Driving support apparatus

• US 9,293,043 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2014
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yuki, Onuma, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LI, CE LI
• Application Number:
  US14/526,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20150046055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 511 Days
• Field of Search: 701/70, 701/93, 701/116, 701/117, 701/123, 340/901, 340/905, 340/906, 340/907, 340/929
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 26/00 Arrangements or mounting of propulsion unit control devices in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096 provided with indicators in which a mark progresses showing the time elapsed, e.g. of green phase
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096725 where the received information generates 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 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element

Abstract

A driving support apparatus which performs driving support regarding a traffic signal includes: a communication device which acquires time-series traffic signal information regarding the lighting state of the traffic signal; a time calculating unit which calculates the time remaining until the lighting state changes on the basis of the traffic signal information; and an output device which notifies a driver of lighting time information regarding the time remaining. When the time remaining is equal to or smaller than a threshold value, the output device does not perform notification of the lighting time information so that it can be difficult for the driver to predict the timing at which a red lighting state of the traffic signal will change. Accordingly, it becomes possible to suppress unsafe action by the driver based on the traffic signal information notification received.

Claims

1. A driving support system mounted in a vehicle that performs driving support regarding a traffic signal, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive time-series traffic signal information regarding a lighting state of the traffic signal;

a display configured to notify a driver of lighting time information regarding a time remaining until the lighting state changes when the time remaining is larger than a predetermined value; and

a vehicle speed sensor which detects a speed of the vehicle,

wherein the receiver and the display are vehicle-mounted,

wherein the display does not notify the driver of the lighting time information and notifies the driver of general lighting time information, in which the change time of the lighting state is approximately expressed by modifying the lighting time information, when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value,

wherein the predetermined value is greater than 1 second, and

wherein the display begins notification of the lighting time information based on the speed of the vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor.

2. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a calculation unit configured to calculate a time remaining until the lighting state changes on the basis of the traffic signal information.

3. The driving support system according to claim 2, wherein the display is further configured to notify the driver of guide information, which urges signal watching, when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

4. The driving support system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a vehicle control unit configured to invalidate an accelerator operation from the driver when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

5. The driving support system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a vehicle control unit configured to invalidate an accelerator operation from the driver when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

6. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the display is further configured to notify the driver of guide information, which urges signal watching, when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

7. The driving support system according to claim 6, further comprising:

a vehicle control unit configured to invalidate an accelerator operation from the driver when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

8. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a vehicle control unit configured to invalidate an accelerator operation from the driver when the time remaining is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

9. The driving support system according to claim 1, where the display is provided inside a vehicle.

10. The driving support system according to claim 9, wherein the display is a head-up display projected on a windshield of the vehicle in which an image projected on the windshield overlaps a field of view such that a travel lane divided by regions corresponding to lighting colors is visible, each region being a region where the traffic signal becomes the color of the respective region while the vehicle is traveling.

11. The driving support system according to claim 10, wherein a width of each region is calculated based on the speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor and the lighting time information.

12. The driving support system according to claim wherein the display begins notification of the lighting time information when the vehicle speed sensor detects that the speed of the vehicle is zero.