JP5301421B2 - Route planning apparatus, route planning system, and route planning method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a route planning device for providing, to its user, a route capable of reducing the risk of the user's car becoming incapable of reaching an energy source supply installation. <P>SOLUTION: The route planning device calculates a route of minimum cost (power saving route) to a destination, in accordance with a safety coefficient (degree of security) set by the user (S002), determines an imaginary via-point between the route of the minimum cost and the energy source supply installation (charging stand) (S004) and provides a safe route (secure route) (S005, S006). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle terminal of an electric vehicle or an automobile having an internal combustion engine, and relates to a route search planning system that performs an optimum route search from a departure point to a destination in consideration of a cruising distance of the vehicle.

  In general, the cruising distance of an electric vehicle is shorter than that of an automobile having an internal combustion engine. In addition, a dedicated charging stand is required for charging the electric vehicle. For this reason, in order to travel to the destination, it is necessary to frequently go through the charging station. Even if a gasoline car is an automobile having an internal combustion engine, for example, if the gas station is located sparsely relative to the cruising distance, it is necessary to go through many of the gas stations.

  Description of patent document 1 is known as a route search device of an electric vehicle. When the search distance of the route from the current location to the destination exceeds the cruising range calculated from the in-vehicle battery, this route search device acquires information on a nearby charging station and searches for a route via the charging station. Is going.

  In addition, an in-vehicle terminal device has been proposed that automatically guides a charging stand around the position of the vehicle when the remaining battery capacity of the electric vehicle decreases (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP-A-10-170293 JP 2003-262525 A

  However, since the cruising distance of the electric vehicle is short, if the electric power is consumed more than expected in an unforeseen situation, the electric vehicle may not be able to travel because it cannot reach the next charging station as a waypoint. The unpredictable situation here is, for example, a situation involving an accidental traffic jam. Even if it is a gasoline vehicle, the same applies when the gas station is located sparsely compared to the cruising range.

  In addition, in the method of collecting charging station information when the remaining battery capacity of the electric vehicle is reduced, there is a possibility that the electric vehicle cannot run when there is no charging station that can reach the periphery. Similarly, in the method of collecting the information of the gas station when the gasoline remaining amount of the gasoline vehicle becomes low, there is a possibility that the gasoline vehicle cannot run when there is no gas station that can be reached in the vicinity.

(1) A route planning device according to claim 1 is a route planning device mounted on a mobile body, and calculates a route to a destination using destination input means for inputting a destination and map information. Route calculating means, position calculating means for determining the current position of the moving body using a sensor mounted on the moving body, safety coefficient setting means for setting a safety coefficient by user input, and road links included in the map information A facility that calculates the cost of the vehicle and generates a minimum cost route that minimizes the cost to the destination, and a facility that can supply energy sources within a predetermined range of the minimum cost route from the map information Search means for searching for information, waypoint calculation means for setting a waypoint according to the safety factor between the location of the facility and the minimum cost route, and a display means for displaying the route via the waypoint It is characterized by providing.
(2) The route planning system according to claim 6 includes a route plan transmitting device and a route plan receiving device mounted on the mobile body, and the route plan transmitting device uses the map information to route to the destination. A route calculation unit that calculates the cost of the road link included in the map information, generates a minimum cost route that minimizes the cost to the destination, and determines the minimum cost route from the map information. A search method for searching facility information about facilities that can supply energy sources within the range, and a waypoint calculation that sets a waypoint according to a predetermined coefficient between the location of the facility and the minimum cost route Means and a first communication means for receiving a predetermined coefficient from the route plan receiving device and transmitting setting information representing the waypoint set by the waypoint calculating means to the route plan receiving device. The route plan receiving apparatus includes a destination input means for inputting a destination, a position calculation means for determining a current position of the moving body using a sensor mounted on the moving body, and a safety factor for setting a safety factor by user input. A second communication means for receiving setting information from the coefficient setting means and the route plan transmitting apparatus and transmitting the safety coefficient as a predetermined coefficient to the route plan transmitting apparatus, and a route passing through the transit point based on the setting information And display means for displaying.
(3) The route planning device according to claim 7 is a route planning device mounted on a mobile body, and calculates a route to the destination using destination input means for inputting the destination and map information. Route calculating means, position calculating means for determining the current position of the moving body using a sensor mounted on the moving body, safety coefficient setting means for setting a safety coefficient by user input, and road links included in the map information A facility information density calculating unit that calculates a facility information density for a facility that can supply an energy source, and a mesh cost calculating unit that calculates a mesh cost of the mesh based on the facility information density and the safety factor And a cost adjusting means for adjusting the link cost of the road link belonging to the mesh based on the mesh cost, and the resource adjusted by the cost adjusting means. A route search means for searching for a route using a link cost and a display means for displaying the route are provided.
(4) A route planning method according to claim 10 is a route planning method used in a route planning device mounted on a mobile body, and calculates a route to an input destination using map information. Determine the current position of the moving body using the sensor mounted on the moving body, calculate the cost of the road link included in the map information, generate the minimum cost route that minimizes the cost to the destination, map information The facility information about the facility that can supply the energy source within the predetermined range of the minimum cost route is searched, and the waypoint is determined between the location of the facility and the minimum cost route according to the set safety factor. And the route via the waypoint is displayed.
(5) A route planning method according to claim 11 is a route planning method used in a route planning device mounted on a mobile body, and calculates a route to an input destination using map information. The current position of the moving body is determined using a sensor mounted on the moving body, and the facility information density for the facility that can supply the energy source is calculated in the mesh to which the road link included in the map information belongs, and the facility The mesh cost of the mesh is calculated based on the information density and the set safety factor, the link cost of each road link belonging to the mesh is adjusted based on the mesh cost, and the route is searched using the adjusted link cost. The route is displayed.

  According to the present invention, the user is freed from the risk of exhaustion of energy sources including battery and gasoline and other fuels when the vehicle travels on the searched route.

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the vehicle-mounted terminal device of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the user interface of a safety | security level (safety coefficient) setting apparatus. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the traffic information memorize | stored in a traffic information storage device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the map data stored in map information. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a route search apparatus. It is a figure which shows the mode of a process of a map data acquisition apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the power saving route stored in a path | route storage device, and its power saving route. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a charging stand search device. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data showing the information of a charging station. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a virtual waypoint calculation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example which calculates the coordinate showing the leg | foot of the perpendicular drawn down from the charging station to the power saving route. It is a figure which shows the example of the cyclic route of a power saving route. It is a figure which shows the internal dividing point to the leg of a charging stand and a perpendicular. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of step S004-6. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the relief route stored in a path | route storage device, and the relief route. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a reliable route. It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the vehicle-mounted terminal device and center apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the vehicle-mounted terminal device of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a route search apparatus. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the mesh cost stored in a mesh cost temporary storage device. It is a figure which shows the example which displays a reliable route and the charging station density information of a mesh.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking an in-vehicle terminal device of an electric vehicle as an example, but as will be described later, the present invention can be similarly implemented in an in-vehicle terminal device of an automobile having an internal combustion engine.

-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an in-vehicle terminal device according to a first embodiment using the present invention. The in-vehicle terminal device 001 includes a traffic information acquisition device 101, a destination input device 102, a safety level (safety factor) setting device 103, a battery information acquisition device 105 connected to a battery 104, and a vehicle connected to sensors 106. A position calculation device 107, a traffic information storage device 108, a route search device 109, map information 110, and a display device 111 are included.

  The in-vehicle terminal device 001, the battery 104, and the sensors 106 are connected via an in-vehicle network such as CAN.

  The traffic information acquisition device 101 receives travel time for each link of major roads nationwide from a traffic information service center (for example, VICS (registered trademark)), and stores the travel time in the traffic information storage device 108. The information update cycle is a predetermined time interval. For the travel time for each link, for example, a vehicle detection device (not shown) is provided for each link, and the time required for travel between the links is measured, or the probe car is traveled while measuring the time between the links. It is obtained by.

  The destination input device 102 is a means for a user to input a destination through the user interface of the in-vehicle terminal. The destination information is provided to the route search device 109. The user searches for and sets the destination POI using the destination address, category, telephone number, and the like as keys. POI is an abbreviation for Point Of Interest, and is information about points such as store information and energy source supply facility information including charging stations.

  The route search device 109 includes a route cost calculation device 112, a map data acquisition device 113, a charging station search device 114, a charging station temporary storage device 115, a virtual waypoint calculation device 116, and a route storage device 117.

  The safety level setting device 103 is a device in which the user sets the safety level (safety factor) of the route through the user interface of the in-vehicle terminal. The degree of security is input to the route search device 109. This degree of security is an index that represents how close a charging station you want to pass when you go to the destination with an electric vehicle, and can be set as a numerical value from 0 to 100. The route search device 109 sets a route that passes near the charging station as the degree of security is closer to 100.

  An example of the user interface of the safety level setting device 103 is shown in FIG. FIG. 2A shows an example of a screen for setting conditions that the user wants to prioritize on the slide bar with priority on energy saving and safety. The closer the bar is to safety priority, the higher the safety level is set. FIG. 2B is an example of a screen on which the user directly inputs the degree of security with a number. FIG. 2C is an example of a screen in which the user answers the questionnaire and sets the degree of security. In response to the question “Do you want to drive near the charging station”, four choices are offered: “I think so”, “I think so”, “I don't think so”, or “I don't think so” . The answer selected by the user is reflected in the degree of security. For example, in FIG. 2C, since “I think so” is selected, the degree of security is set to 60.

  The battery 104 is a secondary battery mounted on an electric vehicle, such as a lead storage battery or a lithium ion battery.

  The battery information acquisition device 105 monitors the state of the battery 104 and monitors the remaining capacity of the battery. Information on the remaining battery capacity is provided to the route search device 109.

  The sensors 106 are a GPS, a vehicle speed pulse, an angular velocity sensor, and the like. By using this sensor, the position, vehicle speed, and angular velocity of the vehicle can be measured. These pieces of information are provided to the vehicle position calculation device 107.

  The own vehicle position calculation device 107 calculates the position of the own vehicle from the information of the sensors 106. For this calculation, a known technique such as a Kalman filter or dead reckoning is used. Information on the calculated vehicle position is provided to the route search device 109.

  The traffic information storage device 108 stores the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition device 101 for each road link and for each time. The data structure of the traffic information stored in the traffic information storage device 108 is shown in FIG. The traffic information data stored in the traffic information storage device 108 includes the acquired road link ID, time, and traffic information. The traffic information refers to the degree of traffic congestion on the target road link, travel time to pass, average speed, and the like.

  The route search device 109 receives the battery information from the battery information acquisition device 105, the vehicle position information from the vehicle position calculation device 107, the road information and the POI information from the map information 110, and passes near the charging station. The “reliable route” is calculated and output to the display device 111.

  The map information 110 is storage means such as a hard disk or flash memory, and stores road information and POI information. The requested map area is input from the route search device 109 and the corresponding road information and POI information are provided to the route search device 109.

  The display device 111 is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays the route search result from the route search device 109 on the map.

  Hereinafter, the map data stored in the map information 110 and the configuration of the route search device 109 will be described.

  A configuration diagram of the map data stored in the map information 110 is shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows the configuration of road data stored in the map information 110. Road data is composed of links from node to node. Each road data includes a link ID for identifying a road, a mesh ID in which the road link exists, a node ID at the start of the road link and its latitude / longitude information, and a node ID at the end of the road link and its latitude / longitude information. Is done. In addition, when an interpolation point is prescribed | regulated on the link between nodes, you may prescribe | regulate a sublink between a node and an interpolation point, and between interpolation points.

  Here, the mesh is each section when the map is partitioned into a mesh based on latitude and longitude. The secondary mesh is a section represented by mesh data having a latitude difference of 5 minutes and a longitude difference of 7 minutes 30 seconds and a side length of about 10 km. The tertiary mesh is an area formed by dividing the secondary mesh into 10 equal parts in the latitude direction and the longitude direction. The latitude difference is 30 seconds, the longitude difference is 45 seconds, and the length of one side is about 1 km. A mesh can be specified by the mesh ID.

  FIG. 4B shows the configuration of POI information stored in the map information 110. The POI information is composed of POI ID of POI, name, category, mesh ID and latitude / longitude information in which POI exists, and adjacent road link ID. The POI name is a unique name representing the POI when the POI is displayed on the display device 111. The category represents the type of facility, for example, “1” for a charging station, “2” for a convenience store, and “3” for a gas station. The adjacent road link ID links the POI and the road link and is used when searching for a route. In the route search, the adjacent road link ID is extracted from the POI set as the destination, and the route search is performed to the extracted road link. This makes it possible to search for a route with the POI as the destination.

  FIG. 4C shows a mesh management table. The mesh management table stores the mesh ID and the coordinates of the vertex of the mesh, that is, the coordinates (latitude and longitude) of the lower left, upper left, lower right, and upper right (see FIG. 4D).

  A processing flow of the route search apparatus 109 will be described with reference to FIG. The internal processing of the route search apparatus 109 shown in FIG. 1 will be described according to this processing flow.

  First, own vehicle position information is acquired from the own vehicle position calculation device 107, and surrounding road information is acquired from the map information 110 (step S001). Step S001 is executed by the map data acquisition device 113. The own vehicle position information is information representing the position of the own vehicle, and is composed of latitude and longitude. The map area requested in the map information 110 is managed by a list of mesh IDs. The required mesh group is a rectangle in which the mesh where the destination exists and the mesh where the vehicle position exists are diagonal lines, and all the meshes included in the rectangle. The state of processing of the map data acquisition device 113 is shown in FIG. A 2 × 3 rectangle is created with the mesh ID 00 including the vehicle position and the mesh ID 21 including the destination as diagonals. Then, mesh IDs 00, 01, 10, 11, 20, and 21 included in the rectangle are set as required mesh IDs. With the above processing, map data necessary for route search can be acquired.

  Next, using the acquired map information and information on the remaining battery capacity from the battery information acquisition device 105, the “power saving route” with the least power consumption is calculated up to the destination set by the destination input device 102. (Step S002). Step S002 is executed by the route cost calculation apparatus 112.

A known technique is used for calculating the power saving route and calculating the power consumption. Here, it is assumed that the power consumption of a certain road link depends on the speed and the road gradient passing through the road link. At this time, the speed is acquired from the traffic information storage device 108 and the road gradient information is acquired from the map information 110. The power consumption W of the road link is obtained by the equation (1) using the average speed v and the gradient θ traveling on the road link.
W = k_v · v + k_θ · θ (1)

  Here, k_v and k_θ are coefficients for converting the speed into power consumption and the gradient into power consumption, respectively. Expression (1) is executed for all road links acquired by the map data acquisition device 113, and the power consumption of each road link is calculated. Then, using the power consumption as a cost, a route search is performed by using the Dijkstra's algorithm, which is a known technique, and one power saving route is obtained.

  The calculated power saving route data is stored in the path storage device 117. FIG. 7A shows a data configuration of the power saving route, and FIG. 7B shows an example of the power saving route. The data of the power saving route includes the type of route, the number of configured road links and the road link ID, the mesh ID where the road link exists, the start node ID, the end node ID, the power consumption, and the passage of the road link. It is composed of the state of charge (SOC) of the battery.

  Next, POI information of charging stations around the power saving route is acquired from the map data (step S003). Step S003 is executed by charging station search device 114. The acquired charging station information is stored in the charging station temporary storage device 115.

  A detailed processing flow of the charging station search device 114 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the path storage device 117 is referred to and it is determined whether or not all nodes included in the power saving route have been processed (step S003-1). If not processed (No in step S003-1), all information on charging stations included in a circle having a radius of a certain distance from the node of the power saving route is acquired (step S003-2). Next, it is determined whether or not all charging stations have been processed (step S003-3). If all the charging stations have not been processed (Yes in step S003-3), the route search is performed from all charging stations included in the circle for the target node to the target node, and the travel distance is calculated. (Step S003-4). The Dijkstra method, which is a known technique, is used for the route search. When all the charging stations have been processed (No in step S003-3), the charging station with the minimum travel distance is selected from the processed charging stations (step S003-5). This is a process of extracting one charging station from a plurality of charging stations in the area around the node. Here, at most one charging station is associated with each node. After selecting the charging stand with the minimum travel distance, the process proceeds to step S003-1.

  When processing is performed for all charging stations (Yes in step S003-1), a plurality of extracted charging stations having the same POIID are treated as one charging station, and the one having the minimum travel distance is adopted. (Step S003-6). At this time, a plurality of pieces of node ID information of corresponding nodes are stored. Finally, the calculated charging station information is stored in the charging station temporary storage device 115 (step S003-7). FIG. 9 shows the structure of data representing charging station information. Data representing charging station information includes the acquired POIID, mesh ID, latitude / longitude coordinates, target node ID (a plurality of node IDs if there are a plurality of nodes), travel distance, and road included in the route from the charging station to the node. It is composed of the number of links and a plurality of road links included in the route.

  Next, a virtual waypoint is calculated from the plurality of charging stations stored in the charging station temporary storage device 115 (step S004). This process is executed by the virtual waypoint calculation device 116 using the safety level set by the safety level setting device 103. The processing flow of the virtual waypoint calculation device 116 will be described with reference to FIG.

・・・（３）

・・・（４） First, a perpendicular is drawn from all the charging stations stored in the charging station temporary storage device 115 to the power saving route (step S004-1). In step S004-1, first, node ID information on the target power saving route is acquired from the charging station temporary storage device 115. Next, information on the road link ID on the power saving route corresponding to the node ID is acquired from the route storage device 117. Next, a vertical line is drawn from the position of the charging station to the acquired road link. Sub links may be used instead of road links. The coordinates of the start point of the road link are Xs (sx, sy), the coordinates of the end point are Xe (ex, ey), the coordinates of the charging station are Xc, the direction of the road link is α, and the angle between the position of the road link and the charging station is If the coordinates representing β and the feet of the perpendicular are X1, the coordinates of the feet of the perpendicular are as shown in FIG. 11, and the coordinates of the feet of the perpendicular can be obtained by equations (2) to (4).
Xl = Xs + k (Xe−Xs) (2)

... (3)

... (4)

  Here, “x” represents the outer product of the vectors, L represents the distance from the charging station to the vertical foot, and k represents the ratio of the length from the starting point of the road link to the vertical foot relative to the link length. The directions α and β are positive in the counterclockwise direction.

  If there is no perpendicular, the one with the shorter distance between the start point and the end point of the road link is adopted as the foot of the perpendicular. When there are a plurality of road links corresponding to one charging station, the one having the smallest distance from the charging station to the foot of the perpendicular is adopted. Through the above processing, one perpendicular line on the power saving route corresponding to the charging station can be determined in step S004-1.

  Next, the charging station to circulate is selected from the positional relationship between the charging station and the power saving route (step S004-2). In step S004-2, the charging station is selected so that the power saving route does not cross the power saving route as shown in FIG. Here, the determination is based on the sign of the direction β in FIG. The charging station group A in which the sign of β is positive and the charging station group B in which the sign is negative are classified, and one of them is adopted. Here, a charging station group having a large number of charging stations is employed.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the process of determining the virtual waypoints of all charging stations included in the traveling route has been performed (step S004-3). When all the charging stations have been processed (Yes in step S004-3), the process is terminated.

  If all the charging stations have not been processed (No in step S004-3), an internal dividing point is determined on the vertical line drawn from the charging station to the power saving route (step S004-4). This internal dividing point is set using the safety level set by the security level setting device 103.

A method for determining the internal dividing point in step S004-4 will be described with reference to FIGS. In step S004-4, an internal dividing point is calculated according to the level of the safety level S. From the vector from the charging station to the foot of the vertical line (Xl-Xc in FIG. 11) and the safety degree S, the coordinate Xt of the internal dividing point is obtained as in equations (5) and (6).
Xt = Xc + p (X1-Xc) (5)
p = 1- (S / 100) (6)

  The coefficient p is a value obtained from the safety level S. When the safety level is 0, p = 1, and the internal dividing point coincides with the foot of the perpendicular line. The point is equal to the position of the charging station. As shown in FIG. 13, the higher the level of security, the inner dividing point closer to the position of the charging stand.

There is also a method of using the SOC to determine the internal dividing point. When this method is used, the safety value set by the safety level setting device 103 and the SOC value corresponding to the road link ID stored in the route storage device 117 are used as input values. This road link refers to a road link including a vertical leg from the charging station. As the SOC value is smaller or the safety level is larger, the internal dividing point is calculated on the charging station side. Assuming that SOC is the charge capacity with respect to the maximum charge capacity and the maximum is 1, the coordinate Xt of the internal dividing point is obtained as in equations (5) and (7).
Xt = Xc + p (X1-Xc) (5)
p = {1- (S / 100)} · SOC (7)

  Next, a route is searched from the immediately preceding virtual waypoint to the target charging station, and power consumption is calculated (step S004-5). When there is no immediately preceding virtual waypoint, the power consumption from the starting point of the electric vehicle to the target charging station is calculated.

  Next, the node ID around the internal dividing point is searched, and the node ID that becomes the virtual waypoint is determined (step S004-6). The detailed processing flow of step S004-6 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, all node IDs within a certain distance from the internal dividing point on the vertical line drawn from the charging station to the power saving route are extracted from the map information 110 (step S004-6-1). For example, all node IDs that belong to a region surrounded by the cyclic route and the power saving route in FIG. 12 and that are included in a circle having a constant radius with the inner dividing point as the center are extracted. Next, it is determined whether or not the processing according to this processing flow has been completed for all the extracted nodes (step S004-6-2). If the processing according to this processing flow is not finished for all nodes (No in step S004-6-2), one node that has not finished processing according to this processing flow from the immediately preceding virtual waypoint The route is searched and power consumption is calculated (step S004-6-3). When there is no immediately preceding virtual waypoint, the power consumption from the current position (departure point) of the electric vehicle to the node is assumed.

  Next, it is determined whether the power consumption up to the node is less than the power consumption up to the corresponding charging station obtained in step S004-5 (step S004-6-4). This determination process is for removing a path including the node when the power consumption to the node requires more power than the power to the charging station. For example, this is a case where it is impossible to go to the node without going through a roundabout detour rather than going to the charging station. When the power consumption up to the node is larger than the power consumption up to the charging station (No in step S004-6-4), the node proceeds to step S004-6-2 without setting the node as a candidate point for a virtual waypoint. . When the power consumption to the node is smaller than the power consumption to the charging station (Yes in step S004-6-4), the route from the node to the destination is searched and the travel distance to the destination is calculated. (Step S004-6-5).

  Next, it is determined whether the travel distance to the destination is within a certain distance (step S004-6-6). This determination process is to prevent a situation where a long distance route must be traveled to reach the destination when the node is selected as a virtual waypoint. A case where the virtual waypoint is a dead end or a road opposite the destination without a bridge can be considered. When the travel distance from the virtual waypoint to the destination is a certain distance or more (No in step S004-6-6), the node proceeds to step S004-6-2 without setting the node as a candidate point for the virtual waypoint. If the travel distance to the destination is equal to or less than a certain distance (Yes in step S004-6-6), the node is set as a candidate point for a virtual waypoint (step S004-6-7).

  When the process is completed for all nodes (Yes in step S004-6-2), it is determined whether there is a candidate point for a virtual waypoint (step 004-6-8). When there is no virtual waypoint candidate point (No in Step 004-6-8), it is determined whether the safety level of the safety level setting device 103 is equal to or greater than a threshold (Step S004-6-9). This threshold is, for example, 50, which is an intermediate value of the degree of security. If the degree of security is equal to or greater than the threshold (Yes in step S004-6-9), the virtual waypoint is set as the charging station position Xc (step S004-6-10). If the degree of security is equal to or less than the threshold (No in Step S004-6-9), the perpendicular foot Xl dropped from the charging station to the power saving route is set as a virtual route point (Step S004-6-11). If there is a virtual waypoint candidate point (Yes in Step 004-6-8), the virtual waypoint candidate point is taken as a virtual waypoint, and if there are multiple candidate points, the minimum consumption from the immediately preceding virtual waypoint A node that can be reached with electric power is set as a virtual waypoint (step S004-6-12).

  Next, a “reliable route” that travels to the destination via a plurality of virtual waypoints is calculated (step S005). Step S005 is executed by the route cost calculation apparatus 112. The safe route is obtained by searching for a route from the departure point to the destination using a virtual waypoint. The obtained safe route data is stored in the route storage device 117. FIG. 15A shows the data structure of the secure route, and FIG. 15B shows an example of the secure route. Reliable route data includes the type of route, the degree of security, the number of configured road links and their road link ID, the mesh ID where the road link exists, the start node ID, the end node ID, power consumption, and the passage of the road link. It is composed of the battery charge capacity (SOC) at the time.

  Finally, the route storage device 117 is referred to, and the “reliable route” information is displayed on the display of the display device 111 and presented to the user (step S006). An example of the display is shown in FIG. In FIG. 16, the “safe route” is presented together with the power saving route calculated in step S002 and the “fastest route” that can arrive at the destination in the shortest time. Here, for each route, information on the number of peripheral charging stations is presented in addition to the estimated arrival time, travel distance, power consumption, and the number of charging stations through which the route passes. The number of peripheral charging stations is an index representing the number of charging stations existing around the target route. Calculation of the number of charging stations on routes other than the “reliable route” is performed by the charging station search device 114. With the processing as described above, the user is allowed to select one from a plurality of routes.

-Second embodiment-
The second embodiment of the present invention is a route planning system. FIG. 17 shows a route planning system including the in-vehicle terminal device 001 shown in FIG. 17A and the center device 002 shown in FIG. The center device 002 includes a traffic information acquisition device 501, a traffic information storage device 508, a route search device 509, map information 510, and a communication device 601. The in-vehicle terminal device 001 includes a destination input device 102, a safety level (safety factor) setting device 103, a battery information acquisition device 105 connected to the battery 104, a vehicle position calculation device 107 connected to the sensors 106, and a display device. 111 and the communication apparatus 201 are comprised.

  The in-vehicle terminal device 001 and the center device 002 are connected by communication between the communication device 201 and the communication device 601. The communication device 201 may be a mobile phone, a wireless LAN module, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), or a modem integrated with the in-vehicle terminal device 001. Since the map information 510 is managed by the center device 002, a route search can always be performed with new information.

  The in-vehicle terminal device 001 is acquired by the destination information input by the destination input device 102, the safety level information set by the safety level setting device 103, and the battery information acquisition device 105 via the communication device 201. The battery information and the vehicle position information calculated by the vehicle position calculation device 107 are transmitted to the center device 002.

  The center device 002 receives these pieces of information via the communication device 601 and inputs them to the route search device 509.

  The route search result output by the route search device 509 of the center device 002 is transmitted to the in-vehicle terminal device 001 via the communication device 601. The in-vehicle terminal device 001 receives the route search result information via the communication device 201. Further, the route search result is displayed on the display of the display device 111 and presented to the user. At this time, the route search result is represented by a column of road link IDs of the route from the vehicle position to the destination.

-Third embodiment-
In the third embodiment, a method for determining a virtual waypoint in consideration of the number of charging stations included in a mesh will be described. FIG. 18 illustrates the overall configuration of the in-vehicle terminal device 001 according to the third embodiment. The in-vehicle terminal device 001 in the third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in the traffic information acquisition device 101, the destination input device 102, the safety level (safety factor) setting device 103, and the battery information acquisition device 105. The vehicle position calculation device 107, the traffic information storage device 108, the route search device 109, the map information 110, and the display device 111 are configured. The route search device 109 is similar to the first embodiment in addition to the route cost calculation device 211, the charging station density calculation device 212, the charging station density temporary storage device 213, the mesh cost calculation device 214, and the mesh cost temporary storage device 215. In addition, a map data acquisition device 113 and a route storage device 117 are included.

  A processing flow of the route search apparatus 109 will be described with reference to FIG. First, necessary map data is acquired by the map data acquisition device 113 (step S101). This technique is the same processing as the map data acquisition apparatus 113 in the first embodiment. Next, the charging station density calculation device 212 calculates the charging station density for each mesh from the acquired map data (step S102). The calculated charging station density data is stored in the charging station density temporary storage device 213. In calculating the charging station density of the mesh, first, the number of POIs representing the meshes constituting the map data acquired in step S001 and the charging stations included in the mesh is calculated. The charging station density of the mesh is a value obtained by dividing the number of charging stations included in the mesh by the maximum value among the number of charging stations per mesh determined for all the meshes included in the mesh group. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the mesh included in the mesh group is included in a rectangle in which a mesh having a destination and a rectangle in which the vehicle position is diagonally formed are diagonal. All meshes. In the mesh group of FIG. 6, when the number of charging stations included in each mesh of mesh ID 00, 01, 10, 11, 20, 21 is 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, The charging station density is 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, and 1.0, respectively, because the maximum number of charging stations is 10.

・・・（８） Next, the mesh cost calculation device 214 calculates the cost of each mesh using the safety level (safety factor) S set by the safety level setting device 103 (step S103). The degree of security here is an index that represents how often you want to pass through an area with a charging station. Here, the user sets the safety level S in the range from 0 to 100. Here, the mesh cost K _i of the mesh ID “i” is defined as the equation (8) with the charging station density as ρ _i .

... (8)

ε is a small coefficient for preventing division by zero when ρ _i is zero. The mesh cost K _i takes a larger value as the charging station density of the mesh is lower or the degree of safety is higher. The calculated mesh cost data is stored in the mesh cost temporary storage device 215. A data structure of the mesh cost is shown in FIG. The mesh cost temporary storage device 205 stores the mesh cost K _i corresponding to the mesh ID “i” as mesh cost data. For example, when the security level S is 50 and ε is 0.1, the mesh costs of mesh IDs 00, 01, 10, 11, 20, and 21 are 5.0, 2.5, 1.7, and 1.0, respectively. , 0.8, 0.5.

Next, the route cost calculation device 211 searches for a route to the destination using the information in the temporary mesh cost storage device 215 (step S104). At this time, the power consumption cost of the road link ID “j” is C _j . Further, the mesh ID “i” where the road link ID “j” exists is acquired from the map information 110. The mesh cost K _i corresponding to the acquired mesh ID “i” is acquired from the mesh cost temporary storage device 215. At this time, the cost C _j ′ of the road link ID “j” in consideration of the mesh cost is calculated by Expression (9).
C _j ′ = K _i × C _j (9)

  By the processing of Expression (9), the cost of the mesh road link having a low charging station density is relatively increased, and the target road link is difficult to pass through the route search. Conversely, the cost of a mesh road link having a high charging station density is relatively low, and the target road link is easily passed through a route search. Through the above processing, a safe route corresponding to the size of the safety level and the charging station density is calculated. The safe route data is stored in the route storage device 117. The data structure of the secure route is the same as that in the first embodiment.

Finally, the safe route and mesh charging station density information calculated in step S104 are superimposed on the map screen display by the display device 111 and presented to the user (step S105). An example of the display is shown in FIG. In FIG. 21, the charging station density information stored in the charging station density temporary storage device 213 is divided into three stages, the meshes on the map are identified and displayed, and the reassuring route is superimposed and displayed. Yes.

-Modification-
(1) In the description of the above-described embodiment, the internal dividing point is determined by the linear expression (4), but other expressions may be used. For example, it may be other than the linear expression as in the following expression (10).
p = {1-√ (S / 100)} · SOC (10)

(2) In the description of FIG. 21 described above, the secure route and the charging station density information of the mesh are displayed superimposed on the map screen display, but the map screen display or the schematic map screen display is displayed. It is good also as displaying it superimposed. Further, in FIG. 21 described above, the mesh on the map is identified and displayed by color. However, the mesh color used for the display is displayed differently by, for example, reversing the day screen and the night screen. Also good.

(3) In the above description of the embodiment, the safe route passing near the charging station is calculated, but the safe route passing near the battery exchange may be calculated.

(4) In the description of FIG. 6 described above, the required mesh group is a rectangle in which a mesh having a destination and a mesh having a vehicle position are diagonally formed, and all meshes included in the rectangle. However, it is also possible to include all meshes included in the rectangle and include all meshes included in an area of a predetermined range larger than the rectangle.

(5) In the description of the above-described embodiment, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the in-vehicle terminal device 001 that is mounted on an electric vehicle and performs an optimum route search based on the remaining battery level has been described. However, the in-vehicle terminal device 001 may be mounted on a vehicle having an energy source other than the battery as long as an optimal route search is performed based on the remaining amount of the energy source. For example, when the energy source is gasoline fuel, in the description of the above embodiment, the charging station as the energy source supply facility is the gasoline station, the battery information acquisition device is the fuel gauge, and the power consumption is the gasoline consumption. Shall be read as follows. The same applies when the energy source is light oil fuel or an alternative fuel such as biofuel, alcohol fuel, hydrogen fuel, and natural gas fuel.

(6) In the above description of the embodiment, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the in-vehicle terminal device 001 has been described. However, the in-vehicle terminal device 001 is detachable, such as a PND (Personal Navigation Device). It may be a device that can be mounted on an electric vehicle.

001 In-vehicle terminal device 002 Center device 101, 501 Traffic information acquisition device 102 Destination input device 103 Safety level setting device 104 Battery 105 Battery information acquisition device 106 Sensors 107 Own vehicle position calculation device 108, 508 Traffic information storage device 109, 509 Route search device 110, 510 Map information 111 Display device 112 Route cost calculation device 113 Map data acquisition device 114 Charging station search device 115 Charging station temporary storage device 116 Virtual waypoint calculation device 117 Route storage device 201, 601 Communication device 211 Route cost Calculation device 212 Charging station density calculation device 213 Charging station density temporary storage device 214 Mesh cost calculation device 215 Mesh cost temporary storage device

Claims (11)

A route planning device mounted on a moving body,
A destination input means for inputting a destination;
Route calculating means for calculating a route to the destination using map information;
Position calculating means for determining a current position of the moving body using a sensor mounted on the moving body;
Safety factor setting means for setting a safety factor by user input;
A route calculation means for calculating a cost of a road link included in the map information and generating a minimum cost route that minimizes the cost to the destination;
Search means for searching facility information about facilities capable of supplying energy sources within a predetermined range of the minimum cost path from the map information;
A waypoint calculation means for setting a waypoint according to the safety factor between the location of the facility and the minimum cost route;
A route planning apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the route passing through the waypoint. In the route planning device according to claim 1,
The waypoint calculation means is
A route planning device, wherein an internal dividing point corresponding to the safety factor located on a perpendicular line from the facility location to the minimum cost route is set as the waypoint. In the route planning device according to claim 1,
The waypoint calculation means is
Set the internal dividing point according to the safety factor and the energy source estimated remaining amount of the mobile body located on the vertical line from the location of the facility to the minimum cost route as the waypoint,
The energy source estimated remaining amount is an estimated value of the remaining amount of the energy source when the moving body moves on a road link to which the perpendicular foot belongs. In the route planning device according to claim 1,
The waypoint calculation means is
Obtaining a node within a predetermined range around the internal dividing point according to the safety factor located on a vertical line from the location of the facility to the minimum cost route, and specifying any one of the nodes from the current location A route planning apparatus, wherein the specific node is set as one of the waypoints so that the cost to reach the destination via a node is a minimum cost. In the route planning device according to claim 1,
The display means includes
When the route is displayed overlaid on the map display based on the map information, the number of facilities of the facility calculated based on the facility information search for the facilities around all the nodes included in the route is simultaneously calculated. A route planning apparatus characterized by displaying. A route plan transmission device;
A route plan receiving device mounted on a moving body,
The route plan transmission device
Route calculation means for calculating a route to the destination using map information;
A route calculation means for calculating a cost of a road link included in the map information and generating a minimum cost route that minimizes the cost to the destination;
Search means for searching facility information about facilities capable of supplying energy sources within a predetermined range of the minimum cost path from the map information;
A waypoint calculation means for setting a waypoint according to a predetermined coefficient between the location of the facility and the minimum cost route;
First communication means for receiving the predetermined coefficient from the route plan receiving apparatus and transmitting setting information representing the waypoint set by the waypoint calculating means to the route plan receiving apparatus. ,
The route plan receiving device is:
Destination input means for inputting the destination;
Position calculating means for determining a current position of the moving body using a sensor mounted on the moving body;
Safety factor setting means for setting a safety factor by user input;
Second communication means for receiving the setting information from the route plan transmission device and transmitting the safety factor as the predetermined factor to the route plan transmission device;
A route planning system comprising: display means for displaying the route passing through the waypoint based on the setting information. A route planning device mounted on a moving body,
A destination input means for inputting a destination;
Route calculation means for calculating a route to the destination using map information;
Position calculating means for determining a current position of the moving body using a sensor mounted on the moving body;
Safety factor setting means for setting a safety factor by user input;
Facility information density calculating means for calculating a facility information density for a facility capable of supplying an energy source in a mesh to which a road link included in the map information belongs;
Based on the facility information density and the safety factor, a mesh cost calculation means for calculating a mesh cost of the mesh;
Cost adjusting means for adjusting the link cost of the road link belonging to the mesh based on the mesh cost;
Route search means for searching for the route using the link cost adjusted by the cost adjustment means;
A route planning apparatus comprising: display means for displaying the route. The route planning device according to claim 7,
The route planning apparatus, wherein the mesh cost is calculated in proportion to the safety factor and in inverse proportion to the facility information density. The route planning device according to claim 7,
The display means includes
A route planning apparatus, wherein the route is displayed in a superimposed manner on a map on which the mesh is displayed in a display mode corresponding to the facility information density. A route planning method used in a route planning device mounted on a mobile body,
Use the map information to calculate the route to the destination you entered,
Determine the current position of the mobile body using a sensor mounted on the mobile body,
Calculate the cost of the road link included in the map information, and generate a minimum cost route that minimizes the cost to the destination,
From the map information, search for facility information about facilities that can supply energy sources within a predetermined range of the minimum cost route,
In accordance with a set safety factor between the location of the facility and the minimum cost route, a waypoint is set,
A route planning method comprising displaying the route passing through the waypoint. A route planning method used in a route planning device mounted on a mobile body,
Use the map information to calculate the route to the destination you entered,
Determine the current position of the mobile body using a sensor mounted on the mobile body,
In the mesh to which the road links included in the map information belong, calculate facility information density for facilities that can supply energy sources,
Calculate the mesh cost of the mesh based on the facility information density and the set safety factor,
Based on the mesh cost, adjust the link cost of each of the road links belonging to the mesh,
Search the route using the adjusted link cost;
A route planning method comprising displaying the route.

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