Patent ID: 6785611
Filing Date: 2004-08-31
Classification: B60K,B60W,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of detecting a driver alert situation for an operating host vehicle that precedes a preceding vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:determining a difference in speed between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle; determining a difference in a rate of acceleration between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle; determining a range between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle; detecting if an adaptive cruise control system is on or off; determining an alert need, based upon the difference in speed and the difference in acceleration, if an adaptive cruise control deceleration is sufficient for the host vehicle to avoid the preceding vehicle if the adaptive cruise control system is on, and if a possible situation exists where the host vehicle will not avoid the preceding vehicle due to predicted inputs from a vehicle operator if the adaptive cruise control system is off; and providing a driver alert when the adaptive cruise control is detected as on and the adaptive cruise control deceleration is not sufficient for the host vehicle to avoid the preceding vehicle, and when the adaptive cruise control is detected as off and the possible situation exists that the host vehicle will not avoid the preceding vehicle.