Vehicle travel assistance apparatus and vehicle travel assistance method

• US 9,610,946 B2
• Filed: 10/08/2015
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishimura, Hirofumi, Hamada, Asako, Shikatani, Maiko, Kishigami, Takaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US14/878,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20160152235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 544 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4029 Pedestrians
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/80 Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/17 with provision for special action when the preceding vehicle comes to a halt, e.g. stop and go
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/726 Multiple target tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/411 Identification of targets based on measurements of radar reflectivity G01S7/415 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/415 Identification of targets based on measurements of movement associated with the target

Abstract

A vehicle travel assistance apparatus includes

• a transceiver that transmits radio waves and receives reflected waves,
• a detector that detects a forward vehicle traveling ahead of a vehicle and a pedestrian based on intensities of the reflected waves, and
• a controller that, in a case the detector detects a stop state of the forward vehicle,
• a stop state of the vehicle and a presence of the pedestrian during the forward vehicle following, continues a stationary state of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A vehicle travel assistance apparatus comprising:

a transceiver that transmits radio waves and receives reflected radio waves;

a detector that detects a forward vehicle traveling ahead of a vehicle and a pedestrian based on intensities of the reflected radio waves; and

a controller that, in a case the vehicle is in a stop state and the detector detects the pedestrian during an operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle, continues the stop state of the vehicle by interrupting the operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle even after the forward vehicle starts travelling,

wherein the controller, after interrupting the operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle, resumes the operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle after the detector does not detect the pedestrian.

2. The vehicle travel assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the detector determines one or more relative positions of one or more objects reflecting the transmitted radio waves based on the reflected radio waves, detects a first object at a first relative position closest to the vehicle as the forward vehicle among the one or more objects reflecting the transmitted radio waves, the reflected radio waves of which have an intensity equal to or higher than a threshold, and detects a second object reflecting the transmitted radio waves as a pedestrian, the reflected waves of which have an intensity lower than the threshold.

3. The vehicle travel assistance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the detector sequentially stores relative position information indicating the first relative position of the forward vehicle based on the reflected radio waves;

and

the controller determines the first relative position indicated by the stored relative position information as a position of the forward vehicle in a case the detector does not detect the presence of the pedestrian and then the vehicle starts traveling after being in the stop state.

4. The vehicle travel assistance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the detector includes a calculator that calculates a travel path of the forward vehicle based on the first relative position of the forward vehicle and vehicle information relating to a traveling state of the vehicle;

and

the controller determines the travel path as a travel path for the vehicle in a case the vehicle starts traveling after being in the stop state.

5. A vehicle travel assistance method comprising:

transmitting radio waves and receiving reflected radio waves;

detecting a forward vehicle traveling ahead of a vehicle and a pedestrian based on intensities of the reflected radio waves;

continuing, in a case the vehicle is in a stop state and the pedestrian is detected during an operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle, the stop state of the vehicle by interrupting the operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle even after the forward vehicle starts travelling; and

resuming, after interrupting the operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle, the operation of the vehicle following the forward vehicle after the pedestrian is not detected.