Drive assist device of vehicle in flooded road with height restrictions

Abstract

To notify a driver of his / her own vehicle 10 that it is detected using inter-vehicle communication or other communication means that the own vehicle cannot pass through a flooded road 20 with height restrictions because a vehicle ahead is stopped on the road in the forwarding direction of the own vehicle.SOLUTION: A drive assist device 16 of a vehicle notifies a driver of his / her own vehicle that the own vehicle cannot pass through a road, when: the height of the own vehicle is more than the limited height of the road with height restrictions; the height of the own vehicle is the limited height or lower, but the depth of the floodwater is too deep for the own vehicle to pass through; and the height of the own vehicle is the limited height or lower and the depth of the floodwater is deep enough for the own vehicle to pass through, but the own vehicle cannot pass through the road because a preceding vehicle 100 exists ahead.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance device for a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly to a device configured to notify the driver whether the vehicle can travel when there is a flooded road with height restrictions in the direction of travel of the vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] As one type of vehicle driving assistance, a configuration has been proposed that detects roads with height restrictions and determines whether the vehicle can pass on the road, or, if the road is flooded, whether the depth of the flooding is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration that, when a road with a height restriction is detected based on information about roads around the vehicle, if the vehicle height is below the height restriction of the road with a height restriction, detects the water surface on the road with a height restriction, measures the difference in elevation between the top of the passable space on the road with a height restriction and the water surface, estimates the flood depth based on the height restriction of the road with a height restriction and the difference in elevation, and, if the flood depth is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, issues a predetermined output indicating that the road is impassable. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2019-125185 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As described above, when a road with a height limit is detected and the road is flooded, even if the flood depth is deep enough for the host vehicle to pass through, if a preceding vehicle is stuck or stopped on the flooded road with a height limit and there are no other lanes through which the host vehicle can pass, it is preferable for the host vehicle not to enter the road. In this regard, if the driver can visually see the preceding vehicle stuck on the flooded road with a height limit, the driver can avoid entering the flooded road with a height limit at their own discretion. However, in the case of a road with a height limit, for example, an underpass road, there may be cases where the stopped preceding vehicle cannot be visually confirmed. Even in such cases, if communication is possible between the preceding vehicle and the host vehicle using vehicle-to-vehicle communication or other communication means, the driver of the host vehicle can learn through that communication that the preceding vehicle is stopped on the flooded road with a height limit, and can avoid entering the road.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the main object of the present invention is to detect, using vehicle-to-vehicle communication or other communication means, that when there is a flooded road with height restrictions in the direction of travel of the vehicle, and the depth of the flood water is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through, but the vehicle cannot pass through the road because a vehicle ahead is stopped on the road, and to notify the driver of the vehicle of this. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, the above problem is solved by a driving assistance device for a vehicle, means for detecting whether or not there is a road with height restrictions in the direction of travel of the vehicle; means for determining whether the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the height limit of the road when the road with the height limit is detected; means for detecting whether the road is flooded when the height of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the road height limit; means for determining whether the depth of the flooded water when the road is flooded is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through; means for determining, via communication means with an external device, whether or not a preceding vehicle is stopped on the road when the flood depth is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through; means for determining whether the road is passable when the preceding vehicle is present on the road; means for informing a driver of the vehicle that the road is impassable when the height of the vehicle is not equal to or less than the road height limit, when the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the road height limit but the depth of the flooding is not deep enough for the vehicle to pass through, or when the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the road height limit and the depth of the flooding is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through but the preceding vehicle is present on the road and the road is impassable; This is achieved by an apparatus comprising:

[0007] In the above configuration, the presence or absence of a road with a height limit in the traveling direction of the vehicle may be detected using any map information, as in Patent Document 1. The determination of whether the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the height limit (passable height from the road surface) of the road with a height limit may be achieved using map information or information detected by an on-board camera or sensor installed in the vehicle for detecting the surrounding conditions. Whether or not the road with a height limit is flooded and the depth of the flooding may be detected from the road's height limit detected by map information, etc., and the position of the water surface on the road surface detected by the on-board camera. The depth of water that the vehicle can pass through may be determined in advance based on the design structure of the vehicle. More specifically, the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle on a flooded road with a height limit can be detected by vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the preceding vehicle or communication via any external information center. When a flooded road with a height limit is detected and a preceding vehicle is present on the road, the road may be determined to be passable if there is a lane on the road without a preceding vehicle, and may be determined to be impassable if there is no lane without a preceding vehicle. The driver of the vehicle may be notified that the road is impassable if the vehicle's height is not equal to or less than the road's height limit, if the vehicle's height is equal to or less than the road's height limit but the flood depth is not deep enough to allow the vehicle to pass, or if the vehicle's height is equal to or less than the road's height limit and the flood depth is deep enough to allow the vehicle to pass but a preceding vehicle is present on the road and the road is impassable. The driver of the vehicle may be notified that the road is passable or impassable if the vehicle's height is equal to or less than the road's height limit and the flood depth is deep enough to allow the vehicle to pass, and there is no preceding vehicle on the road or the road is passable even if a preceding vehicle is present. The notification to the driver of the vehicle that the road is impassable or passable may be achieved by any method, such as visually or aurally.

[0008] Each of the means in the apparatus of the present invention described above may be realized by the operation of a computer device in accordance with a program.

[0009] In the device of the present invention described above, basically, when the road in the direction of travel of the host vehicle has a height limit and the host vehicle cannot pass through, or when the height of the host vehicle is lower than the road height limit but the road surface is flooded and the depth of the flooding exceeds the depth at which the host vehicle can pass, the driver of the host vehicle is notified that the road is not accessible. However, in the case of the present invention, even if the height of the host vehicle is lower than the road height limit and the flooding is deep enough for the host vehicle to pass through, if a preceding vehicle is stopped on the road because it is stuck or the like and there is no passable lane, the driver is notified that the road is not accessible. This makes it possible to avoid a situation where the host vehicle enters a flooded road with a height limit and is unable to pass through it and is forced to stop. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] Thus, according to the present invention, even if a vehicle is able to pass through a flooded road with a height limit due to the road's height limit and the flood depth, if there is no passable lane on the road due to a preceding vehicle being stuck, the driver of the vehicle is notified that the road is impassable, and the driver can avoid entering the road. In particular, since the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle on a flooded road with a height limit is determined through communication with an external device, even if the road is an underpass road or the like and visibility of the road in the direction of travel of the vehicle is unclear due to structures above the road, the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle can be more reliably detected, thereby reducing the possibility of the vehicle entering an impassable road. The device of the present invention may be mounted on any vehicle, such as an automobile.

[0011] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1]Fig. 1(A) is a schematic diagram of a vehicle equipped with a driving assistance device according to this embodiment, and a diagram illustrating the state of an underpass road detected in the vehicle's traveling direction. Fig. 1(B) is a diagram illustrating a state in which a preceding vehicle is stopped on an underpass road in the vehicle's traveling direction. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle driving assistance device of this embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing in the vehicle driving assistance device of this embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0013] 10...vehicle (own vehicle), 12...camera, 14...GPS device, 16...ECU, 18...communication device, 20...underpass road, 21...structure above road, 100...vehicle ahead, w...water surface, R...road surface BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0014] Overview of the device Referring to FIG. 1(A), a driving assistance device (ECU) 16 of this embodiment, which is incorporated into a vehicle (host vehicle) 10 such as an automobile, uses information from an on-board camera 12 that captures images of the situation ahead of the vehicle and a GPS device 14 that acquires position information of the vehicle 10, and, as described below, if there is a road 20 with a height restriction, such as an underpass road, in the direction of travel of the vehicle (host vehicle) 10, detects the road 20 with a height restriction and its height restriction h, and if the road surface R of the road is flooded, detects the water surface w, measures the distance ha between the water surface and the underside of a structure 21 above the road, detects the depth of the flooding hw from the height restriction h and the distance ha, and determines whether or not the host vehicle 10 is able to travel on the road. In this configuration, particularly in the case of the device of this embodiment, even if the height of the host vehicle is lower than the height limit h of the road 10, the flood depth hw is shallower than the depth of water that the host vehicle can pass through, and the road is drivable, if a preceding vehicle 100 is stopped ahead on the road because it is stuck, as shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 1(B), and there is no lane through which the host vehicle 10 can pass, a warning is issued to the driver of the host vehicle 10 that the host vehicle is prohibited from entering the road, so as to prevent the host vehicle from entering the road. At this time, the presence or absence of the preceding vehicle 100 ahead of the host vehicle 10 is detected using the on-board communication device 18 by vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the preceding vehicle 100 or communication tr with an external information center, so that a warning that the host vehicle is prohibited from entering the road can be issued even if the preceding vehicle 100 cannot be seen from the host vehicle 100.

[0015] Device configuration 2, the driving assistance device (ECU) 16 of this embodiment includes means for detecting whether or not there is a road with a height limit, means for detecting whether or not there is flooding on the road with a height limit and the depth of the flooding, means for detecting whether or not there is a preceding vehicle on the flooded road with a height limit and whether or not there is a passable lane, and means (notification means) for notifying whether or not it is possible to enter the detected road with a height limit. Note that these means may be realized by the operation of a computer device (ECU) in accordance with a program.

[0016] More specifically, the means for detecting the presence or absence of a road with a height limit first detects whether there is a road with a height limit in the direction of travel of the vehicle based on vehicle position information from the GPS and map information (which may be on-board or obtained from a communication network). When a road with a height limit is detected, it determines whether the height of the vehicle is lower than the road's height limit. If the vehicle's height is higher than the road's height limit, the notification means notifies the driver that the vehicle cannot enter the road. On the other hand, if the vehicle's height is lower than the road's height limit, the means for detecting the presence or absence of submergence and its depth detects the presence or absence of submergence and its depth and determines whether the submergence depth is deep enough to allow the vehicle to travel. The presence or absence of submergence and its depth may be determined by any method using images from the on-board camera 12, for example, as in Patent Document 1. The water depth at which the vehicle can travel is a depth at which the vehicle can travel on a road containing accumulated water without any problems, and can be determined in advance based on the design and structure of the vehicle. If the flood depth is equal to or greater than the upper limit of the water depth that the vehicle can travel on, it is not desirable for the vehicle to enter the road, and the notification means notifies the driver that the vehicle cannot enter the road. On the other hand, if the flood depth is equal to or less than the upper limit of the water depth that the vehicle can travel on, the means for detecting the presence of a preceding vehicle and the presence of a passable lane determines whether a preceding vehicle is stopped on the detected flooded road with height restrictions, and if a stopped preceding vehicle is present, whether there are any other passable lanes. Here, the presence of a preceding vehicle may be detected from information obtained through vehicle-to-vehicle communication with the preceding vehicle using the on-board communication device 18 or information from an external information center, as mentioned above. If a stopped preceding vehicle is present, the means for detecting the presence of a preceding vehicle and the presence of a passable lane on the flooded road with height restrictions detected from the map information determines whether there are any open lanes other than the lane in which the preceding vehicle is stopped. Thus, when there is a preceding vehicle and no other lanes are available, the vehicle cannot pass through the flooded road with the detected height limit, and the notification means notifies the driver that the vehicle cannot enter the road.On the other hand, if there is no preceding vehicle or if there is another open lane, it is possible to pass through, and the notification means notifies the driver that it is possible to enter that road.

[0017] The notification of whether or not it is possible to enter the road may be given to the driver by any method, such as a visual display or an audio message.

[0018] Operation of the device The driving assistance in the device according to this embodiment may be performed as shown in the flowchart in FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 3, first, when a road with a height limit is detected (step 1), it is determined whether the height limit is higher than the height of the host vehicle (step 2). If the height limit is higher than the height of the host vehicle, it is determined whether the depth of the flooded water on the road with a height limit is shallower than the depth of water that the host vehicle can pass through (step 3). If the depth of the flooded water is shallower than the depth of water that the host vehicle can pass through, it is determined whether a preceding vehicle is present on the flooded road with a height limit (step 4) and whether there is an open lane other than the lane where the preceding vehicle is present (step 5). If there is no preceding vehicle or an open lane, it is possible to pass through that road, so a notification that entry is permitted is issued (step 6).

[0019] On the other hand, if the height restriction is lower than the height of the vehicle (step 2), if the depth of the flooded water is deeper than the depth of water that the vehicle can pass through (step 3), or if there is a vehicle ahead on a flooded road with a height restriction (step 4) and there are no open lanes (step 5), the vehicle cannot pass through the road, so a warning that entry is not permitted is issued (step 7).

[0020] Thus, in the vehicle driving assistance device according to the present embodiment, even if the vehicle is able to pass through a flooded road with a height limit due to the road's height limit and the flood depth at that time, if there is no passable lane on the road because a preceding vehicle is stuck, for example, the driver of the vehicle is notified that the road is impassable, and the driver can avoid entering the road. Furthermore, by determining the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle through communication means with the outside, it is possible to detect that the vehicle cannot pass through even if the preceding vehicle is in a position that cannot be seen with the naked eye, thereby reducing the possibility of the vehicle entering an impassable road.

[0021] Although the above description has been made in relation to the embodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent that many modifications and changes can be easily made by those skilled in the art, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiments, but can be applied to various devices without departing from the concept of the present invention.

Claims

[Claim 1] A driving assistance device for a vehicle, means for detecting whether or not there is a road with height restrictions in the direction of travel of the vehicle; means for determining whether the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the height limit of the road when the road with the height limit is detected; means for detecting whether the road is flooded when the height of the vehicle is equal to or lower than the road height limit; means for determining whether the depth of the flooded water when the road is flooded is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through; means for determining, via communication means with an external device, whether or not a preceding vehicle is stopped on the road when the flood depth is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through; means for determining whether the road is passable when the preceding vehicle is present on the road; means for informing the driver of the vehicle that the road is impassable when the height of the vehicle is not equal to or less than the road height limit, when the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the road height limit but the depth of the flooding is not deep enough for the vehicle to pass through, or when the height of the vehicle is equal to or less than the road height limit and the depth of the flooding is deep enough for the vehicle to pass through but the preceding vehicle is present on the road and the road is impassable; An apparatus comprising:

Images