DRIVE ASSIST DEVICE, AND DRIVE ASSIST METHOD

• US 20150291216A1
• Filed: 11/29/2012
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Minami
• Granted Patent: US 10,023,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/18 Braking system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2710/20 Steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/025 Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation B62D1/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0265 Automatic obstacle avoidance by steering

Abstract

A driving assisting section includes a collision avoidance assisting section, which performs collision avoidance assistance for avoiding collision between a vehicle to be assisted and an object by prompting turning of the vehicle. The driving assisting section further includes a lane-keeping assisting section, which performs lane keeping assistance. An assist arbitrating section arbitrates between the collision avoidance assistance by the collision avoidance assisting section and the lane keeping assistance by the lane-keeping assisting section.

Claims

1. A driving assistance apparatus that assists in driving a vehicle, comprising:

a collision avoidance assisting section, which performs collision avoidance assistance for avoiding collision between a vehicle that is an assistance target and an object by prompting turning of the vehicle; and

an assistance arbitration section, which performs arbitration between the collision avoidance assistance and driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance, wherein

the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance is driving assistance for prompting turning of the assistance target vehicle, and

the assistance arbitration section suppresses the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance when the collision avoidance assistance and the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance prompt turning in conflicting directions.

3. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the assistance arbitration section suppresses the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance in at least one of the following periods of time:

a period of time from start of the collision avoidance assistance to termination of the collision avoidance assistance;

a period of time after termination of the collision avoidance assistance until when setup time elapses; and

a period of time during which a suppressing condition specified for the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance is met.

4. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

the suppressing condition is met based on a prediction that a condition of activating the collision avoidance assistance due to performance of the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance will be met.

5. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the collision avoidance assistance includes assistance for performing intervention braking to the assistance target vehicle, and

the collision avoidance assistance based on an activation condition that is met by performance of the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance is at least one of the assistance for performing the intervention braking and the assistance for prompting the turning of the assistance target vehicle.

6. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the suppressing condition is met based on a prediction that the collision avoidance assistance will be activated again due to performance of the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance after termination of the collision avoidance assistance.

7. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein

when a request for activating the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance is detected during performance of the collision avoidance assistance or when a request for activating the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance is detected after termination of performance of the collision avoidance assistance but before the lapse of the setup time, the assistance arbitration section performs, as the arbitration, at least one of the following processes:

a. a delay process for delaying the time of activating the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance;

b. a suppressing process for suppressing the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance; and

c. a reduction process for reducing an assistance amount of the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance.

8. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the physical object is a movable body, and

based on a relationship between a first time taken by the assistance target vehicle to reach a meeting point where the vehicle meets the movable body and a second time taken by the movable body to reach the meeting point, the collision avoidance assisting section assists in avoidance of collision between the vehicle and the movable body.

9. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, when a request for activating the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance is detected during performance of the collision avoidance assistance or when a request for activating the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance is detected after termination of performance of the collision avoidance assistance but before the lapse of the setup time, the assistance arbitration section suppresses the driving assistance different from the collision avoidance assistance in a period of time during which at least one of the first time and the second time is converted from a positive value to a negative value.

10. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 8, wherein

the collision avoidance assisting section has a map in which an assistance region of performing driving assistance and non-assistance region of performing no driving assistance are specified with respect to a relative relationship between the first time and the second time, and

the collision avoidance assisting section performs the collision avoiding assistance by referring to the map.

11. The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance is at least one of:

lane-keeping travel assistance for prompting the assistance target vehicle to be maintained at a traveling position within a lane;

skidding suppressing assistance for assisting the assistance target vehicle in suppressing skidding; and

autonomous travel assistance for assisting the assistance target vehicle in traveling autonomously.

2. (canceled)

12. A driving assistance method for assisting in driving a vehicle, comprising:

performing collision avoidance assistance for avoiding collision between a vehicle that is an assistance target and an object; and

performing arbitration between the collision avoidance assistance and driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance, as the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance, driving assistance for prompting turning of the assistance target vehicle is performed, and

in performing arbitration between the collision avoidance assistance and driving assistance different, when the collision avoidance assistance and the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance prompt turning of the vehicle in conflicting directions, the driving assistance different in type from the collision avoidance assistance is suppressed.

13. (canceled)