Lateral control of vehicle for lane following
US6473678B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 28, 2000 |
| Grant date | Oct 29, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 28, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB60T2201/087
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus for vehicle lane following in which a look ahead sensor including a CCD camera and an image processor detects a lane marking on the surface of a roadway. The image processor estimates a lateral displacement of a point at a preview distance in front of a vehicle from a target line. The target line is a line between lane markings defining a lane. An electric motor coupled to the steering mechanism is used to provide a bias (a torque input) to the steering, which may either assist or oppose to the steering torque from the driver. A steering controller is designed to assist the driver to maintain the vehicle's lane position by holding the vehicle at the target line using a biasing torque if the lane following is selected by the driver. In order to reflect the driver preference in the lane following, the controller collects a sufficient number of measures of the vehicle lateral displacement when the lane following is not selected. Based on the collected data, the controller updates the target line position. In the subsequent lane following, the driver is assisted to maintain the vehicle at this updated target line.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.