Intersection information supply apparatus

• US 6,008,741 A
• Filed: 09/29/1998
• Issued: 12/28/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Shinagawa, Masahiko, Sasaki, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T.
• Application Number:
  US09/161,722
• Time in Patent Office: 455 Days
• Field of Search: 340/907, 340/436, 340/928, 340/905, 340/917, 340/919, 340/906, 340/933, 340/916, 340/910, 701/117, 701/59, 701/53
• US Class Current: 340/907
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

An intersection information supply apparatus includes a table indicating relationships between approaching directions of a vehicle to an intersection and signal forms, an approaching direction detecting unit detecting an approaching direction in which the vehicle is approaching the intersection, a transmission unit transmitting a signal having a signal form indicated in the table so as to correspond to the approaching direction detected by the approaching direction detecting unit, a signal obtaining unit selectively obtaining, from among signals externally arriving at the vehicle, a signal having a signal form indicated in the table so as to correspond to an approaching direction relevant to the approaching direction detected by the approaching direction detecting unit and an information output unit outputting information about presence of another vehicle when the signal obtaining unit obtains the signal.

Claims

1. An intersection information supply apparatus comprising:

a table indicating relationships between approaching directions of a vehicle to an intersection and signal forms;

approaching direction detecting means for detecting an approaching direction in which the vehicle is approaching the intersection;

transmission means for transmitting a signal having a signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting means;

signal obtaining means for selectively obtaining, from among signals externally arriving at said vehicle, a signal having a signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to an approaching direction relevant to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting means; and

information output means for outputting information about presence of another vehicle when said signal obtaining means obtains the signal.

2. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

running state detecting means for detecting a running state of said vehicle; and

transmission control means for controlling, based on the running state detected by said running state detecting means, whether said transmission means transmits the signal.

3. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the running state to be detected by said running state detecting means includes a vehicle speed, and wherein said transmission control means controls, based on vehicle speeds detected at respective positions before the intersection, whether said transmission means transmits the signal.

4. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the table indicates relationships between passing states of said vehicle and the signal forms for each of the approaching directions, each of the passing states of said vehicle representing how said vehicle passes through the intersection, said intersection information supply apparatus further comprising:

determination means for determining a passing state in which said vehicle is going to pass through the intersection, wherein said transmission means transmits the signal having the signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting means and the passing state determined by said determination means, and wherein said signal obtaining means selectively obtains the signal having the signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to a passing state in another approaching direction relevant to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting means and the passing state determined by said determination means.

5. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said determination means determines the passing state based on a signal from a direction indicator of said vehicle.

6. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the signal forms is defined based on a frequency.

7. An intersection information supply apparatus comprising:

a table indicating relationships between approaching directions of a vehicle to an intersection and signal forms;

an approaching direction detecting unit detecting an approaching direction in which the vehicle is approaching the intersection;

a transmission unit transmitting a signal having a signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting unit;

a signal obtaining unit selectively obtaining, from among signals externally arriving at said vehicle, a signal having a signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to an approaching direction relevant to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting unit; and

an information output unit outputting information about presence of another vehicle when said signal obtaining unit obtains the signal.

8. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 7 further comprising:

a running state detecting unit detecting a running state of said vehicle; and

a transmission control unit controlling, based on the running state detected by said running state detecting means, whether said transmission unit transmits the signal.

9. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the running state to be detected by said running state detecting unit includes a vehicle speed, and wherein said transmission control unit controls, based on vehicle speeds detected at respective positions before the intersection, whether said transmission unit transmits the signal.

10. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the table indicates relationships between passing states of said vehicle and the signal forms for each of the approaching directions, each of the passing states of said vehicle representing how said vehicle passes through the intersection, said intersection information supply apparatus further comprising:

a determination unit determining a passing state in which said vehicle is going to pass through the intersection, wherein said transmission unit transmits the signal having the signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting unit and the passing state determined by said determination unit, and wherein said signal obtaining unit selectively obtains the signal having the signal form indicated in said table so as to correspond to a passing state in another approaching direction relevant to the approaching direction detected by said approaching direction detecting unit and the passing state determined by said determination unit.

11. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said determination unit determines the passing state based on a signal from a direction indicator of said vehicle.

12. The intersection information supply apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the signal forms is defined based on a frequency.