Warning system for a motor vehicle determining an estimated intersection control

• US 9,111,448 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2014
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yester, John L.
• Primary Examiner(s): GIRMA, FEKADESELASS
• Application Number:
  US14/174,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20140218214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 340/995, 340/913, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995.28, 701/118, 701/119, 701/120
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/07 Controlling traffic signals
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968

Abstract

A warning system for a motor vehicle includes a control system for estimating the type of intersection control for two or more roadways. The method of estimating the type of intersection control includes steps of classifying each roadway at an intersection and estimating the type of intersection control used for each roadway. Roadways can be classified by size, traveling speed, number of lanes as well as any other roadway characteristics. The warning system can be operated using the estimated intersection control device for each roadway. In some cases, information from a target vehicle can be used to determine a potential violation of an intersection control device.

Claims

1. A warning system for a motor vehicle, the warning system comprising:

at least one sensor for providing information associated with operating conditions of the motor vehicle;

a driver vehicle interface configured to provide information to a driver of the motor vehicle;

a warning interface configured to provide alerts or warnings to the driver of the motor vehicle;

at least one database configured to store roadway information associated with a plurality of roadways;

an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising at least one processor, the ECU being in communication with the at least one sensor, the driver vehicle interface, the warning interface, and the at least one database, wherein the ECU is configured to operate the warning system based on the roadway information by performing the steps of;

receiving information related to the motor vehicle at or near an intersection of a first roadway and a second roadway;

determining whether traffic control information associated with the intersection is stored in the at least one database;

wherein, upon determining that traffic control information is not available for the intersection, estimating a type of intersection control device associated with the intersection by retrieving a first characteristic of the first roadway from the at least one database, retrieving a second characteristic of the second roadway from the at least one database, associating the first roadway with a first class using the first characteristic to the select the first class from a plurality of classes according to a roadway classification scheme, associating the second roadway with a second class using the second characteristic to select the second class from the plurality of classes, comparing the first class and the second class, and determining the type of intersection control device based on the comparison of the first class and the second class, the intersection control device being associated with the first roadway, and further determining a type of intersection control device for the second roadway; and

providing an alert to the driver of the motor vehicle using the warning interface regarding a potential violation of at least one of the intersection control device associated with first roadway and the intersection control device associated with the second roadway.

2. The warning system according to claim 1, further comprising a GPS receiver in communication with the ECU.

3. The warning system according to claim 1, wherein the warning interface comprises a display device.

4. The warning system according to claim 3, wherein the alert comprises a warning alert image configured for display on the display device.

5. The warning system according to claim 3, wherein the alert comprises at least one of an audible indicator, a visual indicator, and a haptic indicator.

6. The warning system according to claim 1, further comprising a DSRC antenna configured to transmit and receive information between one or more vehicles via a vehicle communication network, the DSRC antenna in communication with the ECU;

and

wherein the ECU determines the potential violation of at least one of the intersection control device associated with first roadway and the intersection control device associated with the second roadway using information associated with a target vehicle received from the DSRC antenna over the vehicle communication network.

7. The warning system according to claim 6, wherein the ECU is configured to:

provide a warning alert to the driver of the motor vehicle on the warning interface when the ECU determines the potential violation of at least one of the intersection control device associated with first roadway and the intersection control device associated with the second roadway.

8. The warning system according to claim 1, wherein the first characteristic and the second characteristic are selected from one or more of roadway size, number of lanes, and speed limit.

9. The warning system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of classes according to the roadway classification scheme include two or more classes;

and

wherein each roadway is assigned to one of the two or more classes.

10. The warning system according to claim 9, wherein each roadway is classified by at least one of size or traffic capacity.

11. A warning system for a host motor vehicle, the warning system comprising:

at least one sensor for providing information associated with operating conditions of the host motor vehicle;

a DSRC antenna configured to transmit and receive information between one or more vehicles via a vehicle communication network;

a driver vehicle interface configured to provide information to a driver of the host motor vehicle;

a warning interface configured to provide alerts or warnings to the driver of the host motor vehicle;

at least one database configured to store roadway information associated with a plurality of roadways;

an electronic control unit (ECU) comprising at least one processor, the ECU being in communication with the at least one sensor, the DSRC antenna, the driver vehicle interface, the warning interface, and the at least one database, wherein the ECU is configured to operate the warning system based on the roadway information by performing the steps of;

receiving information related to the host motor vehicle at or near an intersection of a first roadway and a second roadway;

retrieving a first class for the first roadway from the at least one database, retrieving a second class for the second roadway from the at least one database, comparing the first class and the second class, determining a type of intersection control device for the first roadway and a type of intersection control device for the second roadway based on the comparison of the first class and the second class;

receiving information associated with a target vehicle from the DSRC antenna over the vehicle communication network; and

controlling the warning interface of the host motor vehicle to inform the driver of a potential violation of at least one of the intersection control device associated with first roadway and the intersection control device associated with the second roadway based on the received information associated with the target vehicle.

12. The warning system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one database is disposed onboard the host motor vehicle.

13. The warning system according to claim 11, wherein the host motor vehicle is communication with a remote service provider.

14. The warning system according to claim 13, wherein the at least one database is located at the remote service provider.

15. The warning system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one sensor for providing information associated with operating conditions of the host motor vehicle comprises a GPS receiver in communication with the ECU.

16. The warning system according to claim 15, wherein the information related to the host motor vehicle at or near the intersection includes at least one of vehicle speed and vehicle position;

and

wherein the information associated with the target vehicle includes at least one of vehicle speed and vehicle position.

17. The warning system according to claim 16, wherein the ECU is configured to use the vehicle speed or vehicle position of the host motor vehicle and the vehicle speed or vehicle position of the target vehicle to determine the potential violation of at least one of the intersection control device associated with first roadway and the intersection control device associated with the second roadway.

18. The warning system according to claim 11, wherein the type of intersection control device includes at least one of a stop sign, a yield sign, and a traffic signal.

19. The warning system according to claim 11, wherein the driver interface and the warning interface are included with the ECU.

20. The warning system according to claim 11, wherein the warning interface includes a projection device that displays a warning image onto a front window of the host motor vehicle.