Methods and systems for electronically assisted lane entrance
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of assisting movement of a vehicle from one lane to another via a lane assistance computer, the method comprising:
- detecting, based at least in part on one or more images captured from an imaging sensor of the vehicle;
a restricted access lane in which access is restricted to vehicles that satisfy predetermined entrance parameters, wherein the restricted access lane comprises a carpool lane, andan entrance to the restricted access lane a distance in front of the vehicle;
determining the predetermined entrance parameters that must be satisfied for access to the restricted access lane, wherein the predetermined entrance parameters comprise a minimum number of occupants;
reading input from one or more occupant sensors to determine a number of occupants in the vehicle;
determining whether the vehicle satisfies the predetermined entrance parameters based at least in part on comparing the number of occupants to the minimum number of occupants; and
at least partly in response to determining that the vehicle satisfies the predetermined entrance parameters, generating an output signal for electronically controlling the vehicle to enter the restricted access lane via the entrance.
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Abstract
Methods and systems for assisted lane entrance are disclosed. In some aspects, a method of assisting movement of a vehicle from one lane to another, includes detecting an entrance to a restricted access lane within a threshold distance in front of the vehicle, determining entrance parameters for the restricted access lane based, at least in part, on a position of the entrance relative to a position of the vehicle, and generating an output signal based on the entrance parameters.
21 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method of assisting movement of a vehicle from one lane to another via a lane assistance computer, the method comprising:
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detecting, based at least in part on one or more images captured from an imaging sensor of the vehicle; a restricted access lane in which access is restricted to vehicles that satisfy predetermined entrance parameters, wherein the restricted access lane comprises a carpool lane, and an entrance to the restricted access lane a distance in front of the vehicle; determining the predetermined entrance parameters that must be satisfied for access to the restricted access lane, wherein the predetermined entrance parameters comprise a minimum number of occupants; reading input from one or more occupant sensors to determine a number of occupants in the vehicle; determining whether the vehicle satisfies the predetermined entrance parameters based at least in part on comparing the number of occupants to the minimum number of occupants; and at least partly in response to determining that the vehicle satisfies the predetermined entrance parameters, generating an output signal for electronically controlling the vehicle to enter the restricted access lane via the entrance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A vehicle that provides electronic assistance for lane changes, comprising:
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an imaging sensor; a lane assistance computer, operably coupled to the imaging sensor, and configured to; detect an entrance to a restricted access lane within a threshold distance in front of the vehicle based on images captured by the imaging sensor, wherein the restricted access lane comprises a carpool lane, wherein access to the restricted access lane is restricted to vehicles that satisfy entrance parameters, determine the entrance parameters for the restricted access lane, wherein the predetermined entrance parameters comprise a minimum number of occupants, read input from the occupant sensor to determine a number of occupants in the vehicle, determine whether the vehicle satisfies the entrance parameters based at least partly on comparing the number of occupants to the minimum number of occupants, and at least partly in response to determining that the vehicle satisfies the entrance parameters, generate an output signal for electronically controlling the vehicle to enter the restricted access lane via the entrance. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for assisting movement of a vehicle from one lane to another, comprising:
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an electronic hardware processor; an electronic hardware memory, operably coupled to the processor, and storing instructions that configure the electronic hardware processor to; detect an entrance to a restricted access lane within a threshold distance in front of the vehicle, wherein access to the restricted access lane is restricted to vehicles that satisfy entrance parameters, wherein the restricted access lane comprises a carpool lane, determine the entrance parameters for the restricted access lane, wherein the predetermined entrance parameters comprise a minimum number of occupants, read input from one or more occupant sensors to determine a number of occupants in the vehicle, determine whether the vehicle satisfies the entrance parameters based at least in part on comparing the number of occupants to the minimum number of occupants, and at least partly in response to determining that the vehicle satisfies the entrance parameters, generate an output signal for electronically controlling the vehicle to enter the restricted access lane via the entrance. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform a method of assisting movement of a vehicle from one lane to another, the method comprising:
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detecting an entrance to a restricted access lane within a threshold distance in front of the vehicle, wherein access to the restricted access lane is restricted to vehicles that satisfy entrance parameters, wherein the restricted access lane comprises a carpool lane; reading input from one or more occupant sensors to determine a number of occupants in the vehicle; determining the entrance parameters for the restricted access lane, wherein the predetermined entrance parameters comprise a minimum number of occupants; determining whether the vehicle satisfies the entrance parameters based at least in part on comparing the number of occupants to the minimum number of occupants; and at least partly in response to determining that the vehicle satisfies the entrance parameters, generating an output signal for electronically controlling the vehicle to enter the restricted access lane via the entrance. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification