Host vehicle moving area acquisition device and acquisition method

• US 7,961,084 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Issued: 06/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Aso, Kazuaki, Harada, Masahiro, Kindo, Toshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): OTT, FREDERICK R
• Application Number:
  US12/155,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20080303696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 340/903, 340/435, 340/436
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

A movable area acquisition ECU 1 compares a possible path for a host vehicle and a predicted path of another vehicle in a travel area of the host vehicle with each other to obtain a possibility of collision between the two vehicles, thus computing a degree of danger to the host vehicle. If the degree of danger to the host vehicle exceeds a predetermined threshold, the travel area is extended and then a degree of danger to the host vehicle is computed and acquired.

Claims

1. A host vehicle moving area acquisition device comprising:

a moving area setting portion configured to set a moving area in which a host vehicle can move; and

a traffic condition acquisition portion configured to acquire a traffic condition around the host vehicle;

wherein;

the moving area setting portion is configured to adjust the moving area on the basis of the traffic condition;

the traffic condition acquisition portion includes;

a host vehicle path acquisition portion configured to acquire a plurality of paths of the host vehicle in the moving area;

an obstacle path acquisition portion configured to acquire a path of an obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle; and

a safety degree acquisition portion configured to acquire a safety degree on the basis of each of the paths of the host vehicle and the path of the obstacle, wherein a higher safety degree represents a probability of no collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle;

the traffic condition includes the safety degree acquired by the safety degree acquisition portion; and

the moving area setting portion is configured to acquire an extended area in which the moving area of the host vehicle is extended, if the safety degree is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, wherein the extended area allows for the creation of additional paths for the host vehicle so as to avoid collision.

2. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein the safety degree acquisition portion includes a path selecting portion configured to acquire a safety degree in each of the plurality of paths of the host vehicle by computing a probability of collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle in each of the plurality of paths of the host vehicle, and selects a path with the highest safety degree.

3. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 2, wherein the moving area setting portion is configured to determine whether or not a safety degree with respect to the path with the highest safety degree exceeds the threshold, and is configured to determine the path with the lowest probability of collision as a host vehicle path if the safety degree exceeds the threshold.

4. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein:

the traffic condition acquisition portion further includes an obstacle information acquisition portion configured to acquire information of the obstacle in the vicinity of the host vehicle, a host vehicle information acquisition portion configured to acquire a position and travel state of the host vehicle, and a map database;

the moving area setting portion sets the moving area of the host vehicle on the basis of the position of the host vehicle and information in the map database;

the obstacle path acquisition portion is configured to acquire the path of the obstacle on the basis of the obstacle information and the moving area; and

the host vehicle path acquisition portion is configured to acquire each of the paths of the host vehicle on the basis of the travel state and the moving area of the host vehicle.

5. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 4, wherein the moving area setting portion is configured to set an acquired extended area as the moving area in which the host vehicle can move, if the safety degree is equal to or lower than the threshold.

6. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein the moving area setting portion is configured to switch between a steady-state moving area under a steady state condition and a non-steady state moving area under a non-steady state condition on the basis of the traffic condition.

7. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 1, wherein the moving area setting portion is configured to switch between a steady-state moving area under a steady-state condition and a non-steady state moving area under a non-steady state condition if the safety degree is equal to or lower than the threshold.

8. The host vehicle moving area acquisition device according to claim 7, wherein:

the steady-state moving area is an area in which traffic rules are followed and which includes a travel lane in which the host vehicle travels, a lane that is adjacent to the travel lane and runs in the same direction as a travel direction of the host vehicle, and a lane that crosses the travel lane and into which the host vehicle can make a right turn or a left turn; and

the non-steady state moving area is an extended area in which the steady-state moving area is extended to include at least one of a road shoulder of an expressway, a broad sidewalk or vacant lot, a zebra zone, and an opposing lane.

9. A host vehicle moving area acquisition method comprising:

setting a moving area in which a host vehicle can move;

predicting a path of an obstacle in the moving area;

predicting a path of the host vehicle in the moving area on the basis of a travel state of the host vehicle;

computing a safety degree with respect to the path of the host vehicle, on the basis of the path of the obstacle and the path of the host vehicle, wherein a higher safety degree represents a probability of no collision between the host vehicle and the obstacle;

determining whether or not the safety degree exceeds a threshold; and

switching the moving area to an extended area in which the moving area of the host vehicle is extended if the safety degree is equal to or lower than the threshold, wherein the extended area allows for the creation of additional paths for the host vehicle so as to avoid collision.

10. The host vehicle moving area acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein the non-steady state moving area is an extended area of the steady-state moving area.