Description:Complete specification: The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

Field of the invention:
[0001] The present disclosure relates to an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) unit, and particularly to an ACC unit with an automatic time gap value selection function.

Background of the invention:
[0002] The Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) technology allows vehicles to automatically adjust their speed to maintain a determinable inter-vehicle distance from a target vehicle in front based on the parameters determined by a driver. The ACC operation decelerates/accelerates the vehicle based on the real-time vehicle speed and determinable inter-vehicle distance from the target vehicle. The ACC is also known as autonomous cruise control or dynamic cruise control. The time gap is a parameter which allows the driver to determine the inter-vehicle distance to be maintained from the target vehicle during the ACC operation. The time gap value is calculated by dividing the inter-vehicle distance from the target vehicle with the real-time vehicle speed. A larger time gap value selection translates into a larger inter-vehicle distance maintained from the target vehicle during the ACC operation. Whereas a smaller time gap value selection translates into a smaller inter-vehicle distance maintained from the target vehicle during the ACC operation.

[0003] During the ACC operation, the driver manually selects a time gap value from at least one time gap value available. This time gap value selection by driver affects his driving experience throughout the ACC operation. For example, a selection of a shorter time gap value on a highway/freeway and a selection of a longer time gap value on a congested road would be inappropriate and would adversely affect the driving experience. Therefore, selection of an appropriate time gap value based on the traffic condition and the environment plays a crucial role in determining the driving experience throughout the ACC operation.

[0004] The selection of an appropriate time gap during the ACC operation poses two problems. Firstly, not all drivers are aware of which time gap value will be appropriate for a given driving condition. Secondly, manual selection of an appropriate time gap value based on the changes in the driving conditions takes driver’s attention away from the road and at time distracts him.

[0005] US11590973 BB discloses a driver assistance system for motor vehicles, including a locating system for locating preceding vehicles and a longitudinal guidance module for controlling the longitudinal movement of the host vehicle as a function of location data of located objects. The longitudinal guidance module includes a driving path module, for defining a driving path ahead of the host vehicle, and an adaptive cruise control function, which adjusts a time gap between the host vehicle and a target object located within the driving path to a setpoint value. The longitudinal guidance module includes a dynamic function which, under certain conditions indicating that the target object will leave the driving path, modifies the longitudinal guidance function within the context of a more rapidly commencing acceleration in response to a command of the driver.

[0006] The present invention solves all the above-mentioned problems in a manner as described in the claims.

Brief description of the accompanying drawings:
[0007] An embodiment of the disclosure is described with reference to the following accompanying drawings.
[0008] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an ACC unit with an automatic time gap value selection function, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0009] Fig. 2 illustrates a pictorial representation of difference between manual time gap value selection and automatic time gap value selection for various driving scenarios, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0010] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for the automatic time gap value selection for the ACC unit, according to the present invention.

Detailed description of the embodiments:
[0011] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) unit 100 with an automatic time gap value selection function, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ACC unit 100 is configured to receive a real-time vehicle speed data 102, execute an ACC operation, characterized in that, automatically select an appropriate time gap value from at least one time gap value during the ACC operation based on the real-time vehicle speed data 102.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, each time gap value of the at least one time gap value has a corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and a corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit. The corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and the corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of the respective time gap values are utilized for finding and selecting the appropriate time gap value based on the real-time vehicle speed data 102. For the appropriate time gap value, the real-time vehicle speed falls within the range of the corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and the corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of the appropriate time gap value.

[0013] The at least one time gap value comprises a smallest time gap value and a largest time gap value. The smallest time gap value corresponds to a smaller preset inter-vehicle distance maintained from a target vehicle. The smallest time gap value selection would be suitable for traffic congested roads and not high-speed highways/freeways. The largest time gap value corresponds to a larger preset inter-vehicle distance maintained from the target vehicle. The largest time gap value selection would be suitable for high-speed highways/freeways and not congested roads.

[0014] The components of the ACC unit 100 and the method of the ACC operation is not explained in detail due to being state of the art, however the same must not be understood in limiting manner. In an embodiment of the present invention, the ACC unit 100 receives an environment data 104 from at least one sensor mounted in the vehicle. The at least one sensor is selected from a group comprising a RADAR, a LiDAR, a camera, and an ultrasonic sensor. The environment data 104 received from the at least one sensor is utilized by the ACC unit 100 to detect the environment and the traffic conditions around the vehicle.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, the automatic time gap value selection function is configurable to be deactivated and activated by the driver. Whenever the driver deactivates the automatic time gap value selection function, then the driver needs to manually select/change the time gap value from the at least one time gap value during the ACC operation.

[0016] In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the ACC unit 100 is provided with necessary signal detection, acquisition, and processing circuits. The ACC unit 100 is the one which comprises input interface, output interfaces having pins or ports, the memory element (not shown) such as Random Access Memory (RAM) and/or Read Only Memory (ROM), Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and a Digital-to-Analog Convertor (DAC), clocks, timers, counters and at least one processor (capable of implementing machine learning) connected with each other and to other components through communication bus channels. The memory element is pre-stored with logics or instructions or programs or applications or modules/models and/or threshold values/ranges, reference values, predefined/predetermined criteria/conditions, which is/are accessed by the at least one processor as per the defined routines. The internal components of the ACC unit 100 are not explained for being state of the art, and the same must not be understood in a limiting manner. The ACC unit 100 may also comprise communication units such as transceivers to communicate through wireless or wired means such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), 3G, 4G, 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Ethernet, serial networks, and the like. The ACC unit 100 is implementable in the form of System-in-Package (SiP) or System-on-Chip (SOC) or any other known types.

[0017] Fig. 2 illustrates a pictorial representation of difference between the manual time gap value selection and the automatic time gap value selection for various driving scenarios, according to an embodiment of the present invention. A row A represents the response to the manual time gap value selection by the driver for various vehicle speeds. Whereas a row B represents the response to the automatic time gap value selection by the ACC unit 100 for the same vehicle speeds. A column C, D and E respectively represent the different inter-vehicle distance maintained from the target vehicle based on the time gap value selected through the manual time gap value selection (A) and the automatic time gap value selection (B). With respect to vehicle speed, the column C represent the smallest vehicle speed, the Column E represent the highest vehicle speed and the column D represent the intermediate vehicle speed. For the row A, a specific time gap value is selected by the driver and the same remained selected during the whole ACC operation. Whereas for the row B, the automatic time gap value selection function is activated by the driver therefore higher time gap values are automatically selected by the ACC unit 100 with the increase in the vehicle speed.

[0018] Fig. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for the automatic time gap value selection for the ACC unit, according to the present invention. The method for the automatic time gap value selection comprises a plurality of steps which are illustrated in Fig. 3 using blocks 302 to 310, according to the present invention. The block 304 comprises blocks 306 to 310. The step 302 comprises receiving, by the ACC unit 100, the real-time vehicle speed data 102. The step 304 comprises executing the ACC operation. The step 304 is characterized by, automatically selecting the appropriate time gap value from the at least one time gap value during the ACC operation based on the real-time vehicle speed data 102. The step 304 of automatically selecting, by the ACC unit 100, the appropriate time gap value further comprises steps 306 to 310 as follows.

[0019] The step 306 comprises comparing, by the ACC unit 100, the real-time vehicle speed data 102 with the corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and the corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of the each time gap value of the at least one time gap value. The step 308 comprises finding, by the ACC unit 100, the appropriate time gap value for which the real-time vehicle speed falls within range of the corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and the corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of the appropriate time gap value. The step 310 comprises selecting, by the ACC unit 100, the appropriate time gap value from the at least one time gap value. Thus, for a given real-time vehicle speed the selected appropriate time gap value will be the one for which the real-time vehicle speed falls within the range of the corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and the corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of the selected appropriate time gap value.

[0020] The step 304 is executed only after detecting, by the ACC unit 100, whether the automatic time gap value selection function is activated by the driver. The automatic time gap value selection function is configurable to be deactivated and activated by the driver using a human machine interface (HMI) in the vehicle.

[0021] According to the method, a default time gap value is selected until the ACC unit 100 automatically selects the appropriate time gap value based on the real-time vehicle speed data 102 after activation of the automatic time gap value selection function by the driver. The default time gap value is the largest time gap value.

[0022] According to the present invention, the ACC unit 100 with the automatic time gap value selection function is disclosed. The present invention solves the problems discussed above. The present invention solves the lack of driver awareness problem by selecting the appropriate time gap value based on the real-time vehicle speed data 102. The present invention further solves the driver distraction problem by making the selection of the appropriate time gap value automatic not requiring any manual intervention thus keeping the driver focused and relaxed. The present invention further reduces the deceleration panics and makes the best use of traffic jam assist possible by automatically selecting the appropriate time gap value.

[0023] It should be understood that the embodiments explained in the description above are only illustrative and do not limit the scope of this invention. Many such embodiments and other modification and changes in the embodiment explained in the description are envisaged. The scope of the invention is only limited by the scope of the claims.

, Claims:We Claim:

1. An Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) unit (100) with an automatic time gap value selection function, said ACC unit (100) configured to:
? receive a real-time vehicle speed data (102);
? execute an ACC operation, characterized in that, automatically select an appropriate time gap value from at least one time gap value during said ACC operation based on said real-time vehicle speed data (102).

2. The ACC unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each time gap value of said at least one time gap value has a corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and a corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit.

3. The ACC unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one time gap value comprises a smallest time gap value and a largest time gap value.

4. The ACC unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said ACC unit (100) receives an environment data (104) from at least one sensor.

5. The ACC unit (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein said at least one sensor is selected from a group comprising a RADAR, a LiDAR, a camera, and an ultrasonic sensor.

6. The ACC unit (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said automatic time gap value selection function is configurable to be deactivated and activated by a driver.

7. A method for an automatic time gap value selection for an ACC unit (100), said method comprises steps of:
? receiving a real-time vehicle speed data (102);
? executing an ACC operation, characterized by, automatically selecting an appropriate time gap value from at least one time gap value during said ACC operation based on said real-time vehicle speed data (102).

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein selecting said appropriate time gap value comprises the steps of:
? comparing said real-time vehicle speed data (102) with a corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and a corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of said each time gap value of said at least one time gap value;
? finding said appropriate time gap value for which said real-time vehicle speed falls within range of said corresponding predetermined minimum speed limit and said corresponding predetermined maximum speed limit of said appropriate time gap value;
? selecting said appropriate time gap value from said at least one time gap value.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a default time gap value is selected until said ACC unit (100) automatically selects said appropriate time gap value after activation of said automatic time gap value selection function by a driver.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said default time gap value is said largest time gap value.