DRIVE SUPPORT SYSTEM

• US 20120083999A1
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Published: 04/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: KAMATA, Yutaka, KUSHIDA, Kazumitsu
• Granted Patent: US 8,649,966 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking

Abstract

A drive support system can provide drive support information on traveling of an own vehicle with respect to another vehicle based on positional information. The drive support system can include a drive support level determination part which changes the degree of offer of the drive support information in a stepwise manner corresponding to a traveling area of the own vehicle. An error occurrence area memory part stores an area where an error in the positional information meets or exceeds a predetermined level in advance along with map information. A degree of offer of the drive support information is limited when the own vehicle is present within an area where an error in the positional information meets or exceeds a predetermined level.

Claims

1. A drive support system, comprising:

a drive support level determination part which is configured to elevate a degree of offer of drive support information relating to a degree of danger in a stepwise manner as an own vehicle and another vehicle approach to each other in positional relationship; and

an error occurrence area memory part which is configured to store an area where an error in positional information becomes at or above a predetermined level in advance along with map information,

wherein when the own vehicle is present within the area where the error in the positional information becomes at or above the predetermined level, the drive support information whose degree of offer of the drive support information relating to the degree of danger becomes at or above the predetermined value is limited,

wherein the drive support system is configured to offer the drive support information on travelling relating to the degree of danger of the own vehicle with respect to the another vehicle based on the positional information by carrying out transmission and reception of at least positional information between the own vehicle and the another vehicle when the another vehicle is present within a communication area of the own vehicle.

2. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the degree of offer of the drive support information determined by the drive support level determination part includes:

a first stage where the drive support system informs the presence of another vehicle within the communication area, and

a second stage where the drive support system informs a direction along which another vehicle having a near positional relationship with the own vehicle is present,

wherein the offer of the drive support information at the second stage is inhibited when the own vehicle is present in the area where the error of the positional information is at or above the predetermined level.

3. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the drive support level determination part includes an error level determination part which is configured to determine whether or not the error of the positional information is at or above the predetermined level, and when the determination area where the error level determination part determines that the error is at or above the predetermined level is an area which is not stored in the error occurrence area memory part, the determination area is newly stored in the error occurrence area memory part.

4. The drive support system according to claim 3, wherein the error level determination part is configured to store positional information acquired at predetermined intervals and to calculate an approximate straight line based on the stored positional information, and the determination of the error in the positional information is performed under a condition where the positional information is away from the approximate straight line by a predetermined distance or more.

5. The drive support system according to claim 4, wherein the map information includes nodes which are configured to be in conformity with a shape of a road and a straight line link which connects the nodes, and the error level determination part is configured to determine an error level when a degree of parallelization between the straight line link and the approximate straight line is within a predetermined value.

6. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the drive support system includes an output means for outputting the drive support information and, when the own vehicle is present within the area where the error in the positional information is at or above a predetermined level, information indicative of a presence of the own vehicle in the area is outputted to the output means.

7. The drive support system according to claim 6, wherein the output means comprises a display means for displaying map information, and

wherein the error occurrence area memory part is configured to reflect an area where an error is at or above the predetermined level on the map information as a visual image, and is configured to increase an area of the visual image along with the increase of the error.

8. The drive support system according to claim 7, wherein a length of the area of the visual image in a widthwise direction is obtained by adding a width of a road to a size of the error.

9. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the error occurrence area memory part is configured to be subjected to a centralized control by a control center, and wherein the error occurrence area memory part is configured to collect, update and distribute error information from the own vehicle and the another vehicle.

10. The drive support system according to claim 4, wherein the own vehicle includes a yaw rate gyro sensor, and when a trajectory of the own vehicle is changed within the approximate straight line, a new approximate straight line is formed by adding a change amount of a yaw angle obtained by integrating a value of the yaw rate gyro sensor to an approximate straight line calculated by the error level determination part, and the determination of an error in the positional information is performed based on the new approximate straight line.

11. A drive support system, comprising:

drive support level determination means for elevating a degree of offer of drive support information relating to a degree of danger in a stepwise manner as an own vehicle and another vehicle approach each other in positional relationship; and

error occurrence area memory means for storing an area where an error in positional information becomes at or above a predetermined level in advance along with map information, wherein when the own vehicle is present within the area where the error in the positional information becomes at or above the predetermined level, the drive support information whose degree of offer of the drive support information relating to the degree of danger becomes at or above the predetermined value is limited, and wherein the drive support system is configured to offer drive support information on traveling related to the degree of danger of the own vehicle with respect to the another vehicle based on the positional information by carrying out transmission and reception of at least the positional information between the own vehicle and the another vehicle when the another vehicle is present within a communication area of the own vehicle.

12. The drive support system according to claim 11, wherein the degree of offer of the drive support information determined by the drive support level of determination means includes:

a first stage where the drive support system informs the presence of another vehicle within the communication area, and

a second stage where the drive support system informs a direction along which another vehicle having a near positional relationship with the own vehicle is present,

wherein the offer of the drive support information at the second stage is inhibited when the own vehicle is present in the area where the error of the positional information is at or above the predetermined level.

13. The drive support system according to claim 11, wherein the drive support level determination means includes an error level determination means for determining whether or not the error of the positional information is at or above the predetermined level, and when the determination area where the error level determination means determines that the error is at or above the predetermined level is an area which is not stored in the error occurrence area memory means, the determination area is newly stored in the error occurrence area memory means.

14. The drive support system according to claim 13, wherein the error level determination means is for storing positional information acquired at predetermined intervals and for calculating an approximate straight line based on the stored positional information, and the determination of the error in the positional information is performed under a condition where the positional information is away from the approximate straight line by a predetermined distance or more.

15. The drive support system according to claim 14, wherein the map information includes nodes which are in conformity with a shape of a road and a straight line link which connects the nodes, and wherein the error level determination means is for determining an error level when a degree of parallelization between the straight line link and the approximate straight line is within a predetermined value.

16. The drive support system according to claim 11, wherein the drive support system includes an output means for outputting the drive support information and, when the own vehicle is present within the area where the error in the positional information is at or above a predetermined level, information indicative of a presence of the own vehicle in the area is outputted to the output means.

17. The drive support system according to claim 16, wherein the output means comprises a display means for displaying map information, and

wherein the error occurrence area memory means is for reflecting an area where an error is at or above the predetermined level on the map information as a visual image, and for increasing an area of the visual image along with the increase of the error.

18. The drive support system according to claim 17, wherein a length of the area of the visual image in a widthwise direction is obtained by adding a width of a road to a size of the error.

19. The drive support system according to claim 11, wherein the error occurrence area memory means is subjected to centralized control by a control center, and wherein the error occurrence area memory means is for collecting, updating, and distributing error information from the own vehicle and the another vehicle.

20. The drive supporting system according to claim 14, wherein the own vehicle includes yaw rate gyro sensor means for sensing a yaw rate of the vehicle, wherein when a trajectory of the own vehicle is changed within the approximate straight line, a new approximate straight line is formed by adding a change amount of a yaw angle obtained by integrating a value of the yaw rate gyro sensor means to an approximate straight line calculated by the error level determination means, and the determination of an error in the positional information is performed based on the new approximate straight line.