DRIVING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE

• US 20140244114A1
• Filed: 10/03/2011
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsubara, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,205,864 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/41
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/184 with wheel brakes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/20 including control of steering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/002 computing target steering angles for front or rear wheels B62D7/159 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees

Abstract

An object is to prevent a driving assistance system for a vehicle from causing a collision of the self-vehicle with a solid object by performing driving assistance. To achieve the object, when a solid object that can be an obstacle exists in the course of the self-vehicle, the driving assistance system according to the present invention determines a plurality of paths along which the self-vehicle can travel by changing the momentum thereof, designates an avoidance line along which the solid object can be avoided from among the plurality of paths, and changes the momentum of the self-vehicle in such a way that the self-vehicle travels along the selected avoidance line. If the plurality of path do not include a path along which the solid object can be avoided, the driving assistance system changes the momentum of the self-vehicle again in the middle of a path selected from among the aforementioned paths, thereby avoiding the solid object.

Claims

1. A driving assistance system for a vehicle comprising:

recognition unit for recognizing a solid object existing in the surrounding of a self-vehicle and generating information about a relative position of the solid object and the self-vehicle;

setting unit for setting a grid map representing relative positions of the present location of the self-vehicle, an avoidance area, a safe area, and an unknown area on the basis of the information generated by said recognition unit, the avoidance area being an area in which a solid object exists, the safe area being an area in which no solid object exists, and the unknown area being an area in which it is not known whether a solid object exists or not; and

assistance unit for, when the course of the self-vehicle crosses said avoidance area in the grid map set by said setting unit, determining a plurality of primary paths, when said plurality of primary paths do not include a path along which said avoidance area can be avoided, selecting a candidate-avoidance-line from among said plurality of primary paths using an arrival distance as a parameter, setting, as secondary paths, a plurality of paths along which the self-vehicle can travel if the steering angle of the self-vehicle is changed in the left and right directions in predetermined angular increments in the middle of said candidate-avoidance-line, designating an avoidance line from among the plurality of secondary paths, and changing the momentum of the self-vehicle in such a way that the self-vehicle travels along the designated avoidance line, the primary paths being paths along which the self-vehicle can travel by changing the momentum of the self-vehicle, the arrival distance being a distance to a point of arrival at said avoidance area, and the avoidance line being a path along which the avoidance area can be avoided,

wherein when the difference between the arrival distance of a secondary path along which the self-vehicle can travel if the steering angle of the self-vehicle is changed in the left or right direction by a predetermined angle in the middle of said candidate-avoidance-line and the arrival distance of said candidate-avoidance-line is smaller than a reference value, said assistance unit does not perform a determination of a secondary path on the left or right side of said candidate-avoidance-line.

3. A driving assistance system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said assistance unit selects a primary path of which said arrival distance is equal to or larger than a threshold as the candidate-avoidance-line, from among said plurality of primary paths.

4. A driving assistance system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said assistance unit selects a primary path of which said arrival distance is longer than the arrival distance of an adjacent primary path by a length equal to or larger than a predetermined length, as the candidate-avoidance-line.

5. A driving assistance system for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein when there are a plurality of primary paths of which the arrival distance is equal to or larger than the threshold, said assistance unit selects the primary path of which said arrival distance is longest, as the candidate-avoidance-line.

6. A driving assistance system for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein when there are a plurality of primary paths of which the arrival distance is longer than the arrival distance of an adjacent primary path by a length equal to or larger than the predetermined length, said assistance unit selects the primary path of which said arrival distance is longest, as the candidate-avoidance-line.

9. A driving assistance system for a vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said assistance unit selects a primary path of which said arrival distance is longer than the arrival distance of an adjacent primary path by a length equal to or larger than a predetermined length, as the candidate-avoidance-line.

10. A driving assistance system for a vehicle according to claim 9, wherein when there are a plurality of primary paths of which the arrival distance is longer than the arrival distance of an adjacent primary path by a length equal to or larger than the predetermined length, said assistance unit selects the primary path of which said arrival distance is longest, as the candidate-avoidance-line.

2. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

8. (canceled)