IP Library › Granted Patent US 8,655,579
Granted Patent B2
US 8,655,579 · App. 13/519,650 · Granted Feb 18, 2014

Driving assistance device

Inventors: Jun Sakugawa (Gotenba, JP); Hideo Fukamachi (Hadano, JP); Masayuki Shimizu (Susono, JP); Shinichi Nagata (Yokohama, JP)
Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,655,579
App. No.
13/519,650
Granted
Feb 18, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

A device for providing driving assistance for a driver of the vehicle to avoid the object of the risk subject when driving the vehicle, which includes: an object determination unit that detects the object; a collision prediction time calculation unit that calculates a time to collision which is a time indicating a degree to which the vehicle approaches to the object; an estimated risk level determination unit that determines an estimated risk level indicating a possibility of the object moving onto a predicted travelling path of the vehicle; and a driving assistance content determination unit that determines driving assistance content based on the collision prediction time and the estimated risk level.

Claims (12)

1. A driving assistance device that performs a driving assistance for a driver of a vehicle to avoid an object of a risk subject when driving the vehicle, the device comprising:

an object detection unit configured to detect the object;

a collision prediction time calculation unit configured to calculate a collision prediction time that is a time indicating a degree to which the vehicle approaches to the object;

an estimated risk level determination unit configured to determine an estimated risk level indicating a possibility of the object moving onto a predicted travelling path of the vehicle; and

a driving assistance content determination unit configured to determine driving assistance content based on the collision prediction time and the estimated risk level,

wherein the collision prediction time calculation unit calculates a fixed collision prediction time which is the collision prediction time with the object presenting on the predicted travelling path of the vehicle in a case where the object presents on the predicted travelling path of the vehicle, and calculates an estimated collision prediction time which is the collision prediction time with the object in a case where it is assumed that the object presenting at location other than the predicted travelling path of the vehicle moves onto the predicted travelling path of the vehicle,

wherein the estimated risk level determination unit determines the estimated risk level on the basis of cause-and-effect relationship information which is information based on a relationship between an object and another object related to at least one of attribute, position and speed, as information indicating cause-and-effect relationship between the object and another object different from the object.

2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a traffic environment information acquisition unit configured to acquire the traffic environment information that is information related to the traffic environment in the vicinity of the vehicle and the object,

wherein the estimated risk level determination unit determines the estimated risk level as higher in a case when acquiring the traffic environment information indicating a possibility of the object moving onto the predicted travelling path of the vehicle, compared with a case when not acquiring the traffic environment information.

3. The driving assistance device according to claim 1 ,

wherein the estimated risk level determination unit determines the estimated risk level as higher in a case when acquiring information indicating that the object moves onto the predicted travelling path of the vehicle, compared with a case when not acquiring the information.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 28, 2012
From: SAKUGAWA, JUN; FUKAMACHI, HIDEO; SHIMIZU, MASAYUKI; NAGATA, SHINICHI
To: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 028457/0400 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20120330541A1 · Dec 27, 2012