Vehicle notification control device and vehicle notification control method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12344162-B2
Application number	US-202318489139-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 18, 2023
Priority date	Apr 27, 2021
Publication date	Jul 1, 2025
Grant date	Jul 1, 2025

Abstract

By a vehicle notification control device or a vehicle notification control method, an automated driving-related state is identified, and a vehicle exterior display is controlled. The vehicle exterior display performs, by display, vehicle exterior notification that is notification of information related to the automated driving toward an outside of a vehicle. The display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification is changed to cause the display to become difficult to be seen, or the automated driving vehicle exterior notification is performed during the automated driving and a brightness of the caused vehicle exterior notification is lower than a brightness at a lighting time of the specific indicator lamp.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle notification control device that is usable for a vehicle capable of performing automated driving, the vehicle notification control device comprising:
a state identification unit configured to identify an automated driving-related state that is a state of the vehicle, the state being related to the automated driving;
a vehicle exterior notification controller configured to control a vehicle exterior display that performs, by display, automated driving vehicle exterior notification that is notification of information related to the automated driving toward an outside of the vehicle; and
a lighting detection unit configured to detect a lighting start of a specific indicator lamp that is installed on the vehicle and performs notification different from the automated driving vehicle exterior notification, and
wherein
the vehicle exterior notification controller causes the automated driving vehicle exterior notification during the automated driving of the vehicle based on the automated driving-related state identified by the state identification unit, and changes the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to cause the display to become difficult to be seen based on detection of the lighting start of the specific indicator lamp by the lighting detection unit,
the lighting detection unit detects, as the lighting start of the specific indicator lamp, at least one lighting start of a brake lamp, a direction indicator, or an emergency blinking indicator lamp of the vehicle,
the lighting detection unit detects, as the lighting start of the specific indicator lamp, a lighting start of at least the brake lamp and the direction indicator,
when the lighting detection unit detects the lighting start of the direction indicator during the automated driving of the vehicle, the vehicle exterior notification controller does not perform change causing the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to become difficult to be seen, and
when the lighting detection unit detects the lighting start of the brake lamp during the automated driving of the vehicle, the vehicle exterior notification controller performs the change causing the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to become difficult to be seen.

2. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vehicle exterior notification controller changes the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification so that the display becomes difficult to be seen by turning off the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification.

3. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vehicle exterior notification controller changes the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification so that the display becomes difficult to be seen by lowering a brightness of the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification.

4. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the automated driving includes
area limit automated driving that is performed in a limited area and permits automated driving without a monitoring obligation of a driver of the vehicle and
traffic congestion limit automated driving that is limitedly performed during a traffic congestion and permits the automated driving without the monitoring obligation of the driver,

the vehicle notification control device is usable for a vehicle capable of switching the automated driving between the area limit automated driving and the traffic congestion limit automated driving,
the lighting detection unit detects the lighting start of at least a brake lamp of the vehicle as the lighting start of the specific indicator lamp,
the state identification identifies at least whether the area limit automated driving or the traffic congestion limit automated driving is being performed as the automated driving-related state,
the vehicle exterior notification controller does not perform change causing the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to become difficult to be seen, when the lighting detection unit has detected the lighting start of the brake lamp during the traffic congestion limit automated driving based on the automated driving-related state identified by the state identification unit, and
the vehicle exterior notification controller perform change causing the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to become difficult to be seen when the lighting detection unit has detected the lighting start of the brake lamp during the area limit automated driving of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the lighting detection unit detects the lighting start of at least a brake lamp of the vehicle as the lighting start of the specific indicator lamp,
the vehicle notification control device further includes a vehicle speed identification unit configured to identify a vehicle speed of the vehicle,
by using the automated driving-related state identified by the state identification unit, the vehicle exterior notification controller performs change causing the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to become difficult to be seen, when the lighting detection unit has detected the lighting start of the brake lamp during the automated driving of the vehicle and also when the vehicle speed identified by the vehicle speed identification unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold, and
the vehicle exterior notification controller does not perform the change causing the display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification to become difficult to be seen, even when the lighting detection unit has detected the lighting start of the brake lamp and also when the vehicle speed identified by the vehicle speed identification unit is less than the predetermined threshold.

6. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vehicle exterior display is used together with an indicator lamp that is installed on the vehicle, emits light toward an outside of the vehicle, and is used for a purpose different from the automated driving vehicle exterior notification.

7. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vehicle exterior display is used together with an indicator lamp that is installed on the vehicle, emits light toward an outside of the vehicle, and is used for the notification that is performed by the specific indicator lamp and is different from the automated driving.

8. The vehicle notification control device according to claim 1 , wherein
the vehicle exterior display is installed on a rear portion of the vehicle and at least one of a front portion or a side portion of the vehicle,
the front portion and the side portion are a non-rear portion,
the lighting detection unit detects the lighting start of at least a brake lamp of the vehicle as the lighting start of the specific indicator lamp,
the vehicle exterior notification controller performs change causing a display of the automated driving vehicle exterior notification of the vehicle exterior display installed on the rear portion to become difficult to be seen, based on detection of a lighting start of the brake lamp by the lighting detection unit, and when the lighting detection unit has detected the lighting start of the brake lamp, the vehicle exterior notification controller causes the vehicle exterior display provided on the non-rear portion to display the automated driving vehicle exterior notification without performing the change causing the display to become difficult to be seen.

9. A vehicle notification

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Nojiri Shota
• MANEYAMA Shiori
• Izumi Kazuki
• Kume Takuya

Classifications

• B60W2050/146

  Display means · CPC title

• B60W2050/143

  Alarm means · CPC title

• B60W50/14

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

• B60W40/105

  Speed · CPC title

• B60Q1/5035

  electronic displays · CPC title