Communications: electrical – External condition vehicle-mounted indicator or alarm – Transmitter in another vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-25
2001-09-18
Blum, Theodore M. (Department: 3662)
Communications: electrical
External condition vehicle-mounted indicator or alarm
Transmitter in another vehicle
C340S902000, C340S907000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06292109
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an intersection information supply system supplying information about whether a vehicle is going to pass through an intersection, and more particularly to an intersection information supply system supplying information about whether a vehicle running on a preferred road is going to pass through an intersection at which the preferred road and a non-preferred road intersect, to a vehicle running on the non-preferred road. In addition, the present invention relates to an onboard information transmission apparatus applicable to the above intersection information supply system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, such an intersection information supply system is disclosed, for example, as an encounter collision avoidance display apparatus, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.5-28400. In this system, when a vehicle running on a preferred road is detected at a position a predetermined distance before an intersection at which the preferred road and a non-preferred road intersect, a light of a warning display board installed at a position from which a driver of a vehicle approaching the intersection on the non-preferred road can look at the lamp is turned on.
According to such a conventional system, even if buildings causes the visibility at the intersection to be poor, the driver of the vehicle approaching the intersection on the non-preferred road can recognize, based on the turned-on lamp of the warning display board, that a vehicle is approaching the intersection on the preferred road. Thus, the vehicle can more safely enter the preferred road from the non-preferred road.
A detector used to detect vehicles approaching the intersection on the preferred road can not distinguish the vehicles from other moving bodies. Thus, in a case in which bicycles or pedestrians are detected by the detector, the lamp of the warning display board is turned on. The detector detects the presence of moving bodies. Thus, if a body moving away from the intersection is in a detecting area of the detector, the detector detects the body. In this case, based on the detecting result, the lamp of the warning display board is turned on.
As has been described above, the conventional intersection information supply system does not necessarily supply useful information to the driver of the vehicle approaching the intersection on the non-preferred road.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful intersection information supply system in which the disadvantages of the aforementioned prior art are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an intersection information supply system which can certainly supply information about presence of a vehicle approaching, on a first road, an intersection at which the first road and a second road intersect, to a driver of a vehicle approaching the intersection on the second road.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by an intersection information supply system supplying information about a first vehicle approaching an intersection on a first road to a driver of a second vehicle approaching the intersection on a second road, the first road and the second road intersecting at the intersection, the intersection information supply system comprising: a transmission unit, provided in the first vehicle, transmitting a predetermined signal when the first vehicle approaches the intersection; a receiving unit, installed near the intersection, receiving the predetermined signal from the transmission unit provided in the first vehicle; and an information supply unit supplying information to the second vehicle approaching the intersection on the second road when the receiving unit receives that predetermined signal, the information indicating that there is the first vehicle approaching the intersection on the first road.
The information supply unit may be formed as a display apparatus which displays information, indicating the presence of the first vehicle approaching the intersection on the first road, in a state where a driver of the second vehicle approaching the intersection on the second road can look at the displayed information.
Although, in general, the first road is a preferred road and the second road is a non-preferred road, the first and second roads are not limited to such a case. For example, the first road may be the non-preferred road and the second road may be the preferred road. Further, both the first and second road may be the non-preferred roads.
At the intersection, at least the first and second roads may intersect. Thus, the present invention may be applicable, for example, to an intersection of three roads and to an intersection of five roads.
According to the present invention, only when there is the first vehicle approaching the intersection on the first road, is the information indicating the presence of the first vehicle supplied to the second vehicle approaching the intersection on the second road. Thus, the information about presence of a vehicle approaching, on a first road, an intersection at which the first road and a second road intersect can be supplied to a driver of a vehicle approaching the intersection on the second road.
To be capable of supplying information indicating from which side of the intersection a vehicle is approaching the intersection, the present invention may be the intersection information supply system described above wherein the predetermined signal transmitted by the transmission unit includes information indicating from which side of the intersection the first vehicle is approaching the intersection, and wherein the information supply unit comprises: means for determining, based on the predetermined signal received by the receiving unit, from which side of the intersection the first vehicle is approaching the intersection, wherein the information supply unit supplies information to the second vehicle, the information indicating that there is the first vehicle approaching the intersection from the determined side of the intersection.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an onboard information transmission apparatus applicable to the above intersection information supply system.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by an onboard information transmission apparatus provided in a vehicle comprising: approaching detecting means for detecting that the vehicle approaching an intersection on a first road reaches a position a predetermined distance before the intersection, the first road and a second road intersecting at the intersection: and signal transmission means for transmitting a predetermined signal when the approaching detecting means detects that the vehicle reaches the position the predetermined distance before the intersection, wherein the predetermined signal transmitted by the signal transmission means is used to supply information, indicating that there is the vehicle approaching the intersection on the first road, to another vehicle approaching the intersection on the second road.
The approaching detecting means may be means for detecting a body (e.g., a magnetic marker) installed at the position the predetermined distance before the intersection on the first road. The approaching detecting means may also be means for detecting an absolute position of the vehicle based on information from a car-navigation system.
To be capable of supplying information indicating from which side of the intersection the vehicle is approaching the intersection, the present invention may be the onboard information transmission apparatus wherein the approaching detecting means has means to detecting from which side of the intersection the vehicle reaches the position the predetermined distance before the intersection, wherein the predetermined signal transmitted by the signal transmission means includes information indicating that the vehicle is approaching the intersection from a s
Murano Takahiko
Tachibana Akihide
Blum Theodore M.
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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