Patent ID: 8885469
Filing Date: 2014-11-11
Classification: G08G,H04L

Abstract:
1. A drive assist apparatus in a vehicle, the driving assist apparatus having a prediction information acquisition section that successively acquires prediction information at a time point from an in-vehicle information detection portion, the prediction information being enabled to be transmitted via inter-vehicle communications using radio communication, the drive assist apparatus in the vehicle being configured to communicate via the inter-vehicle communications with any one of a plurality of different drive assist apparatuses that are individually in a plurality of different vehicles, the drive assist apparatus comprising: a via-point prediction section to obtain a predicted via-point of the vehicle where the vehicle exists from a time point to a future time point on a basis of prediction information at the time point acquired by the prediction information acquisition section, the prediction information at the time point containing at least a position at which the vehicle exists at the time point; a difference determination section that, when the prediction information acquisition section newly acquires second prediction information at a second time point that is later than a first time point, the difference determination section further determining whether the obtained difference is a predetermined value or more; a transmission determination section that a path prediction section that predicts a future vehicle-traveling path of the vehicle from predicted via-points of the vehicle successively obtained by the via-point prediction section; a deviation point search section that performs a search for a deviation point based on (i) a position of each of the leading vehicles contained in the prediction information of the each of the leading vehicles and (ii) the predicted future vehicle-traveling path of the vehicle predicted by the path prediction section, an effective range determination section that determines, when the deviation point is obtained by the search of the deviation point search section, an effective range of the prediction information on a basis of the deviation point that is obtained by the search of the deviation point search section, wherein the effective range of the prediction information determined by the effective range determination section is also transmitted when the prediction information is transmitted from the vehicle via the inter-vehicle communications.