Lane Change Control Unit for Collision Avoidance

Solution Overview

Problem

There is a risk of contact between vehicles during automatic lane changes, particularly when another vehicle changes lanes and approaches the vehicle that has already changed lanes, potentially leading to collisions.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle control device and method that includes an external environment recognition unit to assess the surrounding environment and a lane change control unit to manage the vehicle's speed and steering, restricting automatic lane changes if another vehicle is predicted to be adjacent within certain lanes or dividing lines, and allowing changes if the adjacent vehicle is outside these areas.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If automatic lane change is executed without restriction, then lane change efficiency is improved, but the risk of vehicle contact increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelane change efficiencyVSAvoidrisk of vehicle contact

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary prediction of the execution result before executing the lane change. It calculates whether the user's own vehicle and another vehicle will be in a parallel traveling state after the lane change, and determines control content accordingly to prevent contact while maintaining efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If the system predicts parallel traveling state and changes control content, then safety is improved, but lane change execution time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidlane change execution time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary prediction of the execution result before executing the lane change. It calculates whether the user's own vehicle and another vehicle will be in a parallel traveling state after the lane change, and determines control content accordingly to prevent contact while maintaining efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11565700B2Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Publication Date: 2023.01.31 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD

AI summary

A lane change control unit restricts an automatic lane change in the case of predicting that a user's own vehicle after having made the automatic lane change will be adjacent to another vehicle that exists inside of a third lane or on a third lane dividing line, and executes the automatic lane change without restriction in the case of predicting that the user's own vehicle after having made the automatic lane change will be adjacent to another vehicle that exists inside a fourth lane or inside of a road shoulder.