Driving assistance system, driving assistance method and assistance information providing apparatus

• US 9,533,662 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2014
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Uno, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sood, Anshul
• Application Number:
  US14/438,444
• Publication Number:
  US 20150283984A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• Field of Search: 701/71
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/175 Brake regulation specially adapted to prevent excessive wheel spin during vehicle acceleration, e.g. for traction control safety devices for propulsion unit control responsive to, or preventing, skidding of wheels B60K28/16
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 8/176 Brake regulation specially adapted to prevent excessive wheel slip during vehicle deceleration, e.g. ABS B60T8/1755 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A driving assistance system includes: a storage apparatus (14) configured to store an operation result of a first assistance apparatus (50) performing first driving assistance on a first movable body (20A); a determination unit (135) configured to determine whether or not an operation result of a second assistance apparatus (40) performing second driving assistance on a second movable body (30) is related to the operation result of the first assistance apparatus (50) stored in the storage apparatus (14); an information providing unit (134, 133) configured to provide assistance information based on an operation result of the first assistance apparatus (50) when the determination unit (135) determines that the operation result of the second assistance apparatus (40) is related to the operation result of the first assistance apparatus (50); and an assistance unit (323) configured to perform driving assistance on the second movable body (30) based on the assistance information.

Claims

1. A driving assistance system comprising:

a storage apparatus configured to store operation results of first assistance apparatuses acquired from a plurality of first movable bodies;

a determination unit configured to determine whether or not an operation result of a second assistance apparatus acquired from a second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus;

an information providing unit configured to provide assistance information based on the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses when the determination unit determines that the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus; and

an assistance unit configured to acquire assistance information provided by the information providing unit and to perform driving assistance on the second movable body based on the assistance information, wherein;

each first movable body is a vehicle that includes the first assistance apparatus and the second assistance apparatus;

the second movable body is a vehicle that includes the second assistance apparatus, and not the first assistance apparatus;

wherein the first assistance apparatus is an apparatus configured to prevent a vehicle from skidding to stabilize the vehicle, and the second assistance apparatus is an apparatus configured to prevent wheels from locking during braking; and

the determination unit is configured to determine whether or not the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus based on the number of previous operations of the second assistance apparatus of the second movable body.

2. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine for each user whether or not the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus based on the operation result of the second assistance apparatus for each user.

3. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the storage apparatus and the determination unit are provided outside of the first movable bodies and the second movable body.

4. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein:

the information providing unit is provided outside of the first movable bodies and the second movable body; and

the information providing unit is configured to provide the assistance unit with only assistance information for which the determination unit has determined that the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus.

5. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein:

the information providing unit is provided on the second movable body; and

the information providing unit is configured to provide the assistance unit with the assistance information obtained based on a determination result of the determination unit.

6. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein:

the assistance information includes an operation position at which one of the first assistance apparatuses had been operated; and

the information providing unit is configured to provide the assistance information when the second movable body reaches the operation position.

7. The driving assistance system according to claim 1, further comprising a driving characteristics determination unit configured to determine whether or not first driving characteristics information associated with operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus are similar to second driving characteristics information associated with an operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body, wherein:

the first driving characteristics information and the second driving characteristics information are information that respectively indicate characteristics of driving operations performed by drivers; and

the information providing unit is configured to provide the assistance unit with the assistance information when the determination unit determines that the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus and when the driving characteristics determination unit determines that the first driving characteristics information is similar to the second driving characteristics information.

8. A driving assistance method used by a driving assistance system including a storage apparatus configured to store operation results of first assistance apparatuses acquired from a plurality of first movable bodies, the method comprising:

determining whether or not an operation result of a second assistance apparatus acquired from a second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus;

providing assistance information based on the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses when determination is made that the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus; and

performing driving assistance on the second movable body based on the provided assistance information, wherein;

each first movable body is a vehicle that includes the first assistance apparatus and the second assistance apparatus;

the second movable body is a vehicle that includes the second assistance apparatus, and not the first assistance apparatus;

the first assistance apparatus is an apparatus configured to prevent a vehicle from skidding to stabilize the vehicle, and the second assistance apparatus is an apparatus configured to prevent wheels from locking during braking; and

it is determined whether or not the operation result of the second assistance apparatus acquired from the second movable body is related to the operation results of the first assistance apparatuses stored in the storage apparatus based on the number of previous operations of the second assistance apparatus of the second movable body.