# US 2020/0286385 A1 · Driving assistance apparatus and driving assistance method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2020/0286385 A1 - Document ID: US20200286385A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/763,613 - Filed: 2018-03-08 - Published: 2020-09-10 - Earliest claimed: 2018-03-08 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Applicants: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Inventors: Haruhiko WAKAYANAGI; Mitsuo SHIMOTANI - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200286385A1 ## CPC - G08G 1/167: {Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection} - G08G 1/09626: {where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map} - G08G 1/0969: having a display in the form of a map - G08G 1/166: {for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes} - 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}) ## Abstract It is an object of the present invention to provide a driving assistance apparatus. The driving assistance apparatus according to the present invention includes: a subject vehicle information acquisition unit to acquire subject vehicle information; a non-subject vehicle information acquisition unit to acquire non-subject vehicle information; an object generation unit to generate, based on the subject vehicle information and the non-subject vehicle information, a travel location object indicating at least one of a location where the subject vehicle is currently to travel and a location where the subject vehicle is currently not to travel when the subject vehicle merges or changes lanes from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to a lane in which the non-subject vehicle travels; and a display controller to perform control to display, in accordance with travel of the subject vehicle, the travel location object superimposed on scenery around the subject vehicle. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A driving assistance apparatus comprising: a processor to execute a program; and a memory to store the program which, when executed by the processor, performs processes of: acquiring subject vehicle information including a current location and a speed of a subject vehicle; acquiring non-subject vehicle information including a current location and a speed of a non-subject vehicle; generating, based on the acquired subject vehicle information and the acquired non-subject vehicle information, a travel location object indicating at least one of a location where the subject vehicle is currently to travel and a location where the subject vehicle is currently not to travel when the subject vehicle merges or changes lanes from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to a lane in which the non-subject vehicle travels; and controlling to display, in accordance with travel of the subject vehicle, the generated travel location object superimposed on scenery around the subject vehicle. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling process comprises controlling to display the travel location object superimposed on a line marking forming the lane in which the subject vehicle travels. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling process comprises controlling to display the travel location object superimposed on the lane in which the subject vehicle travels. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generating process comprises generating the travel location object to distinguish between the location where the subject vehicle is currently to travel and the location where the subject vehicle is currently not to travel. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generating process comprises generating the travel location object responsive to extent to which the subject vehicle is capable of merging or changing lanes. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controlling process comprises controlling to display the travel location object superimposed on a line marking located in a direction of merging or changing lanes from among line markings constituting the lane in which the subject vehicle travels. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the controlling process comprises controlling to display or not to display the travel location object responsive to a predetermined event. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generating process comprises generating an acceleration and deceleration object indicating that the subject vehicle is currently to be accelerated or decelerated using characters or a symbol. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the travel location object indicates a path from the current location of the subject vehicle to a point where the subject vehicle is capable of merging or changing lanes, and the generating process comprises generating an object indicating an imaginary subject vehicle being the subject vehicle that is imaginary and located at the point. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the generating process comprises generating an object indicating that the imaginary subject vehicle and an imaginary non-subject vehicle being the non-subject vehicle that is imaginary are in contact with each other at the point. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of points where the subject vehicle is capable of merging or changing lanes, the travel location object indicates a path from the current location of the subject vehicle to each of the points. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the controlling process comprises controlling not to display the object when the lane to which the subject vehicle merges or changes lanes is congested, and controlling to display the object when the lane to which the subject vehicle merges or changes lanes is not congested. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The driving assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controlling process comprises controlling to display the travel location object superimposed on a lane which is behind the subject vehicle and in which the subject vehicle travels. ### Claim 14 A driving assistance method comprising: acquiring subject vehicle information including a current location and a speed of a subject vehicle; acquiring non-subject vehicle information including a current location and a speed of a non-subject vehicle; generating, based on the acquired subject vehicle information and the acquired non-subject vehicle information, a travel location object indicating at least one of a location where the subject vehicle is currently to travel and a location where the subject vehicle is currently not to travel when the subject vehicle merges or changes lanes from a lane in which the subject vehicle travels to a lane in which the non-subject vehicle travels; and performing control to display, in accordance with travel of the subject vehicle, the generated travel location object superimposed on scenery around the subject vehicle.