LANE MERGING DETERMINATION APPARATUS

• US 20160339919A1
• Filed: 05/18/2016
• Published: 11/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Habu, Toshiya, Yokoyama, Takahisa
• Granted Patent: US 10,688,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/06 including control of combustion engines
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0953 the prediction being responsive to vehicle dynamic parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18163 Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0097 Predicting future conditions

Abstract

A lane merging determination apparatus is provided which includes a first generation section that generates a first path, which is a prospective traveling path of an own vehicle, a second generation section that generates a second path corresponding to a traveling path of an adjacent vehicle, which is one of vehicles present ahead of the own vehicle and runs in a lane adjacent to a driving lane of the own vehicle, based on a history of positions of the vehicles, an intersection determination section that determines whether or not the first path and the second path intersect with each other; and a merging determination section that determines that the lanes merge with each other in front of the own vehicle, if the intersection determination section determines that the first path and the second path intersect with each other.

Claims

1. A lane merging determination apparatus, comprising:

a first generation section that generates a first path, which is a prospective traveling path of an own vehicle;

a second generation section that generates a second path corresponding to a traveling path of an adjacent vehicle, which is one of vehicles present ahead of the own vehicle and runs in a lane adjacent to a driving lane of the own vehicle, based on a history of positions of the vehicles;

an intersection determination section that determines whether or not the first path generated by the first path generation section and the second path generated by the second path generation section intersect with each other; and

a merging determination section that determines that the lanes merge with each other in front of the own vehicle, if the intersection determination section determines that the first path and the second path intersect with each other.

2. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the second generation section defines a traveling path, along which the adjacent vehicle has run, as the second path.

3. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the second generation section defines a predicted path, which is a prospective traveling path of the adjacent vehicle predicted from a traveling path along which the adjacent vehicle has run, as the second path.

4. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first generation section generates a traveling path of the preceding vehicle based on a history of positions of a preceding vehicle, which is one of the vehicles and runs in the driving lane of the own vehicle, and generates the first path from the generated traveling path of the preceding vehicle.

5. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first generation section generates the first path from a history of positions of the own vehicle.

6. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the second generation section selects the traveling path of the adjacent vehicle based on a lateral position, which is a position on a traveling path in a width direction of the own vehicle generated from the history of positions of the vehicles and a lateral distance from a lateral position of the own vehicle, and generates the second path from the selected traveling path of the adjacent vehicle.

7. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an object detection section that detects position information of a stationary object present ahead of the own vehicle, wherein

when the intersection determination section determines that the first path and the second path intersect with each other, the merging determination section determines that the lanes merge with each other in front of the own vehicle, on condition that a position of the stationary object detected by the object detection section is in front of the own vehicle in a traveling direction.

8. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when the intersection determination section determines that the first path and the second path intersect with each other, the merging determination section determines that the lanes merge with each other in front of the own vehicle, on condition that a speed of the adjacent vehicle corresponding to the second path is higher than a speed of the own vehicle and exceeds a speed threshold value.

9. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when the intersection determination section determines that the first path and the second path intersect with each other, the merging determination section determines that the lanes merge with each other in front of the own vehicle, on condition that a distance between two adjacent vehicles, which correspond to the second path and are present in a longitudinal direction, is larger than a distance between the own vehicle and a preceding vehicle with respect to the own vehicle and exceeds a distance threshold value.

10. The lane merging determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when an intersection point of the first path and the second path is present at a front of the own vehicle in a traveling direction, the merging determination section determines that the driving lane of the own vehicle is a lane that continues through a merging point of the lanes, and

when the intersection point is not present at the front of the own vehicle in the traveling direction, the merging determination section determines that the driving lane of the own vehicle is a lane that narrows at the merging point.