Adaptive cruise control system with mode change display

Abstract: An adaptive cruise control system (1) for a vehicle (3),is capable of operating in at least two modes, a first Cruise mode in which the speed of the vehicle (3) is controlled to maintain a set speed, and a second Follow mode in which the speed of the vehicle (3) is controlled to maintain a set distance from the preceding target vehicle (5), the system (1) including means (7) to switch from Cruise mode to Follow mode if a target vehicle (5) is detected within a predetermined distance (9) of the vehicle (3), and a driver display interface (11) for displaying the mode of operation of the adaptive cruise control system (1), in which the system (1) includes a change anticipation system (13) which detects when the system operation is about to change mode from Cruise to Follow and causes the display interface (11) to display to the driver that the mode change is to occur, prior to the system change to allow the driver to take avoiding action.

Description: The present invention relates to an improved adaptive cruise control system for a motor vehicle. Conventional cruise control systems fulfil the function of speed control of a vehicle. A desired speed is selected by the driver and a control system operates on the engine (usually the throttle only) to maintain the desired speed. When the traffic is light, this simple speed control is acceptable to the driver, however if the traffic is heavy the driver is faced with constantly adjusting the set speed in order to maintain a safe distance from preceding traffic and may have to disengage the cruise control in order to brake. Many systems have now been developed by the addition of a distance sensor to the conventional cruise control system which adds distance keeping to the basic speed control function. Many such systems also include means to monitor the relative velocities of the vehicle and a target preceding vehicle. Moreover the engine control also often includes a limited authority braking system, so that the speed control/distance keeping can be effected by a combination of the throttle and the brake. Such a system may operate as an adaptive cruise control system which operates in Cruise Mode when traffic is light controlling only the speed of the vehicle and then switched automatically into Follow mode keeping a safe distance from the preceding vehicle once a target vehicle is within a predetermined range of the front of the vehicle. The Human - Machine Interface (HMI) within an ACC (adaptive cruise control) vehicle is used to indicate to the driver how the vehicle is performing, whether the system is reacting to the vehicle that is in the vehicle path or not, the current vehicle set speed and other system information. The information presented in the HMI will influence the way that the driver makes use of the system. Dynamically the ACC vehicle can be in one of two states, either CRUISE acting like conventional cruise control and controlling the vehicle to a desired driver set speed, or it is in FOLLOW mode where the speed of the vehicle is reduced below the set speed because of another vehicle or object in the vehicle's path within a set range. To indicate this change from one state to another, conventionally the HMI includes a driver display pack which displays icons or messages to the driver. From studies carried out, drivers of adaptive cruise control systems prefer that the icon changes when the dynamics of the vehicle changes, so that the icon change is tied to the control change. However this can cause problems for the driver when approaching a vehicle in the same lane. He can use the icon change as a visual cue to determine the point to start the overtaking manoeuvre. If the driver waits for the icon change, then the control system has already started to slow the vehicle down making it difficult to reaccelerate and overtake the slower moving vehicle smoothly. Systems have been proposed which when a vehicle is detected in the same lane, initially accelerate the vehicle to allow the driver to overtake. However this can cause problems when the traffic is heavy and it is impossible to overtake. In such conditions, the initial acceleration means that in order to maintain a safe distance sharper deceleration of the vehicle will be required, detracting from the smooth drive of the vehicle. European Patent 0443644 A1 describes an adaptive cruise control system for a vehicle 10 which maintains a desired selected driver-set speed V D in the absence of a detected preceding obstructing vehicle 12 and adjusts the source vehicle speed V s when an obstructing vehicle 12 is detected to maintain a following distance D D that is set by the vehicle operator. An alert distance D alert is computed which is a predetermined function of a distance based on driver reaction time T r . To provide for the driver selectable trailing distance D D , the driver reaction term T r of the alert distance D alert is adjusted by the vehicle operator to achieve a desired distance D D to the obstructing vehicle. The computed value of D alert is also used to provide an audible warning to the driver of the source vehicle 10 when the actual distance D A to the obstructing vehicle is less than the computed value D D . The described system, however, fails to warn the driver when it is changing from cruise mode to follow mode. United States Patent 5,197,562 is concerned with a vehicle cruising control device (1) which includes a detecting device for detecting the current speed of the vehicle, a constant speed control device for maintaining the speed of the vehicle at a selected speed, a measuring device for measuring the current inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and an advance vehicle and an inter-vehicle distance control device for maintaining the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle and the advance vehicle at a predetermined distance based on the degree of danger determined by the relationship of the current distance between vehicles and the relative speed between the vehicles. A switching device is provided for turning on either of the constant speed control device and the inter-vehicle distance control device. The device is provided with a driver display interface for displaying the mode of operation of the adaptive cruise control system. According to the invention there is provided an adaptive cruise control system for a vehicle, capable of operating in at least two modes, a first Cruise mode in which the speed of the vehicle is controlled to maintain a set speed, and a second Follow mode in which the speed of the vehicle is controlled to maintain a set distance from the preceding target vehicle, the system including means to switch from Cruise mode to Follow mode if a target vehicle is detected within a predetermined distance of the vehicle, and a driver display interface for displaying the mode of operation of the adaptive cruise control system, characterised in that the system includes a change anticipation system which detects when the system operation is about to change mode from Cruise to Follow and causes the display interface to display to the driver that the mode change is to occur, prior to the system change to allow the driver to take avoiding action. Thus before the vehicle enters Follow mode and starts to decelerate to maintain a set distance from the preceding vehicle , the driver has sufficient time to accelerate to overtake if the road conditions allow. However if road conditions do not allow and the driver does not intervene , Follow mode is quickly entered to allow smooth deceleration. The change anticipation system may include a sensor which senses when an obstruction is within an anticipation range in front of the vehicle, with the anticipation range being larger than the range within which Follow mode will be initiated. The period between the display to the driver and the start of Follow mode may be a predetermined period of time or may be the period between the obstruction entering the anticipation range and the obstruction entering the Follow initiation range. Preferably the period is a predetermined time period, ensuring that the driver has sufficient time to make a decision to overtake and to carry out the overtaking manoeuvre. Preferably the anticipation period is dependant upon the radius of curvature of the road. On a straight road the driver will get maximum anticipation time and on bends the amount is reduced to a minimum. The reasons for this are that the driver will be less likely to make a lane change manoeuvre on a bend, and the performance on a bend will be reduced by the tracking ability of the radar on a bend on the road. The display system may just include two icons, one which illuminated indicates Cruise mode and the other indicating Follow mode. In such a system, the message to the driver is merely the early illumination of the Follow icon, so that the Follow icon is illuminated before the adaptive cruise control system switches to Follow mode. Alternatively the system may include a third display icon which when illuminated indicates to the driver that he should consider overtaking. A further problem which may arise in an adaptive cruise control system is once where a preceding vehicle travelling in the same lane travels at a speed which varies above and below the target cruise speed of the vehicle. The system may then flicker between Cruise and Follow modes. The driver display interface may then distract the driver, apart from the continuous acceleration /deceleration of the vehicle. The anticipation system may be used to alleviate this problem, especially if it is arranged to sense when the mode is to change from Follow to Cruise. The reason is that a vehicle travelling at a speed which varies about the cruise target speed will typically sit about the edge of the anticipation range before there is a drift towards it sitting on the edge of the Follow initiation range. Thus while it sits on the edge of the anticipation range the system will switch from 'about to change to Follow' to 'about to change to Cruise'. Preferably in such a case the system includes means to detect that the anticipation system is in operation for over a predetermined time and provide a display to the driver to alert him of the position. The display may state, for example, " Target vehicle travelling at about Cruise speed". The driver may then take avoiding action, which dependant upon road conditions may be to accelerate to overtake, or to reset the target cruise speed to a lower level. An adaptive cruise control system in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a schematic view illustrating the vehicle travelling along a road showing target vehicles; Figures 2A, B and C are schematic views of the vehicle and a target vehicle within different ranges of the vehicle; Figure 3 is a block diagram of the system; and An adaptive cruise control system 1 for a vehicle 3, is capable of operating in at least two modes, a first Cruise mode in which the speed of the vehicle 3 is controlled to maintain a set speed, and a second Follow mode in which the speed of the vehicle 3 is controlled to maintain a set distance from the preceding target vehicle 5, the system 1 including means 7 to switch from Cruise mode to Follow mode if a target vehicle 5 is detected within a predetermined distance 9 of the vehicle 3, and a driver display interface 11 for displaying the mode of operation of the adaptive cruise control system 1, in which the system 1 includes a change anticipation system 13 which detects when the system operation is about to change mode from Cruise to Follow and causes the display interface 11 to display to the driver that the mode change is to occur, prior to the system change to allow the driver to take avoiding action The system 1 includes a speed sensor 15 which detects the speed of the vehicle 3, and a distance sensor 17 which detects the distance between the vehicle 3 and the next preceding vehicle 5. Both such sensors are conventional, the choice of which would be apparent to the skilled addressee of the specification. The speed sensed is fed to a 'Cruise controller' 19 which compares the speed of the vehicle with the set speed, and if it is not equal to the set speed feeds a controlling signal to the engine controller 21. Many cruise controllers and means for governing the vehicle speed are known and these will be conventional. The distance sensed is fed to a 'Follow controller' 23 which compares the distance with the predetermined Follow initiation distance 9. If there is a target vehicle within the range 9 a signal is sent to the switch means 7 which switches the mode of operation from Cruise to Follow and overrides the signal from Cruise controller 19. If the distance sensed is greater than the range 9 but within anticipation range 25, a signal is fed to the change anticipation system 13 which does not override the signal from Cruise controller 19 but feeds a signal to the display interface 11 to indicate that Follow mode is to be entered. The driver display interface 11 includes two icons. A first icon indicates that the vehicle is in Cruise mode and the second icon indicates that the vehicle in Follow Mode. In operation the Follow Icon is illuminated before Follow mode is initiated, when the change anticipation system 13 has detected a target vehicle 5 in anticipation range 25. This allows the driver to take avoiding action if possible by overtaking the target vehicle 5 before the vehicle has started to decelerate by the Follow signal from Follow Controller 23 overrides the speed control of the engine controller 21. Figure 2A illustrates the position when the vehicle 3 is travelling in Cruise Mode. The target vehicle 5 is outside both the predetermined Follow initiation distance 9 and the anticipation distance 25. In figure 2B, the target vehicle 5 is closer to the vehicle 3 and is within the anticipation range 25 but still outside range 9. In this case, the vehicle will still be operating in Cruise Mode, but the driver display interface 11 will illuminate the Follow Icon 29, to trigger the driver that he may wish to avoid the preceding vehicle 5 by overtaking. Since the road conditions do not always allow, as seen in figure 1, if the target vehicle 5 is not overtaken, it will then enter the Follow initiation range 9 and Follow mode will be entered when the vehicle will start to decelerate.

Claims: An adaptive cruise control system (1) for a vehicle(3), capable of operating in at least two modes, a first Cruise mode in which the speed of the vehicle (3) is controlled to maintain a set speed, and a second Follow mode in which the speed of the vehicle (3) is controlled to maintain a set distance (9) from the preceding target vehicle (5), the system (1) including means (7) to switch from Cruise mode to Follow mode if a target vehicle (5)is detected within a predetermined distance (9) of the vehicle(3), and a driver display interface (11) for displaying the mode of operation of the adaptive cruise control system(1), characterised in that the system (1)includes a change anticipation system (13) which detects when the system operation is about to change mode from Cruise to Follow and causes the display interface (11) to display to the driver that the mode change is to occur, prior to the system change to allow the driver to take avoiding action. An adaptive cruise control system (1) according to claim 1, in which a sensor (17) detects when a target vehicle (5) is within an anticipation distance (25) in front of the vehicle (3). An adaptive cruise control system (1) according to claim 2, in which the period between the display interface (11) displaying that the mode change is to occur and the start of Follow Mode is a predetermined period of time. An adaptive cruise control system (1) according to claim 2, in which the period between the display interface (11) displaying that the mode change is to occur and the start of Follow Mode is the period between the target vehicle entering the anticipation distance (25) and the target vehicle entering the predetermined distance (9). An adaptive cruise control system (1) according to claim 3, in which the anticipation period is dependant upon the radius of curvature of the road. An adaptive cruise control system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the display interface (11) includes two icons (27,29), one which when illuminated indicates 'Cruise mode' and the other which when illuminated indicates 'Follow mode' and in which during the 'Follow Mode' indicator is illuminated when the change anticipation system has detected that change from Cruise to Follow is to occur. An adaptive cruise control system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the display interface (11) includes two icons (27,29), one which when illuminated indicates 'Cruise mode' and the other which when illuminated indicates 'Follow mode' and a third icon which when illuminated indicates that a mode change is to occur. A vehicle fitted with an adaptive cruise control system in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

Inventors: KING PAUL JOHN, RICHARDSON MICHAEL JULIAN, WATTS DANIEL, KING, PAUL JOHN, RICHARDSON, MICHAEL JULIAN, WATTS, DANIEL
Applicants: FORD FRANCE, FORD MOTOR CO, FORD WERKE AG, FORD FRANCE S.A., FORD MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED, FORD-WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B60K31
IPC codes: B60K31, B60W50