Vehicle departure determination apparatus

• US 20060111842A1
• Filed: 11/02/2005
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Yoichi, Urai, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9323 Alternative operation using light waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A vehicle departure determination apparatus includes: an object detection device which detects objects present in a direction of travel of a subject vehicle, and detects a relative position and relative speed of the objects and the subject vehicle; a running state detection device which detects a running state of the subject vehicle; a speed detection device which detects a speed of the subject vehicle; an oncoming vehicle determination device which determines whether any of the objects serving as oncoming vehicles for the subject vehicle are present, based on the relative speed detected by the object detection device, and the speed of the subject vehicle detected by the speed detection device; and a departure determination device which determines whether or not the subject vehicle has departed from an appropriate route for the subject vehicle, or the oncoming vehicle has departed from an appropriate route for the oncoming vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle departure determination apparatus comprising:

an object detection device which detects objects present in a direction of travel of a subject vehicle, and detects a relative position and relative speed of the objects and said subject vehicle;

a running state detection device which detects a running state of said subject vehicle;

a speed detection device which detects a speed of said subject vehicle;

an oncoming vehicle determination device which determines whether any of said objects serving as oncoming vehicles for said subject vehicle are present, based on said relative speed detected by said object detection device, and the speed of said subject vehicle detected by said speed detection device; and

a departure determination device which determines whether or not said subject vehicle has departed from an appropriate route for said subject vehicle, or said oncoming vehicle has departed from an appropriate route for said oncoming vehicle.

2. The vehicle departure determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subject vehicle travel locus estimation device which estimates a travel locus of said subject vehicle based on detection results of said running state detection device; and

an oncoming vehicle travel locus estimation device which estimates a travel locus of said oncoming vehicle based on a change over time of said relative position detected by said object detection device, wherein

said departure determination device determines whether or not said subject vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said subject vehicle, or said oncoming vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said oncoming vehicle, based on an angle formed by the travel locus of said subject vehicle estimated by said subject vehicle travel locus estimation device and the travel locus of said oncoming vehicle estimated by said oncoming vehicle travel locus estimation device.

3. The vehicle departure determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a subject vehicle travel locus estimation device which estimates a travel locus of said subject vehicle based on detection results of said running state detection device; and

a lateral deviation calculation device which calculates a lateral deviation of said oncoming vehicle relative to a travel locus of said subject vehicle, based on the travel locus of said subject vehicle estimated by said subject vehicle travel locus estimation device and the relative position detected by said object detection device, wherein

said departure determination device determines whether or not said subject vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said subject vehicle, or said oncoming vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said oncoming vehicle, by determining whether or not the lateral deviation calculated by said lateral deviation calculation device occurs on a side approaching the travel locus of said subject vehicle, or whether or not said lateral deviation occurs on a side away from the travel locus of said subject vehicle.

4. The vehicle departure determination apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

said departure determination device

determines that said oncoming vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said oncoming vehicle, when said lateral deviation occurs on the side approaching the travel locus of said subject vehicle, and changes in a reducing trend over time, and

determines that said subject vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said subject vehicle, when said lateral deviation occurs on the side away from the travel locus of said subject vehicle, and changes in a reducing trend over time.

5. The vehicle departure determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driver state estimation device which estimates a state of a driver of said subject vehicle, wherein

said departure determination device determines that said oncoming vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said oncoming vehicle, when the state of said driver estimated by said driver state estimation device is normal, and determines that said subject vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said subject vehicle, when the state of said driver estimated by said driver state estimation device is not normal.

6. The vehicle departure determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a subject vehicle turning state detection device which detects a turning state of said subject vehicle based on detection results of said driver state estimation device, wherein

said departure determination device is set so that in the turning state of said subject vehicle detected by said subject vehicle turning state detection device,

a determination is more readily made that said subject vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said subject vehicle, as a degree of turning in a direction approaching said oncoming vehicle increases, and

a determination is more readily made that said oncoming vehicle has departed from the appropriate route for said oncoming vehicle, as a degree of turning in a direction away from said oncoming vehicle increases.

7. The vehicle departure determination apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a contact prediction device which predicts the likelihood of contact between said subject vehicle and said oncoming vehicle; and

an operation device which operates a contact avoidance device provided in said subject vehicle, when said contact prediction device determines that there is a likelihood of contact, wherein

said operation device, when said departure determination device has determined that said oncoming vehicle has departed from said appropriate route, either suppresses the operation of said contact avoidance device in comparison to cases when such a determination is not made, or prohibits the operation of said contact avoidance device.