Server device and vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11738747-B2
Application number	US-202117545622-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 8, 2021
Priority date	Oct 9, 2017
Publication date	Aug 29, 2023
Grant date	Aug 29, 2023

Abstract

A server device includes: a server communication unit configured to communicate with a vehicle, and receive fallen object avoidance information from the vehicle, the fallen object avoidance information including position information on a fallen object and information indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed by the vehicle for the fallen object; and a server control unit configured to determine, for the same fallen object that is present at the same position, whether the same fallen object should be avoided based on the fallen object avoidance information, and notify a first following vehicle that the same fallen object should be avoided when the server control unit determines that the same fallen object should be avoided, the first following vehicle being a vehicle that is traveling within a predetermined range behind the same fallen object.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a communication circuitry configured to communicate with a server device;
a camera configured to capture a road ahead of the vehicle; and
a control circuitry configured to:
associate, when the control circuitry detects from a captured image that a first fallen object is present on a lane in which the vehicle is traveling, position information on the first fallen object with information indicating whether an avoidance operation was performed for the first fallen object,
send the associated information to the server device as fallen object avoidance information via the communication circuitry, and
receive a signal from the server device via the communication circuitry, the signal indicating that a second fallen object should be avoided,

wherein a server control circuitry of the server device is configured to determine that the first fallen object should be avoided when the server control circuitry determines that a ratio of the number of vehicles that performed the avoidance operation for the first fallen object to the total number of: i) vehicles that performed the avoidance operation for the first fallen object; and ii) vehicles that did not perform the avoidance operation for the first fallen object, is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
whether the avoidance operation was performed is determined based on at least one of a steering operation and a braking operation.

3. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the server control circuitry of the server device is further configured to
determine, for each of a plurality of adjacent lanes extending in a same direction, whether there is a fallen object that should be avoided on each of the plurality of adjacent lanes, and
notify a second following vehicle of a lane that is one of the plurality of adjacent lanes and that has a smallest number of fallen objects that should be avoided.

4. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the server control circuitry of the server device is configured to determine that the first fallen object and the second fallen object are a same fallen object when the first fallen object and the second fallen object are present within a predetermined distance and belong to a same type.

5. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the server control circuitry of the server device is configured to
determine, after the server control circuitry determines that the fallen object is a target fallen object that should be avoided, whether there is still the target fallen object by using an image that a third following vehicle has captured at the same position where the target fallen object was present, and
when it is determined that there is no more the target fallen object that should be avoided, send a notification to a vehicle that has been notified that the target fallen object should be avoided, the notification indicating that there is no more the target fallen object.

6. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein
the fallen object avoidance information further includes a degree of the avoidance operation, and
the server control circuitry of the server device is configured to determine whether to avoid the fallen object based further on the degree.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Hasegawa Hideo
• Kameda Keiko
• Ejiri Misa
• Naruse Shintaro
• Kashiwai Tadahiro
• Oka Naoya
• Koike Kensuke
• Monji Hiroyuki

Classifications

• B60W30/0956 Primary

  the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters · CPC title

• B60W10/20

  including control of steering systems · CPC title

• B60W30/09

  Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering · CPC title

• B60W30/095

  Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision · CPC title

• B60W50/14

  Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention · CPC title