Method and information system for informing a vehicle driver regarding the conditions of a planned passing maneuver

• US 9,847,023 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2011
• Issued: 12/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Huelbusch, Katja
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): EUSTAQUIO, CAL J
• Application Number:
  US13/877,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20130271295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,287 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• 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

Abstract

In a method for informing a vehicle driver regarding the conditions of an upcoming passing maneuver, a speed of a preceding vehicle is ascertained and compared to a speed of a vehicle of the vehicle driver, and a passing duration is estimated and/or computed and displayed to the vehicle driver directly and/or in processed form.

Claims

1. A method for informing a driver of a host vehicle regarding conditions of an upcoming passing maneuver by the host vehicle, comprising:

ascertaining, by processing circuitry, a speed of a target vehicle ahead of the host vehicle;

comparing, by the processing circuitry, the ascertained speed of the target vehicle to a speed of the host vehicle;

computing a relative speed of the target vehicle to the host vehicle;

identifying, by the processing circuitry and based on the comparison, a value, in units of time, of a future point in time at which the passing maneuver would be completed; and

displaying to the vehicle driver the relative speed and at least one of (i) the identified value, and (ii) an information derived from the identified value;

wherein the relative speed is determined via preinterpolation to account for acceleration of at least one of the target vehicle and the host vehicle.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the derived information is displayed as a traffic light display.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the traffic light display includes a GREEN display when the passing maneuver is calculated to be performable in a duration corresponding to the identified value at the speed of the host vehicle, a YELLOW display when the passing maneuver is calculated to be performable with an increase in speed of the host vehicle, and a RED display when a determination is made that the passing maneuver is too dangerous to perform.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the compared speeds are an average speed of the and an average speed of the target vehicle determined based on the measured values at the multiple values at the multiple measuring points in time.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the value and the relative speed is continuously computed.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein, if the derived information indicates that a relative speed is too low to execute the passing maneuver, an indication that the speed is too low is displayed.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

ascertaining a speed of an approaching vehicle behind the host vehicle;

comparing the ascertained speed of the approaching vehicle to the speed of the host vehicle; and

displaying to the vehicle driver a warning if the comparison indicates that the approaching vehicle is approaching above a predefined speed threshold.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the displaying includes displaying on a map a length of a duration corresponding to the identified value.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the displaying includes outputting a recommendation to increase speed for the passing maneuver.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the traffic light display changes according to a consideration of a street situation.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the display changes according to a curving road and a weather concern.

14. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the traffic light display changes according to a consideration of a traffic density.

17. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the street situation is based on one of:

a curving of a road and a weather concern.

6. An information system for informing a driver of a host vehicle regarding conditions of an upcoming passing maneuver by the host vehicle, comprising:

means for ascertaining a speed of a target vehicle ahead of the host vehicle;

means for comparing the ascertained speed of the target vehicle to a speed of the host vehicle;

means for computing a relative speed of the target vehicle to the host vehicle;

means for identifying, based on the comparison, a value, in units of time, of a future point in time at which the passing maneuver would be completed; and

means for displaying to the vehicle driver the relative speed and at least one of (i) the identified value, and (ii) an information derived from the identified value;

wherein the relative speed is determined via preinterpolation to account for acceleration of at least one of the target vehicle and the host vehicle.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable data storage medium storing a computer program having program codes which, when executed on a computer, perform a method for informing a driver of a host vehicle regarding conditions of an upcoming passing maneuver by the host vehicle, the method comprising:

ascertaining a speed of a target vehicle ahead of the host vehicle;

comparing the ascertained speed of the target vehicle to a speed of the host vehicle;

computing a relative speed of the target vehicle to the host vehicle;

identifying, based on the comparison, a value, in units of time, of a future point in time at which the passing maneuver would be completed; and

displaying to the vehicle driver the relative speed and at least one of (i) the identified value, and (ii) an information derived from the identified value;

wherein the relative speed is determined via preinterpolation to account for acceleration of at least one of the target vehicle and the host vehicle.

15. A method for informing a driver of a host vehicle regarding conditions of an upcoming passing maneuver by the host vehicle, comprising:

obtaining, by processing circuitry, measurements of a speed of the host vehicle a plurality of points in time;

ascertaining, by the processing circuitry, a speed of a target vehicle ahead of the host vehicle at the plurality of points in time;

interpolating, by the processing circuitry, the obtained and ascertained speeds of the host and target vehicles to determine anticipated speeds of the host and target vehicles over the course of a future period of time, thereby accounting for anticipated changes in speeds of the target and host vehicles over time;

comparing, by the processing circuitry, the determined anticipated speeds of the target vehicle to the determined anticipated speeds of the host vehicle;

computing, based on a result of the comparison, an anticipated relative speed of the target vehicle to the host vehicle during the future period of time;

identifying, by the processing circuitry and based on the computation of the anticipated relative speed, a value, in units of time, of a future point in time at which the passing maneuver would be completed, wherein the future period of time includes a period during which the passing maneuver would be performed; and

displaying to the vehicle driver the relative speed and at least one of (i) the identified value, and (ii) an information derived from the identified value.

16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the compared speeds are an average of the anticipated speed of the host vehicle and an average of the anticipated speed of the target vehicle at multiple points in time in the future period of time.