System and method for providing driver with preliminary notification

• US 10,319,231 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2017
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Denso International America Incorporated (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Denso International America Incorporated (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Weinfield, Aaron
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mahase, Pameshanand
• Application Number:
  US15/616,215
• Publication Number:
  US 20180357897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/804 Relative longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18027 Drive off, accelerating from standstill
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/22 Platooning, i.e. convoy of communicating vehicles

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system for providing a driver of a host vehicle being stopped with a preliminary notification that remote vehicles forming a queue in front of the host vehicle are likely to start moving. The system includes a receiver, a notifying device, a determiner, and a controller. The receiver is configured to receive messages from the remote vehicles through Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications. The notifying device is configured to provide the driver with the preliminary notification. The determiner is configured to determine whether a specified vehicle among the remote vehicles other than a preceding vehicle directly ahead of the specified vehicle starts moving based on the messages sent from the specified vehicle. The controller is configured to control the notifying device to provide the preliminary notification when the determiner determines that the specified vehicle starts moving.

Claims

1. A system for providing a driver of a host vehicle being stopped with a preliminary notification that two or more remote vehicles forming a queue in front of the host vehicle are likely to start moving, the system comprising:

a receiver configured to receive messages from the two or more remote vehicles through Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications;

a notifying device configured to provide the driver with the preliminary notification;

a determiner configured to (i) identify a remote vehicle among the two or more remote vehicles that is directly ahead of the host vehicle as a preceding vehicle and a remote vehicle among the two or more remote vehicles that is not the preceding vehicle as a specified vehicle and (ii) determine whether the specified vehicle starts moving based on the messages sent from the specified vehicle; and

a controller configured to control the notifying device to provide the preliminary notification when the determiner determines that the specified vehicle starts moving.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the determiner identifies, as the specified vehicle, a remote vehicle among the two or more remote vehicles that is directly ahead of the preceding vehicle.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the two or more remote vehicles include connected vehicles capable of communicating with the host vehicle through the V2V communications and non-connected vehicles not capable of communicating with the host vehicle, and

the determiner identifies, as the specified vehicle, one of the connected vehicles that is closest to the host vehicle among the connected vehicles.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the two or more remote vehicles include connected vehicles capable of communicating with the host vehicle through the V2V communications and non-connected vehicles not capable of communicating with the host vehicle,

the connected vehicles are grouped into first grouped vehicles within a specified distance away from the host vehicle and second grouped vehicles outside the specified distance away from the host vehicle, and

the determiner identifies, as the specified vehicle, one of the first grouped vehicles that starts moving first.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the two or more remote vehicles include connected vehicles capable of communicating with the host vehicle through the V2V communications and non-connected vehicles not capable of communicating with the host vehicle,

the determiner determines, as the preceding vehicle, one of the connected vehicles,

the determiner is further configured to determine, based on the messages sent from the preceding vehicle, whether the preceding vehicle starts moving after the notifying device provided the preliminary notification, and

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an actual notification that the host vehicle should begin moving when the determiner determines that the preceding vehicle starts moving.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein

the determiner is further configured to determine whether the host vehicle has not moved for a specified time period since the notifying device provided the actual notification, and

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an additional notification to urge the driver to start the host vehicle when the determiner determines that the host vehicle has not moved for the specified time period.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein

the notifying device includes an audio system, and

the notifying device provides the driver with the additional notification by generating an additional notification sound from the audio system to the driver.

8. The system according to claim 5, wherein

the notifying device includes a display, and

the notifying device provides the driver with the actual notification by showing an actual notification image on the display to the driver.

9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising

a sensor obtaining information associated with the two or more remote vehicles, wherein

the determiner is further configured to determine, based on the information obtained by the sensor, whether the preceding vehicle starts moving after the notifying device provided the preliminary notification, wherein

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an actual notification that the host vehicle should begin moving when the determiner determines that the preceding vehicle starts moving.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein

the determiner is further configured to determine whether the host vehicle has not moved for a specified time period since the notifying device provided the actual notification, and

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an additional notification to urge the driver to start the host vehicle when the determiner determines that the host vehicle has not moved for the specified time period.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein

the notifying device includes an audio system, and

the notifying device provides the driver with the additional notification by generating an additional notification sound from the audio system to the driver.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein

the notifying device includes a display, and

the notifying device provides the driver with the actual notification by showing an actual notification image on the display to the driver.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein

the notifying device includes a display, and

the notifying device provides the driver with the preliminary notification by showing a preliminary notification image on the display to the driver.

14. A method for providing a driver of a host vehicle being stopped with a preliminary notification that two or more remote vehicles forming a queue in front of the host vehicle are likely to start moving, the method comprising a step of:

receiving, with a receiver, messages from the two or more remote vehicles through Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications;

identifying a remote vehicle among the two or more remote vehicles that is directly ahead of the host vehicle as a preceding vehicle and a remote vehicle among the two or more remote vehicles that is not the preceding vehicle as a specified vehicle,

determining, with a determiner, whether the specified vehicle starts moving based on the messages sent from the specified vehicle; and

controlling, with a controller, a notifying device to provide the preliminary notification when the determiner determines that the specified vehicle starts moving.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the determiner determines, as the specified vehicle, a remote vehicle among the two more remote vehicles that is directly ahead of the preceding vehicle.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the two or more remote vehicles include connected vehicles capable of communicating with the host vehicle through the V2V communications and non-connected vehicles not capable of communicating with the host vehicle, and

the determiner determines, as the specified vehicle, one of the connected vehicles that is closest to the host vehicle among the connected vehicles.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the two or more remote vehicles include connected vehicles capable of communicating with the host vehicle through the V2V communications and non-connected vehicles not capable of communicating with the host vehicle,

the connected vehicles are grouped into first grouped vehicles within a specified distance away from the host vehicle and second grouped vehicles outside the specified distance away from the host vehicle, and

the determiner determines, as the specified vehicle, one of the first grouped vehicles that starts moving first.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein

the two or more remote vehicles include connected vehicles capable of communicating with the host vehicle through the V2V communications and non-connected vehicles not capable of communicating with the host vehicle,

the determiner determines, as the preceding vehicle, one of the connected vehicles,

the method further includes determining, with the determiner based on the messages sent from the preceding vehicle, whether the preceding vehicle starts moving after the notifying device provided the preliminary notification, and

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an actual notification that the host vehicle should begin moving when the determiner determines that the preceding vehicle starts moving.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising

determining, with the determiner, whether the host vehicle has not moved for a specified time period since the notifying device provided the actual notification, wherein

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an additional notification to urge the driver to start the host vehicle when the determiner determines that the host vehicle has not moved for the specified time period.

20. The method according to claim 14, further comprising

obtaining, with a sensor, information associated with the two or more remote vehicles, and

determining, with the determiner based on the information obtained by the sensor, whether the preceding vehicle starts moving after the notifying device provided the preliminary notification, wherein

the controller controls the notifying device to provide the driver with an actual notification that the host vehicle should begin moving when the determiner determines that the preceding vehicle starts moving.