Warning device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10913392-B2
Application number	US-201815950842-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 11, 2018
Priority date	Apr 12, 2017
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

A warning device selects, as a first candidate, an obstacle whose collision time period is equal to or shorter than a threshold time period and is the shortest among at least one obstacle which is present either in a front area or in a side area. The warning device selects, as a second candidate, the obstacle whose collision time period is equal to or shorter than a threshold time period and is the shortest among at least one obstacle which is present in the side area. The warning device displays a warning screen which guides driver's eyes to a direction of one candidate with the shortest collision time period from the first candidate and the second candidate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A warning device for displaying a warning screen for guiding a driver's eyes to a direction of an obstacle which has high probability of colliding with an own vehicle so as to warn the driver of the obstacle, and the warning device comprising an electric control unit comprising a CPU and memories, the electric control unit is configured to:
detect at least one first object which is present either in a front area of the own vehicle or in a side area of the own vehicle and for identifying a type of the at least one first object;
detect at least one second object which is present in the side area without identifying the type of the at least one second object;
select at least one type-identified object whose type is identified to be a predetermined type among the detected at least one first object;
select, as at least one first obstacle, at least one object which has high probability of colliding with the own vehicle among the selected at least one type-identified object;
calculate a collision time period for each of the at least one first obstacle to collide with the own vehicle; and
select, as a first candidate, the obstacle whose collision time period is equal to or shorter than a predetermined threshold time period and is the shortest, among the at least one first obstacle,
select, as at least one second obstacle, at least one object which has high probability of colliding with the own vehicle among the detected at least one second object;
calculate the a collision time period for each of the at least one second obstacle to collide with the own vehicle; and
select, as a second candidate, the obstacle whose collision time period is equal to or shorter than the threshold time period and is the shortest, among the at least one second obstacle,
display the warning screen; and
determine, as a warning object, one candidate with the shortest collision time period from the first candidate and the second candidate, and for displaying the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to a direction of the warning object, when the first candidate and the second candidate have selected,
wherein the electric control unit is further configured to:
determine that the first candidate is present in the front area of the own vehicle, when the first candidate has been determined as the warning object and a magnitude of a first angle at a predetermined location of the own vehicle is equal to or smaller than the threshold angle, the first angle being formed between a line which passes through a location of the first candidate and the predetermined location and a base line which passes through the predetermined location and is parallel with a longitudinal direction of the own vehicle to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to a direction of the first candidate using a first display element which guides the driver's eyes to the warning object which is present in the front area of the own vehicle; and determine that the first candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle, when the first candidate has been determined as the warning object and the magnitude of the first angle is larger than the threshold angle to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the first candidate using a second display element which guides the driver's eyes to the warning object which is present in the side area of the own vehicle and whose shape is different from a shape of the first display element, and
wherein the warning device further comprises a radar sensor which radiates a radio wave to a sector area which has a center axis extending along a diagonally forward direction of the own vehicle to detect the at least one second object which is present in the side area of the own vehicle using a reflected wave of the radiated radio wave, the electric control unit is further configured to:
determine that the first candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle to determine the first candidate as the warning object, when the collision time period of the first candidate is equal to the collision time period of the second candidate and the magnitude of the first angle is larger than the threshold angle, to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the first candidate using the second display element;
determine that the first candidate is present in the front area of the own vehicle and that the second candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle to determine the second candidate as the warning object, when the collision time period of the first candidate is equal to the collision time period of the second candidate, the magnitude of the first angle is equal to or smaller than the threshold angle, and a magnitude of a second angle at the predetermined location is larger than the threshold angle, the second angle being formed between a line which passes through a location of the second candidate and the predetermined location and the base line, to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to a direction of the second candidate using the second display element; and
determine that both of the first candidate and the second candidate are present in the front area of the own vehicle to determine the first candidate as the warning object, when the collision time period of the first candidate is equal to the collision time period of the second candidate, and both of the magnitude of the first angle and the magnitude of the second angle are equal to or smaller than the threshold angle, and to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the first candidate using the first display element.

2. The warning device according to claim 1 , wherein the electric control unit is further configured to:
determine that the second candidate is present in the front area of the own vehicle, when the second candidate has been determined as the warning object and the magnitude of the second angle at the predetermined location is equal to or smaller than the threshold angle, the second angle being formed between a line which passes through a location of the second candidate and the predetermined location and the base line to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the second candidate using the first display element; and
determine that the second candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle, when the magnitude of the second angle is larger than the threshold angle to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the second candidate using the second display element.

3. The warning device according to claim 1 , wherein
the electric control unit is further configured to:
presume that the second candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle, when the second candidate is determined as the warning object; and display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the second candidate using the second display element.

4. The warning device according to claim 1 , wherein
the electric control unit is further configured to:
determine that the first candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle to determine the first candidate as the warning object obstacle, when the collision time period of the first candidate is equal to the collision time period of the second candidate and the magnitude of the first angle is larger than the threshold angle, to display the warning screen which guides the driver's eyes to the direction of the first candidate using the second display element; and
determine that the first candidate is present in the front area of the own vehicle and presume that the second candidate is present in the side area of the own vehicle to determine the second candidate as the warning

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Morimura Junichi

Classifications

• G06V40/103

  Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition · CPC title

• G06V20/58

  Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads · CPC title

• B60W30/095

  Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision · CPC title

• G02B2027/014

  comprising information/image processing systems · CPC title

• G02B2027/0138

  comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera · CPC title