JP2011202977A - Traveling road estimating system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve accuracy of estimating of a road on which a vehicle may travel, and properly perform map matching processing for identifying a current location of the vehicle on road data, vehicle control, and notification of information.SOLUTION: A vehicle navigation apparatus 1 determines whether a vehicle is travelable or not on each of roads connecting to an estimative standard road, which is a road corresponding to the road data in which a current location is identified, based on vehicle speed, conditions of a traffic light, conditions of a traveling lane, or the like; removes a road determined to be one on which a vehicle is not travelable from roads estimated; and estimates as an estimating traveling road only a road on which a vehicle may travel to only a road determined to be one on which a vehicle is travelable as roads estimated.

Description

  The present invention associates the vehicle's position and direction with road data, identifies the current position on the road data, identifies the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified as the estimated reference road, The present invention relates to a traveling road estimation system capable of estimating, as an estimated traveling road, a road on which a vehicle may travel from among roads connected to an estimated reference road.

  Conventionally, in a system for estimating a road from which a vehicle will travel, the estimation accuracy is insufficient, and thus an operation that is not preferable for the system may occur. For example, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the difference between the direction of the road and the direction of the vehicle among the roads connected to the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified, or the distance from the current position is predetermined. The road included in the range is extracted as a target for setting a new candidate for the current position, and the road on which the vehicle will run is estimated.

  Further, in the method described in Patent Document 2, all road train patterns connected to the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified are extracted, and the road on which the vehicle will run is estimated. I was doing. Moreover, in the method described in Patent Document 3, the road on which the vehicle will travel is estimated based on the past travel history. Further, as a known method, in the state where the guide route is calculated, it is assumed that there is the highest possibility of traveling on the calculated guide route, and the road on which the vehicle will travel is estimated.

JP-A-9-152345 JP 2009-276224 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-4466

  However, according to the above method, even if the vehicle is actually unable to travel (it is determined that traveling is difficult) due to the state of the vehicle speed, traffic light, traveling lane, etc., the above conditions are met. Then, there is a problem that the vehicle is estimated as a road that is highly likely to travel from now on. Further, in the method described in Patent Document 3, since the road on which the vehicle will travel is estimated based on the past travel history, if the vehicle travels differently from the past travel history, it is erroneously estimated. There was a possibility.

  In this way, in the method of estimating the road from which the vehicle will travel, in the map matching process for identifying the current position on the road data, a candidate for the current position is set on the road where the vehicle cannot actually travel, The candidate must be evaluated and compared with other candidates, increasing the processing load and the required memory size, increasing the risk of accidentally selecting unnecessary candidates, and There was a problem that could lead to degradation of the accuracy to be identified. Further, in a system for notifying information such as vehicle control and warning on a road that is determined to have a high possibility that the vehicle will travel from now on, the possibility of traveling on the road after the branch point (after the branch point) decreases. Thus, it is conceivable that vehicle control or information notification cannot be performed, or erroneous vehicle control or information notification is performed on a road that does not normally require vehicle control or information notification.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to map the current position on road data by improving the accuracy of estimating a road on which the vehicle may travel from now on. An object of the present invention is to provide a traveling road estimation system capable of appropriately performing matching processing and appropriately performing vehicle control and information notification.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the position / orientation acquisition means acquires the position / orientation of the vehicle, the road data acquisition means acquires road data from the road data recording means capable of recording road data, and map matching. The means associates the position and orientation of the vehicle acquired by the position and orientation acquisition means with the road data acquired by the road data acquisition means from the road data recording means and identifies the current position on the road data. The estimated reference road specifying means specifies the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified by the map matching means as the estimated reference road, and the traveling road estimating means is the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means. It is possible to estimate a connected road as an estimation target and a road on which the vehicle may travel from now on is estimated.

  Here, the travel possibility determination means determines whether or not the vehicle is capable of traveling by using a road connected to the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means as a determination target. The travel road estimation means excludes roads determined by the travel enable / disable determination means that the vehicle cannot travel among roads connected to the estimation reference road identified by the estimation reference road identification means from the estimation target. Then, the road on which the vehicle is allowed to travel is estimated as the estimated traveling road, with the road determined by the travel propriety determining unit as the vehicle capable of traveling being estimated.

  As a result, roads that are determined to be unmovable from the roads connected to the estimated reference road, which is the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified, are excluded from the estimation target, and the vehicle can travel. Since only roads that have been determined to be estimated are estimated, only roads that the vehicle is likely to travel from are estimated as estimated travel roads. Thus, the map matching process for identifying the current position on the road data can be appropriately performed, and vehicle control and information notification can be appropriately performed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the traveling road estimation means calculates a probability that the vehicle will travel from each road to be estimated. As a result, the possibility that the vehicle will travel from now on can be quantitatively determined.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the travel propriety determining means includes vehicle speed acquiring means for acquiring the vehicle speed, and distance acquiring means for acquiring the distance from the current position to the nearest branch point in the vehicle traveling direction. Based on the vehicle speed acquired by the acquisition means, the distance from the current position acquired by the distance acquisition means to the nearest branch point in the vehicle traveling direction, and the maximum angular speed at which the vehicle can turn, which is the maximum angular speed at which the vehicle can turn The turnable azimuth angle that can be turned when the vehicle reaches the bifurcation point is calculated, and whether or not the vehicle can travel is determined based on the relationship between the connection angle to the estimated reference road and the calculated turnable azimuth angle. A road in which the connection angle to the estimated reference road is determined to be able to travel on a road whose connection angle with the estimated reference road does not exceed the turnable azimuth angle, and the connection angle with respect to the estimated reference road exceeds the turnable azimuth angle It determines that the vehicle is not running.

  Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the relationship between the connection angle with the estimated reference road and the turnable azimuth angle, and the connection angle with respect to the estimated reference road does not exceed the turnable azimuth angle. It can be determined that the vehicle can travel on the road. On the other hand, it can be determined that the vehicle cannot travel on the road whose connection angle with the estimated reference road exceeds the calculated turnable azimuth angle.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the travel propriety determination means determines whether or not the vehicle can travel using a preset fixed value as the maximum turnable angular velocity. Thus, the turnable azimuth angle can be fixed, and whether or not the vehicle can travel can be determined based on the relationship between the connection angle with the estimated reference road and the turnable azimuth angle that is a fixed value. .

  According to the invention described in claim 5, the travel propriety determination unit includes an angular velocity acquisition unit that acquires an angular velocity, uses a preset fixed value as the maximum turnable angular velocity, and the angular velocity acquired by the angular velocity acquisition unit is When the maximum turnable angular velocity is exceeded, the acquired angular velocity is used as a new maximum turnable angular velocity. It is used as a new maximum turnable angular velocity to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel. Thus, the turnable azimuth angle can be updated one by one, and whether or not the vehicle can travel is determined based on the relationship between the connection angle to the estimated reference road and the turnable azimuth angle that can be updated one by one. can do.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, whether or not the vehicle can travel is determined by using the maximum possible angular speed for turning right and the maximum possible angular speed for turning left separately. Determine. This distinguishes between the case where the vehicle turns right and the case where it turns left, and determines whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the relationship between the connection angle to the estimated reference road and the turnable azimuth angle. Can do.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the traveling availability determination means includes traffic light state acquisition means for acquiring the state of the traffic signal in the vehicle traveling direction, and the traffic light state acquisition means acquires whether or not the vehicle is capable of traveling. It judges based on the state of the traffic signal of the made vehicle advancing direction. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the state of the traffic signal in the vehicle traveling direction. For example, when the vehicle enters the intersection of a crossroad, the state of the traffic signal installed at the intersection If the light is blue, it is determined that the road in the left turn direction and the straight direction is a road on which the vehicle can travel, while the road in the right turn direction is determined to be a road on which the vehicle cannot travel and from the estimation target It can be excluded.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the travel availability determination means includes travel lane state acquisition means for acquiring the state of the travel lane in the vehicle traveling direction, and acquires whether or not the vehicle can travel. The determination is made based on the traveling lane state in the vehicle traveling direction acquired by the means. Thereby, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the state of the traveling lane in the vehicle traveling direction. For example, when the vehicle enters an intersection of a crossroad, a traffic sign installed at the intersection If it is permitted to advance from the left turn direction and the straight turn direction and prohibit the advance from the right turn direction, it is determined that the road in the left turn direction and the straight direction is a road on which the vehicle can travel, while the right turn direction It is possible to determine that the road is a road on which the vehicle cannot travel and to exclude the road from the estimation target.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the travel propriety judging means can run the vehicle on condition that the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means is a general road excluding a highway and a toll road. It is determined whether or not there is. Accordingly, it is possible to construct a system in accordance with the actual situation considering that there are almost no branch points on the expressway or toll road.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, when the road is connected to the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means, the travel propriety determining means can drive the vehicle. Does not determine whether or not there is. As a result, it is determined that the ramp cannot be traveled on the road data, but in consideration of the fact that it is possible to travel, it is possible to avoid erroneous determination that may occur due to the difference between the road data and the actual road shape. can do.

  According to the invention described in claim 11, when the road availability determining means includes a road whose road length is less than a predetermined distance in the road connected to the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means. In addition, the road having the road length less than the predetermined distance is excluded from the determination target, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle can travel with the road length being the predetermined distance or more as the determination target. As a result, it is determined that a road whose road length is less than a predetermined distance cannot be traveled on the road data. However, in consideration of the fact that the road can actually travel, it is caused by the difference between the road data and the actual road shape. An erroneous determination to be obtained can be avoided in advance.

Functional block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention flowchart 2 equivalent diagram The figure which shows the aspect which determines an estimated driving road 4 equivalent diagram 4 equivalent diagram Diagram showing the relationship between road data and actual road shape 7 equivalent diagram Functional block diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The vehicle navigation apparatus 1 (traveling road estimation system referred to in the present invention) includes a control unit 2, a GPS receiver 3, a speed sensor 4, an angular velocity sensor 5, and a distance sensor 6. The control unit 2 has a known microcomputer and controls the operation of the entire apparatus by executing a control program. For each function, the control unit 2 acquires a position / orientation acquisition unit 10 (position / orientation acquisition means in the present invention), a map, and the like. Data acquisition unit 11 (map data acquisition unit as used in the present invention), map matching unit 12 (map matching unit as used in the present invention), estimated reference road specifying unit 13 (estimated reference road specifying unit as used in the present invention), traveling road estimation Unit 14 (traveling road estimation means in the present invention), travel availability determination section 15 (travelability determination means in the present invention, vehicle speed acquisition means, distance acquisition means, angular speed acquisition means, traffic light state acquisition means, travel lane state acquisition means ), An image processing unit 16, a vehicle control unit 17, a warning control unit 18, an audio output control unit 19, and a display control unit 20.

  The GPS receiver 3 extracts various parameters stored in the GPS signal transmitted from the GPS satellite, calculates a position based on the extracted various parameters, and outputs the calculated position to the position and orientation acquisition unit 10. To do. The speed sensor 4 detects the speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle and outputs the detected vehicle speed to the position / orientation acquisition unit 10. The angular velocity sensor 5 detects the angular velocity of the vehicle and outputs the detected angular velocity of the vehicle to the position / orientation acquisition unit 10. The distance sensor 6 detects the moving distance of the vehicle and outputs the detected moving distance of the vehicle to the position / orientation acquisition unit 10.

  The map database 7 (road data storage means in the present invention) stores map data including road data related to roads and facility data related to facilities. The infrastructure receiver 8 receives a traffic light state signal indicating a traffic light state and a travel lane state signal indicating a travel lane state from the infrastructure equipment by performing, for example, narrow area wireless communication with the infrastructure equipment installed on the road. When the traffic light state signal and the traveling lane state signal are received from the infrastructure equipment, the traffic light state and the traveling lane state are extracted from the received traffic light state signal and the traveling lane state signal, and the extracted traffic light state and traveling lane are extracted. Is output to the travel availability determination unit 15. The in-vehicle camera 9 captures a scene in front of the vehicle (traveling direction) and outputs the captured image to the image processing unit 16. Scenes taken by the in-vehicle camera 9 include traffic lights, traffic signs, and the like.

  The position / orientation acquisition unit 10 inputs a position from the GPS receiver 3, inputs a vehicle speed from the speed sensor 4, inputs an angular velocity of the vehicle from the angular velocity sensor 5, and inputs a moving distance of the vehicle from the distance sensor 6. The input position, vehicle speed, vehicle angular velocity, and vehicle travel distance are mutually complemented (correction processing), the vehicle position and direction are calculated (obtained), and the calculated vehicle position and direction are output to the map matching unit 12. . In this case, the position / orientation acquisition unit 10 also outputs a travel locus expressed as a relative vector to the map matching unit 12. Further, the position / orientation acquisition unit 10 corrects the vehicle speed input from the speed sensor 4 and the angular velocity of the vehicle input from the angular velocity sensor 5, and outputs the corrected vehicle speed and vehicle angular speed to the traveling availability determination unit 15.

  The map data acquisition unit 11 reads (acquires) map data including road data, facility data, and the like from the map database 7, and uses the read map data as a map matching unit 12, a traveling road estimation unit 14, and a travel availability determination unit 15. Output to.

  When the map matching unit 12 inputs the position and orientation of the vehicle from the position and orientation acquisition unit 10 and inputs map data from the map data acquisition unit 11, the map matching unit 12 associates the input position and direction of the vehicle with the road data included in the map data. In addition, the current position is identified on the road data (map matching), and the road data whose current position is identified is output to the estimated reference road specifying unit 13.

  When the road data whose current position is identified from the map matching unit 12 is input from the map matching unit 12, the estimated reference road specifying unit 13 specifies the road corresponding to the input road data as the estimated reference road, and travels on the specified estimated reference road. It outputs to the road estimation part 14 and the driving | running | working availability determination part 15. When the image processing unit 16 inputs an image from the in-vehicle camera 9, the image processing unit 16 performs image processing on the input image in accordance with an image processing algorithm, and outputs the image processing result to the traveling availability determination unit 15.

  When the estimated reference road is input from the estimated reference road specifying unit 13 and the map data is input from the map data acquiring unit 11, the travel propriety determination unit 15 is based on the input estimated reference road and the road data included in the map data. Then, the road connected to the estimated reference road is determined as a determination target, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle can travel on each determination target road. Specifically, the travelability determination unit 15 determines whether the vehicle can travel on each road to be determined, whether the vehicle is input from the speed sensor 4 through the position / orientation acquisition unit 10, and the position / direction from the angular velocity sensor 5. Based on the angular velocity of the vehicle input through the acquisition unit 10, the map data input from the map data acquisition unit 11, the traffic light state input from the infrastructure receiver 8, the state of the traveling lane, and the image processing result input from the image processing unit 16. The determination result is output to the traveling road estimation unit 14.

  When the estimated reference road is input from the estimated reference road specifying unit 13 and the map data is input from the map data acquiring unit 11, the traveling road estimating unit 14 is based on the input estimated reference road and the road data included in the map data. Then, the road connected to the estimation reference road is set as an estimation target, and a road on which the vehicle may travel is estimated as an estimated travel road, and is output to the estimated vehicle control unit 17 and warning control unit 18. In this case, the traveling road estimation unit 14 does not target all the roads connected to the estimation reference road, but connects to the estimation reference road by inputting the determination result from the traveling availability determination unit 15. Of all the roads that are selected, only the roads that are selected based on the determination result are estimated, and the road on which the vehicle is likely to travel is estimated as the estimated traveling road.

  When the estimated traveling road is input from the traveling road estimation unit 14, the vehicle control unit 17 causes the vehicle control device 21 to perform vehicle control on the input estimated traveling road as a control target. Examples of vehicle control include control for decelerating in front of a curve when the road on which the vehicle will travel now includes a curve shape.

  When the estimated traveling road is input from the traveling road estimation unit 14, the warning control unit 18 outputs the input estimated traveling road to the audio output control unit 19 and the display control unit 20. When the estimated traveling road is input from the warning control unit 18, the sound output control unit 19 causes the sound output device 22 to perform sound output control on the input estimated traveling road. When the estimated traveling road is input from the warning control unit 18, the display control unit 20 causes the display device 23 to perform display control on the input estimated traveling road as a control target. Examples of information notifications such as warnings include a function of outputting or displaying a sound to that effect when there is a temporary stop or railroad crossing on the road on which the vehicle will travel.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing processes performed by the control unit 2 in relation to the present invention.
When the control unit 2 starts the steady process with the vehicle navigation device 1 powered on, the position and direction acquisition unit 10 performs a position and direction acquisition process in which the position and direction acquisition unit 10 acquires the position and direction of the vehicle. (Step S1) The map matching unit 12 performs a map matching process for associating the vehicle position and direction acquired by the position and direction acquisition process with road data and identifying the current position on the road data (Step S2).

  Next, the control unit 2 performs an estimated reference road specifying process in which the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified by the map matching process is specified as the estimated reference road in the estimated reference road specifying unit 13 (step S3). Based on the estimated reference road and the map data, a road connected to the estimated reference road is estimated, and a road estimation process for estimating a road on which the vehicle may travel from now on is estimated as the estimated road. 14 (step S4).

  When starting the traveling road estimation process, the controller 2 acquires a road connected to the estimated reference road (step S11). Next, the control unit 2 uses the acquired roads as the determination targets, and performs a travel propriety determination unit 15 that determines whether the vehicle can travel on each road connected to the estimation reference road. To do. Here, when the control unit 2 determines that the vehicle cannot travel, the control unit 2 excludes the road that is determined to be untravelable from the estimation target and estimates the road that is determined to be capable of traveling. The traveling road estimation unit 14 performs a traveling road estimation process for estimating a road on which a vehicle may travel as an object as an estimated traveling road. When the travel propriety determination process ends for all roads connected to the estimated reference road (steps S12 to S16), the travel road estimation process ends and the process returns to the steady process.

Here, the travel propriety determination process will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle speed at the time of executing the travel propriety determination process is v [m / s], the distance to the nearest branch point in the vehicle traveling direction (front) is l [m], and the vehicle can turn. The maximum angular velocity (maximum turnable angular velocity) is Y _max [deg / s]. At this time, the vehicle speed is v [m / s] and the maximum angular velocity is Y _max [deg / s]. In order to simplify the explanation, the vehicle should travel on the clothoid curve, but it is assumed that the time until the vehicle reaches the nearest branch point is l / v [s]. The angle θ [deg] that can be turned before reaching the point can be expressed by the following calculation formula.

θ [deg] = l [m] × Y _max [deg / s] / v [m / s]
Here, in the travel road availability determination process, it is determined that the road on which the vehicle can travel is a road whose connection angle with the estimated reference road does not exceed θ [deg], while the connection angle with respect to the estimated reference road is θ [deg]. ] Is excluded from the estimation target by determining that the vehicle cannot travel. In FIG. 4, among roads A to D connected to the estimated reference road, it is determined that roads B and C that are roads whose connection angle to the estimated reference road does not exceed θ [deg] are roads on which the vehicle can travel. On the other hand, the roads A and D, which are roads whose connection angle with respect to the estimation reference road exceeds θ [deg], are excluded from the estimation target by determining that the vehicle cannot travel. To do.

  Moreover, you may determine whether a vehicle can drive | work based on the state of a traffic light. That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), when the state of the traffic light installed at the branch point at the time of executing the travel propriety determination process is blue, the road connected to the estimated reference road Among A to C, the road A in which the vehicle traveling direction is the left turn direction and the road B in which the vehicle traveling direction is the straight traveling direction are determined as roads on which the vehicle can travel and are not excluded from the estimation target. The road C whose traveling direction is the right turn direction is determined to be a road in which the vehicle cannot travel and is excluded from the estimation target.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the traffic light is in red and the right turn arrow is turned on at the time of executing the travel propriety determination process, the road C where the vehicle traveling direction is the right turn direction is displayed. On the other hand, the vehicle cannot travel on the road A in which the vehicle traveling direction is the left turn direction and the road B in which the vehicle traveling direction is the straight traveling direction without determining that the vehicle is a travelable road and excluding it from the estimation target. The road is judged to be a road and excluded from the estimation target.

  Moreover, you may determine whether a vehicle can drive | work based on the state of a driving | running lane. That is, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the state of the driving lane at the branch point (the traffic sign installed at the branch point) at the time of carrying out the travel propriety determination process advances from the left turn direction and the straight direction. Of roads A to C connected to the estimated reference road, road A in which the vehicle travel direction is the left turn direction, and road in which the vehicle travel direction is the straight travel direction. B is determined to be a road on which the vehicle can travel and is not excluded from the estimation target, while road C whose vehicle traveling direction is the right turn direction is determined to be a road on which the vehicle cannot travel Exclude from

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the traveling lane state at the time of executing the traveling permission determination process permits advancement from the right turn direction and prohibits advancement from the left turn direction and the straight direction. The road C in which the vehicle traveling direction is the right turn direction is determined to be a road on which the vehicle can travel and is not excluded from the estimation target, while the road A in which the vehicle traveling direction is the left turn direction and the vehicle traveling direction straight ahead The road B that is the direction is determined to be a road in which the vehicle cannot travel and is excluded from the estimation target.

  Then, the control unit 2 does not select all roads connected to the estimated reference road in this way, but selects all roads connected to the estimated reference road based on the determination result. When the estimated road is a road where the vehicle may run from the estimated road only, the vehicle control unit 17 performs a vehicle control process in which the vehicle control device 21 performs the vehicle control (step S5). The audio output control unit 19 performs the audio output control process with the audio output device 22 (step S6), and the display control unit 20 performs the display control process with the display device 23 performing the display control. (Step S7), the steady process is terminated and the process returns.

  By the way, when a ramp is included in a road connected to the estimated reference road, it may not be determined whether or not the vehicle can travel. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, when the road A connected to the estimated reference road is a ramp and the road B is a main line, the connection angle of the road A with respect to the estimated reference road is substantially perpendicular on the road data. Therefore, if the vehicle speed is high, it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel on the road A. However, in reality, it is possible to enter the road A from the estimated reference road without reducing the speed. For this reason, if it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel on the road A, when the road A is entered from the estimated reference road, the subsequent map matching process cannot be performed accurately, but the vehicle is connected to the estimated reference road. If it is determined not to determine whether or not the vehicle can travel when the road includes a ramp, the above-described problem can be avoided in advance.

  In addition, when the road connected to the estimated reference road includes a road whose road length is less than the predetermined distance, the road length is equal to or longer than the predetermined distance without considering a road whose road length is less than the predetermined distance. It may be determined whether or not the vehicle is able to travel with this road as a determination target. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the roads C, D, and E are connected to the estimated reference road, the connection angle of the road E to the estimated reference road is substantially perpendicular on the road data. Although it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel on the road E, it is practically possible to enter the road B from the estimated reference road via the road E without reducing the speed. For this reason, if it is determined that the vehicle cannot travel on the road E, when the vehicle enters the road B from the estimated reference road via the road E, the map matching process thereafter cannot be performed accurately. The above-described problems can be avoided if the road E having a road length of a predetermined distance or more is determined as a determination target without the road E having a road length less than the predetermined distance as a determination target.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, in the vehicle navigation apparatus 1, the vehicle speed and the traffic signal are set for each road connected to the estimated reference road that is the road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified. It is determined whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the state, the state of the traveling lane, etc., and the road that is determined to be unmovable is excluded from the estimation target, and the vehicle is determined to be able to travel Since only roads are estimated and only roads that the vehicle may possibly travel from are estimated as estimated traveling roads, the current position can be determined by improving the accuracy of estimating roads that may travel from now on. Map matching processing identified on the road data can be performed appropriately, and vehicle control and information notification can be performed appropriately.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about the same part as above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, and a different part is demonstrated. In the first embodiment described above, the vehicle navigation device 1 performs a single process. In the second embodiment, the vehicle navigation device and the center device (server) perform wide-area wireless communication through a wide-area wireless communication network. In this way, the two perform processing in cooperation (sharing).

That is, the vehicle navigation device 31 includes a control unit 32, a GPS receiver 3, a speed sensor 4, an angular velocity sensor 5, and a distance sensor 6. The control unit 32 includes the position / orientation acquisition unit 10, the map matching unit 12, the image processing unit 16, the vehicle control unit 17, the warning control unit 18, the audio output control unit 19, and the display control unit 20 described in the first embodiment. As well as
The communication control unit 33 is configured to control the communication device 34 that performs the wide area wireless communication network.

  On the other hand, the center device 35 installed in the service center includes a map data acquisition unit 36 (map data acquisition unit in the present invention), an estimated reference road identification unit 37 (an estimation reference road identification unit in the present invention), a traveling road. Estimating section 38 (traveling road estimating means in the present invention) and traveling availability determining section 39 (traveling availability determining means in the present invention, vehicle speed acquisition means, distance acquisition means, angular speed acquisition means, traffic light state acquisition means, travel lane state acquisition And a communication unit 40 that performs a wide area wireless communication network. The map data acquisition unit 36, the estimated reference road identification unit 37, the traveling road estimation unit 38, and the traveling availability determination unit 39 are the map data acquisition unit 11, the estimated reference road identification unit 13, and the traveling road estimation described in the first embodiment. It has the same function as the unit 14 and the travel enable / disable determination unit 15.

  In the configuration described above, the vehicle navigation device 31 and the center device 35 perform wide-area wireless communication through the wide-area wireless communication network so that the two cooperate, and the position / orientation acquisition process (step S1) and map described in the first embodiment are performed. The matching process (step S2), the vehicle control process (step S5), the audio output control process (step S6) and the display control process (step S7) are performed by the vehicle navigation device 31, and the estimated reference road specifying process (step S3) and Traveling road estimation processing (step S4) is performed by the center device 35.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the vehicle navigation device 31 and the center device 35 cooperate to obtain the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment described above. In the configuration in which the vehicle navigation device 31 and the center device 35 cooperate in this way, the center device 35 can collect information from other vehicle navigation devices. For example, how other vehicles are at a predetermined intersection. It cannot be realized with a configuration in which the vehicle navigation device 31 that processes the vehicle traveling apparatus 31 that accumulates the history of traveling as travel history data and estimates the travel road by using the travel history data in the travel allowance determination process performs processing alone. New functions can be realized.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified or expanded as follows.
The probability that the vehicle will travel from now on may be calculated for each estimated road. With this configuration, the possibility that the vehicle will travel from now on can be quantitatively determined.
When determining whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the relationship between the connection angle to the estimated reference road and the turnable azimuth angle, a turnable azimuth angle using a preset fixed value as the maximum turnable angular velocity May be calculated, or the turnable azimuth angle may be calculated while updating every time the angular velocity exceeds the latest maximum turnable angular velocity. Also, distinguishing between when the vehicle turns right and when it turns left, the maximum turnable angular velocity when the vehicle turns right and the maximum turnable angular velocity when it turns left are used separately, and the turnable direction An angle may be calculated.

It may be possible to determine whether or not the vehicle can run on the condition that the estimation reference road is a general road excluding the expressway and the toll road. Considering that there are almost no branch points, it is possible to construct a system in line with the actual situation.
The configuration for acquiring the state of the traffic light and the state of the traveling lane from the outside is not limited to the configuration for receiving the signal transmitted from the roadside device (performing road-to-vehicle communication), but from the in-vehicle device mounted on the other vehicle. The structure which receives the transmitted signal (it performs communication between vehicles) may be sufficient.

  In the drawings, 1 is a vehicle navigation device (traveling road estimation system), 10 is a position / orientation acquisition unit (position / orientation acquisition unit), 11 is a map data acquisition unit (map data acquisition unit), and 12 is a map matching unit (map matching unit). ), 13 is an estimated reference road identifying unit (estimated reference road identifying unit), 14 is a traveling road estimating unit (traveling road estimating unit), 15 is a traveling propriety determining unit (traveling propriety determining unit, vehicle speed acquiring unit, distance acquiring unit, Angular velocity acquisition means, traffic light state acquisition means, travel lane state acquisition means), 31 is a vehicle navigation device (travel road estimation system), 35 is a center device (travel road estimation system), and 36 is a map data acquisition unit (map data acquisition means). ), 37 is an estimated reference road identifying unit (estimated reference road identifying means), 38 is a traveling road estimating unit (traveling road estimating means), and 39 is a traveling Determination unit (running permission determination unit, a vehicle speed obtaining means, a distance obtaining means, the angular velocity acquisition means, traffic light state acquiring unit, the driving lane condition acquiring means) is.

Claims (11)

Position and orientation acquisition means for acquiring the position and orientation of the vehicle;
Road data acquisition means for acquiring road data from road data recording means capable of recording road data;
Map matching means for associating the position and orientation of the vehicle acquired by the position and orientation acquisition means with the road data acquired by the road data acquisition means from the road data recording means and identifying the current position on the road data;
Estimated reference road specifying means for specifying a road corresponding to the road data whose current position is identified by the map matching means as an estimated reference road;
Driving road estimation means capable of estimating a road connected to the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means as an estimated pair and a road on which the vehicle may travel from now on can be estimated as an estimated driving road. In the running road estimation system
A road that is connected to the estimated reference road identified by the estimated reference road identifying means is a determination target, and includes a travel enable / disable determining means that determines whether or not the vehicle can travel,
The travel road estimation means determines from the estimation target the road determined by the travel enable / disable determination means that the vehicle cannot travel among roads connected to the estimation reference road identified by the estimation reference road identification means. A traveling road estimation system characterized in that a road that is excluded and is estimated by a road that has been determined by the traveling availability determination means as being estimated to be a road on which the vehicle may travel from now on. In the traveling road estimation system according to claim 1,
The travel road estimation system is characterized in that the travel road estimation unit calculates a probability that a vehicle will travel for each estimated road. In the traveling road estimation system according to claim 1 or 2,
The travel propriety determination means includes vehicle speed acquisition means for acquiring a vehicle speed, and distance acquisition means for acquiring a distance from a current position to a branch point closest to the vehicle traveling direction, the vehicle speed acquired by the vehicle speed acquisition means, When the vehicle reaches the branch point based on the distance from the current position acquired by the distance acquisition unit to the branch point closest to the vehicle traveling direction and the maximum angular velocity at which the vehicle can turn, which is the maximum angular velocity at which the vehicle can turn. The turnable azimuth angle that can be turned by the vehicle is calculated, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle can travel based on the relationship between the connection angle with the estimated reference road and the calculated turnable azimuth angle, and the connection with the estimated reference road It is determined that the vehicle can travel on a road whose angle does not exceed the turnable azimuth angle, and the vehicle cannot travel on a road whose connection angle to the estimated reference road exceeds the turnable azimuth angle. Travel road estimating system and determines that that. In the traveling road estimation system according to claim 3,
The traveling road estimation system characterized in that the traveling propriety determining means determines whether or not the vehicle can travel using a preset fixed value as a maximum turnable angular velocity. In the traveling road estimation system according to claim 3,
The travel propriety determination means includes an angular speed acquisition means for acquiring an angular speed, uses a preset fixed value as the maximum turnable angular speed, and the angular speed acquired by the angular speed acquisition means exceeds the maximum turnable angular speed. Uses the acquired angular velocity as a new maximum turnable angular velocity, and uses the acquired angular velocity as a new maximum turnable angular velocity every time the angular velocity acquired by the angular velocity acquisition means exceeds the latest maximum turnable angular velocity. A traveling road estimation system for determining whether or not a vehicle can travel. In the traveling road estimation system according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
The travel propriety determining means uses a maximum turnable angular speed at the time of right turn and a maximum turnable angular speed at the time of left turn to determine whether the vehicle can run or not. Estimation system. In the traveling road estimation system according to claim 1 or 2,
The travel propriety determining means includes traffic light state acquisition means for acquiring the state of a traffic signal in the vehicle traveling direction, and the state of the traffic signal in the vehicle traveling direction acquired by the traffic light state acquisition means as to whether or not the vehicle can travel. A traveling road estimation system characterized by determining based on In the traveling road estimation system according to claim 1 or 2,
The travel propriety determination means includes travel lane state acquisition means for acquiring the state of the travel lane in the vehicle traveling direction, and whether or not the vehicle can travel is determined in the vehicle travel direction acquired by the travel lane state acquisition means. A traveling road estimation system characterized in that determination is made based on a state of a traveling lane. In the traveling road estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The travel propriety determining means determines whether or not the vehicle can travel on the condition that the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means is a general road excluding a highway and a toll road. A featured road estimation system. In the traveling road estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The travel propriety determining means does not determine whether or not the vehicle can travel when a ramp is included in a road connected to the estimated reference road identified by the estimated reference road identifying means. A featured road estimation system. In the traveling road estimation system according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The travel propriety judging means determines that the road length is less than a predetermined distance when the road connected to the estimated reference road specified by the estimated reference road specifying means includes a road whose road length is less than a predetermined distance. And determining whether or not the vehicle can travel using a road whose road length is a predetermined distance or more as a determination target.

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