Vehicle Driving Assistance Apparatus

• US 20100246889A1
• Filed: 01/04/2010
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ueyama, Mikio, Kudo, Hideyasu, NARA, Norikazu
• Granted Patent: US 8,385,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road

Abstract

A vehicle driving assistance apparatus has an image capturing system capturing a road on which the vehicle travels, a white line type recognition section recognizing a type of a white line that defines a current traffic lane on which the vehicle is travelling on the basis of an image captured by the image capturing system, a white line type storage section storing the white line type recognized by the white line type recognition section, a white line type estimation section and a vehicle control system. When the white line type cannot be recognized by the white line type recognition section, the white line type estimation section estimates the white line type from white line types stored in the white line type storage section. The vehicle control system executes a vehicle control on the basis of the white line type estimated by the white line type estimation section.

Claims

1. A vehicle driving assistance apparatus comprising:

an image capturing system which is installed in a vehicle and captures a road on which the vehicle travels;

a white line type recognition section which recognizes a type of a white line that defines a current traffic lane on which the vehicle is travelling, on the basis of an image captured by the image capturing system;

a white line type storage section which stores the white line type recognized by the white line type recognition section;

a white line type estimation section which estimates the type of the white line defining the current traffic lane from white line types stored in the white line type storage section when the white line type cannot be recognized by the white line type recognition section; and

a vehicle control system which executes a vehicle control on the basis of the white line type estimated by the white line type estimation section.

2. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section which estimates the current traffic lane of the vehicle on the basis of the white line type recognized by the white line type recognition section;

a branch formation determination section which determines a formation of a branch of the road, which is present ahead of the vehicle, on the basis of information from an external section; and

a traffic lane change judgment section which judges whether the vehicle changes the traffic lane from a main lane to a branch lane side on the basis of the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section, the traffic lane estimated by the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section and the white line type recognized by the white line type recognition section.

3. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a first pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (A), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (B),

(A) as a recognition result of the white line type of the white line type recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line or a heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line or the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(B) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the heavy broken line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

4. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a second pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (C), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (D),

(C) as a recognition result of the white line type of the white line type recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line and also the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as a heavy broken line, or when the both white lines are recognized as the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line and also the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as the heavy broken line, or when the both white lines are recognized as the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(D) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the heavy broken line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

5. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a third pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (E), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (F),

(E) as a recognition result of the white line type of the white line type recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(F) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the solid line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

6. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a first pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (A), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (B),

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a second pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (C), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (D), and

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a third pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (E), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (F),

(A) as a recognition result of the white line type of the white line type recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line or a heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line or the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(B) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the heavy broken line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane,

(C) as a recognition result of the white line type of the white line type recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line and also the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as a heavy broken line, or when the both white lines are recognized as the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line and also the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as the heavy broken line, or when the both white lines are recognized as the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(D) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the heavy broken line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane,

(E) as a recognition result of the white line type of the white line type recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(F) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the solid line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

7. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the estimation of the traffic lane by the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section is started at a time when the vehicle comes to an estimation start position that is previously set behind the branch.

8. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the traffic lane change judgment section estimates the lane change of the vehicle on the basis of the estimation result of the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section and a direction of a direction indicator of the vehicle.

9. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

an announcement section which gives a notification of lane change completion to a driver after the traffic lane change judgment section judges that the lane change is completed.

10. A vehicle driving assistance apparatus comprising:

a camera which is installed in a vehicle and captures a road on which the vehicle travels;

a white line pattern recognition section which recognizes patterns of white lines that are present on left and right sides of the vehicle on the road on the basis of an image captured by the camera;

a vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section which estimates a traffic lane of the vehicle on the basis of a recognition result of the white line pattern recognition section;

a white line pattern storage section which stores the white line pattern recognized by the white line pattern recognition section;

a white line pattern estimation section which estimates current white line patterns on the left and right sides of the vehicle from white line patterns stored in the white line pattern storage section when the white line pattern cannot be recognized by the white line pattern recognition section; and

a vehicle control system which executes a vehicle control on the basis of the recognition result of the white line pattern recognition section and an estimation result of the white line pattern estimation section, and

when the white line pattern is recognized by the white line pattern recognition section, the vehicle control system performing the vehicle control on the basis of the recognized white line pattern, and

when the white line pattern is not recognized by the white line pattern recognition section, the vehicle control system performing the vehicle control on the basis of the white line pattern estimated by the white line pattern estimation section.

11. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

a branch formation determination section which recognizes presence of a branch of the road ahead of the vehicle and determines a formation of the branch on the basis of map data; and

a traffic lane change judgment section which judges whether the vehicle changes the traffic lane from a main lane to a branch lane side on the basis of the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section, the traffic lane estimated by the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section and the white line pattern recognized by the white line pattern recognition section, and wherein,

the vehicle control system executes a deceleration control of the vehicle by driving an actuator at least after the judgment of the lane change by the traffic lane change judgment section.

12. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

the vehicle control system executes the deceleration control that decelerates a vehicle speed to a speed according to a curvature of the branch lane which is recognized on the basis of the map data.

13. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

when there is a service area or a parking area ahead of the branch lane, the vehicle control system executes the deceleration control on the basis of a pre-set speed command proper to the area.

14. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a first pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (A), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (B),

(A) as a recognition result of the white line pattern of the white line pattern recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line or a heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line or the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(B) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the heavy broken line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

15. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a second pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (C), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (D),

(C) as a recognition result of the white line pattern of the white line pattern recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line and also the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as a heavy broken line, or when the both white lines are recognized as the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line and also the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as the heavy broken line, or when the both white lines are recognized as the heavy broken line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(D) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the heavy broken line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

16. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein:

in a case where the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section is a third pattern,

the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section performs the following function (E), and

the traffic lane change judgment section performs the following function (F),

(E) as a recognition result of the white line pattern of the white line pattern recognition section,

when the white line on the left side of the vehicle is recognized as a solid line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a left end traffic lane, and

when the white line on the right side of the vehicle is recognized as the solid line, it is estimated that the vehicle is travelling on a right end traffic lane, and

(F) during the recognition of the vehicle travel on the end traffic lane,

when the vehicle crosses the solid line, it is judged that the vehicle changes the traffic lane.

17. The vehicle driving assistance apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein:

when it is judged that the vehicle is travelling on the left end traffic lane by the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section and also a direction indicator of the vehicle indicates left by a driver'"'"'s operation, the traffic lane change judgment section estimates that the vehicle changes the traffic lane to a left side.

18. A vehicle driving assistance apparatus comprising:

a white line pattern recognition section which recognizes patterns of white lines that are present on left and right sides of a vehicle by an image captured by a camera;

a branch formation determination section which recognizes presence of a branch and determines a formation of the branch on the basis of map data;

a vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section which estimates a traffic lane of the vehicle on the basis of a recognition result of the white line pattern recognition section;

a white line pattern storage section which stores the white line pattern recognized by the white line pattern recognition section;

a white line pattern estimation section which estimates the white line patterns on the left and right sides of the vehicle from white line patterns stored in the white line pattern storage section when the white line pattern cannot be recognized by the white line pattern recognition section;

a traffic lane change judgment section which judges a lane change of the vehicle from a main lane to a branch lane on the basis of the branch formation determined by the branch formation determination section, an estimation result of the vehicle-travelling traffic lane estimation section and the white pattern; and

a vehicle control system which executes a deceleration control that decelerates a vehicle speed by driving an actuator at least after the judgment of the lane change by the traffic lane change judgment section.