Traveling support device and traveling support method

• US 8,441,374 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2009
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yokoyama, Akihisa, Matsumura, Takeshi, Shida, Mitsuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEE, ANDREW W.
• Application Number:
  US12/922,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20110001634A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 340/905, 340/907, 340/916, 340/929, 340/932, 340/995.13, 701/117
• US Class Current: 340/929
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096 provided with indicators in which a mark progresses showing the time elapsed, e.g. of green phase
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle

Abstract

A traveling support device includes: a road-vehicle communication portion that receives first current-signal information relating to a signal displayed by a traffic signal at a first clock time, from a road side transmitter installed on a road; an inter-vehicle communication portion that receives second current-signal information relating to a signal displayed by the traffic signal at a second clock time, from another vehicle that receives the second current-signal information from the road side transmitter; and a signal cycle estimating portion that estimates signal cycle information relating to transition of the signal on the traffic signal on the basis of the first current-signal information received by the road-vehicle communication portion and the second current-signal information received by the inter-vehicle communication portion.

Claims

1. A traveling support method, comprising:

receiving first current-signal information relating to a signal displayed by a traffic signal at a first clock time, from a road side transmitter installed on a road;

receiving second current-signal information relating to a signal displayed by the traffic signal at a second clock time, from an other vehicle that receives the second current-signal information from the road side transmitter; and

estimating signal cycle information relating to transition of the signal on the traffic signal on the basis of the first current-signal information and the second current-signal information.

2. A traveling support device, comprising:

a road-vehicle communication portion that receives first current-signal information relating to a signal displayed by a traffic signal at a first clock time, from a road side transmitter installed on a road;

an inter-vehicle communication portion that receives second current-signal information relating to a signal displayed by the traffic signal at a second clock time, from an other vehicle that receives the second current-signal information from the road side transmitter; and

a signal cycle estimating portion that estimates signal cycle information relating to transition of the signal on the traffic signal on the basis of the first current-signal information received by the road-vehicle communication portion and the second current-signal information received by the inter-vehicle communication portion.

3. The traveling support device according to claim 2, wherein there are a plurality of types of signals displayed by the traffic signal, and the signal cycle estimating portion estimates the signal cycle information by interpolating information relating to a signal that is displayed by the traffic signal at a clock time other than the first clock time and second clock time, on the basis of the first current-signal information, the second current-signal information, and duration time information relating to a display duration time for each of the plurality of types of signals.

4. The traveling support device according to claim 2, wherein the inter-vehicle communication portion transmits the signal cycle information estimated by the signal cycle estimating portion, to the other vehicle.

5. The traveling support device according to claim 2, wherein the inter-vehicle communication portion receives, from the other vehicle which is a following vehicle, the second current-signal information relating to the signal displayed at the second clock time subsequent to the first clock time.

6. The traveling support device according to claim 2, wherein the inter-vehicle communication portion receives, from the other vehicle which is a preceding vehicle, the second current-signal information relating to the signal displayed at the second clock time preceding the first clock time.

7. The traveling support device according to claim 2, wherein the inter-vehicle communication portion further transmits the first current-signal information to the other vehicle.

8. The traveling support device according to claim 2, wherein the inter-vehicle communication portion further transmits the second current-signal information to another vehicle different from the other vehicle.