| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable highly precise estimation of driving load, using an inter-vehicle time.SOLUTION: The distance between a first vehicle (one's own vehicle) and second vehicle (another vehicle) running ahead of the first vehicle, and the running speed of the first vehicle are detected. Subsequently, a time (inter-vehicle time) that the first vehicle takes to reach the current position of the second vehicle is calculated based on the detected distance and running speed of the first vehicle. Further, a driving load is estimated based on the inter-vehicle time and the running speed of the first vehicle. The driving load is estimated so that the driving load becomes smaller as the running speed of the first vehicle becomes larger when under the condition that the inter-vehicle time is fixed. This is realistic estimation of a driving load, which enables precise grasp of driving load, using the inter-vehicle time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1 |
