Method and device for assistance in lane change

Abstract

The invention describes a device (101) for assisting a driver of a vehicle (100) during a lane change from a first lane (201) to a second lane (202). The device (101) is designed to ascertain a forward lane-changing travel progress (212) at which the vehicle (100) should change from a first lane (201) to a second lane (202) in order to avoid deceleration of the vehicle (100) due to a preceding vehicle (200) traveling in front of the vehicle on the first lane (201). The device is further configured to output a lane change prompt to a driver of the vehicle (100) as a function of the ascertained lane change driving progress (212).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and a corresponding device intended to assist a user of a vehicle when performing a lane change to an adjacent lane. Background Art

[0002] When approaching a slower-moving vehicle ahead, drivers often change lanes into the passing lane. This lane change can be uncomfortable for the driver and can also cause traffic obstruction in the passing lane. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This document addresses the technical task of assisting the driver of a vehicle during a particularly comfortable and traffic-safe lane change into another lane.

[0004] This task is solved by each independent claim. Advantageous embodiments are described in particular in the dependent claims. It should be noted that additional features of a patent claim dependent on an independent claim, even if they do not include the features of the independent claim or are combined with only some of the features of the independent claim, can constitute an independent invention independent of the entire feature combination of the independent claim. Such an invention can serve as the subject of an independent claim, a divisional application, or a subsequent application. The same applies to technical teachings described in the specification, which can constitute inventions independent of the features of the independent claim.

[0005] According to one aspect, a device is provided for assisting a driver of a (motor vehicle) when changing lanes from a first lane (the lane in which the vehicle is traveling) to a second lane (possibly directly adjacent to the first lane). The lane change can be configured to overtake a preceding vehicle traveling in the first lane (directly in front of the vehicle) (the preceding vehicle having a lower speed than the vehicle). Thus, the second lane can be a passing lane (possibly having the same direction of travel as the first lane).

[0006] The device is configured to determine a lane change schedule ahead (based on time and / or distance), at which the vehicle should (possibly at the latest or exactly) change from a first lane to a second lane (and thus perform a lane change) in order to avoid a vehicle deceleration caused by a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle in the first lane. The lane change schedule may indicate a lane change time and / or a lane change position.

[0007] The lane change progress can be determined based on a time-based and / or range-based minimum distance to the vehicle ahead, which the vehicle should not fall below. The minimum distance can be predefined and / or predetermined by the vehicle's ACC assistance system. Alternatively or additionally, the lane change progress can be based on the (possibly current and / or predicted future) speed of the vehicle and / or the vehicle ahead.

[0008] The lane change driving schedule can be determined, in particular, under the assumption and / or goal that the vehicle decelerates only and / or precisely from the lane change driving schedule onwards at a predefined, in particular constant, deceleration rate (i.e., a deceleration value). This deceleration rate can be predetermined by the vehicle's (ACC) assistance system. Alternatively or additionally, the lane change driving schedule can be determined under the assumption and / or goal that the vehicle (exactly) has the same driving speed as the vehicle ahead at a subsequent (temporal and / or range-based) limit driving schedule, at which the vehicle has precisely reached the minimum distance to the vehicle ahead.

[0009] The lane change progress may be determined based on sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors (eg, speed and / or acceleration sensors) and / or from one or more surrounding sensors of the vehicle.

[0010] The device is further configured to output a (visual, acoustic and / or haptic) lane change prompt to the driver of the vehicle based on the determined lane change driving progress.

[0011] Lane change prompts may include, for example:

[0012] A reminder about the remaining time until the lane change and / or a journey-based reminder based on the current (time and / or position) driving progress;

[0013] A time and / or location-related indication of the progress of the lane change relative to the vehicle ahead;

[0014] a graphical representation of the lane change progress and / or the time until the lane change progress and / or a journey-based representation on the screen and / or in the driver's field of vision; and / or

[0015] A haptic prompt on the vehicle's steering element (in particular the steering wheel), which is output, for example, before or when a lane change is reached.

[0016] Thus, a method is described for determining the (latest possible) time and / or (possibly the latest possible) position for a lane change, which allows the vehicle to avoid braking in its current lane. The device is further configured to output a prompt so that the driver can execute the lane change (exactly or at the latest) at the determined time and / or at the determined position. This allows for increased comfort and / or traffic safety during lane changes in an efficient and reliable manner.

[0017] The device may be configured to predict temporal variations in the vehicle's travel speed and to predict temporal variations in the travel speed of a preceding vehicle (eg based on sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors and / or one or more environmental sensors).

[0018] In this respect, the acceleration of the vehicle can be determined, in particular the current acceleration and / or the acceleration used by the vehicle's speed controller. Based on the determined acceleration of the vehicle, the temporal profile of the vehicle's driving speed can be predicted particularly accurately.

[0019] The device can be configured to predict a linear and / or constant time profile of the speed of the vehicle and / or the preceding vehicle (e.g., assuming a constant speed). Alternatively or additionally, the device can be configured to predict the temporal variation of the speed of the vehicle and / or the preceding vehicle by using linear equations of motion. The temporal variation of the speed can thus be predicted in a particularly robust manner.

[0020] The device can be configured to determine the speed and / or distance control of a vehicle for automatic longitudinal guidance of the vehicle (in particular with an ACC assistance system). The temporal profile of the vehicle's travel speed can be predicted in a particularly precise and robust manner based on:

[0021] a target speed for the speed and / or distance controller (to which the vehicle's speed is regulated during free travel); and / or

[0022] The acceleration and / or deceleration used by the speed and / or distance regulator to achieve the target speed; and / or

[0023] Minimum distance for the speed and / or distance controller (the vehicle's speed is regulated to this minimum distance when following the vehicle in front).

[0024] The lane change driving progress can be determined in a particularly precise and / or robust manner based on the predicted driving speed profile over time and based on the predicted driving speed profile over time of the vehicle ahead.

[0025] The device can be configured to obtain a virtual curve of the vehicle's speed. The virtual curve can be obtained, and when using the virtual curve,

[0026] The vehicle has (exactly and / or only) a driving speed that is identical to the predicted time profile of the driving speed of the vehicle ahead at the preceding driving limit;

[0027] The vehicle has a predefined time-based and / or range-based minimum distance to the vehicle ahead (exactly and / or only) at the leading limit of travel progress; and / or

[0028] The vehicle has a predefined, in particular constant, deceleration (ie, deceleration value) along the entire virtual curve of the driving speed, starting from the current driving progress up to the limit driving progress.

[0029] The lane change progress can also be determined based on a virtual curve of the vehicle's speed. In particular, the device can be configured to determine the intersection of the predicted time curve of the vehicle's speed and the virtual curve of the vehicle's speed. The lane change progress can be determined particularly accurately based on the intersection. In particular, the lane change progress can be determined as the progress at the intersection.

[0030] The device can be configured to determine whether the lane change from the first lane to the second lane was performed manually by the driver or automatically by the vehicle (via a lane change assist system). In particular, it can be checked whether the lane change assist system is activated.

[0031] The lane change progress can be determined based on whether the lane change is being performed manually or automatically. In particular, if it is determined that the lane change is being performed automatically, the (possibly predefined) dead time of the vehicle's lane change assistance system between the driver initiating the lane change (e.g., by operating the steering column) and the automatic execution of the lane change can be determined (in particular, read out). The lane change progress can be determined particularly precisely based on the dead time of the lane change assistance system.

[0032] According to a further aspect, a (road) motor vehicle (in particular a passenger car, truck, bus or motorcycle) is described, which comprises the device described herein.

[0033] According to another aspect, a method for assisting a driver of a (motor vehicle) when changing lanes from a first lane to a second lane is described. The method includes determining a lane change schedule ahead, at which the vehicle should change from the first lane to the second lane to avoid vehicle deceleration caused by a preceding vehicle traveling (directly) ahead of the vehicle in the first lane. The method also includes displaying a lane change prompt to the driver of the vehicle based on the determined lane change schedule.

[0034] According to another aspect, a software (SW) program is described. The SW program can be arranged to be executed on a processor (eg a vehicle controller) and to thereby perform the method described herein.

[0035] According to another aspect, a storage medium is described. The storage medium may include a SW program designed to be executed on a processor and in order thereby to perform the method described herein.

[0036] It should be noted that the methods, devices, and systems described herein can be used individually or in combination with other methods, devices, and systems described herein. Furthermore, any aspect of the methods, devices, and systems described herein can be combined in various ways. Specifically, features in the claims can be combined in various ways. Furthermore, features listed in parentheses should be understood to be optional features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the embodiments.

[0038] Figure 1 shows exemplary components of a vehicle;

[0039] Figure 2a illustrating exemplary driving conditions;

[0040] Figure 2b An exemplary speed profile is shown;

[0041] Figure 2c An exemplary speed profile is shown;

[0042] Figure 3 An exemplary graphical representation for a lane change prompt is shown;

[0043] Figure 4 A flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for assisting a driver of a vehicle when changing lanes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] As mentioned above, this document aims to improve the comfort and / or safety of vehicles changing lanes. In this regard, Figure 1 An exemplary vehicle 100 is shown including one or more environmental sensors 102, each configured to detect sensor data (also referred to herein as environmental data) related to an environment of the vehicle 100. Exemplary environmental sensors 102 include cameras, radar sensors, lidar sensors, and / or ultrasonic sensors.

[0045] The (control) device 101 of the vehicle 100 is configured to evaluate the environmental data in order to detect one or more objects (e.g., one or more other vehicles) in the environment of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, information related to the environmental objects, such as the distance to the environmental objects and / or the speed of movement of the environmental objects, can be determined based on the environmental data.

[0046] The device 101 can also be configured to automatically guide the vehicle 100 longitudinally and / or laterally based on environmental data, in particular based on one or more detected objects. To this end, one or more longitudinal and / or transverse guiding actuators 103 (e.g., drive motors, steering devices, and / or braking devices) of the vehicle 100 can be controlled (based on the environmental data).

[0047] The vehicle 100 may further include a user interface 104 that enables interaction between the vehicle 100 and a user, in particular a driver. The user interface 104 may include at least one output unit, such as a screen, a head-up display, a lighting element, a speaker, and / or a vibration element, which is designed to cause a visual, auditory, and / or tactile output to the user of the vehicle 100.

[0048] Figure 2a An exemplary driving situation is shown in which vehicle 100 is traveling in a first lane 201 behind a preceding vehicle 200, wherein preceding vehicle 200 is located in front of (directly in front of) vehicle 100 in the direction of travel. Vehicle 100 and preceding vehicle 200 may each have a specific motion state 201. Exemplary state variables of motion state 201 are:

[0049] The speed of movement of the corresponding vehicle 100 , 200 , in particular the driving speed; and / or

[0050] • The (positive or negative) (longitudinal) acceleration of the corresponding vehicle 100 , 200 .

[0051] The motion state 201 of vehicle 100 can be ascertained based on sensor data from one or more vehicle sensors (not shown) of vehicle 100. The motion state 201 of leading vehicle 200 can be ascertained based on environmental data from one or more environmental sensors 102. Furthermore, the actual distance between vehicle 100 and leading vehicle 200 can be ascertained (based on the environmental data).

[0052] Vehicle 100 may be at current position 211 and approaching a preceding vehicle 200 at a determined differential speed (e.g., the differential speed corresponding to the difference between the driving speed of vehicle 100 and the driving speed of preceding vehicle 200). In order for vehicle 100 to maintain its current driving speed, vehicle 100 must change to second lane 202 to overtake preceding vehicle 200. The lane change should not occur too early to avoid disrupting traffic in second lane 202. On the other hand, the lane change should not occur too late to avoid having to brake before the lane change, otherwise the vehicle 100 would fall below a determined minimum distance to preceding vehicle 200 (e.g., the minimum distance of the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) driver assistance system of vehicle 100).

[0053] Device 101 may be configured to determine the position and / or time (typically referred to as driving progress 212) at which a lane change to second lane 202 may be performed at the latest to avoid braking of vehicle 100 in first lane 201. Driving progress 212 may be referred to as a lane change driving progress. The current time or current position of vehicle 100 may be referred to as current driving progress 211 of vehicle 100.

[0054] Device 101 may be configured to determine a distance 213 (in terms of time and / or distance) between current driving progress 211 and lane change driving progress 212. Device 101 may also be configured to cause a lane change prompt to be output to a user of vehicle 100, particularly the driver, via user interface 104 based on distance 213 and / or lane change driving progress 212. The lane change prompt may be designed to assist the user (at or before lane change driving progress 212) in making a lane change that is as comfortable and / or safe as possible.

[0055] Lane change driving progress 212 may be ascertained based on movement state 201 of vehicle 100 and preceding vehicle 201 , in particular based on driving speed. Figure 2b An exemplary time profile 251 , 252 , 253 of a driving speed 250 is shown. It is assumed that the driving speed 250 of the vehicle 100 (curve 252 ) and the preceding vehicle 200 (curve 251 ) is constant.

[0056] Furthermore, it can be assumed that vehicle 100 should not exceed a certain minimum distance from vehicle 200 in front. This minimum distance can be predetermined, for example, by an ACC driver assistance system and / or set by the driver of vehicle 100. Furthermore, a certain deceleration rate (i.e., a certain deceleration value) can be assumed, at which vehicle 100 may be decelerated, for example, in order to reduce driving speed 250 of vehicle 100 to driving speed 250 of vehicle 200 in front.

[0057] Device 101 can be configured to determine a virtual speed profile 253, in which it is assumed that vehicle 100 decelerates at a constant deceleration a until vehicle 100, at a front limit driving progress 214, (exactly) has the driving speed 250 of vehicle 200 in front and (exactly) has the minimum distance to vehicle 200 in front. The current distance between vehicle 100 (also referred to as host vehicle) and vehicle 200 in front can also be taken into account.

[0058] If vehicle 100 cannot decelerate by more than deceleration a, the maximum possible driving speed that vehicle 100 can assume at current driving schedule 211 can be determined based on virtual curve 253. Furthermore, lane change driving schedule 212 can be determined as the intersection of curve 252 of (possibly constant) driving speed 250 of vehicle 100 and virtual curve 253.

[0059] exist Figure 2b In FIG, it is assumed that the driving speed 250 of the vehicle 100 and the preceding vehicle 200 is constant. It should be noted that, if necessary, the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle 100 and / or the preceding vehicle 200 (e.g., identified based on sensor data) can also be taken into account to predict the (possibly non-constant and / or non-linear) speed profiles 251, 252 of the vehicle 100 and / or the preceding vehicle 200.

[0060] A predicted speed profile 252 of the vehicle 100 ;

[0061] Predicted speed curve 251 of the preceding vehicle 200;

[0062] Minimum distance allowed;

[0063] Current actual distance; and / or

[0064] Vehicle 100 decelerates (possibly to the maximum permissible deceleration), and lane change driving point 212 can be precisely determined, at which the lane change to second lane 202 should be performed (at the latest) in order to avoid deceleration of vehicle 100 in first lane 201 .

[0065] Figure 2c Exemplary time curves 251 and 252 of driving speed 250 are shown when vehicle 100 is accelerated (eg, by an ACC assistance system). Acceleration of vehicle 100 generally results in an earlier lane change driving progress 212 (compared to a constant speed curve 252).

[0066] The driver of the vehicle 100 may be assisted in performing a lane change by outputting a lane change prompt. The lane change may be performed manually by the driver, or at least initiated by the driver (and automatically performed by the lane change assist system of the vehicle 100).

[0067] Figure 3 An exemplary graphical representation 300 of a lane change prompt is shown, which can be displayed on a display unit (e.g., a head-up display) of user interface 104. For example, lane change progress 212 can be graphically displayed to the driver (possibly within the driver's field of view). Furthermore, the driver can be shown how distance 213 (related to time and / or distance) changes, and in particular, how it decreases, until lane change progress 212 is reached. This can be displayed to the driver, for example, in the form of a countdown 301.

[0068] Thus, an assistance system is described that visually and / or haptically displays delay-free overtaking to the driver of vehicle 100. This avoids situations in which vehicle 100 initially decelerates to a preceding vehicle 200 to be overtaken during a lane change maneuver (whether or not lane change assistance is provided), and then must accelerate again to execute the lane change and overtaking maneuver. The deceleration effect can be further enhanced by using a lane change assistance system, as there may be a dead time between the driver initiating a lane change (e.g., by operating a turn signal) and its execution, during which collision checking by the assistance system is performed.

[0069] Device 101 can be configured to use the calculated trajectory plan of vehicle 100 and / or preceding vehicle 200 to determine at which point in time (typically at driving progress 212) the acceleration of vehicle 100 falls below (possibly below a certain parameter) and / or decelerates. By taking into account the predicted (speed) trajectory, lane change driving progress 212 can be accurately determined.

[0070] In order to simplify and / or improve robustness, it may be considered to linearize and assume a constant virtual deceleration a of the vehicle 100 to achieve the target “front vehicle speed 200” and “safe distance or minimum distance” (e.g. Figure 2b ). Here, it is possible to determine which speed 250 vehicle 100 must currently have in order to simultaneously achieve a minimum distance to vehicle 200 ahead and a driving speed 250 of vehicle 100 ahead with a hypothetical deceleration a.

[0071] If the driving speed 250vEgo of the vehicle 100 at the current time point t0 is higher than the virtual predicted (reverse calculated) driving speed Then, the lane change progress 212 cannot be determined (because the speed has been exceeded). In this case, no lane change prompt is output. In addition, the vehicle 100 can be decelerated on the current lane 201 (for example, in the scope of the ACC driver assistance system).

[0072] If the vehicle 100's running speed 250vEgo at the current time point t0 is lower than the virtual speed The intersection point of the two speed curves 252 and 253 on the speed plane can then be determined. The time point of the intersection point (usually the driving progress 212) can be called t_react.

[0073] To determine driving speed 250 vEgo of vehicle 100, a predefined free-range target speed (to which vehicle 100 can accelerate) can be taken into account during operation of the ACC driver assistance system. A linearization assumption can be made in this context, wherein vehicle 100 accelerates to target speed vZiel at the currently available, permissible maximum acceleration. If necessary, a speed control with a controller (e.g., a P controller) can be assumed to determine curve 252 of speed 250. Figure 2c An example of the acceleration of the vehicle 100 is shown in FIG.

[0074] vEgo0 may represent the current actual speed 250 of the vehicle 100. If the target speed (for the ACC driver assistance system) has not yet been reached, aEgo0 may be the maximum acceleration of the vehicle 100; otherwise, aEgo0 is 0. xZiel is the actual distance minus the set minimum distance. vZiel is the speed 250 of the preceding vehicle 200 (possibly relative to the vehicle 100's driving speed 250).

[0075] A linearized equation of motion for the motion of the vehicle 100 may be assumed to obtain the virtual curve 253: x(t) = 0.5·a·t 2 +v·t+x0.

[0076] The following equations apply to lane change progress 212 : vEgo_fiktiv(ttc)=vZiel and xEgo_fiktiv(ttc)=xZiel(ttc). The following equation can now be solved: vEgo_fiktiv=vZiel+−sqrt(vZiel^2−(vZiel^2+2*xZiel*aEgo_fiktiv)).

[0077] The reaction time until the virtual speed is reached (ie, lane change progress 212 ) is obtained as t_react=(vEgo0−vEgo_fiktiv) / (aEgo_fiktiv−aEgo0).

[0078] The lane change prompt can be visually presented in the form of interior lights and / or a second counter or distance counter 301. This can be embedded in the driver's field of vision. Alternatively or additionally, a haptically perceptible (relatively light) steering tremor can be triggered to encourage the driver to initiate the lane change. If necessary, an output can be triggered to inquire whether the reaction time (i.e., lane change progress 212) is within a defined, possibly applicable, time range or range.

[0079] The assistance system described herein can be provided in conjunction with active speed and / or distance control of vehicle 100, in particular with an ACC assistance system. Alternatively or additionally, the assistance system can be operated in conjunction with a lane change assistance system, wherein the lane change is automatically initiated by vehicle 100. In this case, if necessary, the output of a lane change instruction can be suppressed if a deceleration of vehicle 100 has already been initiated by the ACC assistance system and / or the lane change assistance system.

[0080] When a speed and / or distance controller is in operation, the parameters of the controller (e.g., target speed, acceleration, deceleration, minimum distance, etc.) can be used to predict a speed profile 251 of vehicle 100. During manual longitudinal and / or transverse guidance of vehicle 100, the current vehicle acceleration can be taken into account to predict speed profile 251.

[0081] Figure 4 A flow chart of a (possibly computer-implemented) method 400 for assisting the driver of vehicle 100 when changing lanes from first lane 201 to second lane 202 is shown. The lane change can be performed manually by the driver or automatically by vehicle 100 (after the driver has initiated the lane change).

[0082] Method 400 includes determining 401 a preceding (time-based and / or distance-based) lane change progress 212 at which vehicle 100 should or must (possibly at the latest) change from first lane 201 to second lane 202 in order to avoid (assuming a determined deceleration and / or assuming a determined minimum distance to the preceding vehicle 200 of not less than) a deceleration of vehicle 100 caused by preceding vehicle 200 traveling in the first lane 201 in front of (directly in front of) vehicle 100.

[0083] Furthermore, method 400 includes outputting 402 a lane change instruction to the driver of vehicle 100 based on ascertained lane change driving progress 212 , in particular a (haptic, visual, and / or acoustic) indication of lane change driving progress 212 .

[0084] The measures described in this article can effectively and robustly improve the comfort and safety of lane changes.

[0085] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. In particular, it should be noted that the description and drawings are only intended to illustrate the principles of the proposed methods, devices and systems by way of example.

Claims

1. A device (101) for assisting a driver of a vehicle (100) in changing lanes from a first lane (201) to a second lane (202); wherein the device (101) is configured to: - determining a lane change driving progress (212) ahead, at which the vehicle (100) should change from the first lane (201) to the second lane (202) to avoid deceleration of the vehicle (100) due to a preceding vehicle (200) traveling ahead of the vehicle (100) in the first lane (201); and - outputting a lane change prompt to the driver of the vehicle (100) based on the determined lane change driving progress (212).

2. The device (101) according to claim 1, wherein the device (101) is configured to determine the lane change progress (212) according to: a time-based and / or distance-based minimum distance to the preceding vehicle (200), below which the vehicle (100) cannot fall; and - the driving speed (250) of the preceding vehicle (200).

3. The device (101) according to claim 2, wherein the device (101) is configured to determine the lane change driving progress (212) under the following assumptions and / or objectives, the vehicle (100): - decelerating only and / or precisely from the lane change driving progress (212) with a predefined, in particular constant, deceleration; and - having the driving speed (250) of the preceding vehicle (200) when the minimum distance is reached at the subsequent limit driving progress (214).

4. The device (101) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - predicting a time profile (252) of the driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100); - predicting a time curve (251) of the driving speed (250) of the preceding vehicle (100); and - based on a time curve (252) of the predicted driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100) and a time curve (251) of the predicted driving speed (250) of the preceding vehicle (200), the lane change driving progress (212) is determined.

5. The device (101) according to claim 4, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - determining the acceleration of the vehicle (100), in particular the current acceleration and / or the acceleration used by a speed controller of the vehicle (100); and - based on the acceleration of the vehicle (100), predicting a time profile (252) of the driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100).

6. The device (101) according to any one of claims 4 to 5, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - predicting a linearized and / or constant time profile (251, 252) of the driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100) and / or the preceding vehicle (200); and / or - Predicting the time curve (251, 252) of the driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100) and / or the preceding vehicle (200) by using linearized equations of motion.

7. The device (101) according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - obtaining a virtual curve (253) of the driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100), so that when using the virtual curve (253), - the vehicle (100) has a driving speed (250) at the leading driving limit (214) that is identical to the predicted time profile (251) of the driving speed (250) of the preceding vehicle (200); - the vehicle (100) has a predefined, time-based and / or distance-based minimum distance to the preceding vehicle (100) at the preceding limit driving progress (214); and The vehicle (100) has a predefined, in particular constant, deceleration starting from the current driving speed (211) along the entire virtual curve (253) of the driving speed (250) up to the limiting driving speed (214); and - Determining the lane change driving progress (212) based on a virtual curve (253) of the driving speed (250).

8. The device (101) according to claim 7, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - finding the intersection of a predicted time curve (252) of the vehicle's (100) travel speed (250) and a virtual curve (253) of the vehicle's (100) travel speed (250); and - determining the lane change driving progress (212) based on the intersection point, in particular determining the driving progress at the intersection point as the lane change driving progress (212).

9. The device (101) according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - determining that the vehicle (100) is operated with a speed and / or distance controller for automatic longitudinal guidance of the vehicle (100); and - predicting a time profile (252) of the driving speed (250) of the vehicle (100) based on: - a target speed for the speed and / or distance regulator; and / or - an acceleration and / or deceleration used by the speed and / or distance controller to achieve the target speed.

10. The device (101) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the device (101) is configured to: - determining whether the lane change from the first lane (201) to the second lane (202) is performed manually by the driver or automatically by the vehicle (100); and - Determining the lane change progress (212) based on whether the lane change is performed manually or automatically.

11. The device (101) according to claim 10, wherein the device (101) is configured to, if it is determined that the lane change is to be performed automatically: - determining a dead time of a lane change assistance system of the vehicle (100) between an initiation of a lane change by the driver and an automatic execution of the lane change; and - Determining the lane change progress according to the dead zone time of the lane change assist system (212).

12. The device (101) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lane change driving progress (212) indicates: - the timing of the lane change; and / or -Lane change position.

13. The device (101) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the lane change prompt comprises: - a message about the remaining time and / or travel-based distance (213) until the lane change (212); - a prompt regarding the time and / or location status of the lane change progress (212) relative to the preceding vehicle (200); - a graphic representation (300) of the lane change progress (212) and / or the time until the lane change progress (212) and / or the distance (213) based on the journey on a screen and / or in the driver's field of vision; and / or - a tactile prompt of a steering device of the vehicle (100) before or when the lane change driving progress (212) is reached.

14. A method (400) for assisting a driver of a vehicle (100) in changing lanes from a first lane (201) to a second lane (202); wherein the method (400) comprises: - determining (401) a lane change driving progress (212) ahead, at which the vehicle (100) should change from the first lane (201) to the second lane (202) to avoid deceleration of the vehicle (100) caused by a preceding vehicle (200) traveling ahead of the vehicle (100) in the first lane (201); as well as - outputting (402) a lane change prompt to the driver of the vehicle (100) based on the determined lane change driving progress (212).

Images