Lane departure warning method and system

Abstract

A lane departure warning method is implemented by a lane departure warning system disposed on a vehicle. The lane departure warning method comprises: after the lane departure warning system determines that the operation mode of the vehicle meets a lane change condition, the lane departure warning system determines whether the rotation condition of a steering wheel of the vehicle meets a reset condition corresponding to the lane change condition after the lane change condition is met. If the determination result of the lane departure warning system is no, the lane departure warning system outputs a warning notification. If the determination result of the lane departure warning system is yes, the lane departure warning system does not output the warning notification.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a warning method, in particular to a lane departure warning method suitable for being applied to a vehicle. The present application also relates to a lane departure warning system for implementing the lane departure warning method. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of technology, the active safety equipment carried by vehicles is more and more diversified. For example, a lane departure warning system can detect the relative position of the vehicle and the lane, and issue a warning to remind the driver when the driving trajectory of the vehicle deviates from the lane, so as to avoid accidents caused by the driver's inattention during driving.

[0003] However, due to the changeable road conditions, the driver sometimes has to change lanes temporarily, or may be forced to press against the lane line because the road is too narrow, thereby triggering the warning of some lane departure warning systems. If such situations occur too frequently, it will interfere with the driver. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the prior art. SUMMARY

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a lane departure warning method that can improve the inconvenience of the prior art.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the lane departure warning method of the present application is implemented by a lane departure warning system suitable for being arranged in a vehicle having a steering wheel. The lane departure warning method comprises: after the lane departure warning system determines that the operation mode of the vehicle meets a lane change condition, the lane departure warning system determines whether the rotation condition of the steering wheel meets a reset condition corresponding to the lane change condition after the lane change condition is met. If the lane departure warning system determines that the rotation condition of the steering wheel does not meet the reset condition, the lane departure warning system outputs a warning notification. If the lane departure warning system determines that the rotation condition of the steering wheel meets the reset condition, the lane departure warning system does not output the warning notification.

[0006] Preferably, the reset condition comprises that the steering wheel is rotated to a straight driving state for making the vehicle move in a straight driving manner within a reset period after the lane change condition is met.

[0007] Preferably, the lane change condition comprises that the steering wheel is rotated to a first rotation direction by an angle exceeding an angle threshold, and the reset condition comprises that the steering wheel is rotated to the straight driving state in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction within the reset period.

[0008] Preferably, the length of the reset period is dynamically determined by the lane departure warning system according to the driving speed of the vehicle.

[0009] Preferably, the lane departure warning system further generates dynamic image data representing the steering wheel, and the lane departure warning system determines whether the steering wheel meets the reset condition according to the dynamic image data.

[0010] Preferably, the lane departure warning system comprises an activity sensing unit adapted to be disposed on the steering wheel, and the lane departure warning system determines whether the steering wheel meets the reset condition according to motion sensing data generated by the activity sensing unit.

[0011] Another technical problem to be solved by the present application is to provide a lane departure warning system capable of implementing the lane departure warning method.

[0012] To solve the above-mentioned another technical problem, the lane departure warning system of the present application is adapted to be disposed on a vehicle having a steering wheel, and comprises an output unit and a processing unit electrically connected to the output unit. Wherein, after determining that the operation mode of the vehicle meets a lane change condition, the processing unit determines whether the rotation condition of the steering wheel meets a reset condition corresponding to the lane change condition after the lane change condition is met. If the processing unit determines that the rotation condition of the steering wheel does not meet the reset condition, the processing unit controls the output unit to output a warning notification. If the processing unit determines that the rotation condition of the steering wheel meets the reset condition, the processing unit does not control the output unit to output the warning notification.

[0013] Preferably, the reset condition comprises that the steering wheel rotates to a straight-ahead state for making the vehicle move in a straight-ahead manner within a reset period after the lane change condition is met.

[0014] Preferably, the lane change condition comprises that the steering wheel rotates to a first rotation direction by an angle exceeding an angle threshold, and the reset condition comprises that the steering wheel rotates to the straight-ahead state in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction within the reset period.

[0015] Preferably, the length of the reset period is dynamically determined by the processing unit according to the driving speed of the vehicle.

[0016] Preferably, the lane departure warning system further comprises a shooting unit electrically connected to the processing unit, wherein the shooting unit is used to generate dynamic image data representing the steering wheel, and the processing unit determines whether the rotation condition of the steering wheel meets the reset condition according to the dynamic image data.

[0017] Preferably, the lane departure warning system further comprises a motion sensing unit electrically connected to the processing unit and adapted to be disposed on the steering wheel, wherein the processing unit determines whether the steering wheel meets the reset condition according to motion sensing data generated by the motion sensing unit.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the lane departure warning system only outputs the warning notification when the vehicle meets the lane change condition but the steering wheel does not meet the reset condition, so that the lane departure warning system can effectively reduce unnecessary warnings while maintaining the lane departure warning function, thereby effectively improving the inconvenience of the prior art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0019] Other features and effects of the present application will be apparent from the embodiments described below with reference to the drawings, wherein:

[0020] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the lane departure warning system of the present application applied to a vehicle;

[0021] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a lane departure warning method according to the first embodiment; and

[0022] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the lane departure warning system of the present application applied to the vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Before the present application is described in detail, it is to be understood that, in the description below, like components are referred to with like numerals throughout the description. Also, as used in the description below, the term "electrically connected" is used generically to refer to both "wired electrically connected" and "wireless electrically connected" unless specifically defined otherwise. Further, as used in the description below, the term "electrically connected" also refers to both "directly electrically connected" and "indirectly electrically connected" unless specifically defined otherwise.

[0024] Reference will now be made to Figure 1A first embodiment of the lane departure warning system 1 of the present application is adapted to be provided on a vehicle 5 having a steering wheel 51, and the lane departure warning system 1 for example comprises a photographing unit 11, an output unit 12, and a processing unit 13 electrically connected to the photographing unit 11 and the output unit 12.

[0025] In the present embodiment, the photographing unit 11 for example comprises two photographing devices electrically connected to the processing unit 13, and the two photographing devices for example are respectively taken as a first photographing device 111 and a second photographing device 112 in the present embodiment. In more detail, in the present embodiment, the first photographing device 111 is for example adapted to be provided in the vehicle 5 in a manner of facing the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5 (for example, directly above or obliquely above the driver's seat) so that the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5 is constantly located within the photographing range of the first photographing device 111. On the other hand, the second photographing device 112 is for example adapted to be provided on the vehicle 5 in a manner of facing the front ground environment of the vehicle 5 so that the front ground environment of the vehicle 5 is constantly located within the photographing range of the second photographing device 112, but not limited thereto.

[0026] It is additionally noted that in other embodiments, the photographing unit 11 can for example only comprise a single photographing device capable of simultaneously photographing the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5 and the front ground environment, or the photographing unit 11 can for example comprise more than three photographing devices, and one of the photographing devices is for example used for photographing towards the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5, and the other photographing devices are for example used for photographing towards different directions of the vehicle 5, respectively. It should be understood that the number of the photographing devices and the positions provided on the vehicle 5 can be freely adjusted according to the type, volume and shape of the vehicle 5, and in general, as long as the photographing unit 11 can photograph the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5 and the ground environment (which can be the ground in front of, behind or below the vehicle 5) where the vehicle 5 is located, the actual implementation manner of the photographing unit 11 is not limited to the present embodiment.

[0027] The output unit 12 in the present embodiment for example comprises a speaker, however, in other embodiments, the output unit 12 can for example comprise one or more of the speaker, a display, and a vibrator adapted to be provided in the steering wheel 51, and thus the actual implementation manner of the output unit 12 is not limited to the present embodiment.

[0028] The processing unit 13 may, for example, comprise a central processing unit provided in the vehicle 5 in the present embodiment, and the processing unit 13 is electrically connected with a driving computer (not shown) provided in the vehicle 5, for example, so as to communicate with the driving computer of the vehicle 5 and obtain the operation parameters (such as the driving speed) of the vehicle 5 from the driving computer, but not limited thereto.

[0029] It is further explained that the lane deviation warning system 1 is manufactured and sold independently from the vehicle 5 in the present embodiment, and is installed on the vehicle 5 after the vehicle 5 is manufactured, for example. However, in other embodiments, the lane deviation warning system 1 may, for example, be built in the vehicle 5 before the vehicle 5 is manufactured, and the processing unit 13 of the lane deviation warning system 1 may, for example, be implemented as the driving computer itself of the vehicle 5, or a part of the driving computer of the vehicle 5, so the actual implementation of the lane deviation warning system 1 is not limited to the present embodiment.

[0030] It is further explained that the implementation of the photographing unit 11, the photographing unit 12 and the processing unit 13 in the present embodiment is only an exemplary manner, and not used to limit the implementation range of the present application.

[0031] Meanwhile, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the lane deviation warning system 1 of the present embodiment is exemplarily and in detail explained below on how to implement a lane deviation warning method during the driving of the vehicle 5.

[0032] Firstly, in step S1, the processing unit 13 obtains two dynamic image data continuously updated in real time from the photographing unit 11, for example. In more detail, in the present embodiment, the two dynamic image data are, for example, a first dynamic image data generated by the first photographing device 111 for recording, and a second dynamic image data generated by the second photographing device 112 for recording, and the first photographing device 111 and the second photographing device 112 continuously record during the driving of the vehicle 5 under the control of the processing unit 13, respectively. Further, since the first photographing device 111 is used to photograph the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5 in the present embodiment, the first dynamic image data will present at least the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5, on the other hand, since the second photographing device 112 is used to photograph the ground environment in front of the vehicle 5 in the present embodiment, the second dynamic image data will present at least the ground environment in front of the vehicle 5, but not limited thereto.

[0033] When the processing unit 13 continuously receives the first dynamic image data and the second dynamic image data from the first camera 111 and the second camera 112 respectively, the flow proceeds to step S2.

[0034] In step S2, the processing unit 13 determines whether the operation mode of the vehicle 5 meets a lane change condition according to the first dynamic image data and the second dynamic image data, for example. In the present embodiment, the lane change condition includes that a steering angle of the steering wheel 51 turned in a first rotation direction exceeds an angle threshold, and also includes that the vehicle body of the vehicle 5 has crossed a left side boundary or a right side boundary of the lane in which the vehicle 5 is currently located, for example. In other words, in the present embodiment, when the steering angle of the steering wheel 51 turned in the first rotation direction exceeds the angle threshold, and the vehicle body of the vehicle 5 has crossed the left side or right side boundary of the current lane, the processing unit 13 determines that the operation mode of the vehicle 5 meets the lane change condition, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0035] More specifically, the first rotation direction is one of a clockwise direction and an anticlockwise direction, and the angle threshold is dynamically determined by the processing unit 13 according to the current driving speed of the vehicle 5 in the present embodiment, for example, and the angle threshold is negatively correlated with the current driving speed of the vehicle 5. In other words, the slower the current driving speed of the vehicle 5, the larger the value of the angle threshold determined by the processing unit 13, and the faster the current driving speed of the vehicle 5, the smaller the value of the angle threshold determined by the processing unit 13, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0036] Further, in the present embodiment, the processing unit 13 identifies the steering wheel 51 from the first dynamic image data, and uses at least one spoke of the steering wheel 51 as a feature point of image recognition to determine the direction and angle of the steering wheel 51 turned, for example, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. On the other hand, the processing unit 13 identifies the left and right lane markings of the lane in which the vehicle 5 is currently located from the second dynamic image data, and defines the left / right side boundary of the lane according to the two lane markings, and then determines whether the vehicle body of the vehicle 5 has crossed the left / right side boundary of the current lane. It is additionally noted that, in the present embodiment, the processing unit 13 can use a neural network trained in advance using a machine learning technique to implement image recognition of the first dynamic image data and the second dynamic image data, but since the manner in which the processing unit 13 performs image recognition is not the technical focus of the present patent specification, it will not be described in detail here.

[0037] Therefore, if the processing unit 13 determines that the lane change condition is met, it means that the driver of the vehicle 5 has turned the steering wheel 51, and has caused the vehicle 5 to start leaving the current lane.

[0038] If the processing unit 13 determines that the operation mode of the vehicle 5 does not satisfy the lane change condition, the flow returns to step S2 again, for example, after a predetermined period of time. On the other hand, if the processing unit 13 determines that the operation mode of the vehicle 5 satisfies the lane change condition, the flow proceeds to step S3.

[0039] In step S3, once the processing unit 13 determines that the operation mode of the vehicle 5 satisfies the lane change condition, the processing unit 13 then determines, for example, whether the steering 51 satisfies a reset condition corresponding to the lane change condition after the satisfaction of the lane change condition, based on the first dynamic image data. In the present embodiment, the reset condition includes, for example, that the steering 51 is turned in a second rotational direction to a straight-ahead state in which the vehicle 5 can move in a straight-ahead manner within a reset period after the satisfaction of the lane change condition.

[0040] More specifically, the second rotational direction is opposite to the first rotational direction, so that if the first rotational direction is clockwise, the second rotational direction is counterclockwise, and if the first rotational direction is counterclockwise, the second rotational direction is clockwise.

[0041] On the other hand, the straight-ahead state represents a state in which the steering 51 is substantially "straightened", in other words, in the present embodiment, the steering 51 is in the straight-ahead state represents that the steering 51 is positioned to enable the vehicle 5 to move in a straight line in a forward direction and a backward direction. It is specifically noted that in actual implementations, if a steering angle at which the vehicle 5 can move in a straight line is defined as 0 degrees, the straight-ahead state described in the present embodiment can represent, for example, that the steering angle of the steering 51 is within an angle range including 0 degrees (e.g., between -5 degrees and +5 degrees), but is not limited thereto.

[0042] Still further, the reset period is, for example, counted from the time when the processing unit 13 determines that the lane change condition is satisfied, and in the present embodiment, the length of time of the reset period is dynamically determined by the processing unit 13 based on the current travel speed of the vehicle 5, and the length of time of the reset period is inversely related to the current travel speed of the vehicle 5. In other words, the slower the current travel speed of the vehicle 5, the longer the length of time of the reset period determined by the processing unit 13, and the faster the current travel speed of the vehicle 5, the shorter the length of time of the reset period determined by the processing unit 13, but is not limited thereto.

[0043] Thus, if the processing unit 13 determines that the reset condition is satisfied after the lane change condition is satisfied, it means that the driver of the vehicle 5 turns the steering wheel 51 to cause the vehicle 5 to leave the original lane and then turns the steering wheel 51 in the opposite direction to cause the vehicle 5 to resume moving in a straight manner before the reset period ends.

[0044] If the processing unit 13 determines that the turning of the steering wheel 51 does not satisfy the reset condition, the flow proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the processing unit 13 determines that the turning of the steering wheel 51 satisfies the reset condition, the flow proceeds to step S5.

[0045] In step S4, once the processing unit 13 determines that the turning of the steering wheel 51 does not satisfy the reset condition, the processing unit 13 controls the output unit 12 to output a warning notification, thereby reminding the driver that the current driving manner of the vehicle 5 has a lane deviation concern. In the present embodiment, the warning notification can be implemented as a warning sound, for example, but in other embodiments, the warning notification can be implemented as one or more of a warning sound, a warning light, a warning message that can be displayed on a display, and a vibration, for example, without being limited to the present embodiment.

[0046] In step S5, once the processing unit 13 determines that the turning of the steering wheel 51 satisfies the reset condition, the processing unit 13 does not control the output unit 12 to output any warning notification, and the flow starts again from step S2, for example.

[0047] The above is an example description of how the lane deviation warning system 1 of the present embodiment implements the lane deviation warning method.

[0048] By implementing the lane deviation warning method, the lane deviation warning system 1 only outputs the warning notification when the driver turns the steering wheel 51 to cause the vehicle 5 to change lanes but does not turn the steering wheel 51 back within the reset period, that is, the lane deviation warning system 1 does not output the warning notification when the driver turns the steering wheel 51 to cause the vehicle 5 to just cross the lane marking. Thus, the lane deviation warning system 1 of the present embodiment can effectively reduce unnecessary warnings while maintaining the lane deviation warning function, thereby avoiding interference with the driver and passengers.

[0049] It should be understood that steps S1 to S5 and Figure 2The flowchart of the lane departure warning method is only one of the possible implementations of the lane departure warning method, and even if steps S1 to S5 are combined, split, or adjusted in sequence, as long as the same effect as the present embodiment is achieved, it still belongs to the possible implementation of the lane departure warning method of the present application, therefore, steps S1 to S5 of the present embodiment and Figure 2 The flowchart of the lane departure warning method is only one of the possible implementations of the lane departure warning method, and even if steps S1 to S5 are combined, split, or adjusted in sequence, as long as the same effect as the present embodiment is achieved, it still belongs to the possible implementation of the lane departure warning method of the present application, therefore, steps S1 to S5 of the present embodiment and

[0050] Referring to Figure 3 and referring to Figure 2 The present application also provides a second embodiment of the lane departure warning system 1. Unlike the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the photographing unit 11 of the lane departure warning system 1 is implemented as a single photographing device, and the photographing device is used to photograph the ground environment where the vehicle 5 is located, that is, the photographing device is arranged and functions similarly to the second photographing device 112 in the first embodiment (shown in Figure 1 ).

[0051] On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the lane departure warning system 1 further comprises an activity sensing unit 14 electrically connected to the processing unit 13, and the activity sensing unit 14 is arranged on the steering wheel 51 of the vehicle 5 and can be driven by the steering wheel 51. In more detail, the activity sensing unit 14 can be implemented as a gyroscope, an accelerometer, or a combination of the two, and the activity sensing unit 14 can generate real-time updated motion sensing data under the control of the processing unit 13, wherein the motion sensing data indicates the activity direction and angle of the activity sensing unit 14 itself in three-dimensional space, so the motion sensing data is equivalent to indicating the direction and angle of the steering wheel 51 being turned.

[0052] Further, in the lane departure warning method implemented by the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the processing unit 13 also continuously receives the motion sensing data from the activity sensing unit 14 in step S1 of the second embodiment, and in step S3 of the second embodiment, the processing unit 13 detects the turning condition of the steering wheel 51 according to the motion sensing data generated by the activity sensing unit 14, to determine whether the turning condition of the steering wheel 51 meets the reset condition.

[0053] The above is the description of the second embodiment of the lane departure warning system 1 of the present application.

[0054] In summary, by implementing the lane departure warning method, the lane departure warning system 1 can effectively reduce unnecessary warnings while maintaining the lane departure warning function, thereby avoiding interference with the driver and passengers, and thus achieving the purpose of the present application.

[0055] The above merely provides the specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto, any person skilled in the art can easily think of the changes or replacements within the technical range disclosed by the present application, which should be covered in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A lane departure warning method, implemented by a lane departure warning system suitable for installation in a vehicle having a steering wheel, characterized in that, The lane departure warning method includes: after determining that the vehicle's operation meets a lane change condition, the lane departure warning system determines whether the steering wheel rotation meets a reset condition corresponding to the lane change condition after the lane change condition is met. If the lane departure warning system determines that the steering wheel rotation does not meet the reset condition, the lane departure warning system outputs a warning notification; if the lane departure warning system determines that the steering wheel rotation meets the reset condition, the lane departure warning system does not output the warning notification. The reset condition includes the steering wheel rotating to a straight-line state for the vehicle to move in a straight-line manner within a time period dynamically determined by the lane departure warning system based on the vehicle's speed after the lane change condition is met.

2. The lane departure warning method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lane change condition includes the steering wheel being rotated by an angle exceeding a threshold in a first rotation direction, and the reset condition includes the steering wheel being rotated to the straight-ahead state in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction during the reset period.

3. The lane departure warning method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lane departure warning system also generates dynamic image data that displays the steering wheel, and the lane departure warning system determines whether the steering wheel rotation meets the reset condition based on the dynamic image data.

4. The lane departure warning method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lane departure warning system includes a motion sensing unit adapted to be installed on the steering wheel, and the lane departure warning system determines whether the rotation of the steering wheel meets the reset condition based on motion sensing data generated by the motion sensing unit.

5. A lane departure warning system, suitable for installation in a vehicle having a steering wheel, characterized in that, This lane departure warning system includes: One output unit; and A processing unit electrically connected to the output unit, wherein, after determining that the vehicle's operating mode meets a lane change condition, the processing unit determines whether the steering wheel rotation meets a reset condition corresponding to the lane change condition after the lane change condition is met. If the processing unit determines that the steering wheel rotation does not meet the reset condition, the processing unit controls the output unit to output a warning notification. If the processing unit determines that the steering wheel rotation meets the reset condition, the processing unit does not control the output unit to output the warning notification. The reset condition includes the steering wheel rotating to a straight-line state for the vehicle to move in a straight-line manner within a period of time determined dynamically by the processing unit based on the vehicle's driving speed after the lane change condition is met.

6. The lane departure warning system according to claim 5, characterized in that, The lane change condition includes the steering wheel being rotated by an angle exceeding a threshold in a first rotation direction, and the reset condition includes the steering wheel being rotated to the straight-ahead state in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction during the reset period.

7. The lane departure warning system according to claim 5 further comprises a camera unit electrically connected to the processing unit, characterized in that, The imaging unit is used to generate dynamic image data that presents the steering wheel, and the processing unit determines whether the rotation of the steering wheel meets the reset condition based on the dynamic image data.

8. The lane departure warning system according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes a motion sensing unit electrically connected to the processing unit and adapted to be disposed on the steering wheel, wherein the processing unit determines whether the rotation of the steering wheel meets the reset condition based on motion sensing data generated by the motion sensing unit.

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