DRIVE SUPPORT APPARATUS

• US 20170166220A1
• Filed: 12/09/2016
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: ANDO, Motonori
• Granted Patent: US 10,081,369 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/05 Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/65 Data transmitted between vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/08 Interaction between the driver and the control system
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3655 Timing of guidance instructions

Abstract

A drive support apparatus includes a self-vehicle positioner determining a current position of a self-vehicle, a road determiner determining a currently-traveled road of the self-vehicle by map-matching the current position on a link of a road map, a node determiner determining a first intersection node on the currently-traveled road, a priority determiner determining whether the currently-traveled road is a priority road at the first intersection node against an intersecting road, a drive support controller performing a suppressed drive support control when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a priority road, and an area setter setting a determination-kept-unchanged (D-K-U) area based on the intersection node. Based on the above, the drive support apparatus can accurately determine whether a current situation is a drive support suppression situation in which the drive support to a driver should not be provided.

Claims

1. A drive support apparatus disposed in a self-vehicle and performing a drive support control for supporting a drive operation of a driver in the self-vehicle, the drive support apparatus comprising:

a controller, the controller configured to include

a self-vehicle positioner sequentially determining a current position of the self-vehicle having the drive support apparatus by receiving a navigation signal from a navigation satellite of a satellite navigation system, and obtaining current position information from the received navigation signal;

a road determiner sequentially determining a currently-traveled road that is currently traveled by the self-vehicle, based on a matching result of a map matching that places (i) the current position of the self-vehicle determined by the self-vehicle positioner on (ii) one road link in a road map that represents (a) each road by using a link, and (b) each intersection by using an intersection node;

a node determiner sequentially determining a first intersection node on the currently-traveled road determined by the road determiner, the first intersection node first encountered by the self-vehicle in a travel direction from the current position of the self-vehicle;

a priority determiner sequentially determining whether the currently-traveled road determined by the road determiner is, against an intersecting road, a priority road at the first intersection node determined by the node determiner;

a drive support controller performing a suppressed drive support control, when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a priority road, the suppressed drive support control being suppressed from a normal drive support control that is performed when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a non-priority road; and

an area setter setting a determination-kept-unchanged (D-K-U) area, based on the intersection node determined by the node determiner, wherein

the priority determiner keeps the determination of the priority road unchanged from a determination result made before the self-vehicle enters the D-K-U area, upon determining that the current position of the self-vehicle is inside the D-K-U area.

2. The drive support apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the road map information includes link information, the link information including information about a number of lanes of a subject link, and

the area setter determines a size of the D-K-U area, according to the number of lanes in the link information regarding a link that is determined as being connected to the intersection node by the node determiner.

3. The drive support apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

an area expander expanding the D-K-U area set by the area setter according to a number of extra intersection nodes, when the D-K-U area includes the extra intersection nodes that are different from the intersection node determined by the node determiner, wherein

the priority determiner performs determination based on the expanded D-K-U area that is expanded by the area expander.

4. The drive support apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

an area expander (i) defining an expanded area based on extra intersection nodes, when the D-K-U area includes the extra intersection nodes that are different from the intersection node determined by the node determiner, and (ii) setting a new D-K-U area by combining the expanded area and the D-K-U area set by the area setter, wherein

the priority determiner performs determination based on the expanded D-K-U area that is expanded by the area expander.

5. A drive support apparatus disposed in a self-vehicle, comprising:

a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver receiving a navigation signal transmitted from navigation satellites;

a communication device performing communication with one of an other vehicle or a roadside device; and

a controller communicating with the GNSS receiver and the communication device, the controller configured to include

a self-vehicle positioner sequentially determining a current position of the self-vehicle having the drive support apparatus by receiving a navigation signal from a navigation satellite of a satellite navigation system, and obtaining current position information from the received navigation signal;

a road determiner sequentially determining a currently-traveled road that is currently traveled by the self-vehicle, based on a matching result of a map matching that places (i) the current position of the self-vehicle determined by the self-vehicle positioner on (ii) one road link in a road map that represents (a) each road by using a link, and (b) each intersection by using an intersection node;

a node determiner sequentially determining a first intersection node on the currently-traveled road determined by the road determiner, the first intersection node first encountered by the self-vehicle in a travel direction from the current position of the self-vehicle;

a priority determiner sequentially determining whether the currently-traveled road determined by the road determiner is, against an intersecting road, a priority road at the first intersection node determined by the node determiner;

a drive support controller performing a suppressed drive support control, when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a priority road, the suppressed drive support control being suppressed from a normal drive support control that is performed when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a non-priority road; and

an area setter setting a determination-kept-unchanged (D-K-U) area, based on the intersection node determined by the node determiner, wherein

the priority determiner keeps the determination of the priority road unchanged from a determination result made before the self-vehicle enters the D-K-U area, upon determining that the current position of the self-vehicle is inside the D-K-U area.

6. A drive support system, comprising:

a sensor detecting parameters of a self-vehicle;

a travel road determiner providing road map information;

a drive support apparatus receiving the detected parameters from the sensor and the road map information from the travel road determiner, the drive support apparatus including;

a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver receiving a navigation signal transmitted from navigation satellites;

a communication device performing communication with one of an other vehicle or a roadside device; and

a controller communicating with the GNSS receiver and the communication device, the controller configured to include

a self-vehicle positioner sequentially determining a current position of the self-vehicle having the drive support apparatus by receiving a navigation signal from a navigation satellite of a satellite navigation system, and obtaining current position information from the received navigation signal;

a road determiner sequentially determining a currently-traveled road that is currently traveled by the self-vehicle, based on a matching result of a map matching that places (i) the current position of the self-vehicle determined by the self-vehicle positioner on (ii) one road link in a road map that represents (a) each road by using a link, and (b) each intersection by using an intersection node;

a node determiner sequentially determining a first intersection node on the currently-traveled road determined by the road determiner, the first intersection node first encountered by the self-vehicle in a travel direction from the current position of the self-vehicle;

a priority determiner sequentially determining whether the currently-traveled road determined by the road determiner is, against an intersecting road, a priority road at the first intersection node determined by the node determiner;

a drive support controller performing a suppressed drive support control, when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a priority road, the suppressed drive support control being suppressed from a normal drive support control that is performed when the priority determiner determines that the currently-traveled road is a non-priority road; and

an area setter setting a determination-kept-unchanged (D-K-U) area, based on the intersection node determined by the node determiner, wherein

the priority determiner keeps the determination of the priority road unchanged from a determination result made before the self-vehicle enters the D-K-U area, upon determining that the current position of the self-vehicle is inside the D-K-U area.