Lane Departure Assist Control for Secondary Collision Mitigation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional vehicle control apparatuses perform secondary collision damage mitigation control indiscriminately upon detecting a low impact collision, potentially interfering with the driver's operations to avoid or mitigate secondary collisions, and struggle to accurately determine low impact collisions, especially on rough road surfaces.

Innovation Solution

A driving assistance apparatus comprising a brake device, a drive force generating device, and a control unit that performs lane departure suppression control, determines low impact collisions based on collision indicative values, and executes secondary collision damage mitigation control only during lane departure suppression, adjusting brake and drive force accordingly, with optional rear direction monitoring for proximity considerations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If secondary collision damage mitigation control is performed whenever a low impact collision is detected, then secondary collision damage is reduced, but the driver's operations to avoid or mitigate secondary collisions are interfered with

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesecondary collision damage mitigationVSAvoiddriver operation freedom

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by making the mitigation control applicable only to specific situations (when lane departure suppression control is active) rather than all low impact collisions. This selective application resolves the contradiction by providing protection only when the driver is already engaged in a safety-related operation, thus not interfering with normal driving operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses dynamics by making the mitigation control dynamically activated based on the state of lane departure suppression control. The control system continuously monitors whether lane departure suppression is active and enables mitigation control only during that period, allowing the system to adapt to real-time driving conditions and resolve the contradiction between protection and operational freedom.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Ease of operation

If secondary collision damage mitigation control is not performed when low impact collision occurs, then driver operation is not interfered with, but secondary collision damage cannot be mitigated

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedriver operation freedomVSAvoidsecondary collision damage mitigation

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by proactively providing mitigation control when the driver is already performing safety operations (lane departure suppression). This ensures protection is in place before a secondary collision can occur, resolving the contradiction by being prepared in advance for situations where the driver is already engaged in safety-related maneuvers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses feedback by continuously monitoring the state of lane departure suppression control and using that information to determine whether to activate mitigation control. This closed-loop approach ensures the system responds appropriately to driver actions, providing protection when needed while avoiding interference during normal operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Device complexity

If collision detection is performed without considering road surface conditions, then low impact collision detection is simplified, but false detection on rough road surfaces increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollision detection systemVSAvoidlow impact collision detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary condition (lane departure suppression control activation) between the collision detection and the mitigation control execution. This intermediary layer filters out false positives from rough road surfaces by requiring additional contextual evidence before triggering mitigation control, thus resolving the contradiction between system simplicity and detection accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the collision detection process into multiple independent evaluation stages: collision detection, lane departure suppression control activation, and mitigation control execution. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently, maintaining simple collision detection while adding accuracy through subsequent filtering stages.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11932240B2Driving assistance apparatus

Publication Date: 2024.03.19 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A control unit performs a lane departure suppression control when a host vehicle is about to depart from a traveling lane. The control unit determines whether a low impact collision has occurred. The control unit performs a secondary collision damage mitigation control when the low impact collision is determined to have occurred while the lane departure suppression control is being performed.