INTERSECTION DRIVING SUPPORT APPARATUS

• US 20110102195A1
• Filed: 10/28/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Sawada, Shinji, Kushi, Azumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,362,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/905
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to 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

When a vehicle attempts to enter a priority road from a non-priority road, a visibility determination processing section compares moving object information on the priority road obtained from a first infrastructure facility installed near a stop position with moving object information on the priority road detected by an autonomous sensor mounted on the vehicle, and determines that the visibility is poor if the former does not match the latter or determines that the visibility is good if the former matches the latter. Then, when the former does not match the latter, the driver is informed of intersection support information. When the former matches the latter, the driver is not informed since it is determined that the driver has already recognized the information by visual observation.

Claims

1. An intersection driving support apparatus comprising:

information informing means for informing a driver of support information;

first moving object information analyzing means for analyzing moving object information on a priority road obtained from a vehicle exterior information source;

second moving object information analyzing means for analyzing moving object information on the priority road obtained from an autonomous sensor mounted on a vehicle;

visibility determination processing means for comparing the moving object information toward the priority road detected by the second moving object information analyzing means and the moving object information detected by the first moving object information analyzing means of the vehicle traveling on a non-priority road intersecting with the priority road, and determines that the visibility of the intersection is poor due to a blind spot if the former moving object information does not match with the latter or determines that the visibility of the intersection is good if the former moving object information matches with the latter; and

support processing means for outputting intersection support information, which informs information concerning a moving object present in a blind spot area, to the information informing means if the visibility of the intersection is determined to be poor by the visibility determination processing means, and does not output the intersection support information if the visibility of the intersection is determined to be good.

2. The intersection driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the support processing means outputs the intersection support information to the information informing means before the vehicle reaches a stop position immediately before the intersection.

3. The intersection driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when the support processing means determines that a vehicle traveling on the priority road is a vehicle that does not go straight ahead based on updated moving object information analyzed by the first moving object information analyzing means, the support processing means outputs entering support information, in which information concerning the vehicle is excluded from the moving object information, to the information informing means.