Collision avoidance system

• US 10,140,867 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2014
• Issued: 11/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yokohama Rubber Company Limited
• Inventors: Kodama, Yuji, Nakatani, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tang, Son M
• Application Number:
  US15/539,670
• Publication Number:
  US 20170372609A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking

Abstract

A collision avoidance system comprises: a following vehicle data acquiring unit that acquires following vehicle data indicating the relative position and relative speed of a following vehicle traveling behind the host vehicle; a travel data acquiring unit that obtains travel data indicating travel conditions for the host vehicle; a specific state extraction unit that extracts specific travel data indicating specific travel conditions for the host vehicle under which the possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the following vehicle is high; a database unit storing a plurality of pieces of specific travel data; a determination unit that determines whether or not there is the possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the following vehicle; and a warning data output unit that outputs warning data to the following vehicle if the determination unit determines that there is the possibility of a collision.

Claims

1. A collision avoidance system comprising:

a following vehicle data acquiring unit, provided in a host vehicle, that acquires following vehicle data indicating a relative position and a relative speed, relative to the host vehicle, of a following vehicle traveling behind the host vehicle;

a position data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires position data indicating a position of the host vehicle;

a travel data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires travel data indicating travel conditions of the host vehicle;

a specific state extraction unit, provided in the host vehicle, that, on a basis of the following vehicle data, the travel data and the position data, extracts specific travel data and specific position data indicating specific travel conditions for the host vehicle under which a possibility of a collision between the host vehicle and the following vehicle is high;

wherein the specific state extraction unit, when the relative speed relative to the host vehicle of the following vehicle has become greater than or equal to a predetermined speed and the relative distance relative to the host vehicle of the following vehicle has become less than or equal to a predetermined distance, extracts the specific travel data and the specific position data, and classifies a level of the possibility of the collision on the basis of the number of extractions of the specific travel data and the specific position data;

a database unit, provided in the host vehicle, that stores a plurality of pieces of the specific travel data, the specific position data and the level of the possibility of the collision in association with each other;

a determination unit, provided in the host vehicle, that, on a basis of the travel data acquired by the travel data acquiring unit and the position data acquired by the position data acquiring unit, and the specific travel data and the specific position data stored in the database unit, determines whether or not there is the possibility of the collision between the host vehicle and the following vehicle;

a warning data output unit, provided in the host vehicle, that outputs warning data to the following vehicle upon the determination unit determining that there is the possibility of the collision;

wherein the warning data output unit changes a timing at which to output the warning data on the basis of the level of the possibility of the collision; and

a distribution unit, provided in the host vehicle, that distributes the specific travel data, the specific position data and the level of the possibility of the collision to another vehicle.

2. The collision avoidance system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a driver identification data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires driver identification data indicating a driver of the host vehicle;

a time data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires time data indicating a time; and

a weather data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires weather data indicating the weather,

wherein the warning data output unit changes a timing at which to output the warning data on a basis of at least one of the driver identification data, the time data, and the weather data.

3. The collision avoidance system according to claim 1,

wherein a plurality of pieces of specific position data stored in the database unit are classified on a basis of a level of the possibility of the collision,

the collision avoidance system further comprises:

a driver identification data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires driver identification data indicating a driver of the host vehicle;

a time data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires time data indicating a time; and

a weather data acquiring unit, provided in the host vehicle, that acquires weather data indicating the weather, and

on a basis of at least one of the driver identification data, the time data, and the weather data, the determination unit selects the specific position data to use in the determination from the plurality of pieces of the specific position data stored in the database unit.