the first steering control mode, when the angle determiner determines that the vehicle is about to deviate from the given area of the lane, the lane departure controller enters the first steering control mode to acquire the controlled angle from the angle determiner and outputs a control signal to the steering mechanism to steer the vehicle toward a center of the given area of the lane by the controlled angle at a first yaw rate, when the angle determiner determines that the vehicle is to be traveling toward the virtual line, the lane departure controller enters the second steering control mode to acquire the correction angle from the angle determiner and outputs a control signal to the steering mechanism to steer the vehicle by the correction angle to orient the vehicle parallel to the virtual line at a second yaw rate, wherein the lane departure controller keeps an absolute value of the first yaw rate below a first upper limit in the first steering control mode and keeps an absolute value of the second yaw rate below a second upper limit that is less than the first upper limit in the second steering control mode.