Motorcycle Cruise Control Using Throttle Grip Approval Patterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance systems for motorcycles face challenges in efficiently adjusting vehicle speed to match legal speed limits without requiring riders to release the accelerator grip or access additional switches, especially when road speed limits change during travel.
Innovation Solution
A driver assistance system that utilizes the accelerator grip for approval operations, allowing riders to change or maintain vehicle speed through predetermined grip patterns, and includes a display for speed comparison and a forward information acquirer for automated following control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a new switch is added to allow rider approval for automatic speed change, then the system can automatically adjust vehicle speed to match legal limits, but the device complexity increases and the rider must release the accelerator grip to operate the switch
Solution Approach 1:
The accelerator grip is given multiple functions: it serves both as the primary acceleration control and as an approval switch for automatic speed adjustment. By detecting specific turning patterns of the accelerator grip, the system determines rider intent to approve or deny speed changes, eliminating the need for a separate dedicated switch while maintaining full automation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The approval function for automatic speed adjustment is merged with the existing accelerator grip operation. The system combines the acceleration control function with the approval confirmation function by detecting specific operational patterns (such as holding the grip open for a predetermined time or specific turning sequences), thereby integrating two functions into one control element
2Extent of automation
If a new switch is added for approval operation, then automatic speed change is enabled, but the ease of operation deteriorates as the rider must release the accelerator grip
Solution Approach 1:
The accelerator grip performs dual functions as both acceleration control and approval switch, allowing the rider to maintain grip on the accelerator while simultaneously approving speed adjustments through specific turning patterns, thereby eliminating the need to release the grip and reducing operational burden
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the rider's existing natural interaction with the accelerator grip (turning and holding operations) to convey approval intent, rather than requiring the rider to learn and operate a separate control mechanism. The accelerator grip's inherent movements are repurposed to serve the dual function of acceleration control and system approval
Data Source
AI summary
A driver assistance system is provided with an accelerator grip turnably operable by a rider to accelerate or decelerate a vehicle which is a saddle-type vehicle, an accelerator position sensor that detects a turning operation of the accelerator grip, an automated cruise controller that automatically controls a vehicle speed of the vehicle or a following distance on the basis of a set vehicle speed, a road sign recognizer that recognizes a regulation speed stipulated for a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and a vehicle speed specifier that, in response to the accelerator position sensor detecting a turning operation in a predetermined pattern while the automated cruise control based on the set vehicle speed is in progress, changes the set vehicle speed on the basis of a recognition result from the road sign recognizer.