Apparatus for assisting driver in carefully driving

• US 6,046,671 A
• Filed: 06/19/1998
• Issued: 04/04/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimoura, Hiroshi, Tenmoku, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): SWARTHOUT, BRENT
• Application Number:
  US09/099,930
• Time in Patent Office: 655 Days
• Field of Search: 340/995, 340/439, 340/438, 340/575, 340/576, 340/988, 340/460, 340/990, 701/209, 701/210
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network

Abstract

Herein disclosed is an apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a vehicle driver in carefully driving. The apparatus comprises data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of the vehicle, estimating means for estimating a current location of the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by the data obtaining means, information providing means for providing the vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of the vehicle estimated by the estimating means, and judging means for judging whether travel of the vehicle is anomalous or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by the obtaining means. The information providing means is operated to provide the vehicle driver with attention information that the travel of the vehicle is anomalous when the judging means judges that the travel of the vehicle is anomalous. The apparatus thus constructed serves not only as navigation apparatus but also as a anomalous travel preventing apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a vehicle driver in carefully driving, comprising:

data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of said vehicle;

estimating means for estimating a current location of said vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means;

information providing means for providing said vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of said vehicle estimated by said estimating means;

judging means for judging whether action of said vehicle is unstable or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said obtaining means; and

information producing means for producing expressway exit information as to an expressway exit of said expressway closest of the current location of said vehicle when said vehicle is traveling on said expressway and when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable;

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with said expressway exit information produced by said information producing means, and

said expressway exit information including a travel route between the current location of said vehicle and the expressway exit of said expressway closest to the current location of said vehicle.

2. An apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a vehicle driver in carefully driving, comprising:

data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of said vehicle;

estimating means for estimating a current location of said vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means;

information providing means for providing said vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of said vehicle estimated by said estimating means;

judging means for judging whether action of said vehicle is unstable or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said obtaining means;

information producing means for producing recommendable travel route information when said vehicle is traveling on an expressway and when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable, said recommendable travel route information being about a recommendable travel route from the current location of said vehicle to a destination of said vehicle driver by way of an expressway exit of said expressway closest to the current location of said vehicle; and

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle with said recommendable travel route information produced by said information producing means.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, in which said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable when the action of said vehicle corresponds to a vehicle action pattern predetermined to be caused by a drowsiness which comes over said vehicle driver.

4. An apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a vehicle driver in careful driving, comprising:

data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of said vehicle;

estimating means for estimating a current location of said vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means;

information providing means for providing said vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of said vehicle estimated by said estimating means;

judging means for judging whether action of said vehicle is unstable or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said obtaining means; and

storing means for storing vehicle action data indicative of a plurality of predetermined vehicle action patterns including a plurality of predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns;

information producing means for producing facility information as to facilities effective in causing said vehicle to recover from the untable action;

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with attention information that the travel of said vehicle is unstable when said judging means judges that the travel of said vehicle is unstable,

said judging means being operated to compare said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means with said predetermined vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to classify said vehicle movement data into said predetermined vehicle action patterns to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns,

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with said facility information to guide said vehicle driver to said facilities when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by emotional tumult conditions of said driver, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver.

6. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by road conditions upon which said vehicle is traveling, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said road conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said road conditions.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by atmospheric conditions in which said vehicle is traveling, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said atmospheric conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said atmospheric conditions.

8. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by vehicle conditions, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said vehicle conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said vehicle conditions.

9. The apparatus as set forth in claim 8, in which said information producing means being operated to produce said facility information as to facilities having a vehicle repair section when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable due to said vehicle conditions.

10. An apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a vehicle driver in carefully driving, comprising:

data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of said vehicle;

estimating means for estimating a current location of said vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means;

information providing means for providing said vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of said vehicle estimated by said estimating means;

judging means for judging whether action of said vehicle is unstable or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said obtaining means; and

storing means for storing vehicle action data indicative of a plurality of predetermined vehicle action patterns including a plurality of predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns;

information producing means for producing facility information as to facilities effective in causing said vehicle to recover from the unstable action;

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with attention information that the travel of said vehicle is unstable when said judging means judges that the travel of said vehicle is unstable,

said judging means being operated to compare said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means with said predetermined vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to classify said vehicle movement data into said predetermined vehicle action patterns to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns,

said data obtaining means having a heading sensor to output a heading variation of said vehicle, said unstable vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means each being indicative of the heading variation of the vehicle when the action of said vehicle is unstable, said judging means being operated to compare said heading variation of said vehicle during a certain period with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with one of said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns,

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with said facility information to guide said vehicle driver to said facilities when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable.

11. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by emotional tumult conditions of said driver, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver.

12. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by road conditions upon which said vehicle is traveling, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said road conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said road conditions.

13. The apparatus as set forth in claim 10, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by vehicle conditions, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said vehicle conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said vehicle conditions.

14. The apparatus as set forth in claim 12, in which said information producing means being operated to produce said facility information as to facilities having a vehicle repair section when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable due to said vehicle conditions.

15. An apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a vehicle driver in carefully driving, comprising:

data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of said vehicle;

estimating means for estimating a current location of said vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means;

information providing means for providing said vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of said vehicle estimated by said estimating means;

judging means for judging whether action of said vehicle is unstable or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said obtaining means; and

storing means for storing vehicle action data indicative of a plurality of predetermined vehicle action patterns including a plurality of predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns;

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with attention information that the travel of said vehicle is unstable when said judging means judges that the travel of said vehicle is unstable,

said judging means being operated to compare said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means with said predetermined vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to classify said vehicle movement data into said predetermined vehicle action patterns to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns,

said data obtaining means having a distance sensor to output a travel distance of said vehicle, said unstable vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means each being indicative of the travel distance of the vehicle when the action of said vehicle is unstable, said judging means being operated to compare said travel distance of said vehicle during a certain period with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with one of said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns.

16. The apparatus as set forth in claim 15, further comprising information producing means for producing facility information as to facilities effective in causing said vehicle to recover from the unstable action, said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with said facility information to guide said vehicle driver to said facilities when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable.

17. The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by emotional tumult conditions of said driver, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver.

18. The apparatus as set forth in claim 16, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by road conditions upon which said vehicle is traveling, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said road conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said road conditions.

19. An apparatus mounted on a vehicle for assisting a driver in carefully driving, comprising:

data obtaining means for obtaining vehicle movement data indicative of a movement of said vehicle;

estimating means for estimating a current location of said vehicle on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means;

information providing means for providing said vehicle driver with guide information as to the current location of said vehicle estimated by said estimating means;

judging means for judging whether action of said vehicle is unstable or not, on the basis of the vehicle movement data obtained by said obtaining means; and

storing means for storing vehicle action data indicative of a plurality of predetermined vehicle action patterns including a plurality of predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns;

information producing means for producing facility information as to facilities effective in causing said vehicle to recover from the unstable action;

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with attention information that the travel of said vehicle is unstable when said judging means judges that the travel of said vehicle is unstable,

said judging means being operated to compare said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means with said predetermined vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to classify said vehicle movement data into said predetermined vehicle action patterns to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns,

said data obtaining means having a GPS receiver to output an absolute current location of said vehicle, said unstable vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means each being indicative of the absolute current location of the vehicle when the action of said vehicle is unstable, said judging means being operated to compare said absolute current location of said vehicle during a certain period with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns stored in said storing means to judge that the action of said vehicle is unstable when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with one of said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns,

said information providing means being operated to provide said vehicle driver with said facility information to guide said vehicle driver to said facilities when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable.

20. The apparatus as set forth in claim 19, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by emotional tumult conditions of said driver, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said emotional tumult conditions of said driver.

21. The apparatus as set forth in claim 19, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by road conditions upon which said vehicle is traveling, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said road conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said road conditions.

22. The apparatus as set forth in claim 19, in which said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns are indicative of the actions of the vehicle caused by vehicle conditions, said judging means being operated to judge that the unstable action of said vehicle is caused by said vehicle conditions when said vehicle movement data obtained by said data obtaining means substantially coincides with said predetermined unstable vehicle action patterns indicative of said actions of said vehicle caused by said vehicle conditions.

23. The apparatus as set forth in claim 19, in which said information producing means being operated to produce said facility information as to facilities having a vehicle repair section when said judging means judges that the action of said vehicle is unstable due to said vehicle conditions.