Lane guidance display system, method, and program

• US 9,239,245 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2012
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Ken, Kondo, Yoshito, Morita, Yuusuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ramesh, Krishnan
• Application Number:
  US14/343,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20140229106A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road

Abstract

A lane guidance display system causes a display section to display a forward image on which a first guide line is superimposed in the case where a travel lane is not branched, the first guide line having, as an end point of the first guide line on the front side, a first front-side end point indicating the center position of the travel lane in the width direction, and causes the display section to display the forward image on which a second guide line is superimposed in the case where the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes, the second guide line having, as an end point of the second guide line on the front side, a second front-side end point indicating a position in the travel lane on the target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction.

Claims

1. A lane guidance display system comprising:

a memory storing a lane guidance display program; and

a processor that, when executing the stored program;

acquires a forward image in which a scene ahead of a vehicle is captured;

specifies a travel lane currently traveled by the vehicle;

determines whether the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at a lane branch point ahead of the vehicle;

determines whether the lane branch point is located within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle;

determines whether a width of the travel lane is equal to or more than a predetermined width;

when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at the lane branch point ahead of the vehicle, specifies a target lane to be traveled by the vehicle after traveling past the lane branch point;

causes a display to display the forward image on which a first guide line is superimposed when the travel lane is not branched into a plurality of branched lanes, the first guide line having, as an end point of the first guide line on a front side, a first front-side end point indicating a center position of the travel lane in a width direction; and

causes the display to display the forward image on which a second guide line is superimposed when (i) the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes and the lane branch point is located within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle;

or (ii) the travel lane is branched into a plurality of the branched lanes and a width of the travel lane is equal to or more than a predetermined width, the second guide line having, as an end point of the second guide line on the front side, a second front-side end point indicating a position in the travel lane on a target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction.

2. The lane guidance display system according to claim 1, wherein the processor, when executing the stored program:

when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of the branched lanes;

sets a variation point indicating a position in the travel lane on the target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction and in rear of the second front-side end point; and

superimposes on the forward image the second guide line which is a straight line connecting between the variation point and the second front-side end point and including a target lane-side guide line segment having a length equal to or more than a predetermined value.

3. The lane guidance display system according to claim 1, wherein the processor, when executing the stored program:

superimposes on the forward image the first guide line which is straight and has, as an end point of the first guide line on a rear side, a first rear-side end point indicating the center position of the travel lane in the width direction in the case where the travel lane is not branched into a plurality of the branched lanes; and

superimposes on the forward image the second guide line which has, as an end point of the second guide line on the rear side, a second rear-side end point indicating the center position of the vehicle in the width direction in the case where the travel lane is branched into a plurality of the branched lanes.

4. The lane guidance display system according to claim 1, wherein the processor, when executing the stored program:

when the travel lane is branched into M branched lanes, where M is a natural number of 2 or more, specifies as the target lane an N-th branched lane as counted from a predetermined direction in the width direction of the travel lane, where N is a natural number of M or less; and

when the travel lane is branched into M branched lanes, superimposes on the forward image the second guide line having, as the end point of the second guide line on a front side, the second front-side end point indicating a position in an N-th divided region, among M divided regions obtained by dividing the travel lane in the width direction of the travel lane, that is the N-th as counted from the predetermined direction.

5. A lane guidance display method comprising:

acquiring a forward image in which a scene ahead of a vehicle is captured;

specifying a travel lane currently traveled by the vehicle;

determining whether the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at a lane branch point ahead of the vehicle;

determining whether the lane branch point is located within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle;

determining whether a width of the travel lane is equal to or more than a predetermined width;

specifying, when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at the lane branch point ahead of the vehicle, a target lane to be traveled by the vehicle after traveling past the lane branch point;

causing a display to display the forward image on which a first guide line is superimposed when the travel lane is not branched into a plurality of branched lanes, the first guide line having, as an end point of the first guide line on a front side, a first front-side end point indicating a center position of the travel lane in a width direction; and

causing the display to display the forward image on which a second guide line is superimposed when (i) the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes and the lane branch point is located within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle;

or (ii) the travel lane is branched into a plurality of the branched lanes and a width of the travel lane is equal to or more than a predetermined width, the second guide line having, as an end point of the second guide line on the front side, a second front-side end point indicating a position in the travel lane on a target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction.

6. A non-transitory storage medium storing a computer-executable lane guidance display program causing a computer to execute:

a forward image acquisition function of acquiring a forward image in which a scene ahead of a vehicle is captured;

a travel lane specifying function of specifying a travel lane currently traveled by the vehicle;

a first branch point determining function of determining whether the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at a lane branch point ahead of the vehicle;

a second branch point determining function of determining whether the lane branch point is located within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle;

a lane width determining function of determining whether a width of the travel lane is equal to or more than a predetermined width;

a target lane specifying function of when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at a lane branch point ahead of the vehicle, specifying a target lane to be traveled by the vehicle after traveling past the lane branch point;

a first display control function of causing a display section to display the forward image on which a first guide line is superimposed when the travel lane is not branched into a plurality of branched lanes, the first guide line having, as an end point of the first guide line on a front side, a first front-side end point indicating a center position of the travel lane in a width direction; and

a second display control function of causing the display section to display the forward image on which a second guide line is superimposed when (i) the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes and the lane branch point is located within a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle;

or (ii) the travel lane is branched into a plurality of the branched lanes and a width of the travel lane is equal to or more than a predetermined width, the second guide line having, as an end point of the second guide line on the front side, a second front-side end point indicating a position in the travel lane on a target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction.

7. A lane guidance display system comprising:

a memory storing a lane guidance display program; and

a processor that, when executing the stored program;

acquires a forward image in which a scene ahead of a vehicle is captured;

specifies a travel lane currently traveled by the vehicle;

determines whether the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at a lane branch point ahead of the vehicle

when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes at a lane branch point ahead of the vehicle, specifies a target lane to be traveled by the vehicle after traveling past the lane branch point; and

causes a display to display the forward image on which a first guide line is superimposed when the travel lane is not branched into a plurality of branched lanes, the first guide line having, as an end point of the first guide line on a front side, a first front-side end point indicating a center position of the travel lane in a width direction;

causes the display to display the forward image on which a second guide line is superimposed when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of branched lanes, the second guide line having, as an end point of the second guide line on the front side, a second front-side end point indicating a position in the travel lane on a target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction; and

when the travel lane is branched into a plurality of the branched lanes;

sets a variation point indicating a position in the travel lane on the target lane side with respect to the center position of the travel lane in the width direction and in rear of the second front-side end point; and

superimposes on the forward image the second guide line which is a straight line connecting between the variation point and the second front-side end point and including a target lane-side guide line segment having a length equal to or more than a predetermined value.