Collision determination device

• US 8,483,944 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2008
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsunekawa, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOYER, DALE S
• Application Number:
  US13/139,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246071A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,658 Days
• Field of Search: 340/903, 342 29- 32, 342/41, 342 70- 71, 342/455, 700/255, 701300-302
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A collision determination ECU includes: a possibility determination section for determining whether or not there is a possibility of a collision with a forward vehicle; a traveling direction determination section for determining whether or not changing of a traveling direction of at least one of an own-vehicle and the forward vehicle is in progress; and a condition changing section for changing a collision determination condition, which is a condition for a possibility estimation section to determine that there is a possibility of a collision, so as to be strict, when the traveling direction determination section determines that changing of a traveling direction is in progress. As a result, unnecessary operations of a passenger protection device and the like can be suppressed.

Claims

1. A collision determination device which is mounted on a vehicle and determines existence or non-existence of a possibility of a collision with another vehicle, the collision determination device comprising:

a trajectory estimating section that estimates a traveling trajectory which is a trajectory to be traveled in the future by a representation point of the another vehicle;

a possibility determination section that determines whether or not there is a possibility of a collision with the another vehicle depending on whether or not the another vehicle intersects an own-vehicle, when the another vehicle having preconfigured vehicle width and vehicle length moves on the traveling trajectory estimated by the trajectory estimating section;

a traveling direction determination section that determines whether or not at least one of the own-vehicle and the another vehicle is traveling in a curved path; and

a condition changing section that changes a collision determination condition, which is a condition for the possibility determination section to determine that there is a possibility of a collision, so as to be strict, by reducing at least one of a vehicle width and a vehicle length of the another vehicle when the traveling direction determination section determines that traveling in a curved path is in progress.

2. The collision determination device according to claim 1, comprising an object detection section that detects a position of the another vehicle via a radar;

wherein the representation point of the another vehicle is an acquisition point obtained by having the another vehicle acquired by the radar.

3. The collision determination device according to claim 1, comprising a radius-of-curvature calculation section that obtains a radius of curvature of a road on which the own-vehicle is positioned;

wherein

the traveling direction determination section determines whether or not the own-vehicle is traveling in a curved path, based on the radius of curvature obtained by the radius-of-curvature calculation section.

4. The collision determination device according to claim 3, wherein the traveling direction determination section determines that the own-vehicle is traveling in a curved path, when the radius of curvature obtained by the radius-of-curvature calculation section is equal to or smaller than a preconfigured threshold radius.

5. The collision determination device according to claim 3, wherein the radius-of-curvature calculation section obtains the radius of curvature by dividing a vehicle speed with a yaw rate.

6. The collision determination device according to claim 1, comprising a radius-of-curvature calculation section that obtains a radius of curvature of a road on which the own-vehicle is positioned;

wherein the condition changing section changes the collision determination condition, based on the radius of curvature obtained by the radius-of-curvature calculation section.

7. The collision determination device according to claim 6, wherein the radius-of-curvature calculation section obtains the radius of curvature by dividing a vehicle speed with a yaw rate.

8. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the traveling direction determination section determines whether or not the another vehicle is traveling in a curved path, based on a past traveling trajectory of the another vehicle.

9. A collision determination device which is mounted on a vehicle and determines existence or non-existence of a possibility of a collision with another vehicle, the collision determination device comprising:

a trajectory estimating section that estimates a traveling trajectory which is a trajectory to be traveled in the future by a representation point of the another vehicle;

a possibility determination section that determines whether or not there is a possibility of a collision with the another vehicle depending on whether or not the another vehicle intersects an own-vehicle, when the another vehicle having preconfigured vehicle width and vehicle length moves on the traveling trajectory estimated by the trajectory estimating section;

a traveling direction determination section that determines whether or not at least one of the own-vehicle and the another vehicle is traveling in a curved path;

a radius-of-curvature calculation section that obtains a radius of curvature of a road on which the own-vehicle is positioned; and

a condition changing section that changes a collision determination condition, which is a condition for the possibility determination section to determine that there is a possibility of a collision, so as to be strict, by changing at least one of a vehicle width and a vehicle length of the another vehicle, based on the radius of curvature obtained by the radius-of-curvature calculation section when the traveling direction determination section determines that traveling in a curved path is in progress.

10. The collision determination device according to claim 9, wherein the condition changing section changes the collision determination condition by changing the vehicle length of the another vehicle in a manner approximately proportional to the radius of curvature obtained by the radius-of-curvature calculation section.