Patent EP0605104A1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
← Back to Patent Explorer
EP0605104A1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Cruise control systems for motor vehicles

Assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
•
Filing: 1993-11-26
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2013-11-26
📄 Original PDF 🌐 Google Patents 🔄 Sync Now

Abstract

Abstract A cruise control system for a motor vehicle (10) includes a forward looking distance sensor (20) adapted to sense vehicles (11, 12, 13) moving in the same path as the equipped vehicle (10) or in paths adjacent to the equipped vehicle (10), the system tracking vehicles (11, 12, 13) in front of or in paths adjacent to the equipped vehicle (10) and controlling braking or acceleration of the equipped vehicle (10) in response to vehicles (11, 12, 13) travelling in front of or on converging paths with the equipped vehicle (10), in order to maintain a safe distance between the equipped vehicle (10) and vehicles (11, 12, 13) in or entering its path.

Inventors

  • 👤 Malcolm Williams
  • 👤 Nigel John Clarke

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-27 10:30
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S13/00; G01S13/88; G01S13/93; G01S13/931; B; B60; B60K; B60K31/00; B60K31/0008; B60Q; B60Q9/00; B60Q9/008; B60W; B60W2520/00; B60W2520/10; B60W2520/105; B60W2520/12; B60W2520/125; B60W2540/00; B60W2540/18; B60W2554/00; B60W2554/80; B60W2554/801; B60W2554/802; B60W2554/804; G01S13/66; G01S13/72; G01S13/723; G01S13/726; G01S2013/93185; G01S2013/9319; G01S2013/932; G01S2013/9321; G01S2013/9322; G01S2013/9323; G01S2013/9325; G01S2013/9327; G01S2013/93271

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim 185 words
A cruise control system for a motor vehicle (10) comprising a forward looking distance sensor means (20), the distance sensor means (20) being capable of sensing vehicles (11) moving in the same path as the equipped vehicle (10) and controlling the speed of the equipped vehicle (10) in order to maintain a safe distance with the vehicles (11) in front, characterised in that the sensor means (20) also senses vehicles (12, 13) moving in paths adjacent to the path of the equipped vehicle (10); means (22 - 30) being provided to process signals from the sensor means (20) to provide information of the range, relative velocity and direction of movement of vehicles (11, 12, 13) travelling in front of or in paths adjacent to the equipped vehicle (10); and means (40) being provided to control braking and acceleration of the equipped vehicle (10) in response to vehicles (11, 12, 13) travelling in front of or on converging paths with the equipped vehicle (10), in order to maintain a safe distance between the equipped vehicle (10) and vehicles (11, 12, 13) in or entering its path.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 21 words
A cruise control system according to Claim 1 characterised in that the forward looking sensor means (20) is a radar sensor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 29 words
A cruise control system according to Claim 1 or 2 characterised in that the sensor means (20) has a field of view of the order of 15° or greater.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 33 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the forward looking sensor means (20) comprises a single sensor which is scanned mechanically from side to side.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 42 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the sensor means (20) comprises an array of sensors angled with respect to one another to cover the required field of view, the sensors being scanned electronically.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 122 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that means (28, 30) is included for monitoring successive signals from each object detected by the sensor means (20) and from said signals selecting the possible targets (11, 12, 13) corresponding to objects moving in the same direction as the equipped vehicle (10) in the path of the equipped vehicle (10) or in paths adjacent to the equipped vehicle (10); means (26) for tracking each possible target and for selecting a most appropriate target and means (40) for controlling acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle (10) in response to the relative position and speed of the most appropriate target (11, 12, 13) relative to the equipped vehicle (10).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 37 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle (10) is controlled by means of the throttle system and/or braking system of the vehicle (10).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 29 words
A cruise control system according to Claim 7 characterised in that servo means (46, 48) are provided to control the throttle system and/or braking system of the vehicle (10).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 36 words
A cruise control system according to any one of Claims 1 to 7 characterised in that the throttle system and/or braking system of the vehicle (10) is controlled through the engine or braking management control system.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 32 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that means (42) is provided to monitor the speed of the equipped vehicle (10) relative to the road.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 27 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that sensors (44) are provided to measure the condition of the road surface.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 41 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that sensors (32, 34) are provided to measure the steering angle of the equipped vehicle (10) and/or the longitudinal and lateral acceleration of the equipped vehicle (10).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 28 words
A cruise control system according to any one of the preceding claims characterised in that means (38) is provided to permit the driver to override the selected target.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

DE3525927A1 Cited
DE4110132A1 Cited
GB2254509A Cited
EP0544468A2 Cited
EP0568427A1 Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.

Assigned Categories & Tags

No categories assigned to this patent yet.

Assign Category Tag