AUTOMOTIVE LANE DISCIPLINE SYSTEM, METHOD, AND APPARATUS

• US 20150356869A1
• Filed: 06/06/2014
• Published: 12/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arriver Software LLC
• Original Assignee: Autoliv ASP Incorporated (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Young, James M.
• Granted Patent: US 10,068,472 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/50 for indicating other intentions or conditions, e.g. request for waiting or overtaking
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence

Abstract

A method and apparatus for assisting a driver of a first vehicle determines whether the first vehicle is traveling in a first lane of a multi-lane highway. The method further determines that another vehicle is approaching the first vehicle from behind in a second lane of the multi-lane highway. The method determines that the first vehicle is being passed by the second vehicle, and outputs a warning to the driver, instructing the driver to merge into the second lane where the second vehicle had been traveling.

Claims

1. A method for assisting a driver of a passenger vehicle, the method comprising:

detecting, at a controller installed within the passenger vehicle, that the passenger vehicle is traveling on a roadway having at least two lanes for travel in a first direction;

detecting that the passenger vehicle is traveling in a left lane of the at least two lanes;

detecting that a second vehicle is traveling in a right lane of the at least two lanes, wherein the right lane is different than the left lane;

detecting that the second vehicle is behind the passenger vehicle;

detecting that the second vehicle is traveling faster than the passenger vehicle;

detecting that the second vehicle has passed and is ahead of the passenger vehicle

outputting a warning from the controller to the driver, wherein the warning instructs the driver to depart from the left lane after detecting that the second vehicle is ahead of the passenger vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the warning instructs the driver to merge into the right lane.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting that the passenger vehicle is traveling in the left lane is performed by receiving an output from a camera.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting that the second vehicle is traveling faster than the passenger vehicle is performed by receiving an output from a radar device.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising logging an instance in a database that the second vehicle has passed the passenger vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising detecting that at least one additional vehicle in addition to the second vehicle has passed the passenger vehicle and logging the at least one additional vehicle to define a number of passing vehicles.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the outputting the warning is performed in response to the number of passing vehicles exceeding a predetermined threshold level.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting whether the passenger vehicle is engaged in stop-and-go traffic, and performing the method only in response to determining that the passenger vehicle is not engaged in stop-and-go traffic.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting whether the vehicle is traveling in a city environment or a highway environment, and performing the method only in response to determining that the passenger vehicle is traveling in a highway environment.

10. The method of claim 5 further comprising measuring an elapsed time from a time corresponding to the logging in the database.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising clearing the log in response to the elapsed time exceeding a predetermined level.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the log is cleared in response to the detecting no further vehicles in addition to the second vehicle.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the warning is at least one of an audible warning, a text-based warning, and a haptic warning.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting whether the passenger vehicle is present in a directional lane, and performing the method only in response to determining that the passenger vehicle is not present in a directional lane.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting an external warning to alert drivers of other vehicles that the vehicle is being passed by other vehicles.

16. An apparatus for providing lane discipline assistance to a driver of a first vehicle, the apparatus comprising a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executing by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform steps comprising:

detecting, via a lane detect function, that the first vehicle is traveling in a first lane of a multi-lane highway;

detecting, via a vehicle detect function, that a second vehicle is traveling in a second lane of the multi-lane highway at a faster speed than the first vehicle;

determining that the second vehicle has passed the first vehicle; and

outputting a warning in response to determining that the second vehicle has passed the first vehicle.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the vehicle detect function includes a radar device to determine whether the second vehicle is traveling faster than the first vehicle.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the lane detect function includes cameras and an associated image processor to detect that the first vehicle is traveling in a multi-lane highway.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the warning instructs the driver to merge into the second lane where the second vehicle had been detected.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the first lane is a left lane and the second lane is a right lane.