Automatic Lane Change Control Using Road Speed Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems lack the ability to automatically perform lane changes while considering the maximum speed limit of the road, leading to potential violations of traffic laws and reduced usability.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method for controlling automatic lane changes that includes storage for map information, a controller to calculate the operable speed based on speed limits, and a display to inform the driver, ensuring compliance with speed limits and enabling lane changes only when conditions allow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the lane change function is performed without considering the maximum speed limit of the road, then the usability of the lane change function is maintained, but the vehicle may violate traffic laws and regulations
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates the minimum operating speed for lane change based on the maximum speed limit of the current road before the lane change maneuver is initiated. This preliminary calculation ensures that when the driver requests a lane change, the system can immediately determine compliance with traffic laws without delaying the operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the current road's maximum speed limit through map information and adjusts the minimum operating speed threshold accordingly. This feedback mechanism ensures that the lane change function adapts to different road conditions and always operates within legal speed parameters.
2Reliability
If the minimum operating speed is set high for high speed limit roads, then traffic laws are complied with, but the lane change function becomes less accessible at lower speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The minimum operating speed for lane change is not fixed but dynamically adjusted based on the maximum speed limit of the current road. The controller calculates a road-specific minimum operating speed that adapts to different driving environments, allowing the system to operate legally on high-speed roads while remaining accessible on lower-speed roads.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the speed parameter threshold based on road conditions. By retrieving the maximum speed limit from map information and calculating an appropriate minimum operating speed, the system modifies its operational parameters to match the specific road context, thereby maintaining both legality and adaptability.
3Ease of operation
If the minimum operating speed is set low for low speed limit roads, then the lane change function remains accessible, but traffic laws may be violated on high speed limit roads
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the minimum operating speed parameter based on the maximum speed limit of the current road retrieved from map information. This ensures that the parameter is appropriately scaled for each road type, preventing both illegal operations on high-speed roads and unnecessary restrictions on low-speed roads.
4Reliability
If the system retrieves and processes map information including speed limits, then legal compliance is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller leverages the existing map information retrieval capability, which is likely already present in modern vehicles for navigation and other functions. By making this existing multi-functional system serve the additional purpose of determining lane change speed parameters, the patent avoids adding dedicated hardware or complex new subsystems.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method for controlling an automatic lane change of a vehicle in consideration of a speed limit are configured to obtain information about the speed limit of a road from map information including information about the speed limit of the road, and calculate a speed at which an automatic lane change function is operable based on the speed limit of the road. As a result, it is possible to control the automatic lane change of the vehicle while automatically complying with laws and/or regulations in consideration of the speed limit of the road.