JP2000268294A - Information provision system and control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce futile acceleration by giving information whether or not its own vehicle can pass a next signal. SOLUTION: A next signal position is led out from road map data of a roadmap data storage part (S1 and S2), a switching timing of a next signal is read from an accumulation part (S3), an arrival timing (time) in which its own vehicle arrives at the next signal from a present position is predicted (S4), and it is decided whether the switching timing (time) in which the signal turns red is faster than the arrival timing of its own vehicle or not (S5). When the decision result is NO, nothing is informed because it is possible to judge that the next signal can be passed when it is green; when the decision result is YES, it is informed that its own vehicle cannot pass the signal because it can be judged that the next signal cannot be passed when it turns green.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing system for giving various information to a driver of an automobile and a control method thereof, and more particularly to an information providing system for giving information on whether or not the own vehicle can pass the following signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as one of information providing systems for providing various information to a driver of an automobile, there is a navigation system which is an in-vehicle information terminal. Navigation systems are usually operated, for example, by a driver operating an operating unit to set a destination to be visited.
The main function is to derive the optimal route and required time to the set destination and guide the driver to the destination by display on the display unit or voice from the voice output unit, that is, a function of providing route guidance.

[0003]

By the way, recently,
It has been proposed to add various functions to the navigation system in addition to the route guidance function. However, the conventional navigation system has a function of giving information as to whether or not the vehicle can pass the next signal. Not.

[0004] Therefore, before the vehicle reaches the next signal from the current position, the signal may be switched to red and the vehicle may not pass the signal, but useless acceleration may occur. In such a case, it is very convenient if the driver can be given information in advance whether the vehicle can pass the next signal.

It is an object of the present invention to reduce the useless acceleration by giving in advance information as to whether the vehicle can pass the next signal.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the information providing system according to the present invention sets the time of switching from red to blue and from blue to red each time the signal travels. A storage unit for detecting and storing the detection result;
A position detection unit that detects the current vehicle position, a road map data storage unit that stores road map data, and a derivation unit that derives the next signal position of the vehicle position by the position detection unit from the road map data. A prediction unit that predicts an arrival timing at which the own vehicle arrives at a next signal derived by the derivation unit from the own vehicle position by the position detection unit, and the arrival timing of the own vehicle by the prediction unit and the accumulation unit. A comparing section for comparing the accumulated timing of switching the next signal to red, and a comparing section when the comparing section determines that the timing of switching the next signal to red is earlier. And a notifying unit for notifying.

According to such a configuration, the arrival timing (time) at which the own vehicle reaches and passes the next signal from the current position is predicted, and the switching timing of the signal (from the accumulation result of the accumulation unit). Time) is read out, and the arrival timing and the switching timing of the signal to red are compared by the comparing unit. When the own vehicle cannot pass the signal in blue, the switching timing of the signal to red is earlier. The notification unit informs the user of this.

[0008] Therefore, the driver can know in advance that the next signal cannot be passed in blue even if the vehicle travels as it is, so that unnecessary acceleration is prevented beforehand.

Further, the information providing system according to the present invention includes a time measuring section for measuring time and a vehicle speed detecting section for detecting the own vehicle speed, and wherein the accumulating section runs each signal from the time counted by the time measuring section. The comparison unit accumulates the detection result by detecting the time at which the signal is switched, and the comparing unit determines the own vehicle speed by the vehicle speed detecting unit, the own vehicle position by the position detecting unit, and the next derived by the deriving unit. And calculating the arrival timing at which the vehicle arrives at the signal from the signal position, and selecting the switching timing of each signal stored in the storage unit that is close to the arrival timing. .

In this case, the time at which each signal switches from red to blue and from blue to red is substantially constant for each signal.
Each time a signal travels, the time when the signal switches from red to blue or from blue to red is detected based on the clocking time of the clocking unit, and the switching timing (time) for each signal is detected by the storage unit. Can be accumulated.

The arrival timing (time) at which the own vehicle reaches the signal is calculated by the comparing unit from the own vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting unit and the own vehicle position detected by the position detecting unit. it can. On the other hand, if the arrival timing (time) of the own vehicle is known, the switching timing (time) close to the arrival timing of the own vehicle is selected from among the switching timings of the signal stored in the storage unit, and the own vehicle receives the signal. Can be easily determined whether or not the vehicle can pass in blue.

In the control method of the information providing system according to the present invention, each time the vehicle travels on each signal, the switching timing of the signal from red to blue and from blue to red is detected, and the detection result is stored. The next signal position of the current position of the own vehicle is obtained from the road map data stored in the road map data storage unit, and the arrival timing at which the own vehicle reaches the next signal is predicted. Comparing the timing with the stored switching timing of the next signal to red, and as a result of the comparison, notifying that the timing of the switching of the next signal to red is earlier. It is characterized by.

With this arrangement, when the own vehicle cannot pass the signal in blue earlier than the time when the signal is switched to red, the notification unit notifies the driver that the vehicle cannot pass the signal. Can also know in advance that the next signal cannot be passed in blue, and it is possible to prevent useless acceleration beforehand.

[0014]

1 to 3 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a navigation system.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is a block diagram, FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart for operation explanation.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a plurality of GPS (Globa
l Positioning System) GP that receives radio waves from satellites
A GPS receiver as a position detecting unit comprising an S receiving circuit and an arithmetic circuit for deriving the current absolute position of the vehicle represented by latitude and longitude from the received radio waves, and 2 is a CD-ROM storing road map data. Road map data storage,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a display unit formed of a liquid crystal display or the like, and 4 denotes an audio output unit, which constitutes a notification unit together with the display unit 3 and, among a plurality of messages stored in a message storage unit (not shown), a control unit to be described later. And outputs the predetermined message selected as a sound as appropriate.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a timekeeping unit for measuring time, and 7 comprises a plurality of operation keys such as keys for moving a cursor, and is operated and selected when selecting various key images provided on the display screen of the display unit 3. An operation unit for inputting and setting various information such as position information of a point and position information of a destination.
A storage unit comprising a RAM or the like for detecting the time at which the signal switches from red to blue and from blue to red each time the signal travels from the time measured by the control unit, and storing the detection result; 9 is a control unit; It has a route guidance function of controlling the GPS receiver 1, the display unit 3, the audio output unit 4, and other components, deriving an optimal route to a set destination, and guiding the driver. In addition, it has the following functions.

That is, the control unit 9 detects the time at which the signal is switched each time the signal travels from the time measured by the time measurement unit 6 and writes the detection result in the storage unit 8 for accumulation.
From the road map data in the road map data storage unit 2, the GPS
It has a function of deriving the next signal position of the current vehicle position by the receiver 1 and detecting the vehicle speed from a change in the vehicle position detected by the GPS receiver 1.

At this time, the time at which each signal switches from red to blue and from blue to red is substantially constant for each signal. (Referred to as a ○ signal) at almost a fixed time, and every time this ○○○ signal is passed, if the ○○○ signal passes in blue, the passing time, and if it stops in red The stop time and the next time to switch to blue are
Each is detected based on the time measured by the timekeeping unit 6, and as shown in FIG. 2, a stop consisting of data such as the time when the XX signal passed in blue, the time stopped in red, and the time passed in blue next. / Pass map is formed and stored in the storage unit 8.

Further, the control section 9 calculates and predicts the arrival timing (time) at which the own vehicle reaches the signal from the detected own vehicle speed, the current own vehicle position, and the position of the next signal, and accumulates it. The switching timing of the signal stored in the unit 8 is selected from the switching timings which are close to the arrival timing, and this is compared with the predicted arrival timing of the own vehicle. As a result of this comparison,
When it is determined that the timing of the next signal switching to red is earlier, the display unit 3 is controlled to display the fact on the screen, and the audio output unit 4 is controlled to display a message to that effect. It has a function to output audio.

Here, the process of deriving the next signal position corresponds to the deriving unit, the process of detecting the own vehicle speed corresponds to the vehicle speed detecting unit, the process of predicting the arrival timing (time) corresponds to the predicting unit, The comparison processing between the signal and the signal switching timing corresponds to a comparison unit.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Now, the current vehicle position, traveling direction and vehicle speed are detected from the output of the GPS receiver 1 (step S1), and the road map data around the current vehicle position stored in the road map data storage unit 2 is detected. , The next signal position is derived (step S2).

Subsequently, the next signal switching timing (see FIG. 2) is read from the storage section 8 (step S).
3) The arrival timing (time) at which the own vehicle reaches the next signal from the current position is predicted (step S4), and the accumulation unit 6
The switching timing (time) to red which is closer to the predicted arrival timing among the switching timings of the signal read out from is selected, and the switching timing to the selected red is higher than the arrival timing of the own vehicle. It is determined whether it is early (step S5).

If the result of this determination is NO, it can be determined that it is possible to pass the next signal in blue even if the vehicle travels from the current position of the vehicle without any change, so that no notification is made. If the result of the determination is YES, it is possible to determine that it is impossible to pass the next signal in blue if the vehicle travels as it is from the current position of the vehicle. The output unit 4 informs that the next signal will be changed from blue to red soon and that the vehicle cannot pass the signal (step S6),
Thereafter, the process returns to step S1 described above.

As described above, each time the vehicle travels on each signal, the time (timing) at which the signal switches from red to blue or from blue to red is detected based on the clocking time of the clocking unit 6 and stored in the accumulating unit 6. The switching timing from red to blue and from blue to red is stored for each signal, and the arrival timing at which the vehicle arrives at the next signal from the current position is predicted. The switching timing of the signal is selected.

Then, the predicted arrival timing is compared with the switching timing of the selected next signal to red, and
If the timing of switching the signal to red is earlier, the display unit 3 and the audio output unit 4 notify the driver that the vehicle cannot pass the signal in blue.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, the driver informs the display unit 3 and the audio output unit 4 of information indicating whether the vehicle can pass the next signal in blue even if the vehicle travels as it is. Therefore, useless acceleration can be prevented beforehand.

In the above embodiment, the navigation system is described as an example of the information providing system. However, the information providing system is not particularly limited to the navigation system, and can provide some information to the driver. The present invention can be applied to any suitable system.

Further, the position detecting section is not limited to the above-mentioned GPS receiver 1, and the notifying section is not limited to the above-mentioned display section 3 and audio output section 4 as a matter of course.
Further, a vehicle speed sensor may be separately provided as a vehicle speed detecting unit.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes other than those described above can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first or third aspect of the present invention, the driver informs the driver of the fact that even if the vehicle travels as it is, it cannot pass the next signal in blue. Therefore, useless acceleration can be prevented beforehand, which is extremely suitable as an aid for safe driving.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, each time each signal travels, the timing (time) at which the signal switches from red to blue or from blue to red is determined based on the clock time of the clock unit. By detecting, the switching timing (time) can be stored for each signal by the storage unit.

Further, the arrival timing at which the own vehicle reaches the signal can be easily calculated from the own vehicle speed by the vehicle speed detector and the own vehicle position by the position detector.
If the arrival timing of the own vehicle is known, by selecting a switching timing close to the arrival timing of the own vehicle from among the switching timings of the signal stored in the storage unit,
It is possible to easily determine whether or not the own vehicle can pass the signal in blue.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 GPS receiver (position detection part) 2 Road map data storage part 3 Display part (report part) 4 Voice output part (report part) 6 Clock part 8 Storage part 9 Control part (derivation part, vehicle speed detection part, prediction part, Comparison section)

Claims (3)

[Claims] An accumulator for accumulating a detection result by detecting a switching time of each signal from red to blue and from blue to red each time the vehicle travels, and a position for detecting a current vehicle position. A detection unit; a road map data storage unit that stores road map data; a derivation unit that derives a signal position next to the own vehicle position by the position detection unit from the road map data; A prediction unit that predicts an arrival timing at which a next signal derived by the derivation unit is reached from the own vehicle position; and a red of the arrival timing of the own vehicle by the prediction unit and the next signal stored in the storage unit. And a notifying unit for notifying when the switching timing of the next signal to red is determined to be earlier by the comparing unit. Features Information providing system. A time measuring unit for measuring time; and a vehicle speed detecting unit for detecting a vehicle speed, wherein the accumulating unit determines a time at which the signal is switched each time the signal travels from the time measured by the time measuring unit. Detecting and accumulating the detection result, the comparing unit determines the own vehicle speed based on the own vehicle speed by the vehicle speed detecting unit, the own vehicle position by the position detecting unit, and the next signal position derived by the deriving unit. Calculating an arrival timing at which the signal arrives at the signal, and selecting a switching timing close to the arrival timing among switching timings of each signal stored in the storage unit.
Information providing system described in. 3. A road map stored in a road map data storage unit, wherein the timing of switching from red to blue and from blue to red is detected each time the vehicle travels on each signal and the detection result is stored. The next signal position of the current position of the own vehicle is obtained from the data, the arrival timing at which the own vehicle arrives at the next signal is predicted, and the predicted arrival time of the own vehicle and the next signal stored are stored. A switching timing of the next signal to red, and as a result of the comparison, when the timing of the switching of the next signal to red is earlier, a notification to that effect is provided.