Vehicular communications apparatus and method

• US 20050156756A1
• Filed: 01/07/2005
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamane, Masao, Fujita, Susumu, Takagi, Toru, Muramatsu, Toshiro, Nakayama, Okihiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,151,467 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968

Abstract

A vehicular communications apparatus is configured to calculate information on relative positions, relative velocities, and relative moving directions between own vehicle and other vehicles at a point such as a junction where other vehicles tend to affect running of the own vehicle, and to search for and decide other vehicles which are to be opponents of radio communications, based on a calculated result, and communication opponents are decided from among the searched other vehicles, and radio communications are conducted therewith, and then, the vehicular communications apparatus obtains information on the other vehicles, in a time-sequential manner and by radio communications, and present the information to a driver of the own vehicle from time to time, thereby causing the driver to recognize dynamic information on the other vehicles, enabling the own vehicle to smoothly join a flow of traffic at a junction, for example.

Claims

1. A vehicular communications apparatus mounted on an own vehicle for radio communications with other vehicles, comprising:

a memory configured to store information on at least one of a point difficult of a driving operation, an intersection, and a junction;

an own vehicle information detector configured to detect information on a position, a velocity, and a moving direction of the own vehicle;

an approach decider configured to decide whether the own vehicle has approached the point, intersection, or junction stored in the memory, based on information detected by the own vehicle information detector;

an other vehicle information request provider configured to provide requests to other vehicles for information on positions, velocities, and moving directions of the other vehicles, as the own vehicle is decided to have approached the point, intersection, or junction stored in the memory by the approach decider;

a calculator configured to calculate relative positions, relative velocities, and relative moving directions between the own vehicle and the other vehicles, respectively, based on information detected by the own vehicle information detector and information returned from the other vehicles in response to the requests from the other vehicle information request provider;

a communication opponent searching decider configured to search for, and to decide, other vehicles to be opponents of radio communications, based on information calculated by the calculator;

a communication opponent changer configured to change over communication opponents to the other vehicles searched for and decided by the communication opponent searching decider; and

a radio communicator configured for radio communications with the communication opponents changed over by the communication opponent changer.

2. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication opponent searching decider includes:

a searcher configured to search for the other vehicles to be opponents of radio communications with the own vehicle, based on information calculated by the calculator; and

a decider configured to decide communication opponents from among the searched other vehicles; and

wherein the searcher is configured to list the other vehicles which are present within a range narrower than a maximum communicable range, in accordance with a predetermined protocol, and

wherein the decider is configured to decide the communication opponents from among the other vehicles listed by the searcher.

3. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the searcher is configured to list the other vehicles in a closer order thereof to the own vehicle, based on information on relative positions calculated by the calculator.

4. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the searcher is configured to list the other vehicles in an approaching order thereof to the own vehicle, based on information on relative velocities and relative moving directions calculated by the calculator.

5. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a restrictor configured to restrict information which is received by the radio communicator and is to be obtained by the own vehicle.

6. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communication opponent changer is configured to change over types of information to be requested to the other vehicles for obtainment, based on the relative positions calculated by the calculator.

7. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the memory is configured to store map information therein, and

wherein the communication opponent changer is configured to change over types of information to be requested to the other vehicles for obtainment, based on information on the position of the own vehicle obtained by the own vehicle information obtainer and the map information stored in the memory.

8. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communication opponent changer is configured to change over types of information to be requested to the other vehicles for obtainment, based on at least one of the relative velocities calculated by the calculator and the information on the position of the own vehicle obtained by the own vehicle information obtainer.

9. The vehicular communications apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the communication opponent changer is configured to judge information to be radio communicated between the own vehicle and the other vehicles, by flags.

10. A vehicular communications apparatus mounted on an own vehicle for radio communications with other vehicles;

wherein the vehicular communications apparatus is configured to calculate information on relative positions, relative velocities, and relative moving directions between the own vehicle and other vehicles as the own vehicle has approached at least one of a point difficult of a driving operation, an intersection, and a junction; and

wherein the vehicular communications apparatus is configured to;

search for and decide other vehicles which are to be opponents of communicative connection, based on a calculated result;

obtain information from the decided other vehicles, in a time-sequential manner and by radio communications; and

present the obtained information to a driver of the own vehicle from time to time.

11. A vehicular communications apparatus mounted on an own vehicle for radio communications with other vehicles, comprising:

memory means for storing information on at least one of a point difficult of a driving operation, an intersection, and a junction;

own vehicle information detecting means for detecting information on a position, a velocity, and a moving direction of the own vehicle;

approach deciding means for deciding whether the own vehicle has approached the point, intersection, or junction stored in the memory means, based on information detected by the own vehicle information detecting means;

other vehicle information request providing means for providing requests to other vehicles for information on positions, velocities, and moving directions of the other vehicles, as the own vehicle is decided to have approached the point, intersection, or junction stored in the memory means by the approach deciding means;

calculating means for calculating relative positions, relative velocities, and relative moving directions between the own vehicle and the other vehicles, respectively, based on information detected by the own vehicle information detecting means and information returned from the other vehicles in response to the requests from the other vehicle information request providing means;

communication opponent searching deciding means for searching for, and deciding, other vehicles to be opponents of radio communications, based on information calculated by the calculating means;

communication opponent changing means for changing over communication opponents to the other vehicles searched for and decided by the communication opponent searching deciding means; and

radio communication means for performing radio communications with the communication opponents changed over by the communication opponent changing means.

12. A vehicular communications method for radio communications between an own vehicle and other vehicles, comprising:

storing information on at least one of a point difficult of a driving operation, an intersection, and a junction;

detecting information on a position, a velocity, and a moving direction of the own vehicle;

deciding whether the own vehicle has approached the stored point, intersection, or junction, based on detected information of the own vehicle;

providing requests to other vehicles for information on positions, velocities, and moving directions of the other vehicles, as the own vehicle is decided to have approached the stored point, intersection, or junction;

calculating relative positions, relative velocities, and relative moving directions between the own vehicle and the other vehicles, respectively, based on detected information of the own vehicle and information returned from the other vehicles in response to the requests;

searching for, and deciding, other vehicles to be opponents of radio communications, based on calculated information;

changing over communication opponents to the other vehicles thus searched for and decided; and

performing radio communications with the changed communication opponents.