IN-VEHICLE APPARATUS AND OBSTACLE REPORT SYSTEM

• US 20120185160A1
• Filed: 01/11/2012
• Published: 07/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: KUMABE, Seigou
• Granted Patent: US 8,666,651 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

In a left-hand traffic rule, a subject vehicle turns right at an intersection and then passes over a crosswalk, which is corresponded to by a pedestrian-use traffic signal. When the pedestrian-use traffic signal presents a green color as a currently indicating signal color, an obstacle report range is designated as covering both an area A and an area B so as to report an existence of an obstacle. In contrast, when the pedestrian-use traffic light presents a red color as a currently indicating signal color, an obstacle report range is designated as covering only the area A during a red light elapsed time ranging greater than a first marginal time and less than a time, which is obtained by subtracting a second marginal time from a red light cycle time.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle apparatus in a vehicle communicating with a road management apparatus, the in-vehicle apparatus comprising:

an in-vehicle communicator that receives, from the road management apparatus, (i) obstacle existence or nonexistence information, and (ii) traffic signal information,

the obstacle existence or nonexistence information indicating an existence of an obstacle that exists in a designated range containing a crosswalk around an intersection, and/or a crosswalk-adjacent area that is adjacent to the crosswalk around the intersection,

the traffic signal information containing a currently indicating color of a traffic signal corresponding to the crosswalk; and

a report processing section that executes a report with respect to an obstacle around the intersection to a driver of the vehicle,

the report processing section being further configured to suppress a report of an existence of an obstacle that is indicated by the obstacle existence or nonexistence information, which is received via the in-vehicle communicator, based on current traffic signal information received via the in-vehicle communicator.

2. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the in-vehicle communicator receives the traffic signal information containing the currently indicating signal color of a pedestrian-use traffic light that corresponds to the crosswalk; and

the report processing section suppresses the report of the existence of the obstacle based on the current traffic signal information of the pedestrian-use traffic signal received via the in-vehicle communicator.

3. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the obstacle existence or nonexistence information distinguishes an obstacle in the crosswalk and an obstacle in the crosswalk-adjacent area from each other; and

the report processing section suppresses the report of the obstacle in the crosswalk-adjacent area out of the obstacles indicated in the received obstacle existence or nonexistence information based on the received current traffic signal information.

4. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the report processing section suppresses the report with respect to the obstacle in the crosswalk-adjacent area based on the current traffic signal information that presents a passing prohibition state.

5. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the report processing section executes a report of an obstacle in a designated range covering the crosswalk and the crosswalk-adjacent area when the current traffic signal information presents a passing permission state.

6. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the report processing section executes the report of the obstacle in the designated range covering the crosswalk and the crosswalk-adjacent area until a first marginal time elapses after the current traffic signal information changes from presenting the passing permission state to presenting the passing prohibition state, the first marginal time being shorter than a duration time of the passing prohibition state.

7. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the report processing section executes, even when the current traffic signal information presents the passing prohibition state, the report of the obstacle in the designated range covering the crosswalk and the crosswalk-adjacent area for a second marginal time just before completely elapsing a duration time of the passing prohibition state, the second marginal time being shorter than the duration time of the passing prohibition state.

8. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the obstacle existence or nonexistence information provides a plurality of existence areas each of which is distinctively contained in the crosswalk or the crosswalk-adjacent area;

an existence area contained in the crosswalk includes an area corresponding to a median strip; and

the report processing section suppresses the report of an obstacle existing in the area corresponding to the median strip in the crosswalk, out of the obstacles indicated in the received obstacle existence or nonexistence information.

9. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 5, wherein:

the obstacle existence or nonexistence information provides a plurality of existence areas each of which is distinctively contained in the crosswalk or the crosswalk-adjacent area;

an existence area contained in the crosswalk includes an area corresponding to an entrance lane that enters the intersection and an area corresponding an exit lane that exits from the intersection; and

the report processing section executes, even when the current traffic signal information presents a passing permission state, a report of an existence of a first predetermined obstacle out of the obstacles indicated in the received obstacle existence or nonexistence information, the first predetermined obstacle existing in a part of areas corresponding to the entrance lanes and moving towards the crosswalk-adjacent area neighboring the areas corresponding to the entrance lanes.

10. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the report processing section executes, even when the current traffic signal information presents a passing prohibition state, a report of an existence of a second predetermined obstacle, which exists in the crosswalk-adjacent area, when the second predetermined obstacle has a moving direction towards the crosswalk and a moving speed greater than a predetermined value.

11. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the report processing section executes a report of an existence of an obstacle in a designated range covering the crosswalk and the crosswalk-adjacent area when the pedestrian-use traffic signal presents the current traffic signal information indicating a passing permission state; and

the report processing section executes, even after the pedestrian-use traffic signal changes from presenting the passing permission state into presenting the passing prohibition state, a report of an existence of an obstacle in a designated range covering the crosswalk and the crosswalk-adjacent area until a vehicle-use traffic signal having a direction identical to that of the pedestrian-use traffic signal switches over to presenting a passing prohibition state.

12. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the obstacle existence or nonexistence information provides a plurality of existence areas each of which is distinctively contained in the crosswalk or the crosswalk-adjacent area;

existence areas contained in the crosswalk include an area corresponding to a roadside belt and an area corresponding to a traffic lane; and

the report processing section executes, with respect to the obstacle in the area corresponding to the roadside belt, a process identical to that of a predetermined one of the crosswalk-adjacent area and the area corresponding to the traffic lane, out of the obstacles indicated in the received obstacle existence or nonexistence information, based on the received current traffic signal information.

13. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the report processing section executes the report by display and no report by sound, thereby suppressing the report.

14. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a passing permission determination section that determines whether the vehicle is permitted to pass through the intersection based on a vehicle-use currently indicating color information of a vehicle-use traffic signal in the intersection, the vehicle-use currently indicating signal color information of the vehicle-use traffic signal being received via the in-vehicle communicator,

wherein the report processing section does not execute a report of an existence of an obstacle in the intersection when the vehicle is determined to be not permitted to pass through the intersection.

15. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the obstacle existence or nonexistence information received via the in-vehicle communicator provides a plurality of existence areas each of which is distinctively contained in the crosswalk or the crosswalk-adjacent area while indicating which one of the existence areas an obstacle exists; and

the report processing section determines whether an existence area of an obstacle is an area to be reported or not, based on the existence area of the obstacle indicated by the obstacle existence or nonexistence information.

16. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the report processing section executes an identical report of an existence of an obstacle regardless of an existence area of the obstacle.

17. An obstacle report system including a road management apparatus provided for an intersection, and an in-vehicle apparatus mounted in a vehicle to receive information transmitted from the road management apparatus,

the road management apparatus comprising:

an obstacle detection section to detect an obstacle in a designated range containing (i) a crosswalk around an intersection, and/or (ii) a crosswalk-adjacent area that is adjacent to the crosswalk around the intersection;

a traffic signal information acquisition section to acquire traffic signal information containing a currently indicating signal color of a traffic signal corresponding to the crosswalk; and

a transmission section to transmit (i) obstacle existence or nonexistence information that indicates an existence of an obstacle detected by the obstacle detection section and (ii) traffic signal information acquired by the traffic signal information acquisition section,

the in-vehicle apparatus comprising;

an in-vehicle communicator to receive (i) obstacle existence or nonexistence information, which is received from the obstacle detection section via the transmission section of the road management apparatus, and (ii) traffic signal information, which is received from the traffic signal information acquisition section via the transmission section of the road management apparatus; and

a report processing section to execute a report of an obstacle indicated in the obstacle existence or nonexistence information, which is received from the obstacle detection section via the in-vehicle communicator, to a driver of the vehicle,

the report processing section being further configured to suppress the report of the obstacle based on current traffic signal information received from the traffic signal information via the in-vehicle communicator.