Overhang prediction system and overhang accident prevention system

Abstract

To provide an overhang prediction system and an overhang accident prevention system in which an occurrence of overhang can be predicted at a timing before a vehicle starts turning.SOLUTION: An overhang prediction unit 17 of a large vehicle on-board system 1 mounted on a large vehicle includes: when an approach to an intersection for turning right is detected, checking whether it is possible to enter a road into which the vehicle is turning right depending on the state of a traffic signal using a monitoring sensor 12; if the entry is possible, predicting a driving trajectory when turning right and an overhang amount toward left when a self vehicle turns right; if the maximum value of the overhang amount is larger than a threshold level, predicting a period of right-turn operation according to the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle etc.; and calculating an overhang period, during which the overhang amount is a hindrance to driving of another vehicle, from the period of right-turn operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for preventing accidents caused by a vehicle swinging out. [Background technology]

[0002] In large vehicles with long rear overhangs, such as trucks and buses, the rear of the vehicle bulges outward from the rear wheel path during turns (overhang phenomenon), which can lead to accidents such as contact with other vehicles or obstacles.

[0003] As a technology for preventing accidents caused by such swing-out, a technology is known in which a turning motion of the vehicle is detected when the steering angle exceeds a predetermined angle, and the amount of swing-out that will occur is calculated from the steering angle of the vehicle and notified to other vehicles in the vicinity (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-206308 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the above-mentioned technology that detects the turning motion of the vehicle when the steering angle exceeds a predetermined angle and notifies other vehicles in the vicinity of the occurrence of a turning motion, the notification may come too late to ensure safety. For example, if another vehicle is traveling closely behind a truck, or traveling side by side with a truck, or if another vehicle is passing a truck that has stopped just before an intersection waiting for the right moment to turn, and the truck begins to turn right, a collision may not be avoided depending on the actions taken after the notification.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to predict the occurrence of a swing-out at a timing that allows accident prevention prior to the start of a turning operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a swing-out prediction system that is mounted on an automobile and predicts the occurrence of a swing-out, in which the rear of the automobile bulges outward during a turn relative to a rear wheel path, characterized in that the swing-out prediction system comprises: a turning operation prediction means that predicts the occurrence of a turning operation of the automobile; a traveling trajectory prediction means that, when the turning operation prediction means predicts the occurrence of the turning operation, predicts a traveling trajectory that indicates the position and orientation of the automobile at each time point during the turning operation that is predicted to occur; an obstacle presence / absence estimation means that estimates, based on the predicted traveling trajectory, whether the swing-out of the automobile that occurs during the turning operation will obstruct the traveling of other vehicles; and an obstacle occurrence timing prediction means that, when the obstacle presence / absence estimation means estimates that the swing-out of the automobile will obstruct the traveling of other vehicles, predicts, based on the predicted traveling trajectory, the timing of the occurrence of an obstruction period, during which the swing-out of the automobile will obstruct the traveling of other vehicles.

[0008] Here, such a turning prediction system may be configured to treat the turning operation as a right turn operation, and the turning operation prediction means may be configured to predict the occurrence of the turning operation based on at least one of the occurrence of the right blinker of the vehicle being turned on, the occurrence of the vehicle entering a right turn exclusive lane, and the occurrence of the vehicle approaching a preset right turn point.

[0009] Furthermore, if the turning operation is a right turn operation, and if the obstacle presence / absence estimation means of this turning-out prediction system estimates, based on the predicted traveling trajectory, that the turning-out of the automobile accompanying the turning operation will cause the rear of the automobile to protrude into the adjacent lane on the left, when the turning-out of the automobile accompanying the turning operation is assumed to be a right turn operation and the existence of an adjacent lane to the left of the lane in which the automobile is traveling, the obstacle presence / absence estimation means may estimate that the turning-out of the automobile accompanying the turning operation will cause an obstacle to the traveling of other vehicles.

[0010] Furthermore, the turning operation may be a right turn operation, and the obstacle occurrence timing prediction means of this turn-out prediction system may predict, as the occurrence timing of the obstacle period, a period during which the turning-out of the vehicle will obstruct the travel of other vehicles when the vehicle performs a right turn operation during a period when there is an open space on the road to which the vehicle is to turn right that is large enough for the vehicle to fit in and the right turn is not obstructed by an oncoming vehicle.

[0011] In this case, the obstacle occurrence timing prediction means may determine that when there is a right-turning vehicle ahead of the automobile, there is an available space on the road to which the automobile is to turn right that can accommodate both the right-turning vehicle and the automobile, and may determine that there is an available space on the road to which the automobile is to turn right that can accommodate both the right-turning vehicle and the automobile, and ... is not obstructed by an oncoming vehicle.

[0012] In addition, the turning operation may be a right turn operation, and the turning prediction system may be provided with a notification means for notifying turning information indicating the timing of occurrence of the obstruction period predicted by the obstruction occurrence timing prediction means to at least one of a vehicle following the automobile and a vehicle traveling alongside the automobile.

[0013] Furthermore, the turning operation may be a left turn operation, and the turning operation prediction means of this turning prediction system may predict the occurrence of the turning operation based on at least one of the occurrence of the left blinker of the vehicle being turned on, the occurrence of the vehicle entering a left turn exclusive lane, and the occurrence of the vehicle approaching a preset left turn point.

[0014] In addition, the turning operation may be a left turn operation, and the turning prediction system may be provided with a notification means for notifying turning information indicating the timing of occurrence of the obstruction period predicted by the obstruction occurrence timing prediction means to at least one of a vehicle following the automobile, a vehicle traveling alongside the automobile, and an oncoming vehicle.

[0015] The present invention also provides a turn-out accident prevention system having a turn-out prediction system equipped with the above-mentioned notification means, and a warning system mounted on the same or a different vehicle as the automobile equipped with the turn-out prediction system. In the turn-out accident prevention system, the notification means of the turn-out prediction system transmits the turn-out information to the warning system of the vehicle that notifies the turn-out information, and the warning system, upon receiving the turn-out information from the turn-out prediction system, determines whether there is a possibility that the host vehicle will be traveling side by side with the automobile that transmitted the turn-out information at the timing of the occurrence of the failure period indicated by the turn-out information, and if there is a possibility of traveling side by side, outputs a warning regarding the turn-out of the automobile that transmitted the information.

[0016] Furthermore, such a turn-around accident prevention system may be configured such that, when the warning system receives the turn-around information from the turn-around prediction system, even if the vehicle that sent the turn-around information turns out to be turning around at the timing of the occurrence of the failure period indicated by the turn-around information, the warning system checks whether there is enough width on the road to allow the vehicle to run alongside the vehicle that sent the turn-around information, and if there is not enough width, outputs a warning advising the vehicle not to run alongside the vehicle that sent the turn-around information, and if there is enough width, outputs a warning advising the vehicle to drive with caution in case the vehicle that sent the turn-around information is turned around.

[0017] According to the above-described turnout prediction system and turnout accident prevention system, when the occurrence of a turning operation is predicted, it is possible to predict the traveling trajectory during the turning operation, and to predict whether the turning of the automobile will obstruct the traveling of other vehicles and the period during which said obstruction will occur. Therefore, measures that contribute to preventing accidents due to the turning of the automobile, such as issuing a warning to vehicles that may be traveling alongside the automobile during the period of obstruction, can be taken prior to the turning operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to predict the occurrence of a swing-out at a timing that allows accident prevention prior to the start of a turning operation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a large vehicle mounting system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a right-turn protrusion prediction process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating operations of a right turn protrusion prediction process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating operations of a right turn protrusion prediction process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating operations of a right turn protrusion prediction process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating operations of a right turn protrusion prediction process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating operations of a right turn protrusion prediction process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a warning process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a warning process according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a large vehicle onboard system 1 in this embodiment that is installed in a large vehicle with a long rear overhang, such as a truck or bus. As shown in the figure, the large vehicle onboard system 1 includes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 11 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, monitoring sensors 12 such as a camera for capturing images of the surroundings of the vehicle and LiDAR or radar for scanning the surroundings of the vehicle, a monitoring unit 13 for monitoring other vehicles and the surrounding conditions using the monitoring sensor 12, a GNSS receiver 14 for calculating the current position by satellite positioning, map data 15 representing a road map, an audio output device 16 for outputting audio, and an overhang prediction unit 17.

[0021] Further, the protrusion prediction unit 17 receives information on various states of the vehicle, such as the vehicle speed and the state of the blinkers, from a control / management system of the vehicle, such as an ECU. Next, FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the in-vehicle notification system 2 installed in each vehicle in this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle notification system 2 includes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 21 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, a monitoring sensor 22 such as a camera for capturing images of the surroundings of the vehicle and a LiDAR or radar for scanning the surroundings of the vehicle, a monitoring unit 23 for monitoring other vehicles and the surrounding conditions using the monitoring sensor 22, a GNSS receiver 24 for calculating the current position by satellite positioning, map data 25 representing a road map, an audio output device 26 for outputting audio, and a warning unit 27.

[0022] Moreover, the warning unit 27 receives information on various states of the vehicle, such as vehicle speed, from a control / management system of the vehicle, such as an ECU. In addition, the in-vehicle warning system 2 may also be installed in a large vehicle that is equipped with the large vehicle-mounted system 1, and in this case, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 21, monitoring sensor 22, monitoring unit 23, GNSS receiver 24, map data 25, and audio output device 26 of the in-vehicle warning system 2 may share the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 11, monitoring sensor 12, monitoring unit 13, GNSS receiver 14, map data 15, and audio output device 16 of the large vehicle-mounted system 1.

[0023] In this configuration, the protrusion prediction unit 17 of the large vehicle onboard system 1 performs protrusion prediction processing when turning right and protrusion prediction processing when turning left. First, the right turn protrusion prediction process will be described. When the occurrence of a right turn is predicted, the protrusion prediction unit 17 starts a right turn protrusion prediction process. The occurrence of a right turn is predicted based on the on-state of the right turn signal, entry into a right-turn lane, approach to a preset right-turn point, etc. The on-state of the right turn signal is detected from vehicle status information input from the vehicle control / management system. Entry into a right-turn lane may be detected based on map data 15 and the current position calculated by GNSS receiver 14, or by identifying the travel lane and the traffic divisions of the travel lane indicated by road markings by the monitoring unit 13. In addition, in a vehicle equipped with a car navigation device, the preset right-turn point may be a point at which the vehicle makes a right turn when traveling along a route set in the car navigation device. In addition, in a vehicle with a fixed route, such as a route bus or a truck that performs route delivery, a point at which the vehicle makes a right turn along the travel route may be set as the right-turn point in advance.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows the procedure of the right turn protrusion prediction process that is started in this manner. As shown in the figure, in the right turn protrusion prediction process, the protrusion prediction unit 17 first acquires information about other vehicles and surrounding conditions detected by the monitoring unit 13 (step 302). Then, it is determined whether or not the road to which the vehicle is to turn right is accessible (step 304). Here, if the traffic light indicates a signal (often a green light) that allows the vehicle to proceed onto the road after turning right, there are no pedestrians crossing the road after turning right, and there is enough space on the road to accommodate the vehicle, it is determined that the vehicle is able to enter the road after turning right. For example, as shown in Figure 4a, when turning right at an intersection when there is no preceding vehicle, if the traffic light TL ahead is green, there are no pedestrians crossing the pedestrian crossing on the road to which the vehicle S is to turn, and there is a space VS available on the road to which the vehicle S is to turn right, then it is determined that the vehicle is able to enter the road to which the vehicle S is to turn right. Also, as shown in Figure 4b, when turning right at an intersection when there is a preceding right-turning vehicle A, it is determined that the vehicle is able to enter the road to which the vehicle S is to turn right if the traffic light TL ahead is green, there are no pedestrians crossing the pedestrian crossing on the road to which the vehicle S is to turn right, and there is a space VS available on the road to which the vehicle S is to turn right that can accommodate both the preceding right-turning vehicle A and the vehicle S. Whether the preceding vehicle is turning right is determined based on factors such as whether the preceding vehicle's right turn signal is flashing, whether the preceding vehicle is in a right-turn-only lane, whether the preceding vehicle is stopped in a state where it can continue straight, etc.

[0025] On the other hand, even if the traffic light TL ahead is green, if the space VS is not open because other vehicles are packed up to the space VS, as shown in Figures 4c and 4d, it is determined that the vehicle is not in a position to enter the road to which it is about to turn right. Returning to FIG. 3, if it is determined that the vehicle is not in a position to enter the road to which it will turn right (step 304), the process returns to step 302. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is in a condition to enter the road to which it will turn right (step 304), the travel trajectory of the vehicle from its current position to the position where the right turn is completed if the vehicle makes a right turn from the current point in time without being obstructed by an oncoming vehicle is predicted, and vehicle trajectory information representing the predicted travel trajectory is generated (step 306). Here, as shown in Fig. 4b, if there is a right-turning vehicle A preceding the vehicle S, the travel trajectory of the vehicle S is predicted to be the travel trajectory of the vehicle S if it makes a right turn following the preceding vehicle A.

[0026] The predicted driving path and vehicle trajectory information represent the position and orientation of the vehicle at each point from the current time until the completion of the right turn. Therefore, the predicted driving path and vehicle trajectory information when there is a vehicle turning right ahead of the vehicle may differ from the predicted driving path and vehicle trajectory information when there is no vehicle turning right ahead.

[0027] Then, the amount of protrusion when turning right is calculated based on the trajectory of the left rear end of the host vehicle when turning right, which is determined from the host vehicle trajectory information and the geometric specifications of the host vehicle (step 308). Here, in step 308, a reference line SL is set, which is generated by extending forward a straight line passing in the front-to-rear direction on the left side of the host vehicle S at the current time, as shown in Fig. 5a, and the maximum amount of protrusion to the left of the reference line SL from the current time until the completion of the right turn is calculated as the amount of protrusion when turning right.

[0028] Returning to FIG. 3, once the protrusion amount when turning right has been calculated (step 308), it is checked whether the protrusion amount when turning right is greater than a predetermined threshold value Th (step 310), and if not, the protrusion prediction process when turning right is terminated. On the other hand, if the protrusion amount during a right turn is greater than the predetermined threshold value Th (step 310), it is checked whether there is an adjacent lane on the left side of the lane the vehicle is traveling in, and whether the calculated protrusion amount indicates that the vehicle will not protrude into the adjacent lane on the left side during a right turn (step 312).In addition, in step 312, if the rear of the vehicle protrudes into the adjacent lane on the left side, the maximum amount of protrusion into the adjacent lane is also calculated.

[0029] Then, as shown in FIG. 5b, if the host vehicle veers to the left when turning right but does not veer into the adjacent lane on the left, the right turn veer prediction process is terminated. On the other hand, if there is no adjacent lane to the left of the lane the vehicle is traveling in, or if the calculated protrusion amount indicates that the vehicle will protrude into the adjacent lane on the left when turning right (step 312), it is checked whether there is an oncoming vehicle based on the status of other vehicles detected by the monitoring unit 13 (step 314), and if there is no oncoming vehicle, the process proceeds to step 324.

[0030] On the other hand, if there are oncoming vehicles, the travel path of each detected oncoming vehicle from the current time until the vehicle passes through the intersection where the vehicle is about to turn right is predicted, and oncoming vehicle path information is generated based on the travel path (step 316). Here, the oncoming vehicle path information represents the position and direction of the oncoming vehicle at each time from the current time until the vehicle completes the right turn.

[0031] Then, the period when a right turn is possible is calculated as the period when no oncoming vehicle is ahead of the required no oncoming vehicle area (step 318). Here, the required no oncoming vehicle area is an area where the vehicle or a preceding vehicle turning right cannot turn right if an oncoming vehicle is present, as shown in an example of the required no oncoming vehicle area HS in FIG. 6a.

[0032] Furthermore, the no-oncoming vehicle period in the no-oncoming vehicle required area is a period during which no oncoming vehicles exist within the no-oncoming vehicle required area HS. For example, as shown in Figure 6b, if at current time t0 there is an oncoming vehicle B1 within the no-oncoming vehicle required area HS and an oncoming vehicle B2 heading towards the no-oncoming vehicle required area HS, and the oncoming vehicle trajectory information indicates that at time t1, oncoming vehicle B1 passes through the no-oncoming vehicle required area HS, and then at a later time t2, oncoming vehicle B2 reaches the no-oncoming vehicle required area HS, then the period from time t1 to time t2 is the earliest no-oncoming vehicle period in the no-oncoming vehicle required area.

[0033] Returning to FIG. 3, once the no-oncoming-vehicle period in the no-oncoming-vehicle area has been calculated (step 318), it is checked whether there is a period in which a right turn is possible (step 320). In this step 318, if the length of time required for the vehicle indicated by the vehicle trajectory information to complete a right turn from the current point in time is shorter than the length of time for the earliest no-oncoming-vehicle period in the no-oncoming-vehicle-needed area, it is determined that there is a period in which a right turn is possible. The length of time required for the host vehicle to complete a right turn from the current time point is, for example, as shown in Figure 7a, if there is no right-turning vehicle ahead of the host vehicle S, and the host vehicle S makes a right turn from the current time point t10 without being obstructed by an oncoming vehicle, passes through the intersection at time point t11 ​​and time point t12, and completes the right turn after leaving the intersection at time point t13, the length of time from time point t10 to time point t13 is the length of time required for the host vehicle to complete a right turn from the current time point.

[0034] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 7b, if there is a right-turning vehicle A preceding the host vehicle S, and the preceding right-turning vehicle A and the host vehicle S make a right turn from the current time t10' without being obstructed by oncoming vehicles, the length of time from the current time t10' to the time t14' when both the right-turning vehicle A and the host vehicle S have left the intersection and completed the right turn will be the length of time required for the host vehicle to complete the right turn from the current time.

[0035] Returning to FIG. 3, if there is no period during which a right turn is permitted (step 320), the process returns to step 302. On the other hand, if there is a period during which a right turn is possible (step 320), the start point of the earliest no-oncoming-vehicle period in the no-oncoming-vehicle-necessary region is set as the start point of the period during which a right turn is possible (step 322), and then the process proceeds to step 324. However, it is also possible to estimate whether the signal indicated by the traffic light will change from a signal that allows proceeding onto the road to which the right turn is to be made (e.g., a green light) to a signal that does not allow proceeding (e.g., a yellow light or a red light) at the start of the period during which a right turn is permitted or between the start of the period during which a right turn is permitted and the time when the vehicle enters the intersection if traveling from the current position, and to return to processing from step 302 if it is estimated that the signal indicated by the traffic light will change, and to proceed to step 324 if it is estimated that the signal indicated by the traffic light will not change.

[0036] Such an estimation of the signal change indicated by a traffic signal up to a predetermined time point can be performed, for example, by having the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 11 receive signal schedule information indicating the schedule for each signal from the traffic signal via road-to-vehicle communication, and then calculating whether the signal will change by the predetermined time point according to the received signal schedule information.

[0037] If the process proceeds from step 314 or step 322 to step 324, the period of deviation is calculated (step 324). If there is an adjacent lane to the left of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, deviation is defined as the rear of the vehicle entering the adjacent lane. If there is no adjacent lane to the left of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, deviation is defined as the rear of the vehicle protruding to the left of the reference line SL shown in Figure 5a. The period during which deviation occurs is the deviation period.

[0038] Furthermore, if there is no oncoming vehicle and the process proceeds from step 314 to step 324, the overhang period is the period in which overhang occurs if the vehicle travels according to the vehicle trajectory information, and if the process proceeds from step 320 to step 324, the overhang period is the period in which overhang occurs if a right turn is started from the start of the right turn permitted period.

[0039] Therefore, as shown in Figure 8a, when making a right turn when there is no oncoming vehicle, the vehicle driving trajectory information indicates that the right turn will be made from the current time t20 to time t21, time t22, time t23, and time t24, and if the rear of the vehicle enters the adjacent lane on the left between time t21 and time t23, the period from time t21 to time t23 will be the period of deviation.

[0040] Also, as shown in Figure 8b, if an oncoming vehicle B is present at the current time t20' and you wait until the start time t22' of the right-turn permitted period for the oncoming vehicle B to pass the intersection, and then enter the intersection and turn right, and if the rear of your vehicle enters the adjacent lane on the left between time t23' and time t26', the period from time t23' to time t26' will be the period of overhang.

[0041] The protrusion period when proceeding from step 320 to step 324 may be calculated by delaying the protrusion period that would occur if the vehicle were to travel in accordance with the vehicle trajectory information by the time from the current time to the start of the period during which a right turn is permitted. Alternatively, this overhang period may be calculated by re-predicting the vehicle's travel trajectory from its current position to the right-turn completion position, on the condition that the right-turn operation is initiated from the start of the right-turn possible period, or that entry into the oncoming lane is initiated from the start of the right-turn possible period, and then according to the vehicle's travel trajectory information generated based on the re-predicted travel trajectory.

[0042] Returning to Figure 3, once the protrusion period has been calculated (step 324), protrusion information is transmitted to the following vehicle and the vehicle traveling alongside via vehicle-to-vehicle communication (step 326). The protrusion information includes information such as the start and end times of the protrusion period, the amount of protrusion, the vehicle's position, the vehicle's course, and the vehicle's width. If there is an adjacent lane to the left of the lane the vehicle is traveling in, the protrusion amount is determined to be the maximum amount by which the rear of the vehicle protrudes into the adjacent lane calculated in step 312 as described above. If there is no adjacent lane to the left of the lane the vehicle is traveling in, the protrusion amount for the right turn calculated in step 308 is determined to be the protrusion amount. Then, once the protrusion information has been transmitted, the protrusion prediction process for right turns is terminated.

[0043] The right turn protrusion prediction process has been described above. Here, if the vehicle passes through an intersection while the right-turn protrusion prediction process is being executed, the protrusion prediction unit 17 terminates the right-turn protrusion prediction process. This intersection passage includes not only the vehicle passing through an intersection by turning right, but also the vehicle passing through an intersection by going straight or turning left without turning right.

[0044] Next, the left turn protrusion prediction process will be described. When the occurrence of a left turn is predicted, the protrusion prediction unit 17 starts a left turn protrusion prediction process. The occurrence of a left turn is predicted by detecting whether the left turn signal is on, whether the vehicle is entering a left-turn-only lane, or whether the vehicle is approaching a pre-set left-turn point. The content of the left turn protrusion prediction process is basically the same as that of the right turn protrusion prediction process described above, except that "right" is replaced with "left" and "left" is replaced with "right". However, since oncoming vehicles do not hinder left turns, steps 314 to 322 are not provided in the left turn protrusion prediction process, and instead of step 314, the process proceeds from step 312 to step 324. Furthermore, on a road with one lane in each direction, the deviation from the lane when turning left also affects oncoming vehicles, so in step 326, deviation information is transmitted to oncoming vehicles in addition to the following vehicle and vehicle traveling alongside. Next, the warning process performed by the warning unit 27 of the in-vehicle warning system 2 will be described. FIG. 9 shows the procedure for this warning process. As shown in the figure, the warning unit 27 waits to receive protrusion information from the large vehicle mounted system 1 (step 902), and upon receiving the protrusion information, acquires the other vehicles and surrounding conditions detected by the monitoring unit 23 (step 904). In the following, the vehicle equipped with the large vehicle mounted system 1 that sent the overhang information will be referred to as the "overhanging vehicle," and it is determined whether there is a possibility that the vehicle and the overhanging vehicle will be traveling side by side during the overhang period indicated by the overhang information (step 906). In step 906, if, based on the relative positions and traveling speeds of the host vehicle and the non-existing vehicle, the host vehicle following the non-existing vehicle will not catch up with the non-existing vehicle by the end time of the non-existing period indicated by the non-existing information, or if the host vehicle traveling alongside or following the non-existing vehicle will overtake the non-existing vehicle by the start time of the non-existing period, it is determined that there is no possibility that the host vehicle and the non-existing vehicle will travel side by side during the non-existing period. Also, in step 906, it is determined that there is no possibility that the host vehicle and the non-existing vehicle will travel side by side during the non-existing period if the relationship between the width of the non-existing vehicle indicated by the non-existing information, the width of the host vehicle, and the width of the road the vehicle is traveling on means that the two cannot travel side by side even before the non-existing vehicle starts to travel side by side.

[0045] However, in step 906, the system may further consider the signal status indicated by the traffic light ahead of the overhanging vehicle and the condition of the open space ahead of the overhanging vehicle indicated by the overhang information to determine whether there is a possibility that the vehicle and the overhanging vehicle will be traveling side by side during the overhanging period.

[0046] If there is no possibility that the vehicle and the vehicle that has left the lane will be traveling side by side during the period of the lane being exceeded (step 906), the process returns to step 902 and waits for the next reception of the lane being exceeded information. On the other hand, if it cannot be determined that there is no possibility that the host vehicle and the non-existing vehicle will run side by side during the time period of the non-existing period (step 906), it is checked whether the host vehicle and the non-existing vehicle can run side by side during the non-existing period (step 908). Here, in step 908, it is checked based on the amount of protrusion indicated by the protrusion information and the road width of the road on which the vehicle is traveling whether there remains enough space on the road on which the vehicle is traveling or on the lane on the side in the direction of protrusion so that the vehicle can safely run side by side with the protruding vehicle even when the protruding vehicle protrudes by the amount of protrusion.If there remains enough space, it is determined that the vehicle and the protruding vehicle can run side by side during the protruding period, and if there does not remain enough space, it is determined that they cannot run side by side.

[0047] That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the direction of the overhanging vehicle S is a right turn and the overhanging vehicle S overhangs the lane adjacent to the left by the maximum amount indicated by the overhang amount information, if the width Wmin of the left side portion of the overhanging vehicle S in the lane adjacent to the left side of the lane the overhanging vehicle S is traveling in is equal to or greater than the width Wf of the own vehicle plus a predetermined margin, which is sufficient for the own vehicle to travel safely on the left side of the overhanging vehicle S, then it is determined that the own vehicle and the overhanging vehicle can travel side by side during the overhanging period.

[0048] 9, if it is determined that the vehicle and the vehicle that has left the lane can travel side by side during the period of the vehicle leaving the lane (step 908), the audio output device 26 outputs an audio message warning the driver to be careful of collisions due to the vehicle leaving the lane (step 910).Then, the process returns to step 902 and waits for the next reception of the vehicle leaving the lane.

[0049] On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle and the straying vehicle cannot run side by side during the straying period (step 908), the audio output device 26 outputs an audio message warning the vehicle not to run side by side because the straying vehicle is running side by side (step 912).Then, the process returns to step 902 and waits for the next reception of straying information.

[0050] In the above description, the monitoring unit 13 of the large vehicle onboard system 1 detects other vehicles using the monitoring sensor 12, but the detection of other vehicles may alternatively or additionally be performed based on the position information of the other vehicles received from the other vehicles by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 11. Similarly, the monitoring unit 23 of the in-vehicle notification system 2 detects other vehicles using the monitoring sensor 22, but the detection of other vehicles may alternatively or additionally be performed based on the position information of the other vehicles received from the other vehicles by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 21.

[0051] In the above, the in-vehicle warning system 2 is provided only in the vehicle, but it is also possible to provide an in-vehicle warning system 2 in light vehicles such as bicycles and kick scooters, and transmit overhang information from the large vehicle on-board system 1 to the in-vehicle warning system 2 of the light vehicle, and perform the above-mentioned warning processing in the in-vehicle warning system 2 of the light vehicle that receives the overhang information.

[0052] In addition, the large vehicle mounted system 1 installed in the large vehicle may also transmit overhang information to surrounding self-driving vehicles, and the self-driving system that automatically drives the self-driving vehicle may use the overhang information received from the large vehicle mounted system 1 to perform automatic driving control such as stopping or evasive driving to avoid contact due to the large vehicle overhanging the road.

[0053] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. According to this embodiment, when the occurrence of a turning operation such as a right or left turn is predicted, prior to the start of a turning operation, the traveling trajectory during the turning operation can be predicted, and it can be predicted whether the turning of the vehicle will obstruct the traveling of other vehicles and the period during which this obstruction will occur. Furthermore, based on the predicted period of obstruction, a warning that contributes to preventing accidents due to the turning of the vehicle can be issued prior to the start of the turning operation to vehicles that may be traveling alongside the vehicle during that period. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 1...System installed in large vehicles, 2...In-vehicle notification system, 11...Vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, 12...Monitoring sensor, 13...Monitoring unit, 14...GNSS receiver, 15...Map data, 16...Audio output device, 17...Out-of-bounds prediction unit, 21...Vehicle-to-vehicle communication device, 22...Monitoring sensor, 23...Monitoring unit, 24...GNSS receiver, 25...Map data, 26...Audio output device, 27...Warning unit.

Claims

1. A swing prediction system that is mounted on a vehicle and predicts the occurrence of a swing in which a rear part of the vehicle bulges outward from a rear wheel path during a turn, comprising: a turning motion prediction means for predicting the occurrence of a turning motion of the vehicle; a travel trajectory prediction means for predicting a travel trajectory representing the position and orientation of the vehicle at each time point during the turning operation predicted by the turning operation prediction means; an obstacle presence / absence estimation means for estimating whether or not the swinging of the vehicle accompanying the turning operation will obstruct the travel of other vehicles based on the predicted travel path; and a fault occurrence timing prediction means for predicting, when the fault presence / absence estimation means estimates that the turning of the vehicle will cause a hindrance to the driving of other vehicles, the timing of an occurrence of a fault period, which is a period in which the turning of the vehicle will cause a hindrance to the driving of other vehicles, based on the predicted driving trajectory.

2. 2. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 1, the turning operation is a right turn operation, The turning operation prediction system is characterized in that the turning operation prediction means predicts the occurrence of the turning operation based on at least one of the occurrence of the right turn signal of the vehicle being turned on, the occurrence of the vehicle entering a right turn exclusive lane, and the occurrence of the vehicle approaching a preset right turn point.

3. 2. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 1, the turning operation is a right turn operation, The obstacle presence / absence estimation means is configured to, when there is an adjacent lane to the left of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, estimate, based on the predicted traveling trajectory, that the turning of the vehicle due to the turning operation will cause a rear of the vehicle to protrude into the adjacent lane to the left, and to estimate that the turning of the vehicle due to the turning operation will cause an obstacle to the traveling of other vehicles.

4. 2. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 1, the turning operation is a right turn operation, The obstacle occurrence timing predicting means predicts, as the occurrence timing of the obstacle period, a period in which the turning of the vehicle will obstruct the travel of other vehicles when the vehicle makes a right turn during a period in which there is an empty space on the road where the vehicle is to turn right and the right turn is not obstructed by an oncoming vehicle.

5. 5. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 4, The obstacle occurrence timing prediction means determines that when there is a right-turning vehicle preceding the automobile, there is an available space on the road to which the automobile is to turn right when there is an available space on the road to which the automobile is to turn right that can accommodate both the right-turning vehicle and the automobile, and determines that a period during which the right turn of both the right-turning vehicle and the automobile is not obstructed by an oncoming vehicle as a period during which the right turn is not obstructed by an oncoming vehicle.

6. 2. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 1, the turning operation is a right turn operation, A fault occurrence prediction system characterized by having a notification means for notifying at least one of a vehicle following the automobile and a vehicle traveling alongside the automobile of fault occurrence information indicating the occurrence timing of the fault period predicted by the fault occurrence timing prediction means.

7. 2. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 1, the turning operation is a left turn operation, The turning operation prediction system is characterized in that the turning operation prediction means predicts the occurrence of the turning operation based on at least one of the occurrence of the left turn signal of the vehicle being turned on, the occurrence of the vehicle entering a left turn exclusive lane, and the occurrence of the vehicle approaching a preset left turn point.

8. 2. The system for predicting a swing according to claim 1, the turning operation is a left turn operation, A fault occurrence prediction system characterized by having a notification means for notifying at least one of a vehicle following the automobile, a vehicle running alongside the automobile, and an oncoming vehicle of fault occurrence information indicating the occurrence timing of the fault period predicted by the fault occurrence timing prediction means.

9. A swing-out accident prevention system comprising the swing-out prediction system according to claim 6 or 7 and a warning system mounted in the same vehicle as or a different vehicle from the automobile in which the swing-out prediction system is mounted, The notification means of the swing prediction system transmits the swing information to a warning system of a vehicle that notifies the swing information, The warning system is a turn-out accident prevention system characterized in that, when the warning system receives the turn-out information from the turn-out prediction system, it determines whether there is a possibility that the vehicle will be traveling side by side with the vehicle that sent the turn-out information at the time when the failure period indicated by the turn-out information occurs, and if there is a possibility that the vehicle will be traveling side by side, it outputs a warning regarding the turn-out of the vehicle that sent the turn-out information.

10. 10. The swing-out accident prevention system according to claim 9, When the warning system receives the turn-out information from the turn-out prediction system, it checks whether there is enough width on the road to allow the vehicle to run alongside the vehicle that sent the turn-out information, even if the vehicle that sent the turn-out information turns out to be turning out at the timing of the occurrence of the failure period indicated by the turn-out information, and if there is not enough width, it outputs a warning advising the vehicle not to run alongside the vehicle that sent the turn-out information, and if there is enough width, it outputs a warning advising the vehicle to drive with caution in case the vehicle that sent the turn-out information is turning out.

Images