DRIVING SUPPORT SYSTEM

• US 20150142285A1
• Filed: 06/10/2013
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagata, Shinichi, Kumai, Yuichi, Ohama, Yoshihiro, Shimizu, Tsukasa
• Granted Patent: US 9,586,582 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/70
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/103 Speed profile
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2720/106 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/143 Speed control B60W30/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• 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

In a driving support system, a target speed profile computing unit determines a target speed on the basis of a safe-condition confirmation end point that is set to a predetermined position in a travel direction of a host vehicle. The safe-condition confirmation end point is a point at which the host vehicle passes through a section following the safe-condition confirmation end point in advance of a moving object that appears from blind areas. In this way, by determining the target speed based on the safe-condition confirmation end point, the drive support control unit is able to support driving in consideration of driving action at the time when the driver actually causes the host vehicle to pass through near the blind areas. Thus, it is possible to appropriately support driving along a feeling of the driver such that inconvenience and a feeling of strangeness are reduced.

Claims

1. A driving support system comprising:

a blind area recognition unit that recognizes a blind area for a driver in a travel direction of a host vehicle;

a target speed determining unit that determines a target speed of the host vehicle on the basis of the blind area recognized by the blind area recognition unit; and

a driving support unit that supports driving of the host vehicle on the basis of the target speed determined by the target speed determining unit, wherein

the target speed determining unit determines the target speed on the basis of a safe-condition confirmation end point that is set to a first predetermined position in the travel direction of the host vehicle, and

the safe-condition confirmation end point is a point at which the host vehicle passes through a section following the safe-condition confirmation end point in the travel direction of the host vehicle in advance of a moving object that appears from the blind area.

2. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein

the target speed determining unit computes the safe-condition confirmation end point on the basis of a relative position between the blind area and the host vehicle, a speed of the host vehicle and an assumed speed of the moving object that appears from the blind area.

3. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein

the target speed determining unit determines the target speed further on the basis of a safe-condition confirmation start point that is set to a second predetermined position before the safe-condition confirmation end point in the travel direction of the host vehicle, and the safe-condition confirmation start point is a point at which it is ensured a set line-of-sight angle with respect to the blind area.

4. The driving support system according to claim 3, wherein

the target speed determining unit determines the target speed further on the basis of a deceleration start point that is set to a third predetermined position before the safe-condition confirmation start point in the travel direction of the host vehicle, and the deceleration start point is a point at which, by starting deceleration from the deceleration start point, the host vehicle is able to decelerate to a preset reference speed by the time when the host vehicle reaches the safe-condition confirmation start point.

5. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein

the driving support unit supports driving on the basis of the safe-condition confirmation end point and an actual safe-condition confirmation end point at which the driver of the host vehicle has started accelerating operation.

6. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an information acquisition unit that acquires information about a state of the driver of the host vehicle, wherein the driving support unit determines the state of the driver on the basis of the information acquired by the information acquisition unit and supports driving on the basis of the determined state of the driver.