JP2003004466A - Running-condition estimation device, route-setting device and navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a running-condition estimation device which can estimate the running condition of a vehicle, when the vehicle is run next, to provide a route setting device which is based on its estimated result, and to provide a navigation system. SOLUTION: When the navigation system acquires congestion information from a VICS, it counts the number of times of a VICS reception, and it counts the number of times of the congestion of a link corresponding to a congested road. The navigation system grasps the position of the vehicle on the basis of information acquired from a position detection part, calculates the link passage time of each link, in which the vehicle is run in the basis of the position of the vehicle, and adds the passage time to the total link passage time to be recorded. At the same time, the navigation system counts the number of times of the passage of the link. A control unit calculates the average link passage time, on the basis of a counted result, it estimates the link passage time when the vehicle is run next, and it calculates the traveling time up to a destination. The control unit grasps the congestion rate of the road on the basis of the number of times of the congestion, so as to guide the existence of a road which might be congested.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traveling situation predicting device for predicting a traveling situation when a vehicle is traveling next.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle-mounted navigation device has been known. This navigation device displays a map showing road connections on a display based on map data, and when a command is input to guide a route from a vehicle occupant to a destination, GPS (Global Positi
oning System) etc., the route from the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector (ie, destination route) to the designated destination (that is, destination route) is appropriately set, and the route is displayed on the display. , The voice guides the set route to the vehicle occupants.

Further, a navigation device of this type is usually designed so that a travel time to a destination and a predicted arrival time when traveling on a set route can be displayed on a display. In addition, road traffic information communication system (V
In the navigation device capable of receiving road traffic information provided by the ICS), the congested road is displayed on the map based on the traffic jam information included in the road traffic information, and the vehicle occupant is guided to the traffic jam area. It is also possible to set and guide a route to a destination that avoids a congested road.

[0004]

However, the conventional navigation device is provided with only a semiconductor memory (RAM) as a rewritable storage medium for temporarily storing data necessary for executing a program. However, the traveling history of the vehicle could not be saved for a long period of time, and the traveling history could not be utilized for subsequent route setting and traveling guidance.

That is, in the conventional navigation device,
Even if you get the traffic information from VICS,
Since it had to be discarded every tens of minutes (for example, 30 minutes), the traffic congestion information from VICS could only be used for the purpose of guiding the user as the current traffic congestion information. The information could not be used for the purpose of predicting future road traffic conditions. Therefore, in the conventional navigation device, the traffic congestion information from the VICS is used to set the route so as to avoid the road causing the chronic traffic congestion, or the road where the traffic congestion is likely to occur is in the traveling direction. The driving guidance could not be given to the vehicle occupants.

Further, since the traffic congestion information that can be obtained from the VICS and the like is limited to the main trunk lines, the conventional navigation device originally determines whether the road is a road that is likely to cause a traffic congestion on a general road where the traffic congestion information is not provided from the VICS. I didn't have the means to confirm. For this reason, on a road for which congestion information cannot be obtained from VICS, it is impossible to remove it from the route to the destination even if the road is prone to congestion.

Besides, since the traffic congestion information that can be obtained from the VICS is limited to the information near the vehicle, when setting a route to a destination far away, the traffic congestion information from the VICS is sufficient. Could not be routed around. That is, distant traffic information cannot be acquired from VICS, and as a result, the route set near the destination cannot always be an appropriate route.

Therefore, the travel time calculated based on the route set as the route to the destination often deviates significantly from the actual travel time. The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and provides a driving situation prediction device capable of predicting a traveling status of a vehicle when the vehicle next travels, and a route to a destination suitable for the traveling status. An object of the present invention is to provide a route setting device that can be set and a navigation device that can guide the travel of a route to a destination suitable for a traveling situation.

[0009]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a traveling situation predicting apparatus for achieving the above object. Is stored in the storage medium as the traveling history of the vehicle, and the predicting means predicts the traveling situation when the vehicle travels next based on the stored past traveling history.

Therefore, the running condition predicting device can provide the running condition predicted by the predicting means to the outside, and the external device which has acquired the predicted running condition evaluates the running condition and The evaluation result can be used for route setting and driving guidance. That is, for example, the evaluation result can be used to set the route to the destination, and the driver can be guided to the destination on the route where a comfortable driving situation can be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the traveling information storage means is configured to sequentially store the traveling information in the storage medium in association with the acquisition time of the traveling information.
The prediction unit can confirm the acquisition time of the traveling information, and as a result, the traveling situation can be predicted more accurately in consideration of the next traveling time of the vehicle.

Here, the travel information storage means may statistically collect each travel information as information regarding travel of the vehicle for each predetermined period corresponding to the acquisition time, and store this as travel history. However, the acquisition time may be stored in a storage medium together with each travel information. If statistically summarized, the amount of data stored as the traveling history can be significantly reduced.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the traveling situation predicting device, the traveling information acquisition means is configured to acquire road traffic information around the vehicle from an external service center as traveling information. The road traffic information can be stored in a storage medium, and the prediction means can predict the road traffic situation when the vehicle travels next based on the history of the road traffic information.

For example, when the traveling information acquisition means is configured to acquire the traffic jam information as the road traffic information as described in claim 4, the predicting means determines the vehicle based on the history of the traffic jam information. It is possible to predict the traffic congestion rate of the road when the vehicle next runs. Therefore, according to the driving situation prediction device of claim 4, the driver does not pass the road having a high traffic congestion rate by utilizing the predicted traffic congestion rate without acquiring the current traffic congestion information from the service center. As described above, various traveling guidance can be provided.

On the other hand, as described in claims 5 and 6, in the traveling situation predicting device, the traveling information acquisition means is configured to acquire the traveling state of the vehicle from the vehicle-mounted sensor as the traveling information. The predicting means can predict the traveling state when the vehicle travels next, based on the traveling history representing the past traveling state of the vehicle stored in the storage medium.

Therefore, the traveling condition predicting apparatus having such a configuration can indirectly predict the road traffic condition from the predicted traveling condition without acquiring the road traffic information from the service center. Further, in particular, such a driving situation prediction device can predict a driving situation that cannot be predicted from road traffic information provided by the service center, and can provide the prediction result to the vehicle occupant.

That is, for example, as described in claim 7,
If the traveling information storage means is configured to determine whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested based on the acquired traveling state and save the determination result in a storage medium, the prediction means Can predict the traffic congestion rate of the road when the vehicle travels next, based on the history of the determination result, regardless of whether the traffic congestion information is from the service center. Therefore, the device can provide the information about the predicted congestion rate to the outside even on a narrow general road where the service center does not provide the congestion information.

Further, in the case of the driving situation predicting apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the history of the traffic jam information from the service center and the history of the judgment result are stored in the storage medium, the predicting means comprehensively calculates from these histories. Since it is possible to determine the congestion situation around the vehicle, a more appropriate congestion rate can be predicted.

Further, as described in claim 9, when a traffic congestion prediction guide means is provided so that there is a road with a high traffic congestion rate in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the vehicle occupant is informed of the situation. By configuring the prediction device, the driver can avoid a road with a high traffic congestion rate before being caught in a traffic congestion, and thus can drive comfortably.

In addition to this, the traveling information storage means calculates the passage time of the road on which the vehicle has traveled based on the traveling state of the vehicle, stores it in a storage medium, and the prediction means stores it in the storage medium. If the traveling condition prediction device (claim 10) is configured so as to predict the passage time of the road when the vehicle next travels based on the passage time of the road, the estimated passage time of the road can be used as the traveling guide. By utilizing this, for example, it is possible to guide the driver to a route that avoids a road having a long transit time.

Further, according to this running condition predicting apparatus, the predicted passage time of the road can be utilized when calculating the travel time to the destination and the estimated arrival time. Still further, as described in claim 11, the traveling information storage means calculates a signal waiting time based on the traveling state acquired from the vehicle-mounted sensor, stores the signal waiting time in a storage medium, and the predicting means stores the signal waiting time. If the driving situation prediction device is configured to predict the signal waiting time of the road when the vehicle next runs based on the signal waiting time, the route that avoids an intersection with a long signal waiting time based on this prediction result. Can be guided to the driver or the travel time to the destination can be accurately estimated in consideration of the predicted signal waiting time.

That is, according to the driving situation prediction device of claim 10 or 11, the prediction result is used to estimate the accurate travel time to the destination and the predicted arrival time, and drive it. It is possible to provide it to a person. still,
In the traveling situation predicting device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the storage medium for storing the traveling history may be the storage medium for storing the traveling history.
It is preferable to configure the hard disk as described in 2. By doing so, the producer can increase the data storage capacity of the storage medium at a low cost, and as a result, configure the traveling condition prediction device so that the traveling history can be stored in detail in the storage medium. can do. In other words, the traveling situation prediction device can be configured so that the traveling situation can be accurately predicted based on the detailed traveling history.

Further, it is convenient to incorporate the above-mentioned running condition prediction device into a route setting device for setting a route to a destination as described in claim 13. Claim 13
The invention described in, the route setting means, in the route setting device for setting the destination route, based on the setting conditions for setting the destination route from the starting point to the destination, the first changing means, The setting condition is changed based on the traveling condition predicted by the predicting means of the traveling condition predicting device.

Therefore, in this route setting device, the first changing means can change the setting condition so as to set the destination route suitable for the predicted traveling condition, and as a result, the driver is informed of the change in the setting condition. The vehicle can be comfortably driven along the set destination route.

More specifically, the route setting device preferentially selects a road with a low traffic congestion rate based on the traffic congestion rate predicted by the driving situation prediction device to set the route to the destination, or predicts the route. It is possible to preferentially select a road with a short travel time and set a route to the destination based on the passage time of the road and the signal waiting time.

Further, as described in claim 14, the route setting device is provided with a second changing means for executing a questionnaire about the driving technique to the driver and changing the setting condition based on the result of the questionnaire. If provided, it is possible to set a route suitable for the driving skill of the driver while taking the traveling situation into consideration.

In addition to this, it is convenient to incorporate the route setting device according to claim 13 or 14 into the navigation device as described in claim 15. Since the navigation device according to claim 15 is configured such that the route guidance means provides the travel guidance corresponding to the route set by the route setting device, the driver can reach the destination suitable for the traveling situation. It is possible to easily drive the vehicle along the route of and to drive comfortably to the destination.

Further, in this navigation device, as described in claim 16, the travel time from the departure place to the destination is calculated based on the traveling situation predicted by the prediction means,
It is preferable to provide travel time guide means for guiding the calculated travel time to vehicle occupants. The travel time guide means may directly provide the travel time, which is the time required to reach the destination, or the estimated time of arrival at the destination.

According to such a navigation device,
Since the vehicle occupant can know the accurate travel time based on the predicted traveling condition, he / she can make a future travel plan with peace of mind. Further, since the functions performed by the respective means in the traveling situation predicting device according to any one of claims 1 to 12 described above can be realized by a computer, the business operator can use the computer in each of the traveling situation predicting devices. A program for functioning as a means can be provided.

Such a program is, for example, RO
It can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as an M, a RAM, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a hard disk,
The user can make the computer read these programs as necessary and use them.

[0031]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
A description will be given with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle-mounted navigation device 1 to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 1
Mainly includes the position detection unit 10, the VICS reception unit 21, and
Map data storage unit 23, display unit 25, operation unit 27
The audio output unit 29, a hard disk drive (HDD) 31 for recording and storing various data, which will be described later, and a control unit 41 that integrally controls the navigation device 1 including these units.

More specifically, the position detecting section 10 includes a GPS receiver 11 for detecting the current position of the vehicle by receiving radio waves transmitted from a GPS satellite through a GPS antenna, a vehicle speed sensor, and a wheel speed sensor. A distance sensor 13 that detects the travel distance of the vehicle based on detection signals from the like, a gyroscope 15 that detects the magnitude of the rotational motion applied to the vehicle, and a geomagnetic sensor 17 that detects the absolute direction based on the geomagnetism. , And provides information from the receiver 11 and the sensors 13, 15 and 17 having errors of different characteristics to the control unit 41, and the control unit 41 complements the data detected from them with each other. The current position of the vehicle can be grasped accurately.

The position detector 10 does not necessarily have to include all of the above sensors, and may be, for example, only the GPS receiver 11. In addition to these, if a steering angle sensor or the like for detecting the left and right steering angles of the steering wheel is used, the navigation device 1 can more accurately determine the vehicle position, the traveling direction of the vehicle, etc. based on the detection data from this sensor. It is possible to grasp.

Next, the VICS receiving unit 21 is configured to receive the road traffic information provided from the external center 3 constituting the road traffic information communication system (VICS) via its own receiving antenna. Examples of the VICS receiving unit 21 include an optical beacon receiver, a radio wave beacon receiver, and an FM receiver that receives traffic information transmitted to the vehicle side via FM multiplex broadcasting. .

On the other hand, as the road traffic information transmitted from the external center 3 to the vehicle side, there are traffic congestion information indicating a traffic jam road,
Examples include construction information indicating the position of the construction site, accident information indicating the position of the accident site, and road closure information indicating the closed road. Further, in particular, this traffic congestion information includes the road number (that is, a link ID described later) that can identify the road on which the traffic jam occurs on the navigation device 1 side, the travel time until the traffic jam section exits, and the traffic congestion amount such as the traffic congestion length. Information, and about.

Next, the display unit 25 is provided for displaying a map or the like including road connection information necessary for traveling of the vehicle in color on the display screen to notify the occupant of the vehicle, for example, the display unit. 25 is controlled by the control unit 41 to display a map screen around the vehicle on the basis of the map data read out from the map data storage unit 23 by the control unit 41 and display a current position mark indicating the current position of the vehicle. Is displayed in color, or a message for alerting a vehicle occupant is displayed.

On the other hand, the map data storage unit 23 includes the display unit 2
A storage medium (for example, a CD-ROM, a DVD, a memory card, etc.) for storing various data necessary for displaying a map screen in 5 and for guiding a route to a destination designated by a vehicle occupant, Control unit 41 for reading information from a medium
It is composed of a decoder for transmitting to the side. And
In this storage medium, as the above various data, road data relating to road connection, map screen data for displaying a map screen including roads, buildings, parks, rivers, etc. on the display screen, GPS receiver 11 and the like. Map data including map matching data for identifying the road on which the vehicle is traveling from the current position of the vehicle represented by the obtained longitude and latitude on the map screen is stored.

In particular, this road data includes link information, node information, and link-to-link connection information. As this link information, a "link ID", which is a unique number for identifying a link, for example, , "Link class" for identifying highways, toll roads, general roads, etc.,
The map data storage unit 23 stores information about the link itself, such as the “starting end coordinates” and “end coordinates” of the link and the “link length” indicating the length of the link. On the other hand, as the node information, a “node ID”, which is a number unique to the node connecting the links, information such as prohibiting right / left turns at intersections, and the presence / absence of traffic lights are stored in the map data storage unit 23.
As the inter-link connection information, for example, one-way traffic or other data indicating whether or not the vehicle is allowed to pass is stored.

The operation unit 27 is provided for the vehicle occupant to input various commands to the navigation device 1 by an external operation. The operation unit 27 is integrated with the display unit 25 and is set on the display screen. And a mechanical key switch or the like provided around the display screen of the navigation device 1.

Here, the touch switch is composed of an infrared sensor that scans the screen of the display unit 25 with infrared rays. For example, when the infrared ray is blocked by a finger or a touch pen, the blocked position is a two-dimensional coordinate. Value (X, Y)
Detected as. That is, the touch switch of the operation unit 27 is configured so that the vehicle occupant can input a predetermined instruction by directly touching the screen.

The audio output unit 29 is equipped with a D / A (digital / analog) conversion circuit, a speaker, etc., converts the digital audio signal received from the control unit 41 into an analog signal, and outputs the audio from the speaker. Outputs and provides various voice guidance for vehicle occupants.

Then, the control unit 41 includes a CPU, a ROM,
A well-known microcomputer including a RAM and the like is provided, and the CPU executes each program stored in the ROM and the like for performing each function of the navigation device 1.
Controls each part in the device. For example, this control unit 41
When a vehicle occupant sets a destination using the operation unit 27, an optimum route from the current position of the vehicle acquired from the position detection unit 10 to the set destination is searched by the Dijkstra method or a method equivalent thereto. Then, set this route,
It is displayed on the display unit 25 so as to be superimposed on the map screen around the vehicle.
In addition, after setting the route, the control unit 41 outputs a voice from a speaker of the voice output unit 29 according to the position of the vehicle so that the driver can drive the vehicle along the set route to reach the destination. Will provide route guidance.

By the way, in the navigation device 1 of this embodiment, the control unit 41 controls the position detecting unit 10 and the VICS receiving unit 21 so that the route setting suitable for the current road traffic condition and various traveling guidance can be performed. Based on the information obtained from the above, data as shown in FIG. 2 is recorded (stored) in the HDD 31 as the traveling history of the vehicle.
2. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of data stored in the HDD 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 41 causes the HDD 31 to receive the VICS reception count (N
1), number of traffic jams (N2), number of link passages (N3), total link passage time (N4), average link passage time (N5)
), Traffic congestion cost (N6) and road length cost (N7) are associated with the link ID, and the day of the week and the time (in this embodiment,
Record (update) every 1 hour. Also, similarly,
In association with the node ID, the number of node passages (N8), the total node passage time (N9), the average node passage time (N1)
0), node passing cost (N11) for each day of the week and time
Record.

The method of acquiring these data will be described in detail below. As a premise, the average link transit time (N5
), Road length cost (N7), average node transit time (N1)
Parameters other than 0) and the node passing cost (N11) are set to zero as initial values in advance. Further, the average link transit time (N5), the road length cost (N7), the average node transit time (N10), and the node transit cost (N11) include the link information which the control unit 41 called from the map data storage unit 23 in advance, An initial value based on node information is set. It should be noted that this is to enable the route setting to be performed in the same manner as the normal navigation device 1, even when the traveling history of the vehicle is too small to calculate the cost based on the traveling history by the method described later. Is.

First, FIG. 3 shows the VI executed by the control unit 41.
It is a flowchart showing a CS information recording process. This V
In the ICS information recording process, the control unit 41 mainly
The number of CS receptions (N1), the number of traffic jams (N2), and the cost of traffic jams (N6) are recorded in the HDD 31.

As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 41 controls the VIC
When the S reception unit 21 receives the road traffic information, the traffic jam information included in the road traffic information is acquired in S110, and S12 is acquired.
At 0, it is determined based on the information about the service area included in the traffic congestion information, which area of the traffic congestion information is acquired, and based on the result of the determination, the VICS corresponding to the link ID in the service area. The number of receptions (N1) is counted (that is, the value (N1) is incremented by 1).

Next, in S130, the control unit 41 grasps the link ID of the road causing the traffic jam based on the traffic jam information, and based on this, each link corresponding to the road which is considered to be traffic jam. Count the number of congestion (N2) of ID (increase by 1). Then, in S140, the control unit 41 performs VICS for each link ID determined to be in the traffic jam.
It is confirmed whether or not the number of receptions (N1) has exceeded a prescribed number M1 (N1 ≥ M1), and for link IDs with a prescribed number M1 or more, the congestion rate is calculated in S150 for each link ID. . The congestion rate is calculated by the following equation in S150.

Congestion rate = congestion count / (VICS reception count + link passage count) (1) Here, the link passage count given as a parameter of the equation (1) will be described later. Further, based on the traffic congestion rate calculated in this way, the control unit 41 refers to the cost table stored in advance in its own memory and sets the traffic congestion cost necessary for route setting described below for each link ID. This is stored in the HDD 31 (S160), and the process ends.

Next, FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the traveling information recording process executed by the control unit 41. Control unit 41
Always executes this process while the vehicle is running, and the HDD 31
The number of traffic jams (N2), the number of times of link passage (N3), the total sum of link transit times (N4), the congestion cost (N6), the number of node transits (N8), and the total sum of node transit times (N9) are recorded.

That is, the control unit 41 first obtains the current position information from the position detection unit 10 in S210, and temporarily stores it together with the current time in its own memory.
Then, in S220, it is determined which link the vehicle is traveling from, based on the current traveling position, and whether the link is the same as the link determined in the previous step S220. to decide.

Here, if the control unit 41 determines that the running link is the same (that is, the link ID is the same as the previous link ID) (Yes in S220), the subsequent S230 returns to S210 up to the previous time. Then, based on the history of the current position temporarily stored in the memory, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is currently stopped near the intersection. That is, for example, based on the history of the current position, it is determined whether the vehicle approaching the node with the traffic light has stopped.

When it is determined that the vehicle has stopped (S230
Yes), and the stop time is counted as a signal waiting time (S240). In this step, the time during which the vehicle is continuously stopped is counted, and when the vehicle starts moving, the step is once ended and the process proceeds to the subsequent S350.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S220 that the running link is different from the previous link (link ID is different) (S
(No in 220), the control unit 41 temporarily stores the current time (the time acquired in S210) as the link passage time in S250, and the link passage time stored in the previous S250 and the current S250 in S260. The link transit time is calculated by comparing with the stored link transit time, and in the subsequent S270, the total link transit time (N4) recorded in association with the link ID.
Is added to the link transit time calculated in S260, and the link transit time after the addition is overwritten on the total link transit time recorded in the processing up to the previous time and recorded.

Further, the control section 41 adds the counted signal waiting time (S240) to the corresponding node transit time total (N9) in S280 and records it in the HDD 31, and further passes in S290. A node corresponding to a link (that is, a link ID that has traveled up to the previous time) and a node that has passed (that is, a node that connects the link that has traveled up to the previous time and the link that is currently running) The number of passages is counted (incremented by 1). still,
If the signal waiting time is not counted in S240, the control unit 41 sets the signal waiting time to zero in S280, does not update the corresponding node transit time total (N9), and moves the process to S290. Perform processing.

Then, in S300, the control unit 41 determines whether or not the average traveling speed in the passed link is equal to or higher than a specified value, based on the history of the current position stored in S210, and is equal to or more than the specified value. If so (Y in S300
es), and moves the process to S350. On the other hand, if the average traveling speed is less than or equal to the specified value (No in S300), the control unit 41
Determines that the link passed in S310 is a traffic jam, and counts (increases by 1) the traffic jam count (N2) of the corresponding link ID.

Then, in S320, the link I
The number of traffic congestion (N2) of D is the specified value M2 or more (N2 ≥ M2)
If it is equal to or more than the specified value M2, the congestion rate is calculated using the above equation (1) in S330, and the link ID is calculated based on the cost table.
The traffic congestion cost is set and recorded (S340).

When the control unit 41 determines in S350 that the end command has been input due to the engine stop of the vehicle or the like, the process is ended, and if not input, the process returns to S210 and is repeated. The above process is executed. Next, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a cost calculation process for statistically processing various information recorded in the traveling information recording process and recording a cost required for route setting based on the statistical process. The control unit 41 is configured to execute this process at predetermined intervals.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the control section 41 executes the processing, first, in S410, for each link ID,
The total link transit time (N4) is calculated as the number of link transits (N3
), The average link transit time (N5) for each link ID is calculated, and this is recorded in the HDD 31.

Further, in S420, the control unit 41 divides the total node passing time (N9) for each node ID by the number of node passing times (N8) to calculate the average node passing time (N10).
Is calculated and recorded in the HDD 31 as the average node transit time (N10) of the corresponding node ID.

Subsequently, in S430, the link information and the node information of the links and nodes which are the objects of the processing in S410 and S420 are read from the map data storage unit 23. Then, the control unit 41, the basic link transit time included in the link information read in S440, and the above S410.
A road length cost correction coefficient represented by the following equation is calculated for each link ID based on the average link transit time calculated in (4).

Road length cost correction coefficient = average link transit time / basic link transit time (2) Subsequently, the control unit 41 calculates the road length cost for each link ID based on the calculated road length cost correction coefficient ( N7)
Is set and recorded in the HDD 31 (S45
0).

The road length cost is calculated by adding the road length cost correction coefficient to the basic road length cost assigned to the link ID based on the link information and the like (mainly the link length) acquired from the map data storage unit 23. It is obtained by multiplication (see formula (3)). Road length cost = Basic road length cost × Road length cost correction coefficient (3) Further, in S460, the control unit 41 divides the average node transit time by the basic node transit time included in the node information read in S430. Then, the node passing cost correction coefficient is calculated, and in S470, the node passing cost is calculated,
Record this.

The node passing cost is the link information and node information (S43) acquired from the map data storage unit 23.
0), the basic node passage cost assigned to the node ID is multiplied by the node passage cost correction coefficient (Equation (4)). Node passing cost = basic node passing cost × node passing cost correction coefficient (4) The recording method of each data in the HDD 31 has been described above. Next, the control unit 41 performs based on the thus recorded data. The route setting process will be described. still,
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the route setting process.

The route setting process executed by the control unit 41 of the present embodiment is performed by the link information including link information regarding links between nodes stored in the map data storage unit 23, node information, and traffic regulation information. The route evaluation value (hereinafter referred to as "road cost") indicating the route to each node is calculated by using the connection information of the above, and all route evaluation from the vehicle's current position to the destination is completed. At this stage, a well-known method for setting a destination route is applied by connecting links that minimize the total road cost (hereinafter referred to as “route cost”).

For example, the route cost is calculated by the following equation. Route cost = Σ Road cost (5) Road cost = Road length cost × Road type cost + Congestion cost + Node passing cost (6) Explaining along the flowchart of FIG. When the destination is input by operating the operation unit, the destination is set as the route search end point, and in S510, the current position information of the vehicle is acquired from the position detection unit 10, and this position is determined as the route search start point ( Set as the departure point.

Then, in S520, the control unit 41 obtains various information of the link and the node adjacent to the search start point,
The road type cost of the link that is the target of the route search is calculated based on the link information (link class) read from the map data. Further, in S530, the road length cost (N7), the congestion cost (N6), and the node passing cost (N11) corresponding to the link ID that is the target of the route search are read from the HDD 31. At this time, the control unit 41 reads out the respective costs corresponding to the current day of the week and time.

Then, the control unit 41, in S540, based on the respective costs acquired in S520 and S530,
The road cost is calculated using the equation (6). After that, the control unit 41 returns the process to S520 via S550 again, calls the information of the link and the node located ahead of the link for which the road cost is calculated from the map data storage unit 23, and also stores each cost in the HDD 31. Read (S5
30) Based on this, the road cost to the next node is calculated.

That is, the control unit 41 repeats such an operation until the optimum route to the destination can be searched so that the route cost becomes small (Yes in S550), and the optimum route to the destination can be searched. , The route to the destination is set (S560), and in the subsequent S570, the travel time to the destination on the set route is calculated as the average link transit time (N5) and the average node transit time stored in the HDD 31. (N10), and is calculated. Then, in S580, the current time and the calculated travel time (S
570), and the estimated arrival time is calculated.

Thereafter, in S590, the control unit 41 displays the set destination route in color by superimposing it on the map displayed on the display unit 25, and at the corner of the screen, the estimated arrival time calculated in S580. Is displayed and the process ends. In addition, the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment voice-guides the course of a left turn, a right turn, etc. during traveling so that the driver can drive the vehicle along the searched and set route. To do.

Therefore, the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment can reflect the congestion rate predicted as the traveling condition when the vehicle next travels in the route setting based on the data recorded in the HDD 31. Based on the average link transit time and the average node transit time, it is possible to search and set a route to a destination that matches the current road traffic condition (vehicle traffic volume) of each road. Further, the estimated arrival time can be calculated more accurately than in the conventional navigation device.

As a result, the navigation device 1 can prevent the driver from being caught in traffic jams and the like, and can provide various driving guidance so that the driver can travel to the destination on a comfortable route. . In addition to this, the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment executes the traffic jam guidance process shown in FIG. 7 while the vehicle is traveling, and detects that there is traffic jam in the traveling direction or that the road is prone to traffic jam. Guide the crew. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the traffic jam guidance processing executed by the control unit 41. This traffic jam guidance process
It is executed until an end command is given externally due to engine stop or the like, and is always executed when the vehicle is running.

More specifically, when the control section 41 executes the processing, first, in S610, the current position of the vehicle is acquired from the position detection section 10 and the like, and progress is made based on the temporal change of the current position. Figure out the direction. And then. In S620, the control unit 41 determines whether the traffic congestion information of the link in the traveling direction is acquired from the VICS, and the VI
If it is determined that the traffic congestion information indicating that the link in the traveling direction is congested is acquired from CS (Yes in S620).
s) Then, the user is notified by voice that the traffic ahead is congested (S625).

On the other hand, if the control unit 41 determines that there is no traffic congestion information (No in S620), then in S630,
By substituting the number of times of traffic jam (N2), the number of times of link passage (N3), and the number of times of receiving VICS (N1) recorded in the HDD 31 into the above equation (1), the traffic jam rate of the link in the traveling direction is calculated.

Then, based on this, it is determined in S640 whether the congestion rate is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and if the congestion rate is determined to be the predetermined value (Yes in S640), S65.
At 0, a speaker of the voice output unit 29 gives a voice guidance that the road in the traveling direction is a traffic jam.

On the other hand, if the control section 41 determines in S640 that the congestion rate is less than the predetermined value, the control section 41 shifts the processing to S660, determines whether or not a termination instruction of the processing is inputted from the outside, and terminates the termination instruction. If is not input, the process is returned to S610 again, and if the end command is input, the process is ended.

Therefore, according to the navigation device 1 of the present embodiment, the driver can drive not only roads that are congested but also roads that are predicted to be congested while the vehicle is traveling.
You can avoid the vehicle based on the voice guidance, and enjoy a comfortable drive.

Further, the navigation device 1 of this embodiment
When the route is set, the road suitable for the driver can be set as the route to the destination. That is, the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment, based on a command input by the vehicle occupant operating the operation unit,
When the following questionnaire process is executed, the correction factors Q1 to Q4 are calculated based on the questionnaire result, and the road cost calculation formula (6) in the route setting process is multiplied by the correction factors Q1 to Q4 based on the questionnaire result. Formula (6 ')
Change to. That is, the value "1" originally set as the initial value of the correction coefficients Q1 to Q4 is changed to the value based on the questionnaire result.

Road cost = Q1 × Road length cost × Q2 × Road type cost + Q3 × Congestion cost + Q4 × Node passing cost (6 ') Hereinafter, this questionnaire process will be described with reference to FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the questionnaire process executed by the control unit 41.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the vehicle occupant (driver) operates the operation unit 27 to input a command to execute the questionnaire process, the control unit 41 first sets m in S710.
= 1 is set, the m-th questionnaire is displayed on the screen in S720, and in response to the questionnaire in S730, the vehicle occupant (driver) operates the operation unit 27 to input the questionnaire answer. Based on the result, the answer value Am is temporarily stored in its own memory.

For example, the control section 41 determines in S720 that "
How many hours do you drive a month? The message "" is displayed on the screen of the display unit 25, and the vehicle occupant (driver)
The time input by is taken as the answer value Am and is temporarily stored in the memory (S730).

In S720, when the message "Are you good at driving?" Is displayed on the screen of the display unit, the vehicle occupant (driver) operates the operation unit to ask this question. If Yes is answered, the value "1" corresponding to Yes is temporarily stored in the memory as the answer value Am,
When the answer is No, the value "-1" corresponding to No is temporarily stored in the memory as the answer value Am (S730).

Then, the control unit 41 increments the value of m by 1 (S740) and determines in S750 whether or not the value of m exceeds a predetermined value M3 (number of questionnaires to be conducted M3). Determines whether the questionnaire has been completed, and if the questionnaire has not been completed (S75
(No in 0), the process is returned to S720, and if the questionnaire is completed (Yes in S750), the process is moved to S760, and the correction coefficients Q1 to Q4 are obtained based on the result of the questionnaire.

That is, for example, the control unit 41, in S760, based on the answer value Am (m = 1 to M3) and the weighting coefficient Wkm (m = 1 to M3) for weighting the answer value Am, The correction coefficient Qk (k = 1 to 4) is calculated by the following equation. Qk = 1 + ΣWkm · Am (7) The weighting coefficient Wkm is the correction coefficient Q obtained by the equation (7).
It is stored in advance in the memory of the control unit 41 with a value such that when the control unit 41 executes the above-mentioned route setting process using 1 to Q4, a route suitable for the driving technique of the driver is set. ing.

Therefore, the navigation device 1 thus configured can set a route that is suitable for the current road traffic conditions and that is suitable for the driver's driving technique as a route to the destination, and as a result, the driver can drive the vehicle. The person can more comfortably drive the vehicle to the destination.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the control unit 41 of the travel information acquisition means in the travel situation prediction device of the present invention causes the control unit 41 to perform S110 of the VICS information recording processing.
At the VIC from the external center 3 as a service center
In S210 of the operation for recording the traffic information around the vehicle via the S reception unit 21 and the traveling information recording process, the current position information of the vehicle is acquired as the traveling state of the vehicle from the position detection unit 10 as an in-vehicle sensor. It corresponds to the action to be performed.

Further, in the traveling information storage means of the present invention, the control unit 41 controls the VICS information recording processing and the traveling information recording processing so that the number of times VICS is received as the traveling history of the vehicle (N1), the number of congestion times (N2), and Number of passes (N3
), The total link transit time (N4), the number of node transits (N8), and the total node transit time (N9) are recorded (saved) in the HDD 31, which is a storage medium.

In particular, in the operation of the traveling information storage means for determining whether or not the road is congested and storing the determination result, the control unit 41 causes the traveling information recording process to be performed at S300 and S3.
At 10, this corresponds to the operation of counting the number of traffic jams. In addition, the road passage time in the present invention is recorded as the sum of the link passage times, and the signal waiting time is recorded as the sum of the node passage times in the present embodiment.

In addition to this, the predicting means of the present invention includes a control unit 41.
However, based on the travel history stored in the HDD 31, in the cost calculation process, the average link transit time (N5), the congestion rate, and the average node transit time (N10) as the traveling conditions to be referred to in the subsequent route setting are calculated. This corresponds to the operation of calculating.

Further, the traffic jam prediction guidance means of the present invention corresponds to the traffic jam guidance processing executed by the control unit 41. The route setting means in the route setting device of the present invention is the control unit 4
1 corresponds to the route setting process. Further, in the first changing unit of the present invention, the control unit 41 controls the HD in the VICS information recording process, the traveling information recording process, and the cost calculation process.
This corresponds to the operation of updating the congestion cost (N2), road length cost (N7), and node passing cost (N11) as the route setting conditions stored in D31.

The second changing means of the present invention is the controller 4
1 obtains the correction factors Q1 to Q4 in the questionnaire process, so that the correction factors Q1 to Q4 are originally obtained in the route setting process.
This is equivalent to the operation of calculating the road cost calculated as = 1 by the formula (6 ') based on the correction coefficients Q1 to Q4 obtained based on the questionnaire result.

Then, in the route guidance means in the navigation device of the present invention, the control unit 41 performs the route setting process S5.
This corresponds to the operation of displaying the set destination route at 90. In addition, the travel time guide means of the present invention includes a control unit 41.
Corresponds to the operation of displaying the estimated arrival time on the screen of the display unit 25 in S590 of the route setting processing.

As described above, the present invention mainly records the traveling history of the vehicle in the storage medium (hard disk) based on the traveling information regarding the traveling of the vehicle acquired from the VICS and the vehicle-mounted sensor, and the vehicle is recorded from this traveling history. Since the road traveling condition (for example, road traffic condition) for the next traveling is predicted, and the prediction result is used for route setting, traffic congestion guidance, etc., various modes are adopted as long as it does not violate this gist. It is possible.

For example, since the map data storage unit 23 can also be configured by a hard disk, the H of this embodiment is used.
The DD 31 may have a function as the map data storage unit 23. That is, all the map data distributed by CD-ROM, DVD, etc. is installed in the HDD 31, and the control unit 41 acquires the map data from the HDD 31 and configures the navigation device so as to perform the above-mentioned various processes. You may.

In this way, the control unit 41 determines that the HDD
Since various record data obtained from map data, travel history, etc. can be acquired from 31, the processing time required for route setting can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 1 of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of various data recorded in an HDD 31.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a VICS information recording process executed by a control unit 41.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a travel information recording process executed by a control unit 41.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a cost calculation process executed by the control unit 41.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a route setting process executed by a control unit 41.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a traffic jam guidance process executed by a control unit 41.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a questionnaire process executed by the control unit 41.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Navigation device 3 ... External center 10 ...
Position detection unit 21 ... VICS reception unit 23 ... Map data storage unit
25 ... Display unit 27 ... Operation unit 29 ... Voice output unit 31 ... HDD

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2C032 HB02 HC08 HD07 HD23 HD26                 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB09 AC02                       AC06 AC09 AC18 AC20 AD01                 5H180 AA01 BB02 BB04 BB12 BB13                       BB15 CC12 EE11 EE15 EE18                       FF04 FF05 FF07 FF10 FF12                       FF13 FF22 FF25 FF27 FF35

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A traveling information acquisition unit that acquires various traveling information regarding traveling of the vehicle from outside during traveling of the vehicle, and traveling information that sequentially stores the traveling information acquired by the traveling information acquisition unit as a traveling history of the vehicle in a storage medium. A running condition predicting apparatus for a vehicle, comprising: a saving unit; and a predicting unit that predicts a running condition of the vehicle when the vehicle next runs based on a past running history saved in the storage medium. 2. The traveling information storage means stores the traveling information acquired by the traveling information acquisition means as the traveling history of the vehicle in association with the acquisition time of the traveling information in the storage medium in sequence. The traveling condition prediction device according to claim 1. 3. The traveling information acquisition means acquires, as the traveling information, road traffic information around a vehicle from a service center that distributes road traffic information. Driving situation prediction device. 4. The travel information acquisition means acquires traffic congestion information as the road traffic information, and the travel information storage means as travel history of the vehicle.
The acquired congestion information is stored in the storage medium, and the predicting unit, based on the history of the congestion information stored in the storage medium, as the traveling status, the congestion rate of the road when the vehicle next travels. The driving situation prediction device according to claim 3, wherein 5. The traveling condition prediction device according to claim 1, wherein the traveling information acquisition unit acquires a traveling state of the vehicle from an in-vehicle sensor as the traveling information. 6. The traveling condition prediction device according to claim 4, wherein the traveling information acquisition means acquires a traveling state of the vehicle from an in-vehicle sensor as the traveling information. 7. The traveling information storage means determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested based on the traveling state acquired by the traveling information acquisition means from the in-vehicle sensor, and the determination result Is stored in the storage medium as the traveling history of the vehicle, and the predicting unit stores the traveling state based on the history of the determination result stored in the storage medium by the traveling information storage unit as the traveling history of the vehicle. The traffic congestion rate of the road when the vehicle travels next is predicted as
The traveling condition prediction device described in. 8. The traveling information storage means determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested based on the traveling state acquired by the traveling information acquisition means from the vehicle-mounted sensor, and the determination result is obtained. As a travel history of the vehicle, stored in the storage medium, the prediction means, a history of the congestion information saved as the travel history of the vehicle in the storage medium by the travel information storage means, and the determination result 7. The traveling condition predicting device according to claim 6, wherein the congestion condition of the road when the vehicle travels next is predicted as the traveling condition based on the history. 9. Based on the congestion rate of the road predicted by the prediction means, it is determined whether or not there is a road with a high congestion rate in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the congestion rate is high in the traveling direction of the vehicle. 9. The traveling condition according to claim 4 or claim 7 or claim 8, further comprising: traffic congestion prediction guide means for guiding a vehicle occupant that there is a road with a high traffic congestion rate when it is determined that there is a traffic road. Prediction device. 10. The traveling information storage means calculates a passage time of a road on which a vehicle has traveled based on the traveling state acquired by the traveling information acquisition means from the vehicle-mounted sensor, and the calculated passage time is The traveling history of the vehicle is stored in the storage medium, and the predicting unit, based on the passage time stored in the storage medium by the traveling information storage unit, is used as the traveling state when the vehicle travels next time. The running condition prediction device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, which predicts a passage time of a road. 11. The traveling information storage means determines whether or not the vehicle is waiting for a signal, based on the traveling state acquired by the traveling information acquisition means from the vehicle-mounted sensor, and the vehicle waits for a signal. If it is determined that the signal waiting time is calculated, the signal waiting time is calculated, and the calculated signal waiting time is stored in the storage medium as the traveling history of the vehicle. The signal waiting time of the road when the vehicle travels next is predicted as the traveling situation based on the signal waiting time stored in a medium. Driving situation prediction device. 12. The traveling situation prediction device according to claim 1, wherein the storage medium is a hard disk. 13. A route setting device comprising route setting means for setting a destination route based on preset setting conditions for setting a destination route from a starting point to a destination, The traveling condition predicting device according to claim 1, and the setting condition used by the route setting unit to set a destination route based on the traveling condition predicted by the predicting unit. A route setting device comprising: a first changing unit for changing. 14. A second changing means for conducting a questionnaire on a driving technique to a driver and changing the setting condition used by the route setting means to set a destination route based on the result of the questionnaire. The route setting device according to claim 13, further comprising: 15. A navigation system comprising: the route setting device according to claim 13 or 14; and route guiding means for performing travel guidance corresponding to the route set by the route setting device. apparatus. 16. A travel time guide means for calculating a travel time from a departure place to a destination based on the traveling situation predicted by the prediction means, and for guiding the calculated travel time to a vehicle occupant. The navigation device according to claim 15, wherein: