Method for wireless communication between vehicles

• US 8,886,386 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2007
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Merk, Stephan
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Application Number:
  US12/516,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20120095641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,560 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/28
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0175 by photographing vehicles, e.g. when violating traffic rules
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/162 event-triggered
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for wireless communication between vehicles (2, 3), according to which a second vehicle (3) located in relation to a first vehicle (2) is identified by the first vehicle; the second vehicle (3) emits wireless driving information which is received by the first vehicle, the driving information comprising information on the traffic situation in the surroundings of the second vehicle (3) and/or on the state variables of the second vehicle (3); the driving information received in the first vehicle (2) is processed in the first vehicle (2); and the processed driving information is outputted in the first vehicle (2) at least partially by means of an output means.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication between vehicles comprising:

identifying by a first vehicle a second vehicle located in relation to the first vehicle;

acquiring, by the second vehicle, variables relating to driving information via one or more sensors, the one or more sensors comprising at least one video camera;

wirelessly transmitting the variables relating to driving information by the second vehicle, the variables relating to driving information comprising a video image captured by the at least one video camera;

receiving by the first vehicle the transmitted variables;

processing by the first vehicle the transmitted variables to obtain driving information from the video image relating to overtaking the second vehicle by the first vehicle, said information indicating whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle; and

outputting in the first vehicle the driving information as at least one of an optical signal, an acoustic signal, and a haptic message via an output means,

wherein the driving information relating to possible overtaking of the second vehicle by the first vehicle is based in part on information relating to the first vehicle comprising at least one of power of the engine of the first vehicle, acceleration capacity of the first vehicle, and information relating to a current weather condition.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission between the vehicles is carried out over a wireless decentralized ad hoc radio network, in particular over a WLAN.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more sensors in the first vehicle perform the identification of the second vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 3, in which the identification of the second vehicle is carried out by a registration number recognition process using a video camera in the first vehicle, wherein driving information emitted by the second vehicle contains the registration number of the second vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the identification of the second vehicle is determined by exchanging GPS position data, between the first and second vehicles involved in the wireless communication.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based at least in part on the driving information, that an overtaking maneuver of the second vehicle by the first vehicle is not possible; and

at least one of preventing or aborting the overtaking in an automated fashion.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the driving information relating to possible overtaking of the second vehicle by the first vehicle comprises at least one of:

relative velocity of the second vehicle in relation to a next vehicle that is one of traveling ahead of the second vehicle and is oncoming;

a size of a gap between the second vehicle and the next vehicle that is traveling ahead of the second vehicle; and

an estimated duration of an overtaking maneuver.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

processing the video image received in the first vehicle; and

displaying the video image on a display in the first vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors further comprise one or more radar and lidar sensors configured for measuring at least one of distance and velocity of vehicles which are traveling ahead and oncoming.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors further comprise vehicle sensors configured to acquire state variables of the second vehicle.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein communication occurs between the first and second vehicles at least whenever the second vehicle exceeds predetermined dimensions.

12. The method according to claim 2, wherein the ad hoc network is a WLAN.

13. The method according to claim 6, wherein the preventing or aborting the overtaking in an automated fashion is accomplished by at least one of an automated intervention into a steering of the first vehicle and an automated prevention of acceleration of the first vehicle.

14. The method according to claim 10 wherein the vehicle sensors are one or more of speedometers, accelerometers, and GPS sensors.

15. A device for performing wireless communication between vehicles, comprising:

an identifier integrated into a first vehicle configured to identify a second vehicle located in relation to the first vehicle;

a receiver integrated into the first vehicle configured to receive variables relating to driving information transmitted by the identified second vehicle, the driving information comprising at least a video image captured by a video camera;

a processor integrated into the first vehicle configured to process the transmitted variables to obtain driving information to indicate whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle; and

an output device integrated into the first vehicle, the output device being at least one of;

an optical output device, an acoustic output device, and a haptic output device,

wherein the driving information which indicates whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle is output by the output device, and

wherein the indication whether it is possible for the second vehicle to be overtaken by the first vehicle is based in part on information relating to the first vehicle comprising at least one of engine power of the first vehicle, acceleration capacity of the first vehicle, and current weather conditions.