# US 12,214,804 B2 · Vehicle driving control system and vehicle traffic control apparatus

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- Number: US 12,214,804 B2
- Document ID: US12214804B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/554,604
- Filed: 2021-12-17
- Published: 2022-06-30
- Granted: 2025-02-04
- Earliest claimed: 2020-12-28
- Assignees: Subaru Corporation
- Applicants: Subaru Corporation
- Inventors: Hajime Oyama
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12214804B2

## CPC

- B60W 60/0016: {of the vehicle or its occupants}
- G08G 1/164: {Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles}
- G08G 1/0116: {from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons}
- G08G 1/0145: {for active traffic flow control}
- G08G 1/04: using optical or ultrasonic detectors
- G08G 1/16: Anti-collision systems (road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08)
- B60W 2554/80: Spatial relation or speed relative to objects
- G06V 20/54: of traffic, e.g. cars on the road, trains or boats
- G06V 20/56: exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
- H04N 13/239: using two two-dimensional [2D] image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance (H04N13/243 takes precedence)
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

A vehicle driving control system includes: a first road-traffic detection information acquisition unit and a first communicator of a mobile body; a road traffic information recognition unit, a control information calculation unit, and a second communicator of a traffic control apparatus; a second road-traffic detection information acquisition unit and a third communicator of a monitoring apparatus; and a driving control execution unit of a vehicle. The first and second road-traffic detection information acquisition units respectively acquire first and second road-traffic detection information. The road traffic information recognition unit recognizes road traffic information from the first and second road-traffic detection information received by the second communicator respectively through the first and third communicators. The control information calculation unit calculates, from the road traffic information, control information for the vehicle. The driving control execution unit controls driving based on the control information received by the first communicator through the second communicator.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle driving control system comprising:
first circuitry to be provided in a vehicle, and configured to acquire first road-traffic detection information including an image that captures an external environment of the vehicle;
a first communicator to be provided in the vehicle;
a second communicator to be provided in a traffic control apparatus associated with a traffic control area in which the vehicle is traveling;
second circuitry to be provided in a monitoring apparatus, and configured to acquire second road-traffic detection information including an image that captures an environment of a road that the monitoring apparatus is monitoring, the monitoring apparatus being disposed at a fixed point on a roadside of the road;
a third communicator to be provided in the monitoring apparatus;
third circuitry to be provided in the traffic control apparatus that has road map information including road traffic information, and configured to:
recognize current road traffic information including information on obstacles on a basis of the image included in the first road-traffic detection information received by the second communicator through the first communicator and the image included in the second road-traffic detection information received by the second communicator through the third communicator;
update the road map information based on the recognized current road traffic information;
in response to determining, based on the road map information, that there is an obstacle that is present in the traffic control area, calculate a time-to-contact (TTC) between the vehicle and the obstacle in the traffic control area on the basis of the road map information, the TTC being a time required for the vehicle to come into contact with the obstacle;
determine whether the TTC is less than or equal to a first threshold; and
in response to determining that the TTC is less than or equal to the first threshold, i) calculate a first target deceleration rate and ii) include first information indicating the first target deceleration rate in control information to be transmitted from the second communicator to the vehicle;
determine that there is another vehicle which is traveling within the traffic control area associated with the traffic control apparatus and which is at risk of colliding with the vehicle due to control of the vehicle based on the first target deceleration rate;
calculate another TTC between the vehicle and the another vehicle on the basis of the road map information;
determine whether the another TTC is less than or equal to the first threshold; and
in response to determining that the another TTC is less than or equal to the first threshold, i) calculate another first target deceleration rate and ii) include another first information indicating the another first target deceleration rate in another control information to be transmitted from the second communicator to the another vehicle;
fourth circuitry to be provided in the vehicle, and configured to perform a driving control on a basis of the control information received by the first communicator, wherein the fourth circuitry is configured to:
determine whether the control information includes the first information; and
in response to determining that the control information includes the first information, perform the driving control to decelerate the vehicle at the first target deceleration rate; and
another fourth circuitry to be provided in the another vehicle, and configured to perform a driving control on a basis of the another control information received by another first communicator, wherein the another fourth circuitry is configured to:
determine whether the another control information includes the another first information; and
in response to determining that the another control information includes the another first information, perform the driving control to decelerate the another vehicle at the another first target deceleration rate.

### Claim 2

A vehicle traffic control apparatus comprising:
a communicator; and
a circuitry coupled to the communicator and having road map information including road traffic information, and configured to:
acquire from a vehicle traveling in a traffic control area, first road-traffic detection information including an image that captures an external environment of the vehicle, and from a monitoring apparatus disposed at a fixed point on a roadside in the traffic control area, second road-traffic detection information including an image that captures an environment of a road that the monitoring apparatus is monitoring;
recognize current road traffic information including information on obstacles on a basis of the image included in the first road-traffic detection information and the image included in the second road-traffic detection information;
update the road map information based on the recognized current road traffic information;
in response to determining, based on the road map information, that there is an obstacle that is present in the traffic control area, calculate a time-to-contact (TTC) between the vehicle and the obstacle in the traffic control area on a basis of the road map information, the TTC being a time required for the vehicle to come into contact with the obstacle;
determine whether the TTC is less than or equal to a first threshold; and
in response to determining that the TTC is less than or equal to the first threshold, i) calculate a first target deceleration rate and ii) control the vehicle to decelerate at the first target deceleration rate by transmitting first information indicating the first target deceleration rate to the vehicle via the communicator;
determine that there is another vehicle which is traveling within the traffic control area and which is at risk of colliding with the vehicle due to control of the vehicle based on the first target deceleration rate;
calculate another TTC between the vehicle and the another vehicle on the basis of the road map information;
determine whether the another TTC is less than or equal to the first threshold; and
in response to determining that the another TTC is less than or equal to the first threshold, i) calculate another first target deceleration rate and ii) control the another vehicle to decelerate at the another first target deceleration rate by transmitting another first information indicating the another first target deceleration rate to the another vehicle via the communicator.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The vehicle driving control system according to claim 1,
wherein the third circuitry is configured to:
determine whether the TTC is less than or equal to a second threshold less than the first threshold; and
in response to determining that the TTC is less than or equal to the second threshold, i) calculate a second target deceleration rate higher than the first target deceleration rate, ii) include second information indicating the second target deceleration rate in the control information and iii) exclude the first information from the control information, and
wherein the fourth circuitry is configured to:
determine whether the control information includes the second information;
in response to determining that the control information includes the first information and does not include the second information, perform the driving control to decelerate the vehicle at the first target deceleration rate; and
in response to determining that the control information includes the second information, perform the driving control to decelerate the vehicle at the second target deceleration rate.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The vehicle traffic control apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the circuitry is configured to:
determine whether the TTC is less than or equal to a second threshold less than the first threshold; and
in response to determining that the TTC is less than or equal to the second threshold, i) calculate a second target deceleration rate higher than the first target deceleration rate and ii) control the vehicle to decelerate at the second target deceleration rate by transmitting second information indicating the second target deceleration rate to the vehicle via the communicator.