Vehicle-use signal information processing device and vehicle-use signal information processing method, as well as driving assistance device and driving assistance method

• US 9,262,918 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2011
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Otake, Hirotada
• Primary Examiner(s): Do, Truc M
• Application Number:
  US14/113,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20140046509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,740 Days
• Field of Search: 340/907, 340/905, 340/932, 340/988, 340/929, 340/911, 701/2, 701/23, 701/36, 701/400, 701/422, 701/454, 701/516
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/082 Controlling the time between beginning of the same phase of a cycle at adjacent intersections
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• 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 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element

Abstract

A signal information processing device and a signal information processing method for calculating the state of a traffic light for driving assistance for traffic lights for which signal information is not transmitted from a roadside apparatus, and a driving assistance device and a driving assistance method for performing driving assistance on the basis of the calculated state of the traffic light. A driving assistance ECU of a vehicle acquires signal information corresponding to a first traffic light and information indicating the driving environment of the vehicle corresponding to a second traffic light placed at a position different from the first traffic light. The driving assistance ECU is provided with a signal information processing unit, which estimates signal information of the second traffic light by performing a computation on the basis of the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and the information indicating the driving environment of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A signal information processing device for a vehicle that processes signal information containing information on a state of a traffic light, the signal information processing device comprising:

a signal information estimating section circuitry which obtains signal information corresponding to a first traffic light, also obtains information on a relationship between a case in which a traffic of a vehicle is prompted and a case in which the traffic is inhibited as a driving environment for a vehicle corresponding to a second traffic light that is installed at a different location from the first traffic light, and estimates an instruction period at which the second traffic light instructs the vehicle to move forward or to stop as signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and the obtained information on the driving environment for the vehicle, wherein the second traffic light is installed at an intersection, and

the signal information estimating section circuitry estimates the signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and information on a driving environment at the intersection,

wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is configured to obtain information of the driving environment corresponding the second traffic light as at least one of information on a number of traffic lanes of each of a plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection and information on traffic amount of each of the plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection,

wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is configured to estimate the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the traffic amount such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of a traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the traffic amount of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road,

wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is configured to estimate the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the number of traffic lanes such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of the traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the number of traffic lanes of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road.

2. The signal information processing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry calculates, as a time difference, a lag of the signal information corresponding to the second traffic light relative to the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light.

3. The signal information processing device for a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein

the signal information on the first traffic light further contains a starting time point at which the first traffic light starts permitting the vehicle to move forward, and

the signal information estimating section circuitry further obtains information on a time difference between the forward movement permission starting time point by the first traffic light and a forward movement permission starting time point by the second traffic light, and further estimates, as the signal information on the second traffic light, an ending time point at which the forward movement permission by the second traffic light ends based on the estimated instruction period, the starting time point of the first traffic light, and the obtained information on the time difference.

4. The signal information processing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry estimates the signal information on the second traffic light based on a presumption that a time interval at which the first traffic light repeatedly starts permitting a traffic to move forward is equal to a time interval at which the second traffic light repeatedly starts permitting a traffic to move forward.

5. The signal information processing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry estimates, as the signal information on the second traffic light to be estimated, a time interval between a plurality of forward movement permission starts repeatedly provided to a traffic.

6. The signal information processing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry obtains the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and the information on the driving environment corresponding to the second traffic light from a roadside device that is provided at a roadside to correspond to the first traffic light.

7. The signal information processing device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is built in the vehicle.

8. A driving assistance device comprising a signal information processing device for a vehicle that processes signal information containing information on a state of a traffic light, the driving assistance device being configured to perform a driving assist for a vehicle based on information processed through the signal information processing device, wherein

the signal information processing device is the signal information processing device including:

a signal information estimating section circuitry which obtains signal information corresponding to a first traffic light, also obtains information on a relationship between a case in which a traffic of a vehicle is prompted and a case in which the traffic is inhibited as a driving environment for a vehicle corresponding to a second traffic light that is installed at a different location from the first traffic light, and estimates an instruction period at which the second traffic light instructs the vehicle to move forward or to stop as signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and the obtained information on the driving environment for the vehicle, and

wherein the driving assistance device performs the driving assist for the vehicle in relation to a second traffic light based on signal information on the second traffic light estimated by the signal information processing device, wherein the second traffic light is installed at an intersection, and

the signal information estimating section circuitry estimates the signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and information on a driving environment at the intersection,

wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is configured to obtain information of the driving environment corresponding the second traffic light as at least one of information on a number of traffic lanes of each of a plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection and information on traffic amount of each of the plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection,

wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is configured to estimate the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the traffic amount such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of a traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the traffic amount of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road,

wherein the signal information estimating section circuitry is configured to estimate the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the number of traffic lanes such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of the traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the number of traffic lanes of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road.

9. A signal information processing method for a vehicle performed by a signal information estimating section circuitry for processing signal information containing information on a state of a traffic light, the method comprising:

obtaining signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and obtaining information on a relationship between a case in which a traffic of a vehicle is prompted and a case in which the traffic is inhibited as a driving environment for a vehicle corresponding to a second traffic light that is installed at a different location from the first traffic light; and

estimating an instruction period at which the second traffic light instructs the vehicle to move forward or to stop as signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and the obtained information on the driving environment of the vehicle, wherein

the second traffic light is installed at an intersection, and

the estimating of the signal information is executed by estimating signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and information on a driving environment at the intersection,

wherein obtaining information of the driving environment corresponding the second traffic light as at least one of information on a number of traffic lanes of each of a plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection and information on traffic amount of each of the plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection,

wherein estimating the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the traffic amount such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of a traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the traffic amount of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road,

wherein estimating the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the number of traffic lanes such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of the traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the number of traffic lanes of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road.

10. The signal information processing method for a vehicle according to claim 9, wherein estimating the signal information is to calculate, as a time difference, a lag of the signal information corresponding to the second traffic light relative to the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light.

11. A driving assistance method utilizing a signal information processing method for a vehicle performed by a driving assistance device including a signal information processing device for processing signal information containing information on a state of a traffic light, the driving assistance method comprising performing a driving assist for a vehicle in relation to the traffic light based on a state of the traffic light,

wherein the signal information processing method performed by a signal information estimating section circuitry of the signal information processing device is the signal information processing method including obtaining signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and obtaining information on a relationship between a case in which a traffic of a vehicle is prompted and a case in which the traffic is inhibited as a driving environment for a vehicle corresponding to a second traffic light that is installed at a different location from the first traffic light;

and

estimating an instruction period at which the second traffic light instructs the vehicle to move forward or to stop as signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and the obtained information on the driving environment of the vehicle,

in which a driving assist for the vehicle in relation to the second traffic light is performed based on signal information on the second traffic light estimated through the signal information processing method, wherein

the second traffic light is installed at an intersection, and

the estimating of the signal information is executed by estimating signal information on the second traffic light through a calculation based on the signal information corresponding to the first traffic light and information on a driving environment at the intersection,

wherein obtaining information of the driving environment corresponding the second traffic light as at least one of information on a number of traffic lanes of each of a plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection and information on traffic amount of each of the plurality of roads intersecting with each other at the intersection,

wherein estimating the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the traffic amount such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of a traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the traffic amount of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road,

wherein estimating the instruction period based on the information corresponding to the number of traffic lanes such that the instruction period of the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is longer than that of the traffic light, that is different from the second traffic light, instructing the vehicle to move forward on the intersecting road in a case of which the number of traffic lanes of the road on which the second traffic light instructing the vehicle to move forward is larger than that of the intersecting road.