156 results about "Headway" patented technology

The present invention provides a collision avoidance apparatus and method employing stereo vision applications for adaptive vehicular control. The stereo vision applications are comprised of a road detection function and a vehicle detection and tracking function. The road detection function makes use of three-dimensional point data, computed from stereo image data, to locate the road surface ahead of a host vehicle. Information gathered by the road detection function is used to guide the vehicle detection and tracking function, which provides lead motion data to a vehicular control system of the collision avoidance apparatus. Similar to the road detection function, stereo image data is used by the vehicle detection and tracking function to determine the depth of image scene features, thereby providing a robust means for identifying potential lead vehicles in a headway direction of the host vehicle.

A train control system, including: a communication device associated with at least one control unit located on a first train; and a communication device associated with at least one control unit located on a second train; wherein at least one of the control units of the first train and the second train is configured to: (i) receive, at the associated communication device, an authority signal including data sufficient to identify one of the first train and the second train as a lead train and the other of the first train and the second train as a follower train; (ii) establish at least one peer-to-peer communication link between the communication devices of the lead train and the follower train; and (iii) exchange train data between the lead train and the follower train via the at least one peer-to-peer communication link. An on-board control unit is also disclosed.

A train control system includes a communication device associated with at least one control unit located on a first train; and a communication device associated with at least one control unit located on a second train. At least one of the control units of the first train and the second train is configured to receive, at the associated communication device, an authority signal including data sufficient to identify one of the first train and the second train as a lead train and the other of the first train and the second train as a follower train, establish at least one peer-to-peer communication link between the communication devices of the lead train and the follower train, and exchange train data between the lead train and the follower train via the at least one peer-to-peer communication link. An on-board control unit is also disclosed.

The present invention provides a collision avoidance apparatus and method employing stereo vision applications for adaptive vehicular control. The stereo vision applications are comprised of a road detection function and a vehicle detection and tracking function. The road detection function makes use of three-dimensional point data, computed from stereo image data, to locate the road surface ahead of a host vehicle. Information gathered by the road detection function is used to guide the vehicle detection and tracking function, which provides lead motion data to a vehicular control system of the collision avoidance apparatus. Similar to the road detection function, stereo image data is used by the vehicle detection and tracking function to determine the depth of image scene features, thereby providing a robust means for identifying potential lead vehicles in a headway direction of the host vehicle.

A vehicle driving assist system is provided that calculates a risk potential indicative of a degree of convergence between the host vehicle and the preceding obstacle. A first driving assistance control system controls at least one of an actuation reaction force exerted by a driver-operated driving operation device and a braking / driving force exerted against the host vehicle based on the risk potential calculated. A second driving assistance control system controls the braking / driving force of the host vehicle such that a headway distance is maintained between the host vehicle and the obstacle. A transition detecting section detects a transition of operating states of the first and second driving assistance control systems. The control adjusting section adjusts the control executed by the first and second driving assistance control systems when a transition of operating state is detected.

A traffic-preemption system and method that communicates an identification code from vehicles to a traffic location. Traffic light control equipment, such as a receiver and traffic light circuit at each intersection of a controlled area, is used to manage headway in mass-transit systems as well as to provide traffic light pre-emption for emergency vehicles. Each traffic light circuit in the controlled area has a receiver located at a traffic location and adapted to receive an identification code from a mass-transit vehicle. A decoding circuit responds to the received identification code by attempting to identify the mass-transit vehicle and determine the timing on the identified route that improves an identified vehicle's headway and / or route timing. In response to determining the timing, a traffic-preemption command is generated for a traffic light on the identified route.

On the basis of headway distance information issued from a headway distance detecting device for detecting a headway distance between a controlled vehicle and a preceding vehicle and terrain shape information issued from a terrain shape estimating device for estimating a terrain shape around the position of the controlled vehicle, a terrain shape at a position spaced from the position of the controlled vehicle by the headway distance is detected, and the speed of the controlled vehicle is controlled according to the terrain shape information.

An autonomous vehicle detects a tailgating vehicle and uses various response mechanisms. For example, a vehicle is identified as a tailgater based on whether its characteristics meet a variable threshold. For example, when the autonomous vehicle is traveling at slower speeds, the threshold is defined in distance. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at faster speeds, the threshold is defined in time. The autonomous vehicle may respond to the tailgater by modifying its driving behavior. In one example, the autonomous vehicle adjusts a headway buffer (defined in time) from another vehicle in front of the autonomous vehicle. For example, if the tailgater is T seconds too close to the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle increases the headway buffer to the vehicle in front of it by some amount relative to T.

An adaptive vehicle control system that classifies a drivers driving style based on vehicle headway control. The system reads sensor signals to identify the range and range rate between a subject vehicle and a preceding vehicle, where the range rate is close to zero if the distance between the subject vehicle and the preceding vehicle is relatively steady, the range rate is negative when the subject vehicle is closing in on the preceding vehicle and the range rate is positive when the subject vehicle is falling behind the preceding vehicle. The range rate, the subject vehicle speed and other signals are used to classify the drivers driving style based on how fast the subject vehicle closes in on the preceding vehicle or falls behind, and the following distance between the subject vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The system can then classify the headway-control maneuver using selected discriminant features.

A vehicle headway maintenance assist system is configured to perform a haptic notification control of an accelerator to prompt the driver to release the accelerator when the accelerator is being operated and to perform a deceleration control of the vehicle based on headway distance when the accelerator is being operated as long as the headway distance from a preceding vehicle is less than a prescribed headway distance threshold.

A vital radio based automatic train control system that will interface seamlessly with existing onboard ATC equipment via existing track receiver inputs or directly. The invention provides a means of extending ATC signal territory with reduced equipment installation as compared to traditional cab or wayside based ATC. The invention can be used to reduce train braking distances and reduce headway. Furthermore, the radio cab signal can be used for additional purposes including but not limited to wayside equipment monitoring and rolling equipment monitoring.

An autonomous vehicle detects a tailgating vehicle and uses various response mechanisms. For example, a vehicle is identified as a tailgater based on whether its characteristics meet a variable threshold. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at slower speeds, the threshold is defined in distance. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at faster speeds, the threshold is defined in time. The autonomous vehicle may respond to the tailgater by modifying its driving behavior. In one example, the autonomous vehicle adjusts a headway buffer (defined in time) from another vehicle in front of the autonomous vehicle. For example, if the tailgater is T seconds too close to the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle increases the headway buffer to the vehicle in front of it by some amount relative to T.

On the basis of headway distance information issued from a headway distance detecting device for detecting a headway distance between a controlled vehicle and a preceding vehicle and terrain shape information issued from a terrain shape estimating device for estimating a terrain shape around the position of the controlled vehicle, a terrain shape at a position spaced from the position of the controlled vehicle by the headway distance is detected, and the speed of the controlled vehicle is controlled according to the terrain shape information.

The invention discloses a crossing signal light control method comprising the following steps of: firstly determining the lighting time of a yellow light and a red light by setting yellow light time and red light time, lengthening green light time step length and prolonging minimum headway time; then acquiring variable initial green light time and prolonged green light time by detecting the headway time, whether vehicles pass through a crossing or not and the number of the vehicles accumulated at the crossing; and regulating the light time of a green light by controlling the variable initial green light time and the prolonged green light time. The crossing signal light control method changes the lighting time of the green light according to the flow demand and the traffic flow density of an access road of each crossing by controlling the variable initial green light time and the prolonged green light time and can dynamically regulate the prolonged green light time according to the arrival of the vehicles and the headway time, thereby instantaneously responding actual traffic demand, reducing the waiting time of the vehicles, effectively enhancing the use efficiency of the green light, improving the utilization ratio of split green ratio and decreasing the delay.

A vehicle headway maintenance assist system is provided that provides a haptic notification to an accelerator to alert the driver under prescribed conditions. The system changes a drive force / accelerator actuation relationship between an accelerator actuation amount and a target drive force or torque under the prescribed conditions. In particular, system changes a first drive force / accelerator actuation relationship to a second drive force / accelerator actuation relationship based on a vehicle running condition that was detected so that the driver more readily notices the haptic notification (e.g., an accelerator actuation reaction force) when the haptic notification is being applied to the accelerator to alert the driver under the prescribed conditions.

The invention relates to the field of automobile safe driving, and discloses an intelligent automobile lane change warning system and a warning method thereof. The warning system comprises a front detector, a rear detector, a speed sensor, an angle sensor, a microprocessor, a display screen and an alarm, wherein the front detector and rear detector are used for collecting the driving condition information of a target vehicle; the speed sensor is used for collecting the speed of the vehicle; the angle sensor is used for collecting the turning angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle; the microprocessor is used for processing the driving condition information of the target vehicle and controlling to display the warning information; the display screen is used for displaying the speeds of the vehicle and the target vehicle and the related warning information; and the alarm is used for generating a danger prompt tone. The warning method mainly comprises the following steps of: setting the minimum time headway data and TTC warning time range in the microprocessor; collecting the information of the front and rear vehicles by the detectors; calculating the real-time collision time; displaying the lane change warning information; and generating a lane change forbidding prompt tone. Through the warning system and warning method, accurate lane change information can be provided for the drivers in time so as to reduce traffic accidents.

A cruise control system for a motor vehicle includes a sensor for monitoring a target vehicle moving in front of the equipped vehicle, a sensor for monitoring the speed of the equipped vehicle and a sensor for monitoring steering manoeuvres of the equipped vehicle, the cruise control system controlling the throttle and brake systems of the vehicle to control the speed of the vehicle. The cruise control system is switchable between a cruise mode in which it will maintain a set cruising speed when the path in front of the vehicle is clear and a follow mode in which it will maintain a preset headway with a target vehicle in front of the equipped vehicle. The system is switched from the cruise mode to the follow mode when a target vehicle moves inside the preset headway, the system switching from the follow mode to the cruise mode when the target vehicle is lost or moves outside a preset headway. When switching from the follow mode to the cruise mode, the cruise control system applies a resume acceleration to accelerate the equipped vehicle back to the set cruising speed, the resume acceleration rate being adjusted as a function of steering manoeuvres carried out by the equipped vehicle.

A traffic-preemption system and method that communicates an identification code from vehicles to a traffic location. Traffic light control equipment, such as a receiver and traffic light circuit at each intersection of a controlled area, is used to manage headway in mass-transit systems as well as to provide traffic light pre-emption for emergency vehicles. Each traffic light circuit in the controlled area has a receiver located at a traffic location and adapted to receive an identification code from a mass-transit vehicle. A decoding circuit responds to the received identification code by attempting to identify the mass-transit vehicle and determine the timing on the identified route that improves an identified vehicle's headway and / or route timing. In response to determining the timing, a traffic-preemption command is generated for a traffic light on the identified route.

The invention discloses a single point signal control optimization method based on intersection vehicle passing records. The vehicle passing records of the stop line of entrances of an intersection in all directions are acquired. A vehicle passing signal timetable is generated. According to the signal timing phase, lanes are grouped. A lane with the maximum passing vehicles in a cycle is selected as the key lane of the lane group in the cycle. A key lane vehicle passing signal map and a headway time signal map are generated. Two maps are combined to analyze the queuing situation after the stop line and the vehicle traffic during green time. The green time utilization index of the corresponding phase is analyzed. Statistical analysis is carried out on the green time utilization rate in each cycle. Based on a statistical analysis result, if green time surplus exists in the green time utilization rate in each cycle, the green time is shortened. The method can be used to analyze the effect of the existing timing scheme of the intersection based on the vehicle passing monitoring result of an intelligent bayonet, and can carry out effective signal timing optimizing accordingly.

The invention discloses a hybrid electric vehicle energy-saving predictive control method based on platoons. The method includes acquiring real-time traffic information of the own vehicle and front vehicle from a global positioning system and an intelligent traffic system as system input; establishing a hybrid electric vehicle mathematical model serving as future vehicle state predication basis; defining the hybrid electric vehicle platoon optimal control problem, and providing a function equation to figure out an optimal control value; feeding back the optimal control in real time, figuring out the optimal control value, after the safe distance is met, acquiring the information to adjust and optimize hybrid electric vehicle energy flowing online according to the global positioning system, a radar, the intelligent traffic system and a vehicle communication system, and acquiring the optimal performance of the hybrid electric vehicles. A planetary gear mechanism serves as an electronic variable transmission, an engine is in the optimal operating point constantly, the front vehicle driving state is predicated through the road traffic information, the hybrid electric vehicle energy flowing is adjusted online, the purpose of energy saving and emission reduction is achieved; the method is different from a traditional fixed time headway control method, and a novel way is provided for improving the performance of a central controller of a hybrid electric vehicle management system.

An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system that couples the speed and responsiveness of a shoulder-launched rocket with the stable, slow-moving aerial platform of a parafoil is disclosed. The unique use of an over-damped rocket automatically positions the parafoil upwind of its target and overcomes the inherent inability of the parafoil to make headway in adverse wind conditions. This marriage of a rocket and a parafoil creates a valuable new synergy that allows the rocket to very quickly position a payload at altitude and defeat any adverse winds, while the parafoil provides an inexpensive and easy-to-fly vehicle for reconnaissance or accurately placing a payload on a target. The system is suitable for aerial videography, thermal imagery, target designation, sensor placement or precision munitions delivery; and can perform these functions at a small fraction of the cost of any other UAV. Unlike other UAV's, no flying skills are required of the operator. The system is so simple to use that no special training is required even for flying at night, and the intrinsic stability of the parafoil eliminates the need for avionic control systems.

An adaptive vehicle control system that classifies a drivers driving style based on vehicle headway control. The system reads sensor signals to identify the range and range rate between a subject vehicle and a preceding vehicle, where the range rate is close to zero if the distance between the subject vehicle and the preceding vehicle is relatively steady, the range rate is negative when the subject vehicle is closing in on the preceding vehicle and the range rate is positive when the subject vehicle is falling behind the preceding vehicle. The range rate, the subject vehicle speed and other signals are used to classify the drivers driving style based on how fast the subject vehicle closes in on the preceding vehicle or falls behind, and the following distance between the subject vehicle and the preceding vehicle. The system can then classify the headway-control maneuver using selected discriminant features.

An autonomous vehicle detects a tailgating vehicle and uses various response mechanisms. For example, a vehicle is identified as a tailgater based on whether its characteristics meet a variable threshold. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at slower speeds, the threshold is defined in distance. When the autonomous vehicle is traveling at faster speeds, the threshold is defined in time. The autonomous vehicle may respond to the tailgater by modifying its driving behavior. In one example, the autonomous vehicle adjusts a headway buffer (defined in time) from another vehicle in front of the autonomous vehicle. For example, if the tailgater is T seconds too close to the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle increases the headway buffer to the vehicle in front of it by some amount relative to T.

The invention discloses a vehicle infrastructure cooperative-based bus real-time dispatching and priority control method. In view of a bus line, in an up direction or a down direction, firstly, basedon the vehicle infrastructure cooperative environment, the position information of each intersection, each stop and each bus, the driving speed of a bus and the signal timing scheme of an intersectionin a research road section are acquired and inputted; the signal delay of a bus at an intersection is then calculated, the headway of adjacent buses is calculated, and fast and slow attributes of a bus are judged; and finally, with the difference between the headways of all adjacent buses and an expected headway in the whole bus line to be the minimum as an objective function, a function relationbetween the headway and the bus speed, the stop time and the signal timing scheme is built, and a bus real-time dispatching and priority control model and method are put forward. The method is mainlyused to alleviate the problem of mutual cluster between buses in the same line, and the bus service level and the reliability are improved.

A fully inductive coordination signal control method based on an allowable green light ending period is mainly characterized by comprising the steps of: facing signal control crossings along a trunk road, on the basis of a background signal timing plan, and defining the allowable green light ending period for each vehicle phase; taking the green light ending time in the background signal timing plan as a boundary, and dividing the allowable green light ending period as a green light early breaking time window and a green light delaying time window; determining time window values according to a certain ratio of the signal period time, and selectively endowing the values with non-coordinated phases and coordinated phases; distributing detectors at 40m upstream of stop lines of motor vehicle phase approaches; when the green light early breaking time window or the green light delaying time window of the current phase is opened, determining to delay or cut off the green light according to a headway obtained in real time, and forcedly cutting off the green light at an end point of the allowable green light ending period. The method can ensure and further improve the continuous advance effect of the vehicles along the trunk road as far as possible, and simultaneously does not sacrifice the integral control performance of the crossing.

A vehicle driving assist system is provided that calculates a risk potential indicative of a degree of convergence between the host vehicle and the preceding obstacle. A first driving assistance control system controls at least one of an actuation reaction force exerted by a driver-operated driving operation device and a braking / driving force exerted against the host vehicle based on the risk potential calculated. A second driving assistance control system controls the braking / driving force of the host vehicle such that a headway distance is maintained between the host vehicle and the obstacle. A transition detecting section detects a transition of operating states of the first and second driving assistance control systems. The control adjusting section adjusts the control executed by the first and second driving assistance control systems when a transition of operating state is detected.

To provide a headway control system, in which a congestion following processing can be started by the same operation as in ordinary driving. An arrangement is provided that lets a following control unit 10 to start a control to follow a preceding vehicle on condition that a characteristic value, which is produced in a host vehicle when a driver starts moving the host vehicle, is detected in congested traffic. Acceleration or a vehicle speed may be used as the characteristic value. Another possible arrangement is to start the following control on condition that a variation in an engine of the host vehicle, which is generated in the host vehicle when the driver operates to start moving the host vehicle, is detected in congested traffic. For example, the following control may be started under condition that at least either one of the following is detected: an increase in an engine speed, an increase in an intake pressure, an increase in an injection pulse width, an increase in an engine oil pressure, and an increase in the number of ignition pulses.

A headway maintenance assist system is provided with a correction section in which a drive force / accelerator actuation relationship between an accelerator actuation amount and a target drive force is changed to a drive force / accelerator relationship that is different than an ordinary drive force / accelerator relationship so that the driver more readily notices the accelerator reaction force when the accelerator reaction force is applied to the accelerator to alert the driver under prescribed conditions.

The cruise control apparatus includes a headway control means for making a first determination as to whether or not at least one recognized front vehicle running ahead of an own vehicle is a preceding vehicle present in an own-vehicle lane in which the own vehicle is running, performing a headway control to cause the own vehicle to run following the preceding vehicle when the first determination is affirmative, and a vehicle type recognizing means for recognizing a type of the recognized front vehicle. The headway control means is configured to change a way to perform the headway control depending on the type (vehicle size, for example) of the recognized front vehicle.

A vehicle headway maintenance assist system is configured to perform a haptic notification control of an accelerator to prompt the driver to release the accelerator when the accelerator is being operated and to perform a deceleration control of the vehicle based on headway distance when the accelerator is being operated as long as the headway distance from a preceding vehicle is less than a prescribed headway distance threshold.