Vehicle outside notification device

• US 10,045,173 B1
• Filed: 01/09/2018
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Morimura, Junichi, Watanabe, Junya, Arakawa, Seiji
• Primary Examiner(s): Lu, Shirley
• Application Number:
  US15/866,026
• Time in Patent Office: 210 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/28 for indicating front of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/346 with automatic actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/5037 the display content changing automatically, e.g. depending on traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/507 specific to autonomous vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/525 automatically indicating risk of collision between vehicles in traffic or with pedestrians, e.g. after risk assessment using the vehicle sensor data
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/547 for issuing requests to other traffic participants; for confirming to other traffic participants they can proceed, e.g. they can overtake
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2400/50 Projected symbol or information, e.g. onto the road or car body
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/04 Traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle outside notification device including a notification necessity determination unit configured to determine whether or not it is necessary to provide a traffic participant in a vicinity of a host vehicle with notification regarding an action schedule of the host vehicle, a preceding vehicle determination unit configured to determine whether or not a preceding vehicle is present in a case where it is determined that it is necessary to provide the notification, a notification output unit configured to output the notification, and a notification control unit configured to control the notification output unit. The notification control unit outputs the notification in a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is not present. The notification control unit restricts the output of the notification in a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is present.

Claims

1. A vehicle outside notification device comprising:

a notification necessity determination unit configured to determine whether or not it is necessary to provide a traffic participant in a vicinity of a host vehicle with notification regarding an action schedule of the host vehicle, on the basis of a surrounding environment of the host vehicle and a state of the host vehicle;

a preceding vehicle determination unit configured to determine whether or not a preceding vehicle of the host vehicle is present on the basis of the surrounding environment of the host vehicle, in a case where the notification necessity determination unit determines that it is necessary to provide the notification;

a notification output unit configured to output the notification; and

a notification control unit configured to control the notification output unit on the basis of a determination result of the preceding vehicle determination unit,

wherein the notification control unit is configured to output the notification from the notification output unit in a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is not present, and is configured to restrict the output of the notification from the notification output unit in a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is present.

2. The vehicle outside notification device according to claim 1,

wherein the notification control unit is configured not to output the notification from the notification output unit when an inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is equal to or less than a distance between the host vehicle and the traffic participant in a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is present, and is configured to output the notification from the notification output unit when the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle is larger than the distance between the host vehicle and the traffic participant in a case where the preceding vehicle determination unit determines that the preceding vehicle is present.

3. The vehicle outside notification device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an oncoming vehicle action schedule determination unit configured to determine an action schedule of an oncoming vehicle in a case where the oncoming vehicle of the host vehicle is present,

wherein the notification control unit is configured to output notifications regarding the action schedule of the host vehicle and the action schedule of the oncoming vehicle which is determined by the oncoming vehicle action schedule determination unit from the notification output unit, in a case where the oncoming vehicle is present.

4. The vehicle outside notification device according to claim 2, further comprising:

an oncoming vehicle action schedule determination unit configured to determine an action schedule of an oncoming vehicle in a case where the oncoming vehicle of the host vehicle is present,

wherein the notification control unit is configured to output notifications regarding the action schedule of the host vehicle and the action schedule of the oncoming vehicle which is determined by the oncoming vehicle action schedule determination unit from the notification output unit, in a case where the oncoming vehicle is present.