Operation of a vehicle while suppressing fluctuating warnings

• US 10,037,698 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2016
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Nissan North America Incorporated (Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Damiani, Andrew, Goudy, Roy, Probert, Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Holwerda, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US15/222,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20180033304A1
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0004 In digital systems, e.g. discrete-time systems involving sampling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/00 Input parameters relating to objects
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0953 the prediction being responsive to vehicle dynamic parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/10 related to vehicle motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0289 with means for avoiding collisions between vehicles vehicle fittings for automatically controlling speed including means for detecting potential obstacles B60K31/0008; avoiding obstacles by action on the steering system B62D; radar, sonar, lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

Operating a host vehicle is described as including identifying remote vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for a remote vehicle and identifying host vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for the host vehicle. For a sequence of sampling points, a converging time to a converging location within a transportation network is determined based on the remote vehicle information and the host vehicle information. Operation of the host vehicle is modified to a modified operation responsive to the converging time, having been above a first threshold, falling below the first threshold, and the modified operation of the host vehicle is maintained until the converging time remains above a second threshold higher than the first threshold for a defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence. A method, vehicle, and apparatus are described.

Claims

1. A method for operating a host vehicle, comprising:

identifying remote vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for a remote vehicle;

identifying host vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for the host vehicle;

for a sequence of sampling points, determining a converging time to a converging location within a transportation network based on the remote vehicle information and the host vehicle information;

modifying operation of the host vehicle to a modified operation responsive the converging time, having been above a first threshold, falling below the first threshold; and

maintaining the modified operation of the host vehicle until the converging time remains above a second threshold higher than the first threshold for a defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initializing a counter responsive to the converging time falling below the first threshold; and

responsive to the converging time exceeding the second threshold, incrementing the counter.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

after incrementing the counter, and before the counter reaches the defined number of contiguous sampling points, re-initializing the counter responsive to the converging time falling below the second threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the modified operation of the host vehicle until the converging time remains above the second threshold higher than the first threshold for the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence comprises:

maintaining the modified operation of the host vehicle when the converging time falls below the second threshold before the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence is reached.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining the modified operation of the host vehicle until the converging time remains above the second threshold higher than the first threshold for the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence comprises:

ending the modified operation of the host vehicle when the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence is reached; and

re-starting the modified operation of the host vehicle responsive the converging time subsequently falling below the first threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

after re-starting the modified operation, maintaining the modified operation of the host vehicle until the converging time remains above the second threshold for the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence or until the remote vehicle information indicates that the remote vehicle is no longer on a converging path with the host vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the remote vehicle information indicates that the remote vehicle is no longer on a converging path with the host vehicle responsive to a heading change of the remote vehicle.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

for a sampling point after re-starting the modified operation, determining the converging path with the host vehicle as long as the defined number of contiguous sampling points has not been reached.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

after re-starting the modified operation, ending the modified operation of the host vehicle responsive to the converging time remaining above the second threshold for the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence unless, before the defined number of contiguous sampling points is reached, the remote vehicle information indicates that the remote vehicle is no longer on a converging path with the host vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first threshold is a warning threshold of between two to four seconds, inclusive, and the second threshold is a hysteresis threshold at least one second higher than the warning threshold.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence is based on a speed of the host vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the geospatial state of the remote vehicle and the geospatial state of the host vehicle are Global Positioning Satellite coordinates.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying operation of the host vehicle comprises issuing a warning using at least one of an audio output device or a visual output device.

14. A host vehicle, comprising:

a powertrain;

a sensor; and

an operation system to operate the vehicle, the operation system configured to;

identify remote vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for a remote vehicle;

identify, using at least the sensor, host vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for the host vehicle;

for a sequence of sampling points, determine a converging time to a converging location within a transportation network based on the remote vehicle information and the host vehicle information;

modify operation of the host vehicle to a modified operation responsive to the converging time, having been above a first threshold, falling below the first threshold; and

maintain the modified operation of the host vehicle until the converging time remains above a second threshold higher than the first threshold for a defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence or until the remote vehicle information indicates that the remote vehicle is no longer on a converging path with the host vehicle, whichever occurs first.

15. The host vehicle of claim 14, wherein the kinematic state of the host vehicle comprises a speed of the host vehicle, and the operation system is configured to modify operation of the host vehicle responsive to the converging time reaching the first threshold by transmitting a control signal to the powertrain.

16. The host vehicle of claim 14, further comprising:

an audio output device; and

a visual output device, wherein the operation system is configured to modify operation of the host vehicle by generating a warning using at least one of the audio output device or the visual output device.

17. An apparatus for controlling a host vehicle, comprising:

a processor; and

memory storing instructions that cause the processor to perform a method comprising;

identifying remote vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for a remote vehicle;

identifying host vehicle information indicating a geospatial state and a kinematic state for the host vehicle;

for a sequence of sampling points, determining a converging time to a converging location within a transportation network based on the remote vehicle information and the host vehicle information;

modifying operation of the host vehicle to a modified operation responsive the converging time, having been above a first threshold, falling below the first threshold; and

ending the modified operation of the host vehicle, as long as the host vehicle information indicates that the host vehicle is not off, only if at least one of the converging time remains above a second threshold higher than the first threshold for a defined number of contiguous sampling points of the sequence or the remote vehicle information indicates that the remote vehicle is no longer on a converging path with the host vehicle.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform a method further comprising:

initializing a counter responsive to the converging time falling below the first threshold;

upon a condition that the converging time exceeds the second threshold after initializing the counter, incrementing the counter and comparing the counter to the defined number of contiguous sampling points; and

upon a condition that the converging time does not exceed the second threshold after initializing the counter, re-initializing the counter.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform a method further comprising:

upon a condition that the counter is below the defined number of contiguous sampling points, determining whether the remote vehicle information indicates that the remote vehicle is no longer on the converging path with the host vehicle.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform a method further comprising:

modifying operation of the host vehicle by at least one of signaling a warning to an operator of the host vehicle or modifying a speed or heading of the host vehicle.