Anticipatory cruise control
An anticipatory cruise control configured to automatically adjust travel speed responsively to upcoming changes in road conditions in a safe and comfortable manner.
1. A method of anticipatory cruise control (ACC) comprising:
providing a speed-command-generator associated with a vehicle in travel;
retrieving speed data of an upcoming road segment from a data base of map data;
calculating a potential transition speed from a current travel speed to a future travel speed associated with the upcoming road segment based on the speed data and current position; and
modifying the potential transition speed by a user-selected offset value, and
supplying the potential transition speed modified with the offset value as a transition speed to the ACC.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the speed data of an upcoming road segment includes a speed limit of the upcoming road segment.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the speed data of an upcoming road segment includes curve data.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the speed-command-generator is further configured to calculate the future travel speed from the curve data.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transition speed generates less than about 0.15 g-force during speed changes.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising employing dead-reckoning responsively to a loss of GPS service or loss of the map data associated with the upcoming road segment.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising issuing a warning signal responsively to a loss of GPS service or the map data associated with the upcoming road segment.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cruise speed is implemented as a signal compatible with most ACC units.
9. An anticipatory cruise control (ACC) comprising:
a speed-command-generator associated with a vehicle configured to:
retrieve speed data of an upcoming road segment from a data base of map data,
calculate a potential transition speed from a current travel speed to a future travel speed associated with the upcoming road segment based on the speed data and a current position; and
modify the potential transition speed by a user-selected offset value, and
supply the potential transition speed modified with the offset value as a transition speed to the ACC.
10. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 9 wherein the speed data includes a speed limit of the upcoming road segment.
11. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 9 wherein the speed data includes a curve data of the upcoming road segment.
12. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 11 wherein the speed-command-generator is further configured to calculate the future travel speed from the curve data.
13. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 9 , wherein cruise speed generates less than about 0.15 g-force during speed changes.
14. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to employing dead-reckoning responsively to a loss of GPS service or loss of the map data associated with the upcoming road segment.
15. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 14 , further comprising an output device configured to issue a warning responsively to a loss of GPS signal or inadequate map data.
16. The anticipatory cruise control of claim 9 , wherein the cruise speed is implemented as signal compatible with most ACC units.