Information announcement device for a vehicle

• US 10,640,036 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2017
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Masaya, Yamada, Yoshinori, Takeichi, Chikashi, Arikura, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kingston, Shawna M
• Application Number:
  US15/661,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20180065549A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/175 Autonomous driving
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 5/005 automatically actuated
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/00 Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit , e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0077 using redundant signals or controls

Abstract

A communications control unit and external sensors acquire external environment information including information on the vicinity of a vehicle. An autonomous driving control ECU calculates a warning level relating to continuing autonomous driving on the basis of the vicinity information. A speech generation section generates speech information on the basis of the external environment information acquired by the communications control unit and the external sensors. A control section controls speaking equipment so as to change at least one of speech information to be announced by the speaking equipment, a frequency of announcement of the speech information, and vocalization, in accordance with the warning level calculated by the autonomous driving control ECU. When autonomous driving is continuing, the control section controls the speaking equipment so as to repeat announcements of the speech information.

Claims

1. An information announcement device for a vehicle, comprising:

an information acquisition unit that acquires external environment information including vicinity information of the vehicle;

a driving control unit that, in a case in which autonomous driving is to be continued, calculates a warning level relating to continuing autonomous driving on the basis of the vicinity information acquired by the information acquisition unit;

a speech generation unit that generates speech information on the basis of the external environment information acquired by the information acquisition unit;

an information announcement unit that announces the speech information generated by the speech generation unit to a vehicle occupant by vocalization; and

a control unit that;

in accordance with the warning level calculated by the driving control unit, controls the information announcement unit so as to change at least one of;

(i) the speech information announced by the information announcement unit, (ii) an announcement frequency of the speech information, or (iii) the vocalization; and

during a period in which autonomous driving is continuing, controls the information announcement unit so as to repeat announcements of the speech information on the basis of the acquired external environment information.

2. The information announcement device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the speech generation unit assigns to the external environment information acquired by the information acquisition unit a degree of relevance to a driving handover from autonomous driving to manual driving, generates the speech information on the basis of the external environment information, and assigns to the speech information the degree of relevance to a driving handover assigned to the external environment information, and

the control unit controls the information announcement unit such that speech information with a high degree of relevance to the driving handover is announced more if the warning level calculated by the driving control unit is higher.

3. The information announcement device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the speech generation unit assigns to the external environment information acquired by the information acquisition unit a class relating to the degree of relevance to a driving handover, generates the speech information on the basis of the external environment information, and assigns to the speech information the class of the external environment information, and

the control unit controls the information announcement unit such that speech information assigned a class with a high degree of relevance to a driving handover is announced more if the warning level calculated by the driving control unit is higher.

4. The information announcement device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the information announcement unit such that the announcement frequency of the speech information is higher if the warning level calculated by the driving control unit is higher.

5. The information announcement device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the information announcement unit so as to change at least one of a tone of the vocalization or a tempo of utterance by the vocalization in accordance with the warning level, and controls the information announcement unit so as to announce the speech information with the changed vocalization.

6. The information announcement device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects a state of the vehicle occupant after the speech information is announced to the vehicle occupant, and changes the warning level in accordance with the detected state of the vehicle occupant.