JP4924507B2 - Driving assistance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support apparatus using an infrastructure such as an optical beacon.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System, registered trademark), which is a system that transmits road traffic information processed in a center in real time and displays it on an in-vehicle device such as a navigation device, is known. In VICS, two-way communication using infrared rays is performed with a vehicle by using an optical beacon installed on a traveling path of the vehicle, road traffic information is provided to the vehicle, and driving is supported ( For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 2005-268925 A JP 2008-46767 A

  When a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle device enters the communication area of the optical beacon (when communication is possible), uplink information including ID information and the like is transmitted from the in-vehicle device side to the optical beacon. Is received, the downlink information including traffic information and the like is transmitted to the in-vehicle device of the vehicle, and the in-vehicle device presents (displays or notifies) the information to the user.

  By the way, since the communication area of the optical beacon is small, the vehicle generally performs the above communication and presentation in a short time, and immediately exits the communication area. For this reason, usually, the in-vehicle device is the same information even if it receives downlink information several times from the optical beacon. Even if downlink information is received, it is not accepted.

  In recent years, as a safe driving support information providing service, studies have been made in various fields to provide emergency information collected by roadside sensors immediately to a vehicle and support safe driving of drivers and pedestrians. For example, a safe driving support device (DSSS: Driving Safety Support System) has been studied as a service using an optical beacon.

With such a flow, it is desired to support safe driving by effectively using the infrastructure of a conventional optical beacon.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device capable of supporting safe driving by effectively using the infrastructure of a conventional road device.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the driving support apparatus of claim 1, when the vehicle enters the communication area with the roadside device and the roadside device receives the downlink information from the transmission / reception means, the reception completion condition is established. The determination means determines whether or not the reception completion condition is satisfied. When the reception completion condition satisfaction determination means determines that the reception completion condition is satisfied, the area continuation determination means determines that the vehicle is still on the road. When it is determined by the area continuation determining means that the vehicle is still in the road area communication area, the information reacquisition means transmits the information from the road equipment. The information reception is resumed, and it is determined whether the information received by the information reacquisition means includes new or updated information for the information received by the initial information receiving means. It is determined by the means. When the area continuation determining means determines that the own vehicle is not in the road area communication area, or when the information determining means determines that the new or updated information is not included, the initial information receiving means. The information received by is presented, and when the information judging means judges that the new or updated information is included, the information received by the information reacquisition means is presented by the presenting means.

  As a result, when new or updated information is sent from the roadside machine when the vehicle is stopped in the same communication area or moving at a very low speed, the latest information is presented to the user. Can do. Therefore, for example, when traffic jam occurrence information is updated to traffic jam resolution information during traffic jams, or when there is a straight-ahead vehicle information when stopping at an intersection for a right turn, this update is performed. Information and new information can be presented to the user, and thus safe driving can be supported by effectively using the infrastructure of the conventional optical beacon.

  In this case, an optical beacon has been put to practical use as a road device, and according to the invention of claim 2, driving assistance can be achieved using a road-to-vehicle communication system using an optical beacon.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an in-vehicle device 10 corresponding to a driving support device.
The in-vehicle device 10 is used in a state where it is mounted on a vehicle, and both use infrared rays (specifically, near infrared rays) with an optical beacon as a road unit installed on a traveling road of the vehicle. It is for performing communication. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device 10 includes an optical beacon antenna (communication terminal) 20 and a navigation ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 30, which are respectively transmitted and received signal lines 11, 12 is connected. In the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 10 is described as being built in the navigation device, but the vehicle-mounted device 10 may be externally attached separately from the navigation device.

  The optical beacon antenna 20 corresponds to transmission / reception means, and includes an LED 21 that is a light emitting element for transmission, a photodiode (PD) 22 that is a light receiving element for reception, and interface circuits 23 and 24, respectively. Has been. The optical beacon antenna 20 is installed on the dashboard of the vehicle in order to facilitate two-way communication with the optical beacon. The installation position of the optical beacon antenna 20 is not limited to this.

  The navigation ECU 30 is mainly configured by an optical beacon transmission / reception processing circuit 40 configured by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), the CPU 50, the display device 90, and the audio output device 100. The optical beacon transmission / reception processing circuit 40 includes a transmission port 41 for outputting uplink information to the LED 21 of the optical beacon antenna 20 and a reception port 42 for inputting downlink information received by the PD 22.

  Uplink information output from the transmission port 41 is converted by the interface circuit 61 and transmitted to the optical beacon antenna 20 via the transmission signal line 11. On the other hand, the downlink information received by the optical beacon antenna 20 is transmitted to the navigation ECU 30 via the reception signal line 12, converted by the interface circuit 62, and input to the reception port 42 of the optical beacon transmission / reception processing circuit 40.

  The CPU 50 executes various arithmetic processes for realizing a map display function and a route search function in the navigation ECU 30. In addition, the CPU 50 has a function of writing and recording data as necessary to the SRAM 70 in which the program is installed. Further, the CPU 50 functions as an initial information receiving unit, a reception completion condition establishment determining unit, an area continuation determining unit, an information reacquisition unit, an information determining unit, and a presenting unit.

The display device 90 is a display means, and is constituted by, for example, a color liquid crystal display or the like, and is installed in the vicinity of the driver's seat of the vehicle.
The audio output device 100 serves as a notification unit, and includes, for example, a speaker and is provided at an appropriate part of the vehicle.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows an installation example of an optical beacon projector / receiver 80. The light beacon light emitter / receiver 80 is installed directly above the traveling path of the vehicle, and uses near infrared rays with the vehicle 10A (vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle device 10) existing in the communication area E formed on the traveling path. Configured to perform bidirectional communication. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the light beacon projector / receiver 80 is installed, for example, on an expressway from the relationship of action description.

  Next, the communication process for driving assistance performed by the CPU 50 of the navigation ECU 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This communication process is executed at a predetermined cycle (for example, at intervals of several tens of milliseconds).

  When this communication process is started, first, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 10A has entered the communication area with the optical beacon. Specifically, it is determined that the vehicle has entered the communication area when normal information (frame) is received from the light beacon projector / receiver 80.

  If it is determined that the communication area with the optical beacon has been entered, the process proceeds to step S2, and uplink information including the vehicle ID is transmitted to the optical beacon. In step S3, downlink information (initial downlink) Information).

  In step S4, it is determined whether a downlink information reception completion condition is satisfied. The establishment of this reception completion condition is, for example, satisfying one of the following. That is, (1) Out of the communication area, (2) The normal frame reception rate for a predetermined time (for example, 1 second) is less than a predetermined value (for example, 10%), (3) With the vehicle ID It is determined that the reception completion condition is satisfied when either the lane notification information has been received a predetermined number of times (for example, 10 times) or (4) the vehicle ID has disappeared from the lane notification information.

  If it is determined in step S4 that the reception completion condition is satisfied, it is determined whether or not the communication area is still in the same communication area. If it is determined that they are not in the same area (passed), the process proceeds to step S10, and the content of the downlink information received in step S3 is presented. That is, it is displayed on the display device 90 or output from the audio output device 100 as audio.

  If it is determined that they are still in the same communication area, the process proceeds to step S6 and the reception of downlink information is resumed. In step S7, it is determined whether the downlink information includes new or updated information. When it is determined that new or updated information is not included, the process proceeds to step S10, and as described above, the content of the downlink information received in step S3 is presented.

When it is determined in step S7 that the downlink information includes new or updated information, the process proceeds to step S8, and it is determined again whether uplink information is necessary.
In step S8, it is determined whether or not uplink information is necessary. If not, the process proceeds to step S10, and the content of the downlink information received in step S3 is presented as described above. If necessary, the process proceeds to step S9, the uplink information is transmitted to the optical beacon, and the process proceeds to step S10.

  When the routine leading to step S10 is “YES” in step S5, “YES” in step S6, step S7, step S8, and step S9, the downlink information (new or updated information received again in step S6). Included downlink information).

  A specific example of such control will be described with reference to FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the vehicle 10A is on a highway and is congested. When the vehicle enters the communication area E with the optical beacon transceiver 80, the in-vehicle device 10 transmits uplink information and receives downlink information from the optical beacon. Assume that this downlink information includes traffic jam information. As an example of this traffic jam information, there is a content such as “There is a traffic of ** km starting from XX point. It takes almost XX hours to get through this traffic jam”.

  If the vehicle 10A is stopped, the downlink information reception completion condition is satisfied in step S4, and “YES” is also determined in step S5. Therefore, reception of the downlink information is resumed. If the downlink information at this time includes new information such as traffic jam change information or emergency information, such information is presented in step S10.

  Note that the reason for determining whether or not uplink information is necessary in step S8 is that the downlink information received in step S6 includes an instruction for requesting uplink information or when the downlink is re-received in advance. This is in consideration of the case where it is set to transmit link information. However, steps S7 and S8 may be provided as necessary.

  According to the present embodiment, when the vehicle 10A enters the communication area E with the optical beacon and receives downlink information (initial downlink information) from the optical beacon, whether or not the reception completion condition is satisfied is determined. When it is determined that the reception completion condition is satisfied, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle 10A is still in the communication area E of the optical beacon, and the own vehicle 10A is still in the communication area E of the optical beacon. When it is determined that there is, the reception of information transmitted from the optical beacon is resumed, and it is determined whether the received information includes new or updated information for the initial downlink information. When it is determined that the host vehicle 10A is not in the communication area of the optical beacon, or when it is determined that the new or updated information is not included, the initial downlink information is presented, and the new or updated information is When it is judged that it is included, the reacquired information is presented.

  As a result, the latest information is presented to the user when new or updated information is transmitted from the optical beacon side in a situation where the vehicle 10A is stopped in the same communication area or is moving at a minute speed. be able to. Therefore, for example, when traffic jam occurrence information is updated to traffic jam resolution information or when new emergency information is transmitted from an optical beacon during traffic jams, the update information or new information is presented to the user. Therefore, safe driving can be supported by effectively using the infrastructure of the conventional optical beacon.

In particular, according to the present embodiment, driving assistance can be achieved using a road-vehicle communication system using an optical beacon as a road device.
FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, an example in which a light beacon projector / receiver 81 is provided at a position where communication with a right turn vehicle can be made. The light emitter / receiver 81 is controlled by an optical beacon controller 82. In the second embodiment, detection information of the camera 110 for monitoring a straight vehicle is given to the control device 82. When a straight vehicle is recognized by the straight vehicle monitoring camera 110, downlink information including information indicating the presence of a straight vehicle is displayed on the vehicle 10B (a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle device 10) stopped on the right turn lane. To be sent.

  That is, when the vehicle 10B enters the right turn position, it is determined in step S1 in FIG. In this state, it is assumed that a straight vehicle (motorcycle R) has not been detected yet. If the vehicle 10B is in the right turn position after the downlink information reception completion condition in step S4 is satisfied, “YES” is determined in the step S5, and reception of the downlink signal is resumed. By this time, when the straight traveling of the two-wheeled vehicle R is detected, information including the direct traveling of the two-wheeled vehicle and prompting attention is transmitted to the vehicle 10B as downlink information. Since this information is new information, “YES” is determined in step S7, and information is presented in step S10 through step S8 and step S9.

  According to the second embodiment, when information indicating that a vehicle is traveling straight is transmitted when the vehicle stops for a right turn at an intersection, the update information or new information can be presented to the user. Therefore, safe driving can be supported by effectively using the infrastructure of the conventional optical beacon.

The block diagram of the vehicle-mounted apparatus which shows 1st Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of arrangement of an optical beacon antenna Flow chart showing control contents FIG. 2 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 10 is an in-vehicle device (driving support device), 20 is an optical beacon antenna (transmission / reception means), 30 is a navigation device ECU, 40 is an optical beacon transmission / reception processing circuit, and 50 is a CPU (initial information receiving means, reception completion condition is established. (Determination means, area continuation determination means, information reacquisition means, information determination means, presentation means), 80 and 81 are optical beacon projectors and receivers, 90 is a display device, and 100 is an audio output device.

Claims (2)

A driving support device used in a state of being mounted on a vehicle,
A transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving information to / from a road device using infrared rays;
Initial information receiving means for transmitting uplink information to the roadside device when entering a communication area with the roadside device, and receiving downlink information from the roadside device;
A reception completion condition establishment judging means for judging whether or not a reception completion condition of the downlink information is established;
Area continuation determining means for determining whether or not the host vehicle is still in the communication area of the roadside device when it is determined that the reception completion condition is satisfied by the reception completion condition establishment determining means;
Information reacquisition means for resuming reception of information transmitted from the road device when the area continuation determination means determines that the host vehicle is still in the communication area of the road device;
Information determining means for determining whether the information received by the information reacquisition means includes new or updated information for the information received by the initial information receiving means;
Received by the initial information receiving means when the area continuation determining means determines that the host vehicle is not in the road area communication area, or when the information determining means determines that the new or updated information is not included. A driving support apparatus comprising: presenting information, and presenting means for presenting the information received by the information reacquisition means when the information judging means judges that the new or updated information is included. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit is configured to receive information from an optical beacon as the road device.

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