JP2008107155A - Cost calculation apparatus, navigation apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for calculating power resource costs reflecting the driving characteristics or the like of a driver. <P>SOLUTION: Driving information is collected on the basis of a detection signal from each sensor for the duration from the time when a vehicle passed through a starting point of an evaluation link to the time when it passed through an ending point of the evaluation link (S100). When the vehicle has passed through the evaluation link, on the basis of the driving information collected from each sensor, the driving characteristics of the driver on the evaluation link are specified (S110). On the basis of the specified driving characteristics, fuel costs (1) with respect to the evaluation link are calculated (S120). The fuel costs (1) are then corrected on the basis of the gradient data of the road of the evaluation link, and fuel costs (2) are calculated (S130). The calculated fuel costs (2) are stored in an external memory 23 in connection with the evaluation link (S140). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to calculation of a route cost related to a route search to a destination.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, navigation apparatuses that search for an optimum route from a current position to a destination and perform route guidance are known. In general, Dijkstra method or cost calculation according to the Dijkstra method is used for route search in this type of navigation device. Specifically, the link cost for the link between nodes is used to calculate the route cost from the current position to each node (evaluation value for the route), and at the stage where all the cost calculation to the destination is completed, A link to the destination is set by connecting a link having the lowest route cost (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By using the route search function of such a navigation device, the travel distance to the destination and the travel time can be shortened.
JP 11-2877667 A

  By the way, in recent years, society's interest in environmental conservation has increased. As one example, environmentally friendly vehicles that suppress the emission of carbon dioxide and the like such as fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and electric vehicles are becoming widespread. In view of such a situation, in a navigation device mounted on a vehicle, not only a route search is performed in order to shorten a travel distance and a travel time to a destination, but also power resources (gasoline, light oil, ethanol, LPG, natural What is required is a search for a route that can reach the destination while minimizing the consumption of various fuels such as gas and hydrogen, and the energy sources necessary for driving the vehicle such as electric power. Therefore, in order to perform a route search in consideration of the power resource consumption in the navigation device, the power resource cost, which is an evaluation value for the power resource consumption, is calculated as the above-mentioned route cost, and the cost calculation is performed using this. There is a need to do.

  However, the vehicle's power resource consumption rate (so-called fuel efficiency), which is the basis for calculating the power resource cost, is not always constant with the value expressed by the fixed land fuel efficiency or the 10.15 mode fuel efficiency, and the vehicle has the same performance. However, it varies greatly depending on the driving characteristics of the driver, road characteristics such as road gradient and curve, and traffic conditions. Therefore, in order to calculate an appropriate power resource cost, it is necessary to appropriately evaluate the driving characteristics of the driver and further consider road characteristics and traffic conditions.

  The present invention has been made to achieve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for calculating a power resource cost reflecting the driving characteristics of the driver.

  The cost calculation device according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, specifies a driving characteristic of a driver in an evaluation range or an evaluation point where the vehicle has traveled (hereinafter referred to as an evaluation range / point). The power resource cost that is an evaluation value of the power resource consumption for the node or link corresponding to the evaluation range / point is calculated using the identified driving characteristics, and is stored in association with the node or link. Features.

  Here, the evaluation range / point for specifying the driving characteristics includes, for example, a section including one or more links, a node, a point on the link, a region including a plurality of nodes and links, and the like.

  According to the cost calculation apparatus configured as described above, the power resource cost is calculated by reflecting the driving characteristics of the user (= driver) specified based on the driving information acquired while the vehicle is traveling. Thereby, in a navigation apparatus, the consumption of a power resource can be reduced by performing the route search based on the above cost calculation using the appropriate power resource cost in which the driving characteristic of the user was reflected.

  The driving information acquired for specifying the driving characteristics is, for example, as shown in claim 2, the amount of operation of the accelerator, the amount of power consumption of the in-vehicle device, the amount of operation of the steering, the amount of operation of the brake, or the idling time It may be at least one of the power resource consumption. These physical quantities are all direct factors of changes in the power resource consumption rate, and well represent the characteristics of the user's driving. Therefore, by acquiring these physical quantities as driving information and specifying the driving characteristics based on the acquired information, it is possible to appropriately evaluate the driving characteristics of the user related to the power resource consumption. And the driving | running | working characteristic specified based on the above-mentioned driving | operation information can calculate the motive power resource cost which reflected the driving | operation characteristic of the user which concerns on the consumption amount of motive power resources more appropriately.

  By the way, the power resource consumption rate (so-called fuel consumption) varies not only with the characteristics of driving but also with the gradient of the road. In other words, the power resource consumption rate deteriorates if it is an uphill road, and the power resource consumption rate improves if it is a downhill road. Therefore, as shown in claim 3, it is preferable to calculate the power resource cost in consideration of information on the road gradient. Specifically, if the link for calculating the power resource cost is an uphill road, the power resource cost is corrected to be higher, and if the link is a downward road, the power resource cost is corrected to be lower. . By doing in this way, in addition to a user's driving characteristic, the more exact power resource cost which considered the road gradient further can be calculated.

  The power resource consumption rate also varies depending on traffic conditions such as road congestion. For example, when traveling on a congested road, the power resource consumption rate is significantly worse than when traveling at an economic speed. Therefore, as shown in claim 4, it is preferable to obtain traffic information related to road traffic conditions and calculate the power resource cost in consideration of the obtained traffic information. Specifically, when information related to traffic congestion is acquired from the outside by wireless communication or the like, it may be possible to correct the power resource cost for a node or link corresponding to the road in the traffic congestion to be higher. By doing in this way, in addition to a user's driving characteristic, the more exact power resource cost which considered the traffic situation can be computed.

  By the way, when calculating the power resource cost by the driving characteristic obtained by actually traveling, the user's driving characteristic can be obtained by statistically using a plurality of calculation results from the past for the same node or link for cost calculation. It can be reflected more accurately in route search. However, it is conceivable that the characteristics of the user's driving gradually change with time. In this case, there is a possibility that the value of the power resource cost whose calculation time is too old may not match the characteristics of the current user.

  Therefore, as shown in claim 5, the power resource cost is cumulatively recorded for each node or link within a predetermined period from the present to the past, and the record of the power resource cost whose calculation time is older than the predetermined period is discarded. It may be configured to do so. By doing in this way, the route search which reflected the user's recent driving | operation characteristic can be performed by using comparatively new power resource cost for cost calculation statistically.

  Further, even within the above-described predetermined period, it can be inferred that the user's driving characteristics are changing if the tendency of the calculation result of the power resource cost is greatly different between the past and the present. In such a case, it is not preferable to calculate the cost by adding the calculation result of the power resource cost before the user's driving characteristics change to the statistics. Therefore, as shown in claim 6, when the temporal tendency of the power resource cost that is cumulatively recorded for each node or ring in the storage means within a predetermined period has changed beyond a predetermined value, It may be configured to discard the record of power resource costs prior to the change in trend. By doing in this way, the route search corresponding to the time change of a user's driving characteristic can be performed.

  By the way, the above-described cost calculation apparatus can be configured as a part of the navigation apparatus as shown in claim 7. According to such a navigation device, the route search using the power resource cost calculated in consideration of the driving characteristics of the user is performed, and the travel guidance based on the searched route is performed, so that the power to the destination is reached. Resource consumption can be reduced.

  When calculating the cost of the route calculated by route search, the power resource cost corresponding to the node or link constituting the route is stored for the reason that the road constituting the route has never traveled. If not, the power resource cost corresponding to the node or link is calculated from the power resource cost corresponding to another node or link having the same road type as the road type of this node or link. It is good to estimate.

  Even if the roads are different, the driving characteristics of the user are considered to be somewhat similar if the road types such as general roads, highways, and mountain roads are the same. Therefore, by estimating the power resource cost from the power resource cost corresponding to another node or link that is the same road type as the node or link constituting the route, it is appropriate even for roads that are not actually traveling. The value of power resource cost can be obtained. In order to estimate the power resource cost, for example, an average value per unit distance of a plurality of power resource costs corresponding to the same road type is calculated, and a value obtained by multiplying the average value by the distance of the link is used as the power resource cost. It is conceivable to use an estimated value of.

  In order to realize the operating characteristic specifying means, the cost calculating means, and the cost recording means in the cost calculating apparatus as described above in a computer system, the program may be provided as a program that operates on the computer system as described in claim 9. Good. Such a program is recorded on a computer-readable storage medium such as a magnetic disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk, a ROM, or a RAM, and loaded into the computer as necessary, so that each of the above-described means is used. Functions can be realized.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Description of configuration of in-vehicle navigation device 1]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle navigation device 1 includes a position detector 21 that detects the current position of the vehicle, an operation switch group 22 for inputting various instructions from a user, and various information. External memory 23, VICS receiver 24, map data input device 25 for inputting map data and the like from an external recording medium on which map data and various information are recorded, and a display device for performing various displays such as a map display screen 26, a voice output device 27 for outputting various guide voices, an accelerator sensor 28, a brake sensor 29, a steering sensor 30, a power consumption notification unit 31, a fuel injection amount notification unit 32, And a control unit 33 that performs overall control of each unit.

  The position detector 21 receives a radio wave transmitted from an artificial satellite for GPS (Global Positioning System) via a GPS antenna, detects a position of the vehicle, etc., and an angular velocity of rotational motion applied to the vehicle. And a vehicle speed sensor 21c for outputting a detection signal corresponding to the speed of the vehicle. Each of the sensors 21a to 21c has an error having a different property, and is configured to be used while complementing each other.

The operation switch group 22 includes a touch panel that is configured integrally with the display device 26 and installed on the display screen, and a mechanical key switch provided around the display device 26.
The VICS receiver 24 is for receiving information provided from a fixed station for a VICS (registered trademark, Vehicle Information and Communication System) service arranged near the road. Information received via the VICS receiver 24 is processed by the control unit 33.

  The map data input device 25 reads data from the nonvolatile storage medium based on the control from the control unit 33 and inputs the data to the control unit 33. The data stored in the non-volatile storage medium includes the above-described map matching data for improving the position detection accuracy, map data, route guidance data, and a program for operating the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1. Etc. As a storage medium for these data, a storage medium such as a hard disk, a DVD-ROM, a CD-ROM, or a memory card can be used.

  The map data includes various data such as node data, link data, cost data, road data, mark data, intersection data, and facility data. The node data includes a node ID, which is a node identification number, node coordinates, link IDs of all links connected to the node, node types (types such as intersections and junctions), and identification numbers of images representing the nodes. Data consisting of node characteristic information such as an image ID. The link data includes a link ID that is an identification number of the link, a link length, a node ID of each node connected to the start point and the end point, a road type such as a highway, a toll road, a general road, an urban / suburban road, a mountain road, It consists of data such as road width, number of lanes, link travel time, legal speed limit, road gradient, route cost related to distance and time required to travel on the road, and the like.

  The external memory 23 is composed of a nonvolatile memory, and stores a fuel cost (corresponding to a power resource cost in the claims), which is an evaluation value for the amount of fuel consumed in each link, in association with each link.

  The display device 26 is a color display device having a display surface such as a liquid crystal display. The display device 26 can display various images on the display surface in accordance with the input of the video signal from the control unit 33. For example, when the vehicle is traveling, a mark indicating the current location identified from the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 21 as the navigation screen and the map data input from the map data input device 25, and guidance to the destination Additional data such as a route, name, landmark, and various landmark symbols are displayed in an overlapping manner. Various information such as facility guides can also be displayed.

  The audio output device 27 is configured so that various information can be notified to the user by voice. Thereby, various types of guidance such as route guidance can be given to the user by both the display by the display device 26 and the voice output from the voice output device 27.

  The accelerator sensor 28 measures an operation amount (accelerator opening degree) when the driver operates the accelerator, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the operation amount to the control unit 33. The brake sensor 29 measures a torque value when the driver operates the brake, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the measured amount to the control unit 33. On the other hand, the control unit 33 determines whether the braking is sudden or not based on the input torque value. The steering sensor 30 measures a steering angle when the driver operates the steering, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the steering angle to the control unit 33. On the other hand, the control unit 33 determines whether or not the steering wheel is a sudden handle according to the input steering angle.

  The power consumption notification unit 31 measures the power consumption of a specific in-vehicle device relating to the comfort in the vehicle such as an air conditioner and an audio, and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the measured value to the control unit 33. The fuel injection amount notification unit 32 measures the amount of fuel injected from the fuel injection device to the engine and outputs the measured value to the control unit 33.

  The vehicle-mounted navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment is assumed to be mounted on a vehicle using gasoline or light oil as fuel, and the above-described fuel injection is used as means for inputting the amount of fuel consumed as power resources. A quantity notification unit 32 is provided. On the other hand, if the in-vehicle navigation device 1 is mounted on a vehicle that uses LPG, natural gas, hydrogen gas, or the like as fuel, the fuel gas consumption amount is measured instead of the fuel injection amount notifying unit 32, and this is controlled. What is necessary is just to provide the means to output to the part 33. FIG. Further, if the in-vehicle navigation device 1 is mounted on a vehicle having a power source and a motor as power sources, the power consumption by the motor is measured instead of the fuel injection amount notifying unit 32 and this is output to the control unit 33. What is necessary is just to provide the means to do.

  The control unit 33 is configured around a known computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, a bus line connecting these components, and the like, and performs overall control of the above-described components. The control unit 33 executes various processes according to a program stored in a ROM or the like.

  For example, the navigation-related processing includes map display processing, route search processing, route guidance processing, and the like. In the map display process, the current position of the vehicle is calculated as a set of coordinates and traveling directions based on each detection signal from the position detector 21, and a map and the like near the current position read via the map data input device 25 are displayed. This is processing to be displayed on the device 26. Further, the route search process is performed from the current position to the destination based on the map data stored in the storage medium set in the map data input unit 25 and the destination set according to the operation of the operation switch group 22. The optimal route is automatically calculated. As a method for automatically setting an optimum route in this way, a method such as cost calculation by the Dijkstra method is known.

  The route guidance process is a process for performing travel guidance along the route obtained by the route search process. In this route guidance process, the point of travel guidance (so-called navigation such as a right / left turn instruction) and the content of the travel guidance are obtained from the result of route search and road shape data stored as map data, intersection position information, etc. To decide. Based on the determination, a map of the current position, a schematic diagram of the expressway, an enlarged view around the intersection are drawn and displayed on the display device 26 near the intersection. The travel guidance is also used with the output of the guide voice by the voice output device 27.

  Furthermore, the control unit 33 performs a “fuel cost calculation process” that evaluates the user's driving characteristics as the vehicle travels, and calculates a fuel cost that is an evaluation value for the fuel consumption for each link based on the evaluation. To do. Then, in the above route search process, the control unit 33 uses the fuel cost for cost calculation instead of the conventional cost for distance and time, and the fuel consumption when traveling to the destination is minimized. The route is searched (“route search processing by fuel cost”). Details of these “fuel cost calculation processing” and “route search processing based on fuel cost” will be described later.

  The schematic configuration of the in-vehicle navigation device 1 according to the embodiment has been described above. The correspondence between each configuration in the present embodiment and the configuration described in the claims is as follows. The position detector 21 of the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1 in the present embodiment corresponds to the current position specifying means in the claims. The external memory 23 corresponds to a storage unit. The VICS receiver 24 corresponds to a traffic condition acquisition unit. Further, the map data input device 25 corresponds to map data acquisition means. Further, the accelerator sensor 28, the brake sensor 29, the steering sensor 30, the power consumption notification unit 31, and the fuel injection amount notification unit 32 correspond to driving information acquisition means. The control unit 33 corresponds to an operation characteristic specifying unit, a cost calculation unit, and a cost storage unit.

  Hereinafter, the “fuel cost calculation process” and the “route search process based on the fuel cost” executed by the control unit 33 of the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 and 4 and FIGS. This will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Explanation of fuel cost calculation process]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of “fuel cost calculation process” executed by the control unit 33 of the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1. This process is a process for identifying the driving characteristics in the link based on the driving information collected while the vehicle traveled from the start point to the end point of the link, and calculating the fuel cost for the link from the driving characteristic. It is executed every time it travels on each link. That is, in this embodiment, the user's driving characteristic is specified for each link as the “evaluation section / point” in the claims, and the fuel cost for the link is calculated.

  When the “fuel cost calculation process” is started, the control unit 33 first determines the accelerator during the period from when the vehicle passes the start point of the evaluation target link (hereinafter referred to as the evaluation link) to the end point of the evaluation link. Driving information is collected based on detection signals from sensors such as the sensor 28, the brake sensor 29, the steering sensor 30, the power consumption notification unit 31, the fuel injection amount notification unit 32, and the vehicle speed sensor 21c (step 100; hereinafter, step) Is simply represented by the symbol S). Next, after the vehicle passes the evaluation link, the user's driving specification in the evaluation link is specified based on the driving information collected from each sensor (S110).

Here, a specific method for specifying the driving characteristics will be described. To identify the driving characteristics, first, based on driving information from each sensor, "Focus-oriented index", "Indoor comfort index", "Safe driving index", "Economic driving index" for each factor that affects fuel efficiency. , Each evaluation index of “STOP & GO index” is calculated (analysis of driving information). The contents of each evaluation item are as follows.
Driving priority index: The degree of fuel consumption when the accelerator opening is equal to or greater than the threshold Indoor comfort index: The degree of fuel consumption equivalent to the amount of power consumed by the vehicle-mounted equipment Safe driving index: Frequency of sudden braking and sudden steering above the threshold Degree of safety based on STOP & GO index: Degree of fuel consumption when idling (vehicle speed = 0) Economic driving index: Degree of economic efficiency based on the ratio of actual fuel consumption when driving on the evaluation link and standard fuel consumption of the evaluation link Here, the actual fuel consumption and the standard fuel consumption are obtained as follows.
Actual fuel consumption = Fuel consumption during evaluation link travel / Evaluation link distance (or actual travel distance)
Standard fuel efficiency = Standard fuel efficiency according to road type of evaluation link x Coefficient according to gradient of evaluation link Note that the standard fuel efficiency according to road type is a value measured by a manufacturer's test, etc. A value or the like obtained by correcting spec data such as mode fuel efficiency according to the road type may be registered in advance.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a graph schematically showing the evaluation index calculated by analyzing the driving information as described above.
Next, a driving characteristic coefficient is calculated by performing weighted evaluation on each evaluation index calculated by the above-described driving information analysis (specification of driving characteristics). Specifically, a weight corresponding to the degree to which the item affects fuel consumption is assigned to each evaluation index described above, and the total score is calculated. The total score of the evaluation indices is calculated by, for example, the following formula (a).

Total score = travel-oriented index × a + indoor comfort index × b + safe driving index × c + economic driving index × d + STOP & GO index × e (a)
Here, a to e are weighting coefficients corresponding to the respective items. For example, a positive number is used for an item that causes deterioration in fuel consumption (running importance index, indoor comfort index, etc.), and fuel efficiency is improved. Negative numbers are assigned to the factors (safe driving index, economic driving index, etc.). In addition, the weighting coefficient is assigned a larger numerical value to an item having a large degree of influence on fuel consumption, and is assigned a smaller numerical value to an item having a small degree of influence on fuel consumption.

  Then, the value of the driving characteristic coefficient corresponding to the calculated total point of the evaluation index is acquired from the list of driving characteristic coefficients set in advance for each numerical range of the total points of the evaluation index. This driving characteristic coefficient is a coefficient by which the reference fuel efficiency is multiplied in order to reflect the driving characteristics of the user when calculating the fuel efficiency cost.

  The driving characteristics may be specified by the following method in addition to the method of calculating the driving characteristic coefficient by the weighted evaluation for each evaluation coefficient as described above. For example, based on the numerical relationship between the evaluation indices or based on the shape characteristics of the evaluation index graph (see FIG. 3), for example, “travel-oriented”, “STOP & GO”, “travel-oriented & indoor comfort” The characteristics of the user's driving may be classified by type such as “type”, “safe driving type & economic driving type”, and driving characteristic coefficients set in advance for each type may be acquired.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG. The fuel cost (1) for the evaluation link is calculated based on the driving characteristic coefficient calculated in the identification of the driving characteristic in S110 (S120). The fuel cost (1) is calculated by the following equation (b), for example.

Fuel cost (1) = reference fuel consumption according to road type of evaluation link × driving characteristic coefficient × distance of evaluation link (b)
Subsequently, the fuel cost (1) calculated in S120 is corrected based on the road gradient data of the evaluation link, and the fuel cost (2) is calculated (S130). The fuel cost (2) is calculated by the following equation (c), for example.

Fuel cost (2) = Fuel cost (1) × Evaluation link gradient coefficient (c)
Here, if the evaluation link is an upward gradient, the fuel cost is corrected to be higher (gradient coefficient> 1), and if the evaluation link is a downward gradient, the fuel cost is corrected to be lower (gradient coefficient <1). In addition, the value of the gradient coefficient is set in accordance with the average gradient of the gradient.

Then, the fuel cost (2) calculated in S130 is stored in the external memory 23 in association with the evaluation link (S140), and the “fuel cost calculation process” is ended.
[Explanation of route search processing by fuel cost]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of “route search calculation processing based on fuel cost” executed by the control unit 33 of the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1. This process is started when the user inputs an instruction for executing a route search based on the fuel cost via the operation switch group 22.

  When starting the “route calculation process by fuel cost”, the control unit 33 first calculates the current position based on the detection signal from the position detector 21 (S200). Next, a message for prompting the input of the destination information is displayed on the display device 26 and output as a voice to the voice output device 27, and the destination information input by the user operating the operation switch group 22 is received ( S210). In addition, as destination information, a place name, a facility name, an address, latitude / longitude, etc. can be considered, for example. Moreover, when receiving destination information, map data is acquired from the map data input device 25 as needed, and input of destination information by the user is supported using the map data.

  Subsequently, map data such as node data and link data necessary for searching for a route from the current position to the destination is acquired from the map data input device 25, and the fuel cost corresponding to the acquired link data is obtained from the external memory 23. Obtain (S220).

  Next, traffic information on a road around the current position is acquired via the VICS receiver 24 (S230). The traffic information provided by VICS includes, for example, traffic jam information, accident / damaged vehicle / construction information, speed regulation / lane regulation information, and the like. And based on the traffic information received via the VICS receiver 24, the fuel cost acquired by S220 is correct | amended according to the traffic condition of a road (S240). Specifically, for a traffic jam or a congested road, the fuel cost is largely corrected according to the degree or length of the traffic jam or congestion. For roads on which speed regulation is performed, the fuel cost is corrected according to the regulation speed.

  Subsequently, route calculation is performed (S250), and the “route search processing by fuel cost” is terminated. The route calculation method uses the Dijkstra method, etc., calculates the route from the current position (departure point) to the destination based on the map data acquired in S220 and the fuel cost (including those corrected in S240), and calculates the cost. Search for a route that minimizes the total fuel cost.

  Here, a specific example of the route search using the fuel cost will be described with reference to FIG. In the maps shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, nodes A, B, C, D, E, and F that are relay points between the node S at the current position (departure point) and the node G that is the destination. Is present. A link is set between nodes that can pass between the nodes (between one node and the other node), and a fuel cost is set for each link. This fuel cost is calculated by the above-mentioned “fuel cost calculation procedure” (see FIG. 2), and is stored in the external memory 23. Specifically, the link SA (a link that can be passed from the node S to the node A. The same applies to other links) is the fuel cost 14, the link SB is the fuel cost 32, the link AB is the fuel cost 15, and the link AC is Fuel Cost 16, Link BD Fuel Cost 30, Link CD Fuel Cost 24, Link CE Fuel Cost 32, Link CG Fuel Cost 80, Link DE Fuel Cost 20, Link DF Fuel Cost 24, Link EF Fuel The cost 20, the link EG is the fuel cost 32, and the link FG is the fuel cost 10.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (a), when there is no traffic situation that affects fuel consumption such as traffic jam on the road of each link, the route with the lowest fuel cost can be obtained by calculating the route using the Dijkstra method. , A path of node S → node A → node C → node D → node F → node G is obtained. The total fuel cost of this route is 88.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when a traffic jam occurs on the road of the link AC, the fuel cost of the link AC is corrected from 16 to 40 based on information such as the degree and length of the traffic jam. The As a result, when a route is calculated using the Dijkstra method, a route of node S → node A → node B → node D → node F → node G is obtained as a route having the lowest fuel cost. The total fuel cost of this route is 93.

[Other ideas]
Hereinafter, various devices applicable to the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  In the above “fuel cost calculation procedure” (see FIG. 2), the driving information of the vehicle is collected from the start point to the end point of the link, and the fuel cost of the link is calculated. When travel is started, collection of driving information is started from the middle of the link, and the fuel cost of the entire link can be calculated according to the ratio of the actual travel distance of the link and the distance of the entire link. .

  In the “fuel cost calculation process” (see FIG. 2), when the calculated fuel cost is stored in the external memory 23, the fuel cost corresponding to the evaluation link calculated in the past is already stored in the external memory 23. If it is, the fuel cost data recorded previously may be replaced with the latest data and stored. In this case, the latest fuel cost calculation result can always be used for cost calculation.

  Alternatively, calculation results of a plurality of fuel costs from the past may be recorded cumulatively for each link within a predetermined holding period such as the past year or months. And the record of the fuel cost whose calculation time is older than the fuel cost holding period is discarded. In this case, when calculating the cost associated with the route search, for example, an average value of calculation results of a plurality of fuel costs for the same link may be used as the fuel cost of the link. In this way, a route search reflecting the recent driving characteristics of the user can be executed by statistically using a relatively new fuel cost calculation result for cost calculation.

  Also, if the temporal trend of the fuel cost for the same link has changed beyond a predetermined value within the retention period of the fuel cost in the external memory 23, the record of the fuel cost before the change of the trend is discarded. It may be a simple configuration. By doing in this way, the route search corresponding to the time change of a user's driving characteristic can be performed.

  By the way, when calculating the cost of the route, the fuel cost corresponding to the link constituting the route is not registered in the external memory 23 for the reason that the road constituting the route has never traveled. Can be considered. In such a case, the fuel cost corresponding to the link can be estimated from the fuel cost corresponding to another link having the same road type as the road type of the link. In other words, even if the roads are different, the driving characteristics of the user are considered to be somewhat similar if the road types such as general roads, highways, and mountain roads are the same. Therefore, by estimating the fuel cost of the link from the fuel cost corresponding to other links of the same road type as the links that make up the route, even if the road is not actually running, the appropriate fuel cost A value can be obtained. In order to estimate the fuel cost of the link from the fuel cost of other links, for example, a plurality of fuel costs corresponding to the same road type are collected from the external memory 23, and the average value per unit distance is collected. A value obtained by calculating and multiplying the average value by the distance of the link may be used as an estimated value of the fuel cost.

[effect]
The in-vehicle navigation device 1 according to the embodiment has the following effects.
According to the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1, an appropriate fuel reflecting traffic conditions such as a user's driving characteristics specified based on driving information acquired during traveling of the vehicle, road gradients based on link data, and traffic conditions such as traffic congestion based on VICS information. Route search can be performed using the cost. As a result, the amount of fuel consumed when traveling to the destination can be reduced.

[Another embodiment]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  (1) Although the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 1 of the said embodiment assumes what is mounted in the vehicle which uses gasoline and light oil as a fuel, this invention is not limited to this, LPG, natural gas, hydrogen gas, The present invention can be applied to a navigation device mounted on a vehicle that travels with various power resources such as electric power. In that case, instead of the fuel injection amount notification unit 32, a measurement unit suitable for the power resource used in the vehicle may be provided.

  (2) The vehicle-mounted navigation device 1 according to the above-described embodiment is configured to use the fuel cost in consideration of the road gradient and traffic conditions in addition to the user's driving characteristics for the route search. On the other hand, the configuration may be such that the route search is performed at the fuel cost considering only the driving characteristics of the user. In this case, for example, the process of S130 in the above-mentioned “fuel cost calculation process” (see FIG. 2) and the processes of S230 and S240 in the “route search process by fuel cost” (see FIG. 4) are omitted. Alternatively, the fuel cost may be used for route search in consideration of either the road gradient or the traffic situation in addition to the driving characteristics of the user.

  (3) Furthermore, the fuel cost may be calculated in consideration of only the road gradient and traffic conditions without specifying the driving characteristics. In this case, for example, the processing of S100 to S120 in the above-mentioned “fuel cost calculation processing” (see FIG. 2) is omitted, and the fuel cost of the evaluation link is determined from the reference fuel consumption and the gradient information according to the road type of the evaluation link in S130. Is calculated.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of “fuel cost calculation processing” executed by the control unit 33 of the vehicle-mounted navigation device 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the specific content of the method of specifying a driving characteristic by analysis of driving information. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the "route search process by fuel cost" which the control part 33 of the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 1 performs. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the specific example of the route search using fuel cost.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus, 21 ... Position detector, 22 ... Operation switch group, 23 ... External memory, 24 ... VICS receiver, 25 ... Map data input device, 26 ... Display apparatus, 27 ... Voice output device, 28 ... Accelerator sensor, 29 ... Brake sensor, 30 ... Steering sensor, 31 ... Power consumption notification unit, 32 ... Fuel injection amount notification unit, 33 ... Control unit.

Claims (9)

Map data acquisition means for acquiring map data including information on nodes and information on links connecting the nodes;
Current position specifying means for specifying the current position of the vehicle;
Driving information acquisition means for acquiring driving information related to the driving status of the vehicle;
Based on the map data acquired by the map data acquisition means, the current position of the vehicle specified by the current position acquisition means, and the driving information acquired by the driving information acquisition means, a predetermined evaluation range / Driving characteristic specifying means for specifying the driving characteristic of the driver at the point;
Power resources for the node or link corresponding to the evaluation range / point based on the map data acquired by the map data acquisition means, the driving characteristics specified by the driving characteristics specifying means, and a predetermined reference power resource consumption efficiency A cost calculating means for calculating the cost;
Storage means for storing information;
A cost calculation device comprising: a cost recording unit that records the power resource cost calculated by the cost calculation unit in the storage unit in association with the node or the link. The cost calculation apparatus according to claim 1,
The driving information acquisition means acquires, as the driving information, information relating to at least one of an accelerator operation amount, an on-vehicle device power consumption amount, a steering operation amount, a brake operation amount, and a power resource consumption amount during idling. The cost calculation device characterized by the above. In the cost calculation device according to claim 1 or 2,
The map data includes road information related to the slope of the road,
The cost calculation device further calculates the power resource cost by taking into account information related to the gradient. In the cost calculation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
It further comprises a traffic condition acquisition means for acquiring traffic information related to road traffic conditions,
The cost calculation unit further calculates the power resource cost in consideration of the traffic information acquired by the traffic condition acquisition unit. In the cost calculation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The cost recording means cumulatively records the power resource cost for each node or link within a predetermined period from the present to the past, and discards the recording of the power resource cost that is older than the predetermined period. A cost calculation apparatus characterized by the above. In the cost calculation apparatus according to claim 5,
The cost recording means, when the temporal tendency in the predetermined period of the power resource cost that is cumulatively recorded for each node or ring in the storage means has changed beyond a predetermined value, the tendency The cost calculation apparatus, wherein the record of the power resource cost before the change of the power resource is discarded. A cost calculating device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising:
Based on the map data acquired by the map data acquisition means and the power resource cost stored in the storage means, a route that is a link string from a specified departure node to a specified destination node; Calculating a total of the power resource costs corresponding to each node or link constituting the route, searching for a route with the minimum power resource cost, and providing guidance for the searched route. A featured navigation device. The navigation device according to claim 7,
If the calculated power resource cost corresponding to the node or link constituting the calculated route is not stored in the storage means, it corresponds to another node or link having the same road type as the road type of the node or link A navigation device, wherein a power resource cost corresponding to the node or link is estimated from the power resource cost, and a total of the power resource costs in the route is calculated.   A program for controlling a computer used in the cost calculation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the computer includes the operation characteristic specifying unit, the cost calculation unit, and the cost recording unit. Program to function as.

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