JP2009031975A - Operation support system, optical beacon, and on-vehicle unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To bring a driving method of a vehicle traveling in a certain road section, under a unified rule on the whole. <P>SOLUTION: On-road communication equipment 1 transmits road shape information related with a road shape and operation method instruction information to instruct an operation method in a road to a vehicle C traveling toward a road section shaped like an S character curve in a communication region Q. An on-vehicle unit 6 which has received the road shape information and the operation method instruction information, determines the proper operation policy of the vehicle C based on them, and controls the engine or brake of the vehicle C according to the operation policy so that the vehicle C can travel on the road section. In this operation support system, a generally common operation policy is established even for vehicles whose manufacturing undertakers are different so that it is possible to make smooth a traffic flow in the road section, and to promote traffic safety. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support system that provides information for supporting safe driving to an in-vehicle device.

In recent years, technology for automatically driving vehicles (or technology for assisting driving) has been developed for the purpose of promoting traffic safety and preventing traffic accidents, and based on information on the shape of roads stored in advance. A method for automatically controlling a vehicle has been studied.
As an example of such a system, there has been proposed a safe driving support system or the like in which operation information of a traffic light is wirelessly transmitted to a vehicle, and the vehicle performs brake control according to a remaining display time of a green signal included in the operation information. (See Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2806801

  In a so-called vehicle driving support system in which an in-vehicle device automatically determines an appropriate vehicle braking method based on information such as a road shape and controls an accelerator or a brake according to the braking method, each in-vehicle device itself In order to determine the braking method of the vehicle, the braking method can be different depending on the manufacturer of the vehicle or the in-vehicle device.

For example, in an autonomously driven vehicle that has reached an S-curve, the braking method is determined such as where to accelerate / decelerate at the entrance of the curve, how fast to turn the curve, or whether to accelerate near the exit of the curve. However, these braking methods are considered to be different for each vehicle if the manufacturer is different.
In other words, one vehicle approaches the curve at a relatively high speed and decelerates significantly at the entrance of the curve, while another vehicle approaches the curve at a relatively low speed and does not decelerate so much at the entrance of the curve. There are cases where the control method is different for each vehicle, but when vehicles with such different braking methods coexist, the traffic flow at the point is not smooth, and the effect of the system to improve safety is There is a possibility of halving.

  In this case, for all manufacturers' vehicles and in-vehicle devices, it is desirable to make the specifications unified in advance so that the braking method has the same or generally similar tendency at the same point, but in practice, It is difficult to unify specifications assuming all road shapes.

  Therefore, an object is to provide a driving support system that makes the braking method of a vehicle that attempts to pass a certain point or section have a similar tendency.

  The driving support system according to the present invention includes an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle traveling on a road and a road communication device that communicates with the in-vehicle device in a predetermined communication area on the road. The communication device transmits downlink information including road shape information indicating a shape of a road in the traveling direction of the vehicle and driving method instruction information for instructing a driving method on the road to the in-vehicle device, And determining a driving policy on the road based on the road shape information and driving instruction information, the road shape information relating to each position of a series of sample points virtually provided on the road. Position information is included, and the driving method instruction information includes a driving state quantity at at least one of the sample points.

According to this invention, by giving an instruction regarding a driving method of a certain road section from the roadside device side to the vehicle side, variation in the driving method for each vehicle is reduced, and the flow of the vehicle in the road section is made smoother. can do. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of traffic jams and traffic accidents in the road section.
The road shape information here is information indicating how far and in what direction a road is connected from a certain point on the road, and the driving method is a continuous vehicle on the road. It is a braking method. The instruction of the driving method is performed by presenting the driving state quantity, which is a specification necessary for controlling the vehicle, to the vehicle side.

In this case, it is preferable to adopt an optical beacon for the road communication device, and information indicating the position of the communication area is included in the road shape information, and road-to-vehicle communication between the optical beacon and the in-vehicle device is performed. It is preferable to recognize that the vehicle-mounted device has arrived at the position of the communication area by execution (claim 2).
Since the optical beacon can limit the road-to-vehicle communication area, it is suitable for causing the vehicle-mounted device (vehicle) to recognize the current position. That is, by including information indicating the position of the communication area in the road shape information transmitted from the optical beacon, the in-vehicle device can not only simply transmit and receive data to and from the roadside by performing road-to-vehicle communication with the optical beacon. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that the vehicle has arrived at the position of the communication area.
This method is extremely useful when controlling driving of a vehicle in a road section because it is very important to accurately recognize where the vehicle is located on the road section.

In addition, the driving state quantity can include information related to the traveling speed of the vehicle at the sample point and information related to the steering angle of the vehicle at the sample point.
This makes it possible to accurately know the vehicle's control specifications such as which position on the road section and how fast it is appropriate to drive, and at what position the vehicle should be steered. Will be able to determine an appropriate driving policy based on these.

Further, the driving state quantity includes the driving state quantity includes information on the operation of the direction indicator at the sample point, information on the volume of the in-vehicle acoustic device, information on the operation of the headlight, information on the operation of the horn sound generator, At least one of them may be included (claim 4).
For example, if a road section includes a point where it is preferable to branch or change lanes, it is preferable to give an instruction regarding a direction indicator. It is preferable to turn down the volume of the car audio or in-car TV so that it is concentrated, and it is preferable to turn on the headlight at a point such as a tunnel entrance, and inform the oncoming vehicle of the presence. This is because it is preferable to sound a horn or perform passing with a headlight if the point is better.
These detailed instructions promote further safety of road traffic.

The road shape information may include information on the road gradient and the number of lanes on the road between the sample points.
By providing detailed information such as the road gradient and the number of lanes to the vehicle, the in-vehicle device can determine a more appropriate driving policy based on these information.

  In addition, the optical beacon and vehicle equipment used for this driving assistance system are useful (Claims 6 and 7).

  As described above, according to the driving support system, the optical beacon, and the in-vehicle device of the present invention, a vehicle that has reached a certain point or section brakes the vehicle based on a unified instruction from the road device side. The traffic flow at points and sections will be smooth, and the safety of traffic will become even higher.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of device arrangement of the driving support system according to the present invention, and includes a road communication device 1, a vehicle C, and an in-vehicle device 6 mounted on the vehicle C. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of the controller 1 </ b> A of the road communication device 1.

[Overall system configuration]
On the road R having an S-curve, the road communication device 1 is installed in front of the S-curve by a predetermined distance. The on-road communication device 1 includes a head (antenna) 1Aa for performing communication between the controller 1A and the vehicle. The road R may have a shape other than the S-curve, such as a shape that repeats up and down.

The road communication device 1 transmits and receives communication data to and from the in-vehicle device 6 mounted on the vehicle C in a predetermined communication area Q on the road (a range indicated by hatching in FIG. 1).
Here, as the road communication device 1, any device that can realize road-to-vehicle communication wirelessly, such as an optical beacon, a radio beacon, or a DSRC, may be used.
In this case, for example, if it is desired to notify a vehicle approaching a section such as an S-curve at a point just a predetermined distance away from the section, a narrow area communication such as an optical beacon is performed. It is desirable to use an on-road communication device.

The communication data transmitted from the roadside communication device to the vehicle C in the communication area Q includes road shape information related to the road R in the S-curve and the sections before and after the S-curve.
The road shape information here includes information related to the shape of the road such as the section length of the road R, the number of lanes, and the gradient.
The road shape information is stored in advance in the storage unit of the controller 1A of the roadside communication device 1 from the information providing control device 5 installed in the traffic control center through the router 4 and the communication line.

  On the other hand, the information transmitted by the vehicle C to the road communication device 1 includes the vehicle ID information of the vehicle C and the elapsed time (roadside) after the road-to-vehicle communication with another road communication device provided at a different point in the previous time. Information on travel time between communication device installation points).

The vehicle C traveling on the road R has a function of receiving the road shape information and the like and performing a safe driving support operation.
Here, the safe driving support operation automatically controls a brake and an accelerator after determining an appropriate control method of the vehicle when the vehicle C travels on the road R based on the road shape information and the like. Refers to that. In this case, depending on the vehicle, the vehicle may completely perform automatic driving, but may be a control method that supports driving of the driver (for example, brake assist).
Note that all the vehicles traveling on the road R do not have to have the function of the safe driving support operation, and the function may be stopped even if the vehicle has the function.

[Contents of road shape information]
Hereinafter, the details of the road shape information will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the basic concept of the format of road shape information.
As shown in FIG. 2, the road shape information includes a plurality of sample points S1, S2,... Virtually placed on the road, information related to the sample points Sn, and information about the sample points Sn to Sn + 1. Is expressed for each sample point.
In this case, it is desirable to place the sample point Sn mainly at a location where the shape of the road changes. For example, a point where a road gradient or curvature changes or a point where the number of lanes increases or decreases. In particular, in a curve-shaped section such as a curve, the interval between sample points should be shortened so that the road shape can be expressed more accurately. Moreover, it is preferable to place it at a point or an intersection where the roadside communication device 1 communicates with the road.

FIG. 3 shows an example of road shape information, where (a) shows the structure and (b) shows the specific contents.
The road shape information is composed of a header part, a data part, and a footer part as shown in FIG. In this case, the data size of the road shape information, the number of sample points, and the like are stored in the header portion, and the entire SUM value, the CRC value for error detection, and the like are stored in the footer portion.

The data part stores information corresponding to the number of sample points stored in the header part. In this example, first, information (latitude and longitude information) regarding the position of S1 that performs road-vehicle communication with the road communication device 1 is stored. Information on the position of the next sample point S2 is stored in the subsequent area, and information such as the distance between S1 and S2, the gradient, the number of lanes, and the like is further stored.
In this way, the road shape information sequentially stores all sample points of the predetermined section S1 to S19 of the road R and information between the sample points.

In utilizing the road shape information, if the in-vehicle device 6 cannot accurately recognize that it has arrived at the point S1 that is the starting point of the information, the accuracy of subsequent vehicle control may be significantly reduced. Therefore, by transmitting this road shape information to the vehicle C side at the point S1, not only the road shape information is provided but also the vehicle-mounted device 6 is notified that the information provision time point is the time point when it arrived at the S1 point. Is preferred.
In that respect, it is most preferable to use an optical beacon having a limited road-to-vehicle communication area and capable of communicating for each lane as the road communication device 1. By the road-to-vehicle communication with the optical beacon installed at the point S1, the in-vehicle device 6 can accurately know that the starting point of the road shape information has been reached, the traveling lane, and the like.

  When there are a plurality of road lanes, sample points can be placed for each lane to provide more detailed and accurate information. In this case, if the in-vehicle device 6 can recognize its own traveling lane, the road shape information of the traveling lane can be adopted.

The format of the road shape information is not limited to this format. Here, the latitude / longitude information of all the sample points is stored, but only the latitude / longitude of the starting S1 point is stored, and for other points, the previous sample of the series of sample points is stored. Only the relative position from the point may be expressed.
For example, the information on the S2 point includes angle information indicating how many times the direction of the road toward the S2 point is rotating clockwise with respect to the approach direction of the vehicle to the S1 point on the plane, It can also be expressed as a combination of the distance information to the S2 point and the gradient information to the S2 point (that is, vector information from S1 to S2).
As described above, the road shape information may be in any format as long as the vehicle-mounted device can accurately grasp the shape of the road.

[Basic operation of roadside communication device 1]
Hereinafter, the basic operation of the roadside communication device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The roadside communication device 1 exchanges information with the information provision control device 5 through a communication line, a router, etc., and the central transmission / reception means 111 of the controller 1A has a function of transmitting / receiving data to / from the information provision control device 5. And receiving road shape information transmitted by the information provision control device 5 and driving method instruction information described later. The received information is stored in the storage unit 121.

The road-to-vehicle communication means 141 continues to transmit the downlink information created by the downlink information creation means 131 to the road-to-vehicle communication area Q at all times. The downlink information is transmitted mainly for the purpose of informing the in-vehicle device that the vehicle has entered the road-to-vehicle communication area Q and urging transmission of the uplink information from the in-vehicle device. It contains only basic information such as the current time.
Then, the vehicle-mounted device 6 of the vehicle C that has entered the road-to-vehicle communication area Q transmits uplink information including the vehicle ID of the vehicle C to the road communication device 1 in response to the reception of the downlink information.

When the road-to-vehicle communication means 141 receives the uplink information, the road-to-vehicle communication means 141 executes downlink switching in response to the uplink reception, and notifies the in-vehicle device 6 of the lane in which the in-vehicle device 6 travels. The transmission of the downlink information after the execution of switching including the road shape information and the driving method instruction information is started. Transmission of the downlink information after execution of the switching is performed only for about 250 ms.
The lane notification information includes information in which the lane number and the vehicle ID of the in-vehicle device 6 are associated with each other, and the in-vehicle device 6 that has received the lane notification information is based on its own vehicle ID. The driving lane can be recognized.

The driving method instruction information includes specific instructions regarding the driving method at each point associated with the road shape information.
5 to 7 are diagrams illustrating examples of driving method instruction information. All stored numerical values are expressed in hexadecimal.

The instruction includes operation control state quantities at all sample points provided in the road shape information, and includes sample point number, presence / absence of driving instruction, traveling speed upper limit, traveling speed lower limit, and vehicle body rotation direction. , Stored in order of vehicle body rotation angle.
In this example, information on all sample points is stored, but only information on sample points that are particularly important for operation control may be stored. Moreover, you may make it give the instruction | indication of the driving | operation in the area between sample points.

The details of the driving method instruction information will be described with reference to the road shape information of FIG.
First, no specific instruction is given for the traveling of the sample points S1 and S2, and the traveling speed at the sample point S3 is instructed to be 40 to 45 km / h. In other words, even if the traveling speed of the vehicle at the time of road-to-vehicle communication with the on-road communication device 1 is different, it is an instruction that the traveling speed should be 40 to 45 km / h at least until the point S3 is reached. is there.
Next, at point S4, the vehicle speed is reduced to 20 to 25 km / h, and the vehicle body is instructed to rotate 10 degrees to the left (code “01”). That is, the vehicle is instructed to decelerate approximately 20 km / h between the points S3 and S4.
Since there is no special instruction at the point S5, the same operation state amount as that at the point S4 is maintained. At point S6, since the road is once straight, the vehicle body is stopped rotating (returning the steering wheel to the straight position) and instructed to proceed to point S8.

Then, when arriving at point S8, gently rotate the vehicle body to the right (code “02”) 5 degrees, decelerate to 10-15 km / h at point S9, and rotate the vehicle body to the right by 60 degrees. Have been instructed. Further, at the point S10, the traveling speed is slightly accelerated to 20 to 25 km / h, and the vehicle body is further rotated 30 degrees to the right. And it is instruct | indicated to go straight at the speed as it is to S11-S13 point.
Then, at point S14, the vehicle speed is again reduced to 10 to 15 km / h, and the vehicle body is greatly rotated 45 degrees to the left. Similarly, at point S15, it is instructed to further rotate 45 degrees to the left. Then, after slightly accelerating to 20-25 km / h at point S16 and turning 10 degrees to the left, accelerate to 40-45 km / h at point S17 and continue straight to point S19 to run through the S-curve section. Have been instructed.
The above is the content of the driving method instruction information.

  This driving method instruction information may be changed at any time according to surrounding traffic conditions, time zone, weather, etc., or may be changed according to specific events or construction, if any. . It is preferable that the traveling speed is lower at night than in the daytime. Moreover, if the road after the exit of the S-curve is congested, the acceleration near the exit may be reduced. If the road surface is slippery due to rain, the overall traveling speed of the curve may be lowered.

In addition, although only one type of instruction is stored in this driving method instruction information, for example, for a large vehicle or a bus, an instruction different from that for a normal passenger car may be given. You may make it select according to a self-vehicle model. Furthermore, the length and weight of the vehicle body such as a normal car and a light car may be classified finely and an appropriate instruction according to the vehicle type may be given.
However, depending on the type of vehicle, it may take time to accelerate or the centrifugal force on the curve may increase, so there may be a vehicle that cannot be applied with only one instruction.
In order to be able to handle all types of vehicles, a wide range of upper and lower limits of travel speed can be set, and sudden changes in vehicle direction and acceleration / deceleration can be eliminated. A type of instruction may be given.

  In addition, this driving method instruction information is given only an instruction relating to the operation of the vehicle body itself. For example, when a point that branches off on a road is included, an instruction relating to the operation of a direction indicator (such as a blinker) is given. If you approach a point that requires special attention to traffic conditions or pedestrians, temporarily turn off the volume of the car stereo (or volume) so that the driver can concentrate on driving. Instruction may be given. In addition, an instruction for passing or horning informing the oncoming vehicle of approaching may be given, or an instruction for turning on the headlight may be given at the entrance of a tunnel or the like.

[Basic operation of in-vehicle equipment]
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the functional blocks of the vehicle unit 6 and the vehicle C equipped with the vehicle unit 6.
In addition to the in-vehicle device 6, the vehicle C is provided with an engine for advancing the vehicle C and a brake for braking. The engine and the brake can be controlled by a driver operating an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and the like, but can also be automatically controlled based on an instruction from the in-vehicle device 6 or the like.
In addition, the vehicle C includes a display (head-up display, a display device for a car navigation device, etc.) for notifying a passenger of various types of information based on information from the in-vehicle device 6 by means of images, sounds, etc. A speaker is provided.

  In the road-to-vehicle communication area Q, the road shape information etc. acquiring means 601 uses a receiving antenna (not shown) or the like mounted on the vehicle C to receive the road shape information, driving method instruction information, etc. transmitted by a predetermined communication method. Receive via get. In this case, when road shape information and driving method instruction information are transmitted from different road devices, a receiving unit may be provided for each piece of information.

  According to road shape information and driving method instruction information received by road-to-vehicle communication, the in-vehicle device 6 performs a safe driving support operation as follows.

First, the vehicle-mounted device 6 recognizes that it has reached the point of the sample point S1 stored in the road shape information when the road-to-vehicle communication is completed in the road-to-vehicle communication area Q.
From that point, the position of the host vehicle is plotted in real time on the road shape information by using a GPS, a speedometer, an accelerometer, or the like mounted from the point S1.
At this time, it is preferable that the notification information creation unit 611 notifies the driver that the safe driving support operation is started through a speaker, a display, or the like by voice or a symbol. For example, when road-to-vehicle communication is poor, necessary information cannot be acquired, and the safe driving support operation may not be started.

Next, the in-vehicle device 6 analyzes the driving method instruction information and determines its driving policy. For example, when the traveling speed has a predetermined width as in the driving method instruction information, the speed at which the vehicle travels is determined, for example, by adopting a lower limit value.
For example, when the vehicle-mounted device 6 is traveling at the S1 point at 60 km / h, the speed control means 621 causes the engine and the brake to decelerate by 20 km / h while traveling the distance from the S1 point to the S3 point. Control. In this case, the control of the brake or the like may be finely adjusted as appropriate depending on whether the road gradient is up or down, the road surface condition is dry or wet, and the like.
Then, according to the driving policy established by itself, the vehicle body is controlled to the point S19 to perform automatic driving. Even when the complete automatic driving is not performed, the notification information generating unit 611 gives an instruction regarding the driving method to the driver by voice or the like, or the speed control unit 621 performs the brake assist, so that the driving policy is satisfied. You may guide so that vehicles may run along.

  Note that the on-road communication device 1 and the in-vehicle device 6 in the present invention may be realized by a single casing or a combination of a plurality of casings. Each of these may be realized by one computer or may be realized by combining a plurality of computers.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of apparatus arrangement | positioning of the driving assistance system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the sample point which comprises road shape information. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the data format of road shape information, (b) is a figure which shows an example of details, such as a data part of road shape information. It is a figure which shows an example of a function structure of 1 A of controllers of the roadside communication apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of driving method instruction information. It is a figure which shows an example of driving method instruction information. It is a figure which shows an example of driving method instruction information. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block structure of the vehicle equipment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Road communication apparatus 1A Controller 1Aa Communication antenna 4 Router 5 Information provision control apparatus 6 Car equipment 111 Central transmission / reception means 121 Storage part 131 Downlink information creation means 141 Road-to-vehicle communication means 601 Road shape information etc. acquisition means 611 Notification information creation means 621 Speed control means

Claims (7)

An in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle traveling on a road, and a road communication device that communicates with the in-vehicle device in a predetermined communication area on the road,
The roadside communication device transmits to the in-vehicle device downlink information including road shape information indicating a shape of a road in the traveling direction of the vehicle and driving method instruction information for instructing a driving method on the road,
The in-vehicle device is a driving support system that determines a driving policy on the road based on the road shape information and driving instruction information,
The road shape information includes position information regarding the position of each of a series of sample points virtually provided on the road,
The driving method instruction information includes a driving state quantity at at least one sample point among the sample points. The road communication device is an optical beacon,
The road shape information includes information indicating the position of the communication area,
2. The driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle-mounted device recognizes that the vehicle-mounted device has arrived at a position in the communication area by executing road-to-vehicle communication between the optical beacon and the vehicle-mounted device. The operating state quantity is
Information about the vehicle speed at the sample point;
The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising information on a steering angle of the vehicle at the sample point. The operating state quantity is
The information on the operation of the direction indicator at the sample point, the information on the volume of the in-vehicle acoustic device, the information on the operation of the headlight, and the information on the operation of the horn sound generating device are included. The driving support system according to any one of 1 to 3. The road shape information is
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising information on a road gradient and a number of lanes on a road between sample points.   The optical beacon used for the driving assistance system as described in any one of Claims 2 thru | or 5.   An in-vehicle device used in the driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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