Communications: electrical – External condition vehicle-mounted indicator or alarm – Transmitter in another vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-30
2001-10-23
Pope, Daryl C. (Department: 2736)
Communications: electrical
External condition vehicle-mounted indicator or alarm
Transmitter in another vehicle
C340S905000, C340S917000, C340S933000, C340S436000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06307484
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an intersection warning system, and more particularly to an intersection warning system issuing a warning to a driver of a vehicle running near a roadside edge and approaching an intersection, based on a state of another vehicle running, near the roadside edge, in a sideward or rearward area of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a case where every vehicle ought to run on a left side of a road, a driver of a vehicle running near the roadside edge and approaching an intersection to turn left at the intersection has to pay attention to another vehicle (e.g., a two-wheeled vehicle) running in a left sideward or rearward area of the vehicle. In a case where every vehicle ought to run on a right side of a road, a vehicle which is going to turn right at an intersection is also in the same situation.
To support the driver of such a vehicle which is going to turn left at an intersection, conventionally, a vehicle contact warning apparatus has been proposed (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.53-27932). In this vehicle contact warning apparatus, a watching unit (including an ultrasonic sensor) watching a dead angle area in a left side of the vehicle is provided in the vehicle. When a direction indicating operation (a turn signal operation) to turn left is carried out, the driver is warned, based on information from the watching unit, that there is another vehicle in the dead angle area.
According to the conventional vehicle contact warning apparatus, when a vehicle is going to turn left at an intersection, a driver can recognize whether there is another vehicle in the dead angle area on the left side of the vehicle. Thus, the driver can drive the vehicle to turn left at the intersection without contacting another vehicle.
In the conventional vehicle contact warning apparatus, whenever there is another vehicle in the dead angle area on the left side of the vehicle, the warning is issued. For example, there is a case where the vehicle passes by another vehicle which stops on the left side of the road. In this case, while the other vehicle is in the dead angle area of the vehicle, the warning is issued. Thus, the warning is not necessarily appropriate for a driver of a vehicle which is going to turn along the roadside edge (turn left in a case where every vehicle ought to run on the left side of a road or turn right in a case where every vehicle ought to run on the right side of a road) without crossing the road at an intersection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a novel and useful intersection warning 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 warning system capable of issuing a warning appropriate for a driver of a vehicle which is going to turn along the roadside edge at an intersection without crossing the road.
The above objects of the present invention are achieved by an intersection warning system provided in a first vehicle, comprising: a receiving unit receiving information about a running state of a second vehicle near a roadside edge in a sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle, the information being transmitted from a roadside system watching a predetermined watched area through which vehicles approaching an intersection pass; a running state detecting unit detecting a running state of the first vehicle; an estimation unit estimating a relative positional relationship between the first and second vehicles in the intersection based on the running state of the first vehicle detected by the running state detecting unit and the information about the running state of the second vehicle received by the receiving unit; and a warning unit issuing a warning to a driver of the first vehicle based on an estimation result obtained by the estimation unit.
According to the above intersection warning system, while the first vehicle is approaching the intersection, the relative positional relationship between the first vehicle and the second vehicle running near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle is estimated based on the running state of the first vehicle and the running state of the second vehicle received from the roadside system. A warning is issued to the driver of the first vehicle based on the estimation result.
The relative positional relationship between the first and second vehicle corresponds to a relative positional relationship between the second vehicle and the first vehicle located at a position at which the first vehicle will turn along the road without crossing the road. Thus, in a case where it is estimated that the first vehicle turning at the intersection along the road without crossing the road will come into contact with the second vehicle running near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward of the first vehicle, the warning is issued.
The information about the running state supplied from the roadside system may include a position and a moving vector.
The driver of the first vehicle should pay attention to the second vehicle near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle when the first vehicle is going to turn at the intersection along the roadside edge without crossing the road. Thus, the intersection warning system described above may further comprise a determination unit determining whether the driver of the first vehicle is going to cause the first vehicle to turn at the intersection along the roadside edge without crossing the road; and a first control unit allowing the warning unit to issue the warning to the driver when the determination unit determines that the driver of the first vehicle is going to cause the first vehicle to turn at the intersection along the roadside edge.
To supply information about the second vehicle, near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle, to the driver by stages, the watched area is segmented into a first area and a second area which is nearer the intersection than the first area, and the intersection warning system may further comprise: an information supply unit supplying information indicating that there is another vehicle near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle, based on the information about the running state of the second vehicle received by the receiving unit, to the driver while the first vehicle is running in the first area; and a second control unit allowing the warning unit to issue the warning to the driver.
According to the intersection warning system, while the first vehicle is running in the first area, the information about the second vehicle running near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle is supplied to the driver of the first vehicle. The driver recognizes that there is the second vehicle near the roadside edge in the sideward or rearward area of the first vehicle and drives the first vehicle to approach the intersection. If the driving operation is appropriate, no warning is issued. On the other hand, if the driving operation is not appropriate, a warning is issued.
Further, to avoid contact between the first and second vehicle at the intersection even if although the warning is issued to the driver, the driving operation is not corrected so as to be appropriate, the intersection warning system may further comprise a braking control unit carrying out a braking control of the first vehicle based on the estimation result obtained by the estimation unit.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4727371 (1988-02-01), Wulkowicz
patent: 5926114 (1999-07-01), Andrews
patent: 5939976 (1999-08-01), Sasaki et al.
patent: 53-27932 (1978-03-01), None
“Information Disclosure Statement” (1 page).
Hattori Noriaki
Kobayashi Yuji
Sasaki Kenji
Yamaguchi Kazuhiko
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Pope Daryl C.
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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