Vehicle navigation apparatus and method

• US 20080071474A1
• Filed: 08/16/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Harayama, Tomoya, Ina, Katsuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,234,065 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3602 Input other than that of destination using image analysis, e.g. detection of road signs, lanes, buildings, real preceding vehicles using a camera
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance

Abstract

A vehicle navigation apparatus includes an imaging device, a guidance point determining device, an object detecting device and a traveling guiding device. The imaging device takes an image of a periphery adjacent to a subject vehicle. The guidance point determining device determines the subject vehicle to be located at a traveling guidance point or not. The object detecting device detects a changing object by comparing two images of the periphery taken at a predetermined interval, when the guidance point determining device determines the subject vehicle to be located at the traveling guidance point. The traveling guiding device performs a traveling guidance by using the changing object as a target object of the traveling guidance.

Claims

1. A vehicle navigation apparatus comprising:

an imaging device for taking an image of a periphery adjacent to a subject vehicle;

a guidance point determining device for determining the subject vehicle to be located at a traveling guidance point or not;

an object detecting device for detecting a changing object by comparing two images of the periphery taken by the imaging device at a predetermined interval, when the guidance point determining device determines the subject vehicle to be located at the traveling guidance point; and

a traveling guiding device for performing a traveling guidance by using the changing object detected by the object detecting device as a target object of the traveling guidance.

2. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the guidance point determining device determines the subject vehicle to be located at a right/left turning guidance point as the traveling guidance point or not, and

the traveling guiding device performs a right/left turning guidance as the traveling guidance by using the changing object as the target object of the traveling guidance.

3. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the guidance point determining device determines the subject vehicle to be located at a traveling lane guidance point as the traveling guidance point or not, and

the traveling guiding device performs a traveling lane guidance as the traveling guidance by using the changing object as the target object of the traveling guidance.

4. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object detecting device includes a pattern recognizing element for recognizing the changing object by using a pattern matching, and

the traveling guiding device performs the traveling guidance by indicating the changing object recognized by the pattern recognizing element.

5. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object detecting device includes a color recognizing element for recognizing a color of the changing object, and

the traveling guiding device performs the traveling guidance by indicating the color of the changing object recognized by the color recognizing element.

6. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object detecting device includes a moving direction determining element for determining a moving direction of a moving object moving in a direction approximately perpendicular to a traveling direction of the subject vehicle, and

the traveling guiding device performs the traveling guidance by indicating the moving direction of the moving object determined by the moving direction determining element.

7. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object detecting device detects a moving object as the changing object.

8. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object detecting device detects a color-changing object as the changing object.

9. The vehicle navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the imaging device takes a moving image as the image of the periphery adjacent to the subject vehicle,

the object detecting device extracts two images taken at a predetermined interval among a plurality of images of the periphery taken by the imaging device as the moving image, and

the object detecting device detects the changing object by comparing the two images.

10. A vehicle navigation method comprising:

taking an image of a periphery adjacent to a subject vehicle;

determining the subject vehicle to be located at a traveling guidance point or not;

detecting a changing object by comparing two images of the periphery taken at a predetermined interval, when the subject vehicle is determined to be located at the traveling guidance point; and

performing a traveling guidance by using the changing object as a target object of the traveling guidance.