Evacuation travel assist apparatus

• US 10,392,010 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2017
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Miura, Takeshi, Oooka, Masao, Niino, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn, Alex C
• Application Number:
  US15/836,645
• Publication Number:
  US 20180099662A1
• Time in Patent Office: 627 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/04 including control of propulsion units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0818 Inactivity or incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/26 Incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/18 Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/20 Steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18 Propelling the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers

Abstract

An evacuation travel assist apparatus includes a stop lane determination section that determines a stop lane and an evacuation place in the stop lane in which an own vehicle should be urgently stopped when the vehicle drive is detected to be in a state of being not able to drive the own vehicle properly, and a transverse position determination section that determines, as a stop transverse position, a position in a transverse direction of the evacuation place in the stop lane so as to ensure a space for the vehicle driver and passengers to get in and out of the own vehicle safely at a side of the own vehicle.

Claims

1. An evacuation travel assist apparatus comprising:

a driver-state determination section, using a processor, that determines whether or not a vehicle driver of an own vehicle is in a state of being able to drive the own vehicle properly;

an information acquisition section, using a processor, that acquires information regarding a state of the own vehicle and a state of a surrounding environment of the own vehicle;

an evacuation route setting section, using a processor, that determines a stop lane an evacuation place in the stop lane in which the own vehicle should be urgently stopped based on the information acquired by the information acquisition section when the driver-state determination section determines that the vehicle drive is not in a state of being able to drive the own vehicle properly, and a stop transverse position, the stop transverse position being a position in a transverse direction of the evacuation place in the stop lane so as to ensure a space for the vehicle driver and passengers to enter and exit the own vehicle safely at a side of the own vehicle; and

an evacuation travel control section, using a processor, that causes the own vehicle to travel to the evacuation place in the stop lane depending on the stop lane and the stop transverse position determined by the evacuation route setting section,

wherein, when an adjacent lane is present on one side of the stop lane, the evacuation route setting section determines, as the stop transverse position, a position which is between the own vehicle and an edge opposite to the adjacent lane of the stop lane and in which a space for getting on and off the own vehicle is ensured, and

wherein, when no adjacent lane is present on either side of the stop lane, and an obstacle to getting on and off the own vehicle is present on a left edge of the stop lane, the evacuation route setting section determines, as the stop transverse position, a position which is between the own vehicle and a left edge of the stop lane and in which a space for getting on and off the own vehicle is ensured.

2. The evacuation travel assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when no obstacle to getting on and off the vehicle is present, the evacuation travel control section causes the own vehicle to travel to an evacuation place where space for other vehicles to run is present can be secured.

3. The evacuation travel assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when adjacent lanes are present on both sides of the evacuation lane, the evacuation travel control section causes the own vehicle to stop in the center of the evacuation lane.

4. The evacuation travel assist apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, the evacuation place is a space for getting on and off the own vehicle can be secured, and the evacuation place changes depending on door type of the own vehicle.