Abstract:
A safe driving providing system for supporting a safe driving of a vehicle includes: a radar for transmitting a signal of a predetermined frequency bandwidth to a plurality of vehicles, analyzing signals provided by the vehicles, calculating location information and distance information of the vehicles, and finding inter-vehicle distance information of the vehicles based on the location information and the distance information; and a controller for receiving operation speed information from a vehicle information terminal device installed in each vehicle, determining driving safety of the plurality of vehicles based on the received operation speed information and inter-vehicle distance information provided by the radar, and transmitting a warning message for safe driving to the vehicle information terminal device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0095223 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 7, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a system and method for preventing rear-ending of a vehicle. 
     (b) Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional vehicle safe driving system senses the vehicle&#39;s condition by using radar and a vehicle sensor installed in the vehicle, and notifies a driver of the vehicle&#39;s condition or provides the same to other nearby vehicles by using vehicle communication. 
     The vehicle safe driving system increases the cost of the vehicle since a radar has to be attached to the vehicle, and performance of the radar influences system reliability. 
     The vehicle safe driving system has a problem that the range of the vehicle condition is restricted since it senses the vehicle condition by installing an image detector, a radar, or a sensor in the vehicle. 
     Also, a vehicle radar installed in the vehicle safe driving system is expensive and has a limit for recognizing objects or distance, and when it is applied to a vehicle, the efficiency is degraded in consideration of the cost and performance. 
     The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a safe driving providing system and method for providing a vehicle&#39;s safe driving and an emergency rescue service. 
     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a safe driving providing system for supporting safe driving of a vehicle, including: a radar for transmitting a signal of a predetermined frequency bandwidth to a plurality of vehicles, analyzing signals provided by the vehicles, calculating location information and distance information of the vehicles, and finding inter-vehicle distance information of the vehicles based on the location information and the distance information; and a controller for receiving operation speed information from a vehicle information terminal device installed in each vehicle, determining driving safety of the plurality of vehicles based on the received operation speed information and inter-vehicle distance information provided by the radar, and transmitting a warning message for safe driving to the vehicle information terminal device. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention provides a safe driving providing method of a base station for supporting a vehicle&#39;s safe driving, including: receiving operation speed information and vehicle location information from vehicle information terminal devices installed in a plurality of vehicles; calculating location information and distance information of the vehicles by using a radar, and finding inter-vehicle distance information of the vehicles by using the location information and the distance information; and determining driving safety of the vehicles based on the inter-vehicle distance information and the operation speed information, and transmitting a warning message for safe driving to the vehicle information terminal device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a safe driving providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of an internal configuration of a vehicle information terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of an internal configuration of a communication merger device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows an area for transmitting a warning message for the vehicle&#39;s safe driving according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  shows a safe driving providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, simply by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification. 
     Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. 
       FIG. 1  shows a safe driving providing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     The safe driving providing system includes a vehicle information terminal device  100  and a communication merger device  200 . 
     The vehicle information terminal device  100  generates vehicle operation information and vehicle location information collected from the vehicle in real time, and transmits them to the communication merger device  200 . Here, vehicle operation information includes vehicle&#39;s running speed, deceleration state, acceleration state, and fuel consumption information. 
     The communication merger device  200  has a radar  202  for detecting inter-vehicle distance information of a plurality of vehicles, determines vehicle&#39;s driving safety based on the vehicle operation information and inter-vehicle distance information provided by the vehicle information terminal device  100 , generates a warning message for safe driving, and transmits the warning message to the vehicle information terminal device  100 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a vehicle information terminal device  100  will now be described in detail. 
       FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of an internal configuration of a vehicle information terminal device  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     The vehicle information terminal device  100  includes a vehicle information collecting device  102 , a vehicle global positioning system (GPS) receiver  104 , and a vehicle terminal  106 . 
     The vehicle information collecting device  102  collects vehicle operation information output by an electronic control device (ECU) and transmits it to the vehicle terminal  106 . 
     The vehicle GPS receiver  104  calculates vehicle location information by monitoring vehicle&#39;s azimuth information from an artificial satellite. 
     The vehicle terminal  106  receives vehicle operation information from the vehicle information collecting device  102 , receives vehicle location information from the vehicle GPS receiver  104 , and transmits vehicle operation information and vehicle location information to the communication merger device  200  through a vehicle communicator  108 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a communication merger device  200  will now be described. 
       FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of an internal configuration of a communication merger device  200  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     The communication merger device  200  includes a radar  202 , a GPS receiver  204 , and a controller  206 . Here, the communication merger device  200  represents a function module of the base station. 
     The radar  202  transmits signals of a predetermined frequency bandwidth to a plurality of vehicles, receives signals from the plurality of vehicles to calculate the vehicles&#39; locations and distances, and acquires inter-vehicle distance information of the vehicles by using the vehicles&#39; locations and distances. 
     The radar  202  matches the vehicles&#39; locations and inter-vehicle distance information calculated by the radar  220  and vehicle location information and vehicle operation information provided by the vehicle information terminal device  100  to generate safe driving data including respective vehicles&#39; locations, inter-vehicle distance information, and operation speed information. 
     The GPS receiver  204  receives azimuth information of the communication merger device  200  from the artificial satellite, and calculates first location information of the communication merger device  200 . 
     The controller  206  compares the first location information provided by the GPS receiver  204  and second location information of the communication merger device  200  stored in a memory unit (not shown) to periodically generate a location error value. Here, the location error value is used to correct vehicle location information provided by the vehicle information terminal device  100  or it is transmitted to the vehicle information terminal device  100  to correct vehicle location information of the vehicle information terminal device  100 . 
     The controller  206  calculates location information correction data by correcting vehicle location information provided by the vehicle information terminal device  100  based on the location error value, and transmits the calculated location information correction data to the vehicle information terminal device  100 . 
     The controller  206  analyzes inter-vehicle distance information and operation speed information for a plurality of vehicles, and determines the vehicles&#39; driving safety. In detail, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the controller  206  distinguishes a safe area  300 , an unsafe area  310 , and a rear-end accident area  320  of the vehicle operation by analyzing the vehicle&#39;s inter-vehicle distance information and operation speed information. Here, the unsafe area  310  represents an area where there may be vehicles&#39; rear-ending, and the rear-end accident area  320  represents an area where the vehicles cannot avoid a rear-end accident. 
     The controller  206  performs no act when the vehicle is operated in the safe area  300 , it generates a rear-end warning message when the vehicle is operated in the unsafe area  310 , and it generates an emergency rescue message and transmits it to a plurality of vehicle information terminal devices  100  located at a predetermined area when the vehicle is operated in the rear-end accident area  320 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a safe driving providing method will be described in detail. 
       FIG. 5  shows a safe driving providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     The vehicle terminal  106  receives vehicle operation information including operation speed information from the vehicle information collecting device  102 , receives vehicle location information from the vehicle GPS receiver  104 , and transmits vehicle operation information and vehicle location information to the communication merger device  200  through the vehicle communicator  108  (S 100 , S 102 , and S 104 ). 
     The controller  206  receives vehicle location information and vehicle operation information of the vehicle information terminal device  100  through a base station communicator  208  (S 106 ). The controller  206  receives first location information of the communication merger device  200  from the GPS receiver  204 , compares it with second location information of the communication merger device  200  stored in a memory (not shown), and periodically calculates a location error value. 
     The controller  206  calculates location correction data by correcting vehicle location information provided by the vehicle information terminal device  100  based on the location error value. 
     The radar  202  transmits a signal of a predetermined frequency bandwidth to a plurality of vehicles, receives signals from the plurality of vehicles, calculates locations and distances of the vehicles, and uses the vehicles&#39; locations and distances to find inter-vehicle distance information of the vehicles. 
     The radar  202  receives vehicle operation information and vehicle location information from the vehicle information terminal device  100 , and receives location correction data from which vehicle location information is corrected from the controller  206 . 
     The radar  202  matches vehicle location and inter-vehicle distance information calculated by the radar  220  and vehicle operation information and location correction data provided by the vehicle information terminal device  100  to generate safe driving data including the respective vehicles&#39; location, inter-vehicle distance information, and operation speed information. 
     The controller  206  receives the safe driving data from the radar  202 , analyzes a plurality of vehicles&#39; inter-vehicle distance information and operation speed information to determine the vehicle&#39;s driving safety (S 108  and S 110 ). 
     In detail, the controller  206  determines to which one of the safe area  300 , the unsafe area  310 , and the rear-end accident area  320  the vehicle operation belongs, and generates a rear-end warning message in the case of the unsafe area  310 , and an emergency rescue message in the case of the unsafe area  310 . 
     The controller  206  transmits the calculated location correction data and a rear-end warning message or an emergency rescue message for the vehicle&#39;s safe driving to the vehicle terminal  106  through the base station communicator  208  and the vehicle communicator  108  (S 112  and S 114 ). 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, the cost generated by installing a radar in the vehicle is reduced and a vehicle safety device is easily realized by installing a vehicle information terminal device and a vehicle communication module in the vehicle and installing a radar in a base station. 
     The embodiment of the present invention is applicable to the vehicle safe driving service, rear-end preventing service, and emergency rescue service by analyzing the individual vehicle&#39;s operation state and location in real time. 
     The embodiment of the present invention corrects the vehicle&#39;s safe driving and the vehicle&#39;s location information to provide new services including high-precision location information and group operation in addition to vehicle safety. 
     The above-described embodiments can be realized through a program for realizing functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments or a recording medium for recording the program in addition to through the above-described device and/or method, which is easily realized by a person skilled in the art. 
     While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.