Granted Patent B2

US 12,649,484 · App. 18/741,770 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Hiroshi Toyoda (Numazu, JP); Shinya Kawamata (Mishima, JP)

Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

B60W50/14B60T7/12B62D15/025G06F3/02

Abstract

Claims (29)

1 . A vehicle control device comprising:

an electronic control unit (ECU) including a processor and a timer;

in-vehicle sensors configured to transmit sensor signals to the ECU, the in-vehicle sensors including

a millimeter wave radar configured to calculate a distance between a host vehicle and a preceding vehicle,

a camera configured to acquire image data in front of the host vehicle and calculate a relative speed value of the preceding vehicle with respect to the host vehicle based on the image data, and

a speed sensor configured to detect a wheel speed value of the host vehicle;

an image display device;

a braking device configured to apply a braking force to wheels of the host vehicle; and

a steering device including a first switch and a second switch that are integrated into a spoked portion of a steering wheel, wherein

the processor is configured to

start a first driving assist and cause the image display device to display a first image representing a first name of the first driving assist and a first indicator of first setting information related to the first driving assist at a same time, the first driving assist being executed by the processor in the order of

(i) calculating a time to collision (TTC) required for the host vehicle to touch the preceding vehicle based on the sensor signals,

(ii) determining whether the TTC is equal to or less than a TTC threshold, and

(iii) controlling the braking device such that a first force value of the braking force matches a preset target force value of the braking force in response to the TTC being equal to or less than the TTC threshold, and

the first setting information including the TTC threshold and the preset target force value,

increase the first force value of the braking force in a case where the first switch is pressed by a driver of the host vehicle,

cause the image display device to change the first indicator in response to the increased first force value of the braking force,

decrease the first force value of the braking force in a case where the second switch is pressed by the driver, and

cause the image display device to change the first indicator in response to the decreased first force value of the braking force.

2 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to

start a second driving assist and cause the image display device to display a second image representing a second name of the second driving assist and a second indicator of second setting information related to the second driving assist at a same time, the second driving assist being executed by the processor in the order of

(i) calculating a time to deviation (TTD) indicating a time it takes for the host vehicle to deviate from a lane in which the host vehicle is travelling based on the sensor signals,

(ii) determining whether the TTD is equal to or less than a TTD threshold, and

(iii) controlling the steering device such that a first torque value of a steering torque matches a preset target torque value of the steering torque in response to the TTD being equal to or less than the TTD threshold, and

the second setting information including the TTD threshold and the preset target torque value,

increase the first torque value of the steering torque in a case where the first switch is pressed by the driver,

cause the image display device to change the second indicator in response to the increased first torque value of the steering torque,

decrease the first torque value of the steering torque in a case where the second switch is pressed by the driver, and

cause the image display device to change the second indicator in response to the decreased first torque value of the steering torque.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (23)