Vehicular driving support system and vehicular control system

• US 7,133,768 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2004
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Mukaiyama, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Broadhead, Brian J.
• Application Number:
  US10/770,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20040158390A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/300, 701/301, 701/117, 701/33, 340/901, 340/902, 340/903, 340/905, 340/435, 340/436
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

A driving support system for a vehicle, which is provided with a communication apparatus capable of bi-directional communication between the vehicle and an unspecified number of moving objects, detects the presence of a communication impeding intersection at which there is a radio-wave blocking object using information obtained by communication with at least one of the moving objects that is traveling on an intersecting road which intersects the road on which the vehicle is traveling. The driving support system then transmits to at least one of the moving objects on the road on which the vehicle is traveling at least one of communication impeding intersection information relating to the communication impeding intersection and moving object information relating to at least one of the moving objects that is on the intersecting road only when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected.

Claims

1. A driving support system for a vehicle, comprising:

a communication apparatus enabling bi-directional communication between the vehicle and a first moving object, said communication apparatus obtaining at least one of i) communication impeding intersection information relating to a communication impeding intersection at which there is a radio-wave blocking object, and ii) moving object information relating to the first moving object, which is on an intersecting road that intersects a road on which the vehicle is traveling, by communication between the vehicle and the first moving object, that is traveling on the intersecting road, said communication apparatus transmitting to a second moving object that is on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information; and

a detection device which detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection using at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information,

wherein said communication apparatus transmits to the second moving object only when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected.

2. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein said detection device detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection based on a communication history between the vehicle and the first moving object.

3. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein said detection device detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection when communication between the vehicle and the first moving object, which is within a predetermined distance from the vehicle, starts while communication between the vehicle and only the second moving object is taking place.

4. The driving support system according to claim 3, further comprising a vehicle selecting device which i) monitors the communication state after communication has started between the vehicle and the first moving object when a plurality of the moving objects are traveling on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and ii) selects from among the plurality of the moving objects the second moving object as a transmission target according to the monitoring results.

5. The driving support system according to claim 4, wherein when communication between the vehicle and the first moving object continues after the vehicle has passed through the communication impeding intersection, the second moving object that has not passed through the communication impeding intersection but which is behind and traveling in the same direction as the vehicle is the transmission target.

6. The driving support system according to claim 4, wherein when communication between the vehicle and the first moving object continues after the vehicle has passed through the communication impeding intersection, the second moving object which is behind and traveling away from the vehicle is excluded from being the transmission target.

7. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein said detection device detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection when the distance between i) the vehicle at the time communication with the first moving object started and ii) a point of intersection of the intersecting road and the road on which the vehicle is traveling is less than a predetermined distance.

8. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein said communication apparatus transmits the moving object information including only information relating to the first moving object that is approaching the communication impeding intersection to the second moving object.

9. The driving support system according to claim 8, wherein said communication apparatus transmits the moving object information including only information relating to the first moving object that has moved a predetermined distance or more away from the communication impeding intersection to the second moving object.

10. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein said communication apparatus transmits the communication impeding intersection information including information relating to the location of the communication impeding intersection to the second moving object.

11. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein said communication apparatus transmits the communication impeding intersection information including information relating to the presence of the radio-wave blocking object at the communication impeding intersection to the second moving object.

12. The driving support system according to claim 11, wherein said detection device evaluates the presence of the radio-wave blocking object based on a change in the communication state between the Wet vehicle and the moving object.

13. The driving support system according to claim 11, wherein said detection device evaluates the presence of the radio-wave blocking object based on the distance between i) the vehicle at the time communication with the first moving object ends, after the vehicle has passed through the communication impeding intersection, and ii) the communication impeding intersection.

14. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected, the communication apparatus transmits to the second moving object at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information only when there is not a traffic signal at the communication impeding intersection.

15. A driving support system for a vehicle comprising:

a receiving device that obtains at least one of communication impeding intersection information and moving object information of bi-directional communication between a first moving object and a second moving object; and

a transmitting device that transmits to a third moving object at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information,

wherein the first moving object comprises a communication apparatus enabling bi-directional communication between the first moving object and the second moving object, said communication apparatus obtaining at least one of i) the communication impeding intersection information relating to a communication impeding intersection at which there is a radio-wave blocking object, and ii) the moving object information relating to the second moving object, which is on an intersecting road that intersects a road on which the first moving object is traveling, by communication between the first moving object and the second moving object that is traveling on the intersecting road, said communication apparatus transmitting to the vehicle object that is on the road on which the first vehicle is traveling at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, and a detection device which detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection using at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, said communication apparatus transmits to the vehicle only when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected.

16. A driving support system comprising:

a receiving device that obtains information relating to presence of a radio-wave blocking object of bi-directional communication between a first moving object and a second moving object; and

a transmitting device which transmits to a third moving object information relating to the presence of the radio-wave blocking object,

wherein the first moving object comprises a communication apparatus enabling bi-directional communication between the first moving object and the second moving object, said communication apparatus obtaining at least one of i) the communication impeding intersection information relating to a communication impeding intersection at which there is a radio-wave blocking object, and ii) the moving object information relating to the second moving object, which is on an intersecting road that intersects a road on which the first moving object is traveling, by communication between the first moving object and the second moving object that is traveling on the intersecting road, said communication apparatus transmitting to the vehicle that is on the road on which the first vehicle is traveling at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, and a detection device which detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection using at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, said communication apparatus transmits to the vehicle only when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected and transmits the communication impeding intersection information including information relating to the presence of the radio-wave blocking object at the communication impeding intersection to the vehicle.

17. A driving support system for a vehicle, comprising:

a detecting device which detects the presence of an intersection ahead on a road on which a vehicle is traveling based on predetermined map data;

a receiving device which is provided in a communication apparatus enabling bi-directional communication between the vehicle and a first moving object, said receiving device obtaining information by communication with the first moving object, which is on an intersecting road which intersects the road on which the vehicle is traveling at the intersection;

an information generating device that generates at least one of intersection information relating to the intersection and moving object information relating to the first moving object based on the obtained information; and

a transmitting device that transmits the generated information to a second moving object, which is on the road on which the vehicle is traveling when the intersection has been detected by the detecting device.

18. The driving support system according to claim 17, wherein the generated information is transmitted to the second moving object only when it has been detected that there is a facility of a predetermined scale or larger around the detected intersection based on the predetermined map data.

19. The driving support system according to claim 17, wherein only information relating to the first moving object that is in a predetermined position with respect to a facility of a predetermined scale or larger is included in the moving object information.

20. A vehicular control system provided in a vehicle, comprising:

a receiving device for receiving at least one of communication impeding intersection information and moving object information of bi-directional communication between a first moving object and a second moving object; and

a control apparatus that controls the vehicle using the received information,

wherein the first moving object comprises a communication apparatus enabling bi-directional communication between the first moving object and the second moving object, said communication apparatus obtaining at least one of i) the communication impeding intersection information relating to a communication impeding intersection at which there is a radio-wave blocking object, and ii) the moving object information relating to the second moving object, which is on an intersecting road that intersects a road on which the first moving object is traveling, by communication between the first moving object and the second moving object that is traveling on the intersecting road, said communication apparatus transmitting to the vehicle that is on the road on which the first vehicle is traveling at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, and a detection device which detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection using at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, said communication apparatus transmits to the vehicle only when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected.

21. A vehicular control system provided in a vehicle, comprising:

a receiving device for receiving information relating to presence of the a radio-wave blocking object at the communication impeding intersection of the bi-directional communication between a first moving object and a second moving object; and

a control apparatus that controls the vehicle using the received information,

wherein the first moving object comprises a communication apparatus enabling bi-directional communication between the first moving object and the second moving object, said communication apparatus obtaining at least one of i) the communication impeding intersection information relating to a communication impeding intersection at which there is a radio-wave blocking object, and ii) the moving object information relating to the second moving object, which is on an intersecting road that intersects a road on which the first moving object is traveling, by communication between the first moving object and the second moving object that is traveling on the intersecting road, said communication apparatus transmitting to the vehicle that is on the road on which the first vehicle is traveling at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, and a detection device which detects the presence of the communication impeding intersection using at least one of the communication impeding intersection information and the moving object information, said communication apparatus transmits to the vehicle only when the presence of the communication impeding intersection has been detected and transmits the communication impeding intersection information including information relating to the presence of the radio-wave blocking object at the communication impeding intersection to the vehicle.