VEHICULAR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

• US 20130268186A1
• Filed: 04/02/2013
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Yamashiro, Takahisa
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,311 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking

Abstract

In a vehicular wireless communication apparatus in a subject vehicle, a rear vehicle determination process determines whether another vehicle is a rear vehicle within a predetermined range based on a past locus of the subject vehicle determined by a subject-vehicle locus determination process, and a locus information-set of the another vehicle received by a wireless communication portion. When the another vehicle is determined to be the rear vehicle, a necessary-position determination process determines position information-items of two end points of a line segment of the past locus of the subject vehicle which intersects with a perpendicular line drawn from a present position of the another vehicle. A simple transmission process transmits a locus information-set including (i) a present position information-item of the subject vehicle and (ii) the necessary-position information-item determined in the necessary-position determination process, from the wireless communication portion.

Claims

1. A vehicular wireless communication apparatus disposed in a subject vehicle, comprising:

a position acquisition portion that acquires continuously a position information-item;

a communication portion that transmits and receives a vehicle information-set, which includes a locus information-set continuously via vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

a subject-vehicle locus determination section that determines a past locus of the subject vehicle from a plurality of position information-items of the subject vehicle continuously acquired by the position acquisition portion;

a rear vehicle determination section that determines, based on the locus information-set received from another vehicle by the communication portion, whether the another vehicle is a rear vehicle, which is located at back of the subject vehicle and within a predetermined range from the past locus of the subject vehicle;

a necessary-position determination section that determines a necessary-position information-item based on the plurality of position information-items of the subject vehicle when the another vehicle is determined to be the rear vehicle, the necessary-position information-item being necessary for the rear vehicle when the rear vehicle obtains a position relation with the subject vehicle; and

a transmission information control section that controls the communication portion to transmit the locus information-set of the subject vehicle when the another vehicle is determined to be the rear vehicle such that the locus information-set of the subject vehicle includes (i) a present position information-item of the subject vehicle and (ii) the necessary-position information-item determined by the necessary-position determination section.

2. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the necessary-position determination section selects the necessary-position information-item, from among a plurality of past position information-items of the subject vehicle continuously acquired by the position acquisition portion.

3. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

the necessary-position determination section selects, from among the plurality of past position information-items of the subject vehicle, nearby position information-items of n points near a present position of the rear vehicle, the n being equal to or less than a predetermined number; and

the necessary-position determination section determines the nearby position information-items of the n points as the necessary-position information-item.

4. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the subject-vehicle locus determination section determines, as the past locus of the subject vehicle, a group of line segments that are formed by connecting points indicated by the plurality of position information-items of the subject vehicle;

the necessary-position determination section includes a first closest point determination section, which determines position information-items of two end points of a line segment that is closest to the present position of the rear vehicle from the group of line segments determined by the subject-vehicle locus determination section;

the necessary-position determination section selects, from among the plurality of past position information-items of the subject vehicle, the position information-items of two end points determined by the first closest point determination section; and

the necessary-position determination section determines the selected position information-items of two end points as the necessary-position information-item.

5. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the necessary-position determination section includes a closest point preparation section, which prepares a position information-item of a point closest to the present position of the rear vehicle within the past locus of the subject vehicle; and

the necessary-position determination section determines the position information-item prepared by the closest point preparation section as the necessary-position information-item.

6. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:

the communication portion continuously transmits using the vehicle-to-vehicle communication the vehicle information-set that includes (i) a vehicle speed and (ii) a future locus estimation information-item that permits estimation of a future locus;

the vehicular wireless communication apparatus further comprises a rear-vehicle locus determination section that determines a future locus of the rear vehicle based on the future locus estimation information-item of the rear vehicle received by the communication portion from the another vehicle;

the necessary-position determination section selects position information-items of n points located at positions moved further frontward in the future locus of the rear vehicle from the present position of the rear vehicle, the n being equal to or less than a predetermined number, as the vehicle speed of the rear vehicle received by the communication portion from the another vehicle becomes greater; and

the necessary-position determination section determines the selected position information-items of n points as the necessary-position information-item.

7. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the subject-vehicle locus determination section determines, as the past locus of the subject vehicle, a group of line segments that are formed by connecting points indicated by the plurality of position information-items of the subject vehicle;

the communication portion continuously transmits using the vehicle-to-vehicle communication the vehicle information-set that includes a future locus estimation information-item that permits estimation of a future locus;

the vehicular wireless communication apparatus further comprises a rear-vehicle locus determination section that determines a future locus of the rear vehicle based on the future locus estimation information-item of the rear vehicle received by the communication portion from the another vehicle;

the necessary-position determination section includes a second closest point determination section, which determines position information-items of two end points of a line segment that is closest to the future locus of the rear vehicle determined by the rear-vehicle locus determination section from the group of line segments determined by the subject-vehicle locus determination section;

the necessary-position determination section selects the position information-items of two end points determined by the second closest point determination section; and

the necessary-position determination section determines the selected position information-items of two end points as the necessary-position information-item.

8. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the communication portion continuously transmits using the vehicle-to-vehicle communication the vehicle information-set that includes a future locus estimation information-item;

the vehicular wireless communication apparatus further comprises

(i) a rear-vehicle locus determination section that determines a future locus of the rear vehicle based on the future locus estimation information-item of the rear vehicle received by the communication portion from the another vehicle, and

(ii) an intersecting position determination section that determines an estimated intersecting point at which the past locus of the subject vehicle determined by the subject-vehicle locus determination section and the future locus of the rear vehicle determined by the rear-vehicle locus determination section; and

the necessary-position determination section determines a position information-item of the estimated intersecting point determined by the intersecting position determination section as the necessary-position information-item.

9. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the necessary-position determination section determines the necessary-position information-item with respect to a nearest rear vehicle nearest to the subject vehicle among a plurality of the rear vehicles when the rear vehicle determination section determines that the plurality of the rear vehicles are present, the necessary-position information-item with respect to the nearest rear vehicle being necessary for the nearest rear vehicle when the nearest rear vehicle determines a position relation with the subject vehicle; and

the transmission information control section controls the communication portion to transmit a changed locus information-set of the subject vehicle when the plurality of the rear vehicles are determined to be present by the rear vehicle determination section, the changed locus information-set of the subject vehicle including (i) the present position information-item of the subject vehicle and (ii) the necessary-position information-item with respect to the nearest rear vehicle determined by the necessary-position determination section.

10. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the necessary-position determination section determines the necessary-position information-item with respect to each of a plurality of the rear vehicles when the rear vehicle determination section determines that the plurality of the rear vehicles are present, the necessary-position information-item with respect to each of the plurality of the rear vehicles being necessary for each of the plurality of the rear vehicles when each of the plurality of the rear vehicles determines a position relation with the subject vehicle; and

the transmission information control section controls the communication portion to transmit a changed locus information-set of the subject vehicle when the plurality of the rear vehicles are determined to be present by the rear vehicle determination section, the changed locus information-set of the subject vehicle including (i) the present position information-item of the subject vehicle and (ii) the necessary-position information-item with respect to each of the plurality of the rear vehicles determined by the necessary-position determination section.

11. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the necessary-position determination section determines, as the necessary-position information-item, also n past position information-items obtained by tracing back chronologically from the present position information-item along the past locus of the subject vehicle, the n being a predetermined number.

12. The vehicular wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

the subject-vehicle locus determination section determines, as the past locus of the subject vehicle, a group of line segments that are formed by connecting points indicated by the plurality of position information-items of the subject vehicle;

the necessary-position determination section includes a first closest point determination section, which determines position information-items of two end points of a line segment that is closest to the present position of the rear vehicle from the group of line segments determined by the subject-vehicle locus determination section;

the necessary-position determination section selects, from among a plurality of past position information-items of the subject vehicle, remaining position information-items excluding position information-items older than the position information-items of two end points determined by the first closest point determination section; and

the necessary-position determination section determines the selected remaining position information-items as the necessary-position information-item.