Alarm output control apparatus

• US 8,742,906 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2009
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kataoka, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lau, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US13/260,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20120019375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,875 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/425.5
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

An output adjustment ECU includes: a request reception section for receiving an output request of alarm information to a driver from a drive assist ECU; a usefulness determination section for, when the request reception section receives the output request, determining whether or not outputting first alarm information that is the alarm information of which the output request is received is useful for the driver; a content modification section for, when the usefulness determination section determines that the outputting is not useful, modifying a content of the first alarm information to generate second alarm information that is alarm information useful for the driver; and an output execution section for outputting the first alarm information when the usefulness determination section determines that the outputting is useful, and outputting the second alarm information when the usefulness determination section determines that the outputting is not useful. In this manner, appropriate alarm information is outputted.

Claims

1. A drive support system that is mounted in a vehicle, the drive support system comprising:

a generation unit to generate first alarm information which prompts a driver to perform a steering operation influencing a traveling state of the vehicle;

an output unit to output the generated first alarm information to the driver; and

an operation detecting unit to detect a steering direction by the driver, wherein

when the steering operation requested for the driver does not contradict the steering direction by the driver, the first alarm information is outputted from the output unit, and

when the steering operation requested for the driver contradicts the steering direction by the driver, second alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle and that notifies the driver of a driving state is outputted from the output unit.

2. The drive support system according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit to control the output from the output unit to the driver, wherein

the control unit, when the steering operation requested for the driver does not contradict the steering direction by the driver, causes the output unit to output the first alarm information, and when the steering operation requested for the driver contradicts the steering direction by the driver, modifies the first alarm information to the second alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle and that notifies the driver of the driving state, and causes the output unit to output the second alarm information.

3. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the traveling state is a traveling direction.

4. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the first alarm information is at least any one of providing a steering torque in a direction for avoiding a deviation from a lane, displaying a direction of the deviation from the lane in an image, and providing vibrations in the direction of the deviation from the lane, to the driver.

5. The drive support system according to claim 4, wherein the second alarm information is at least either one of displaying an image representing the deviation from the lane or providing vibrations representing the deviation from the lane, to the driver.

6. The drive support system according to claim 1, wherein the first alarm information includes other alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle.

7. The drive support system according to claim 6, wherein the other alarm information draws driver'"'"'s attention with a buzzer sound to notify of a deviation from a lane.

8. A drive support system that is mounted in a vehicle, the drive support system comprising:

a generation unit to generate

first alarm information including;

alarm information which prompts a driver to perform a steering operation influencing a traveling state of the vehicle; and

other alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle;

an output unit to output the generated first alarm information to the driver; and

an operation detecting unit to detect a steering direction by the driver, wherein

when a direction of influence of the steering operation requested for the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle is the same, with regard to whether rightward or leftward, as a direction of influence of a steering operation performed by the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle, the first alarm information is outputted from the output unit, and

when a direction of influence of the steering operation requested for the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle is not the same, with regard to whether rightward or leftward, as a direction of influence of a steering operation performed by the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle, the other alarm information that does not include the alarm information which prompts the driver to perform the steering operation requested for the driver is outputted from the output unit.

9. The drive support system according to claim 8, further comprising a control unit to control the output from the output unit to the driver, wherein

the control unit,

when a direction of influence of the steering operation requested for the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle is the same, with regard to whether rightward or leftward, as a direction of influence of a steering operation performed by the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle, causes the output unit to output the first alarm information, and

when a direction of influence of the steering operation requested for the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle is not the same, with regard to whether rightward or leftward, as a direction of influence of a steering operation performed by the driver on the traveling state of the vehicle, causes the output unit to output the other alarm information that does not include the alarm information which prompts the driver to perform the steering operation requested for the driver.

10. A drive support system that is mounted in a vehicle, the drive support system comprising:

a controller configured to output first alarm information which prompts a driver to perform a steering operation influencing a traveling state of the vehicle to the driver; and

an operation detector to detect a steering direction by the driver, wherein

when the steering operation requested for the driver does not contradict the steering direction by the driver, the controller is configured to output the first alarm information, and

when the steering operation requested for the driver contradicts the steering direction by the driver, the controller is configured to output second alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle and that notifies the driver of a driving state.

11. The drive support system according to claim 10, wherein

the controller is configured to,

when the steering operation requested for the driver does not contradict the steering direction by the driver, output the first alarm information, and

when the steering operation requested for the driver contradicts the steering direction by the driver, modify the first alarm information to the second alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle and that notifies the driver of the driving state, and output the second alarm information.

12. The drive support system according to claim 10, wherein the traveling state is a traveling direction.

13. The drive support system according to claim 10, wherein the first alarm information is at least any one of providing a steering torque in a direction for avoiding a deviation from a lane, displaying a direction of the deviation from the lane in an image, and providing vibrations in the direction of the deviation from the lane, to the driver.

14. The drive support system according to claim 13, wherein the second alarm information is at least either one of displaying an image representing the deviation from the lane or providing vibrations representing the deviation from the lane, to the driver.

15. The drive support system according to claim 10, wherein the first alarm information includes other alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle.

16. The drive support system according to claim 15, wherein the other alarm information draws driver'"'"'s attention with a buzzer sound to notify of a deviation from a lane.

17. A method of operating a drive support system that is mounted in a vehicle, comprising:

outputting, with a controller, first alarm information which prompts a driver to perform a steering operation influencing a traveling state of the vehicle to the driver; and

detecting, with an operation detector, a steering direction by the driver, wherein

when the steering operation requested for the driver does not contradict the steering direction by the driver, outputting the first alarm information with the controller, and

when the steering operation requested for the driver contradicts the steering direction by the driver, outputting second alarm information that does not influence the traveling state of the vehicle and that notifies the driver of a driving state with the controller.