DRIVER ASSISTANCE DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20110260886A1
• Filed: 04/19/2011
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kumabe, Seigou, Nagura, Michinaga
• Granted Patent: US 8,878,693 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/905
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/081 Plural intersections under common control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element

Abstract

A driver assistance device to be disposed in a vehicle includes a traffic signal information acquiring section, an intersection distance acquiring section, a target speed calculating section, and an outputting section. The traffic signal information acquiring section acquires traffic signal information that includes current and future lighting colors and lighting times of respective lighting colors of a traffic signal located in a traveling direction of the vehicle. The intersection distance acquiring section acquires an intersection distance between the vehicle and an intersection at which the traffic signal is located. The target speed calculating section calculates a target speed range to enable the vehicle to enter the intersection in a state where the lighting color of the traffic signal is green. The outputting section outputs the target speed range.

Claims

1. A driver assistance device to be disposed in a vehicle for assisting a driving operation by a driver of the vehicle, comprising:

a traffic signal information acquiring section configured to acquire traffic signal information that includes current and future lighting colors and lighting times of respective lighting colors of a traffic signal located in a traveling direction of the vehicle;

an intersection distance acquiring section configured to acquire an intersection distance between the vehicle and an intersection at which the traffic signal is located;

a target speed calculating section configured to calculate a target speed range to enable the vehicle to enter the intersection in a state where the lighting color of the traffic signal is green; and

an outputting section configured to output the target speed range.

2. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising

a speed acquiring section configured to acquire a traveling speed of the vehicle, and

a warning section configured to compare the traveling speed of the vehicle with the target speed range and to output a warning in accordance with a difference between the traveling speed and the target speed range.

3. The driver assistance device according to claim 2, wherein

the warning section is configured to output the warning with a light-emitting part.

4. The driver assistance device according to claim 3, wherein

the warning section is configured to shorten a blinking period of the light-emitting part with increasing the difference between the traveling speed and the target speed range.

5. The driver assistance device according to claim 2, wherein

the warning section is configured to end the warning before the difference between the traveling speed and the target speed range becomes zero.

6. The driver assistance device according to claim 5, further comprising

a reaction time acquiring section configured to acquire a reaction time from when the warning section outputs the warning to when the driver performs an operation corresponding to the warning,

wherein the warning section is configured to end the warning when the warning section estimates that the difference between the traveling speed and the target speed range becomes zero after the reaction time.

7. The driver assistance device according to claim 2, further comprising

a speed limit acquiring section configured to acquire a speed limit of a road on which the vehicle travels, and

a deceleration warning section configured to prohibit the warning by the warning section and to output a warning for prompting deceleration of the vehicle when the traveling speed is higher than the speed limit.

8. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising

a traveling distance acquiring section configured to acquire a traveling distance of the vehicle,

wherein the intersection distance acquiring section includes a beacon acquiring section, and the beacon acquiring section is configured to acquire the intersection distance calculated based on an intersection distance that is included in information acquired before through a light beacon receiver and the traveling distance acquired by the traveling distance acquiring section.

9. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, wherein

the intersection distance acquiring section includes a latitude and longitude acquiring section, and the latitude and longitude acquiring section is configured to acquire the intersection distance calculated based on information including a latitude and a longitude of the intersection at which the traffic signal is located and a latitude and a longitude of a current position of the vehicle.

10. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, wherein

in a case where the vehicle approaches the intersection in transition of the lighting color from red to green, the target speed calculating section calculates the target speed range to enable the vehicle to arrive at a position at a predetermined distance in front of the traffic signal when the lighting color turns to green, and the predetermined distance depends on the traveling speed of the vehicle.

11. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising

a front vehicle acquiring section configured to acquire information about presence or absence of a front vehicle that travels ahead of the vehicle and a traveling speed of the front vehicle, and

a prohibiting section configured to prohibit the outputting section from outputting the target speed range higher than the traveling speed of the front vehicle.

12. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising

a speed limit acquiring section configured to acquire information about a speed limit of a road on which the vehicle travels, and

a prohibiting section configured to prohibit the outputting section from outputting the target speed range higher than the speed limit.

13. The driver assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising

a prohibiting section configured to prohibit the outputting section from outputting the target speed range lower than a predetermined minimum speed.

14. A driver assistance system comprising

the driver assistance device according to claim 1, and

a roadside device that is communicatable with the driver assistance device, the roadside device including a traffic signal information transmitting section configured to transmit the traffic signal information to the driver assistance device.

15. A method of controlling a driver assistance device to be disposed in a vehicle for assisting a driving operation by a driver of the vehicle, comprising

acquiring traffic signal information that includes current and future lighting colors and lighting times of respective lighting colors of a traffic signal located in a traveling direction of the vehicle;

acquiring an intersection distance between the vehicle and an intersection at which the traffic signal is located;

calculating a target speed range to enable the vehicle to enter the intersection in a state where the lighting color of the traffic signal is green; and

outputting the target speed range.

16. A computer readable medium comprising instructions being executed by a computer, the instructions including the method of controlling the driver assistance device according to claim 15, the method being computer-implemented.