Vehicle driving assist apparatus and method

A vehicle driving assist apparatus comprising:

• an input section configured to sense a vehicle traveling condition of a vehicle;
• an output section configured to present assist information to a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a control section configured to prepare the assist information in accordance with the vehicle traveling condition, the control section being further configured to determine an estimation quantity representing a receptivity of the driver to receive the assist information presented to the driver, and to adjust the assist information in accordance with the estimation quantity of the driver;
• wherein the control section is configured to determine a driving behavior of the driver from the vehicle traveling condition, and to determine the estimation quantity of the driver from a variation of the driving behavior;
• and
• wherein the control section is configured to set the estimation quantity to a most recently determined value when the most recently determined value of the estimation quantity is available, and to set the estimation quantity to a predetermined initial value when the most recently determined value is not available, and wherein the control section is configured to update the estimation quantity in accordance with the driving behavior.

A vehicle driving assist method comprising:

• an input operation of ascertaining a vehicle traveling condition of a vehicle;
• an output operation of presenting assist information to a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a control operation of preparing the assist information in accordance with the vehicle traveling condition, determining an estimation quantity representing a receptivity of the driver to receive the assist information presented to the driver, and adjusting the assist information presented to the driver, in accordance with the estimation quantity of the driver;
• wherein the control operation includes an operation of determining an index parameter indicative of a driver's reaction to the assist information from the vehicle traveling condition, and an operation of calculating the estimation quantity from at least one of values of the index parameter.

A vehicle driving assist apparatus comprising:

• an input section configured to sense a vehicle traveling condition of a vehicle;
• an output section configured to present assist information to a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a control section configured to prepare the assist information in accordance with the vehicle traveling condition, the control section being further configured to determine an estimation quantity representing a receptivity of the driver to receive the assist information presented to the driver, and to adjust the assist information in accordance with the estimation quantity of the driver;
• wherein the control section is configured to calculate a clarity index of the assist information in accordance with the receptivity of the driver, to set the clarity index of the assist information lower as the receptivity of the driver is higher, and to set the assist information in accordance with the clarity index, and the control section is configured to increase clarity of the assist information for promoting a stability by using a visual graphic form of histogram when the clarity index becomes higher.

A vehicle driving assist apparatus comprising:

• an input section configured to sense a vehicle traveling condition of a vehicle;
• an output section configured to present assist information to a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a control section configured to prepare the assist information in accordance with the vehicle traveling condition,
• the control section being further configured to periodically calculate an index parameter indicative of a driving behavior of the driver, from the vehicle traveling condition, to determine a long term tendency typifying a collection of values of the index parameter collected during a longer period and a short term tendency typifying a collection of values of the index parameter collected during a most recent shorter period shorter than the longer period, to calculate a stability indicator from a difference between the long term tendency and the short term tendency, and to produce an assist message to present the assist information in accordance with the stability indicator.