Method and apparatus for guidance of road condition

• US 5,465,089 A
• Filed: 12/14/1994
• Issued: 11/07/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Ten Limited (DENSO Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Toshio, Nakatani, Yasuhiro, Okano, Yoichi, Takeuchi, Hiroshi, Ichimura, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Assistant Examiner(s): TONG, NINA C
• Application Number:
  US08/356,049
• Time in Patent Office: 328 Days
• Field of Search: 340/995, 340/990, 340/988, 340/905, 364/444, 364/449, 364/443, 364/450, 73/178 R, 342/451
• US Class Current: 340/995.27
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/824 Travel path sensing; Track monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/16 GPS track data
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/04 Means for informing, instructing or displaying
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/012 Rolling condition
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/24 Steering, cornering
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/70 Estimating or calculating vehicle parameters or state variables
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2800/9124 Roll-over protection systems, e.g. for warning or control
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 2275/14 Direct injection into combustion chamber
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for guidance of a road condition for providing prospective information concerning a configuration of a forthcoming curve or intersection on a traveling route for ensuring safe driving, particularly in the dark or roads such as winding roads, mountainous roads and so forth. The apparatus includes a detecting circuit for detecting a traveling link among a plurality of links in road information on which a vehicle is traveling; a circuit for detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of the vehicle; and a circuit for calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to a forthcoming end of the traveling link on the basis of the instantaneous vehicle position and the traveling direction. In addition, the apparatus includes a circuit for detecting a number of intersecting links connected to the forthcoming end of the traveling link; a circuit for calculating an intersecting angle at the forthcoming end of the traveling link with the intersecting links, and a circuit for displaying information concerning curvature at the intersection of the links.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing guidance concerning a road condition, comprising:

a direction sensor for detecting a unit link having a forthcoming end among a plurality of unit links included in road information, on which a vehicle is traveling;

a direction detecting circuit, operatively connected to said direction sensor, for detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of the vehicle;

a distance calculating circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for calculating a distance form the instantaneous position to the forthcoming end of said unit link using said instantaneous position and said traveling direction;

a number detecting circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for detecting a number of intersecting unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link at an intersection;

an intersection calculating circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit and said number detecting circuit, for calculating an intersecting angle at said forthcoming end of the said unit link with said intersecting unit links, one end of which connects to another end of another adjacently arranged link to thereby represent a road; and

a display circuit, operatively connected to said intersection calculating circuit and said distance calculating circuit, for displaying information concerning a curvature at the intersection of said intersecting unit links and the forthcoming end of said unit link as the road condition.

2. An apparatus for providing guidance concerning a road condition, comprising:

first detecting means for detecting a unit link, having a forthcoming end among a plurality of unit links included in road information, on which a vehicle is traveling;

a direction detecting circuit, operatively connected to said first detecting means, for detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of said vehicle;

a distance calculating circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to the forthcoming end of said unit links using said instantaneous position and said traveling direction;

a number detecting circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for detecting a number of intersecting unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link at an intersection; and

a display circuit, operatively connected to said first detecting means, said distance calculating circuit and said number detecting circuit, for displaying information concerning an intersecting condition of each of said unit links and said intersecting links at the intersection as a road condition.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said information is displayed as a graphic pattern representing the road condition of said intersection.

4. An apparatus for providing guidance concerning a road condition, comprising:

a direction sensor for detecting a unit link, having a forthcoming end among a plurality of unit links included in road information, on which a vehicle is traveling;

a direction detecting circuit, operatively connected to said direction sensor, for detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of the vehicle;

a distance calculating circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to the forthcoming end of said unit link using said instantaneous position and said traveling direction;

a number detecting circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for detecting a number of intersecting unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link;

an intersecting calculating circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit and said number detecting circuit, for calculating an intersecting angle at said forthcoming end of said unit link with said intersecting unit links;

speed detecting means, operatively connected to said direction sensor, for detecting an instantaneous traveling speed of the vehicle;

discriminating means, operatively connected to said intersection calculating circuit, said speed detecting means and said distance calculating circuit, for discriminating a degree of danger using the instantaneous traveling speed of the vehicle and said intersecting angle and for providing an alarm to a driver; and

display means, operatively connected to said discriminating means, for displaying information concerning the intersecting angles at an intersection of said intersecting unit links and the forthcoming end of said unit link as the road condition.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein said information is displayed as a graphic pattern representing the road condition of said intersection.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein said discriminating means generates at least one of an alarm using a graphic alarm display and an audible alarm.

7. A method for providing guidance concerning a road condition, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a unit link having a forthcoming end among a plurality of unit links included in road information, on which a vehicle is traveling;

(b) detecting, with a direction detecting circuit, an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of said vehicle;

(c) calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to the forthcoming end of said unit link using said instantaneous vehicle position and said traveling direction;

(d) detecting, with a number detecting circuit, a number of intersection unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link at an intersection;

(e) calculating, with an intersection calculating circuit, an intersecting angle at the forthcoming end of said unit link, formed between said unit and another unit link connected to the end of said unit link, when said detected number of said intersection unit links is one; and

(f) displaying information concerning the intersecting angle at the intersection of said intersecting unit links and the forthcoming end of said unit link as the road condition.

8. A method as set forth in claim 7, which further comprises a step of discriminating a degree of danger using an instantaneous traveling speed of the vehicle and said intersecting angle for providing an alarm to a driver.

9. A method for providing guidance concerning a road condition, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a unit link having a forthcoming end among a plurality of unit links included in road information, on which a vehicle is traveling;

(b) detecting, with a direction detecting circuit, an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of said vehicle;

(c) calculating a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to the forthcoming end of said unit link using said instantaneous vehicle position and said traveling direction;

(d) detecting, with a number detecting circuit, a number of intersecting unit links connected to the forthcoming end of said unit link at an intersection when a distance from the instantaneous vehicle position to the forthcoming end of the unit link becomes less than a predetermined distance; and

(e) displaying information indicative of the forthcoming end of said unit link at an intersection together with information concerning an intersecting condition of said unit link when the detected number of said intersecting unit links is greater than one as the road condition.

10. An apparatus for providing guidance concerning a road condition, comprising:

first detecting means for detecting one of a plurality of unit links, each of said unit links having an end and including an adjacent unit link and a last unit link and forming a link train included in road information, on which a vehicle is traveling;

a direction detecting circuit, operatively connected to said first detecting means, for detecting an instantaneous position of the vehicle and a traveling direction of the vehicle on said one of said unit links in said link train;

a determining circuit, operatively connected to said direction detecting circuit, for determining an end position of the last unit link of said link train positioned in a place located at a predetermined distance ahead of said instantaneous position of the vehicle;

a number detecting circuit, operatively connected to said determining circuit, for detecting and calculating at least a number of the unit links intersecting and connected to said one of said unit links, an intersecting angle formed between said one of said unit links and the adjacent unit link, and a curvature of at least said one of said unit links connected to the end of each of said unit links of said traveling link train;

a display circuit, operatively connected to said number detecting circuit, for displaying at least one of the number of said unit links, the intersecting angle formed between said one of said unit links and the adjacent unit link, and the curvature of said one of said unit links connected to the end of each of said unit links in said link train, respectively, in an order in which each of said unit links are arranged from said instantaneous position of the vehicle to said predetermined distance ahead of said instantaneous position.

11. An apparatus for providing road information relating to an oncoming road condition, comprising:

a sensor detecting and outputting information of a vehicle travelling at a speed and located at a distance from the oncoming road condition;

process data generating means for generating the road information using the information received from said sensor including the speed and the distance of the vehicle and a configuration of the oncoming road condition utilizing a curvature condition information obtained by calculating an intersectional cycle formed between at least two links which comprises a road and an end of the road which are connected to each other; and

a display circuit displaying the road information received from said process data generating means.

12. An apparatus as set forth in claim 11, further comprising an alarm generator and discriminator circuit, connected between said process data generating means and said display circuit determining when the road information is to be received and displayed by said display circuit.

13. A method for providing road information relating to an oncoming road condition, comprising:

(a) detecting information of a vehicle traveling at a speed and located at a distance from the oncoming road condition;

(b) generating the road information including the speed and the distance of the vehicle detected in said detecting step a) and a configuration of the oncoming road condition utilizing a curvature condition information obtained by calculating an intersectional angle formed between at least two links which comprises a road and an end of the road which are connected to each other; and

(c) displaying the road information.

14. A method as set forth in claim 13, further comprising the step of determining when the road information is to be displayed by said display circuit.