METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING TRAVELING CONDITION OF VEHICLE

• US 20100088024A1
• Filed: 11/16/2007
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahara, Masatoshi, Konaka, Daisuke, Hara, Koichi, Konishi, Teru, Nakamura, Masaki, Sugiura, Hiroaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,886,364 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2555/60 Traffic rules, e.g. speed limits or right of way
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/072 Curvature of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/076 Slope angle of the road
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3655 Timing of guidance instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees

Abstract

A support control unit for determining a traveling condition of a host vehicle during an exit from a main road to an access road determines whether or not the condition of the host vehicle at a given point in time corresponds to an exit start scene or an exit completion scene for detecting the start of an exit or completion of the exit on the basis of a host vehicle position, route data, map rendering data, or lane information including at least road surface marking positions, and determines that an exit start timing or an exit completion timing of the host vehicle has arrived when the condition is determined to correspond to the exit start scene or the exit completion scene. Hence, during the exit from the main road to the access road, the traveling condition of the host vehicle can be determined accurately. The support control unit also determines the traveling condition of the host vehicle during convergence with the main road from the access road.

Claims

1. A method for determining a traveling condition of a host vehicle during an exit from a main road to an access road, comprising:

determining whether or not the condition of the host vehicle corresponds to an exit start scene for determining an exit start timing onto the access road on the basis of a host vehicle position, road network data including road types, and road surface marking property data including at least road surface marking positions; and

determining the exit start timing of the host vehicle when the condition is determined to correspond to the exit start scene, wherein

the determination that the condition corresponds to the exit start scene is that positions of a broken line marking indicating an exit section and a zebra zone match, the broken line marking and the zebra zone which are present in front of the host vehicle while the host vehicle travels along the main road.

2. An apparatus for determining a traveling condition of a host vehicle during an exit from a main road to an access road, comprising:

a host vehicle position calculation unit for calculating a host vehicle position;

a road network data storage unit storing road network data including road types;

a marking data storage unit storing road surface marking property data including at least road surface marking positions;

a scene determination unit for determining whether or not the condition of the host vehicle corresponds to an exit start scene for determining an exit start timing to the access road on the basis of the host vehicle position, the road network data, and the road surface marking property data;

a timing determination unit for determining the exit start timing from the main road to the access road when the scene determination unit determines that the condition corresponds to the exit start scene; and

a support control unit that outputs a control signal for performing driving support during the start of the exit when the timing determination unit determines the exit start timing, wherein

the scene determination unit determines that the condition corresponds to the exit start scene when a broken line marking indicating a convergence section and a zebra zone are present in front of the host vehicle while the host vehicle travels along the main road and positions of the broken line marking and the zebra zone match.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the timing determination unit determines that the exit start timing from the main road has arrived when the host vehicle has crossed the broken line marking.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the length of the broken line marking is equal to or greater than a predetermined length, the timing determination unit obtains a relative distance between the host vehicle position and a reference point indicating an end point of the exit section, and when the relative distance is shorter than a predetermined length and the host vehicle has crossed the broken line marking, the timing determination unit determines that the exit start timing has arrived.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the timing determination unit determines that the exit start timing has arrived when a lane along which the host vehicle is traveling is an exit lane connected directly to the access road and the relative distance between the host vehicle position and the reference point indicating the end point of the exit section is shorter than the predetermined length.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the timing determination unit determines that the exit start timing has arrived when a plurality of the broken line markings exist in front of the host vehicle and the host vehicle has crossed a broken line marking near the access road after traveling along a lane near the access road.

7. A method for determining a traveling condition of a host vehicle during convergence with a main road from an access road, comprising:

determining whether or not the condition of the host vehicle corresponds to a convergence completion scene for determining a convergence completion timing on the basis of a host vehicle position, road network data including road types, and road surface marking property data including at least road surface marking positions; and

determining the convergence completion timing of the host vehicle when the condition is determined to correspond to the convergence completion scene, wherein

the determination that the condition corresponds to the convergence completion scene is that the host vehicle position is included in a subject section which is set so as to center on a start point of a broken line marking indicating a convergence section and corresponds to a length of the broken line marking, the broken line marking which is present in front of the host vehicle while the host vehicle travels along the access road.

8. An apparatus for determining a traveling condition of a host vehicle during convergence with a main road from an access road, characterized by comprising:

a host vehicle position calculation unit for calculating a host vehicle position;

a road network data storage unit storing road network data including road types;

a marking data storage unit storing road surface marking property data including at least road surface marking positions;

a scene determination unit for determining whether or not the condition of the host vehicle corresponds to a convergence completion scene for determining a convergence completion timing on the basis of the host vehicle position, the road network data, and the road surface marking property data;

a timing determination unit for determining the convergence completion timing when the scene determination unit determines that the condition corresponds to the convergence completion scene; and

a support control unit that outputs a control signal for performing driving support during convergence completion when the timing determination unit determines the convergence completion timing, wherein

the scene determination unit determines that the condition corresponds to the convergence completion scene when a broken line marking indicating a convergence section is present in front of the host vehicle while the host vehicle travels along the access road and the host vehicle position is included in a subject section which is set so as to center on a start point of the broken line marking and corresponds to a length of the broken line marking.