JP2006048501A - Road surface information collecting system and on-vehicle device and server for use in the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently collect road surface information of a limited monitor region with less communication expenses by using a standard vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: One or more on-vehicle devices each of which includes a vehicle position detection means, a communication means, a detector group for collecting road surface information, and a control means are connected to a server of an information center through a communication network. The server transmits collection items and conditions of road surface information and a collection object region to the on-vehicle devices to instruct them to collect information. Control means of the on-vehicle devices receive and store transmitted information and uses detector groups to perform instructed information collection in response to their entrance to the indicated collection object region and transmit collected information to the server. The server receives transmitted information and use it for analysis of a road surface condition. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for collecting road surface information in a monitoring area using various sensors mounted on a general vehicle.

  In recent years, road traffic information such as traffic jam information, required time information, traffic fault information, road surface information, and the like is provided to passengers of vehicles by, for example, a road traffic information system (VICS). The information necessary to provide these information is generally collected using sensors installed on the roadside, but equipped with sensors that acquire various information (congestion, accidents, exhaust gas concentrations, etc.). A method of collecting by running a car (probe car) is also adopted.

In addition to the purpose of providing information for such general vehicles, road management companies also collect road surface information for performing repairs such as finding parts that require repair and removing snow. The collection of road surface information is carried out by patrol of a maintenance vehicle equipped with a dedicated measuring instrument for measuring road surface conditions in addition to a fixedly installed sensor.
However, it is difficult to collect information frequently over a wide road area in a system that collects information by traveling and traveling around such a special specification vehicle. In order to solve this problem, a system that collects the signals detected by the installed sensors and sends them to the information center together with the location information by entrusting them to general-purpose vehicles such as trucks and taxis equipped with car navigation devices. Is considered. In this method, if the number of vehicles to be entrusted is increased, frequent information collection becomes possible. However, if the number of consigned vehicles is increased, the amount of communication with the information center becomes too large, resulting in a problem that the communication fee becomes large.

In particular, in the case of information collection for the purpose of road maintenance, provision of road surface danger information to user vehicles, etc., the area requiring monitoring can be roughly estimated from past history and experience. Nonetheless, if a large amount of information is sent in areas that do not require much monitoring, the amount of communication will be excessive, and more information processing will be required for the information center that receives the information. Cause problems.
JP 2002-342874 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-025130

  The present invention has been made from such a background, and its problem is to provide road surface information for a limited monitoring area for the purpose of road maintenance and provision of road surface information to vehicles without using a special specification vehicle. The object is to provide a road surface information collection system that efficiently collects with low communication costs, and an in-vehicle device and an information center server for the system.

  The invention described in claim 1 for achieving the above object comprises: a vehicle position detection means; a communication means for connecting to a communication network; a detection device group for collecting road surface information; and a control means. A road surface information collection system comprising a plurality of in-vehicle devices and a server connected to the communication network, wherein the control means receives information indicating collection items and conditions of road surface information and a collection area from the server. If the vehicle enters the collection area, information is collected using the detection device group and the collected information is transmitted to the server when the vehicle enters the collection area. The collection information, conditions and collection area of the road surface information are transmitted to the one or more in-vehicle devices to instruct information collection, and the collected information sent in response to the instruction is received and stored. A road information acquisition system according to claim.

  If such a system is configured on the premise of using a detection device group included in a general vehicle, in order to determine the road surface condition such as the degree of unevenness of the road surface, the degree of road surface freezing, etc. without relying on a special specification maintenance vehicle. It is possible to collect information. In addition, since it can be carried out with the cooperation of many general vehicles, there is an effect of increasing the frequency of information collection. Furthermore, it is possible to omit the useless information collection because the information collection area is limited, and the information can be collected efficiently.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the road surface information collection system according to claim 1, wherein the collected items include whether or not the anti-skid control device is activated and within a certain time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated. Each wheel speed and steering angle sampled at a certain time interval, angular velocity at the time of turning of the vehicle, vertical acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, and one or more items of peak values greater than a predetermined value of each sensor are included. It is characterized by that.

  An anti-skid control device, a yaw rate, and an acceleration sensor are recently provided in many general vehicles. Then, by analyzing these detection signals, the degree of unevenness of the road surface and the degree of slipperiness can be grasped. Therefore, according to the configuration of the present system that grasps the road surface situation using such devices and sensors of a general vehicle, it is possible to grasp the road surface situation in the monitored area and increase the frequency of collecting information.

The invention according to claim 3 is the road surface information collection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the server is provided in the in-vehicle device of each vehicle that cooperates in the collection of the road surface information. A collaborative vehicle database storing a list of groups and communication addresses; a vehicle capable of collecting information that meets the road surface information collection item and conditions is selected from the database; and the in-vehicle device of the selected vehicle The information collection is instructed.
The types and specifications of the detection devices provided in the vehicle vary depending on the vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to increase the efficiency of information collection by storing them in a database and selecting and requesting a vehicle equipped with a detection device suitable for target information collection.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the road surface information collection system according to any one of the first to third aspects, the collected information includes information on a vehicle position and time at the time of collection. It is characterized by that.
By including the vehicle position and time at that time in the collected information, it becomes possible to grasp the road surface position where the abnormality occurs and the time when the abnormality occurred.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the road surface information collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control means collects the collected information every time or periodically, or the amount of collected information. The transmission is performed either when a predetermined amount is exceeded or when the collection area is left.
Collected information may be sent each time, but if information is accumulated and sent regularly or when the collected amount exceeds a predetermined amount, or when it is out of the collection area, it is sent together. The communication frequency is reduced and the communication cost can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 6 is an in-vehicle device comprising own vehicle position detection means, communication means for connecting to a communication network, a detection device group for collecting road surface information, and a control means. The control means receives and stores information indicating the road surface information collection items and conditions and the collection area from a server that collects the road surface information, and if the vehicle enters the collection area, The vehicle-mounted device is characterized in that information collection that matches a collection item and conditions is performed using the detection device group, and the collected information is transmitted to the server.

  Information that is useful for grasping the road surface condition can also be collected by a detection device provided in a general vehicle. Therefore, if the vehicle-mounted device as described above is used and the information detected by the detection device group is provided to the server, it is possible to collect information useful for grasping the road surface state without using a special specification vehicle. Become.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the vehicle-mounted device according to claim 6, wherein the collected items include whether or not the anti-skid control device is activated, and is constant within a certain time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated. Each wheel speed and steering angle sampled at time intervals, angular velocity at the time of turning of the vehicle, vertical acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, including one or more items of peak values greater than or equal to a predetermined value of each sensor Features.

  An anti-skid control device, a yaw rate, and an acceleration sensor are recently provided in many general vehicles. The information detected by these devices and sensors can be used to understand the road surface condition by analyzing the information. Therefore, if information measured by such a device or sensor included in a general vehicle is provided to the server, it is possible to collect information useful for grasping road surface conditions without using a special specification vehicle.

The invention according to claim 8 is the vehicle-mounted device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the collected information includes the collection item of the road surface information and the vehicle position when the collection that matches the condition is performed. It includes the time information.
By including the vehicle position and time at that time in the collected information, it becomes possible to grasp the road surface position where the abnormality occurs and the time when the abnormality occurred.

The invention according to claim 9 is the vehicle-mounted device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the control means collects the collected information every time or periodically, or the collected amount is a predetermined amount. It is transmitted at any time when exceeding the collection area or outside the collection area.
Collected information may be sent each time, but if information is accumulated and sent regularly or when the collected amount exceeds a predetermined amount, or when it is out of the collection area, it is sent together. The communication frequency is reduced and the communication cost can be reduced.

Further, the invention according to claim 10 is a server used for road surface information collection, instructing collection by transmitting road surface information collection items and conditions and collection area to one or more in-vehicle devices, The server is characterized by receiving and storing collected information sent in response to the instruction.
In this way, if information collection is specified by limiting the collection items, conditions, and collection area, wasteful information collection can be avoided and communication costs can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the server according to claim 10, wherein the collection item includes whether or not the anti-skid control device is activated, and within a predetermined time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated. Each wheel speed and steering angle sampled at a fixed time interval, angular speed at the time of turning of the vehicle, vertical acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, and at least one of the peak values above a predetermined value of each sensor shall be included. It is characterized by.

  An anti-skid control device, a yaw rate, and an acceleration sensor are recently provided in many general vehicles. The information detected by these devices and sensors can be used to understand the road surface condition by analyzing the information. Therefore, if it is instructed to collect information using such a device or sensor provided in a general vehicle, it is possible to collect information useful for grasping road surface information without using a special specification vehicle.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the server according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the server communicates with a list of the detection device groups provided in each vehicle that cooperates in collecting the road surface information. A cooperative vehicle database storing addresses and selecting a vehicle capable of collecting information that matches the collection items and conditions of the road surface information from the database, and the information for the in-vehicle device of the selected vehicle The collection is instructed.

  The types and specifications of the detection devices provided in the vehicle vary depending on the vehicle. Therefore, if they are stored in a database and a vehicle equipped with a detection device suitable for target information collection is selected and requested, information collection efficiency can be improved.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a road surface information collecting system according to the present invention. The road surface information collection system 1 includes a car navigation device 2 as an in-vehicle device and an information center server 3. Although only one set of car navigation devices is shown in the figure, there are usually a plurality of car navigation devices.

The information center server 3 and the car navigation device 2 are communicably connected via a communication network 4. As the communication network 4, in this embodiment, a cellular phone network 31 and the Internet 32 connected thereto are used.
The car navigation device 2 includes a control circuit 5, a GPS receiver 6, a detection device group 7, a communication device 8, an operation switch group 9, a display device 10, and a magnetic disk device (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 11. .

The control circuit 5 has a function of controlling the overall operation of the car navigation device 2 and is mainly composed of a microcomputer. Inside the CPU, RAM, ROM, I / O interface (not shown) are connected. A bus, power supply, etc. are provided.
The GPS receiver 6 receives signals from a plurality of GPS artificial satellites and transmits them to the control circuit 5. Based on the information, necessary arithmetic processing is performed in the control circuit 5 to calculate the current position of the vehicle. Is done. The communication device 8 is for wireless communication with the information center server 3 and performs communication via the antenna 12, the mobile phone network base station 33, the mobile phone network 31, and the Internet 32 connected thereto.

The operation switch group 9 is a means for inputting various information to the control circuit 5, and is composed of, for example, a touch switch or a remote control switch formed on a color liquid crystal display. The display device 10 is for displaying a road map, a current position of a vehicle, a guidance route, and the like, and is configured by, for example, a color liquid crystal display.
Various programs for operating the car navigation apparatus 2 are stored in the HDD 11 in advance. This program includes a program for executing a general car navigation function in addition to a program for exerting the functions of the present invention to be described later, for example, a function for calculating a current position based on a signal from the GPS receiver 6. A map matching processing function that positions the calculated current position on the map, a route search function that searches for a route from the current position to the destination in response to designation of the destination or waypoint, and a guidance route according to the route search result A program for executing a route guidance function for displaying and guiding on a map screen, a function for receiving road traffic information from VICS (Vehicle Information & Communication System) and notifying a driver is included.

  The detection device group 7 is a collection of detection devices (sensors) that detect the operation state of the vehicle. As will be described later, a signal detected by the detection device group 7 is sent to the information center server 3 and used for analysis and grasping of the road surface condition. Among them, the yaw rate sensor 7a is a sensor that detects the turning angular velocity of the vehicle body. The acceleration sensor 7b detects acceleration in the up / down / front / rear direction of the vehicle. The wheel speed sensor 7c detects the rotational speed of each wheel, and the wheel speed is integrated to be used for detecting the travel distance. The steering angle sensor 7d is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering.

In addition, the anti-skid control device (ABS device) 7e is arranged in the wheel cylinder of each wheel so that the slip ratio of the wheel is within a predetermined range in order to sufficiently exert the braking force on the angular wheel at the time of braking by depressing the brake pedal. The wheel speed is controlled by adjusting the brake hydraulic pressure to be applied.
In addition to the above devices, the car navigation device 2 is provided with an accelerator opening sensor for detecting the accelerator opening, a vehicle speed sensor for detecting the vehicle speed instead of each wheel speed, and the like, if necessary.

  The information center server 3 includes a control device 21 and an HDD 22. In the HDD 22, a collaborative vehicle database storing a list of the detection device groups 7 and communication addresses included in each vehicle that cooperates in collecting road surface information, and collection information on road surface conditions sent from each car navigation device. Are stored in the road surface database, map information, a program for causing the control device 21 configured by a computer to perform functions described later, and the like.

Next, the flow shown in FIG. 2 for the processing performed by the control circuit 5 of the car navigation device 2 and the control device 21 of the information center server 3 when collecting information on road surface conditions under the above-described device configuration. Will be described with reference to FIG.
The main object of the present embodiment is to easily and efficiently collect road surface conditions for a monitored area using facilities provided in such vehicles under the cooperation of ordinary vehicles without using special maintenance vehicles. It is said. Therefore, first, on the information center server 3 side, the administrator determines the contents to be requested for the general vehicle on which the car navigation device 2 is mounted, and inputs it to the server 3 (step S1). The pointing mark outside the frame in step S1 represents a human judgment or operation.

  Items determined and input by the manager include collection items regarding road surface conditions, collection conditions, and collection areas. In addition to this, if the collection time zone is limited, the time zone is also input. As a collection item about the road surface condition, for example, there is acceleration in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The acceleration in the vertical direction can be detected by the acceleration sensor 7b. And if the magnitude | size is known, the degree of unevenness of a road surface can be estimated and the necessity for road surface repair can be judged.

  In addition, whether or not the anti-skid control device 7e is activated, each wheel speed and steering angle sampled at regular time intervals within a certain period of time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated, angular velocity when the vehicle turns, vertical acceleration, longitudinal If collection items such as direction acceleration and a peak value greater than a predetermined value of each sensor are added, it is possible to estimate the slipperiness and unevenness of the road surface by analyzing the information. From the estimation, for example, the degree of road surface freezing can be determined, and the necessity of spraying snow melting material, dispatching a snow removal vehicle, road surface repair, etc. can be determined.

In addition, the collection condition of the collection item is, for example, a measurement condition for each collection item such as the predetermined value when the peak value is detected and reported only when the vertical acceleration exceeds a predetermined value. Say. The administrator determines and inputs the collection items and the collection conditions according to the purpose of collecting the information.
Further, the administrator determines and inputs a collection area where information collection of the designated collection item is performed. For example, when the purpose is to grasp the state of road surface freezing, the monitoring range is naturally obvious from past data and experience. The monitoring range is also clear when the purpose is to determine the need for repair of a particular road. The administrator determines a monitoring range according to the purpose, and inputs the range to the server 3 as a collection area. As a method of specifying the collection area, the collection area may be specified by a circular area in which center coordinates (latitude and longitude) and a radius are specified, or may be specified by a rectangular area in which coordinates of two points on a diagonal line are specified.

  When such information is input, the server 3 moves to step S2 and determines a vehicle for which information collection is requested. In order to determine a vehicle to request, the server 3 has a cooperative vehicle database in the HDD 22. The cooperative vehicle database contains data on vehicles that cooperate in collecting information, and includes a cooperative vehicle table shown in FIG. 3 and a vehicle specification file for each cooperative vehicle shown in FIG.

  The cooperative vehicle table includes a “vehicle ID” field for registering an ID (index) for identifying a vehicle that cooperates, a “communication address” field for registering a communication address of a mounted car navigation device, and whether each sensor is attached. “Acceleration sensor”, “wheel speed sensor”, “steering angle sensor”, “anti-skid control device (ABS control device)” fields, and file names recording other specifications of each vehicle are registered. It has a “vehicle specification file name” field. In the vehicle specification file, data such as “vehicle type”, “owner”, “model”, “displacement”, and “body weight” of the vehicle are registered as illustrated in FIG. The server 3 determines a cooperative vehicle including a sensor necessary for executing the information collection of the collection item input in Step S1 based on the cooperative vehicle database (Step S2).

If the cooperative vehicle is determined, the process proceeds to step S3, and the collection item and the collection condition input in step S1 are transmitted to the determined vehicle to request information collection. The contents of the request are transmitted via the communication network 4 to the communication address registered in the “communication address” field of the cooperative vehicle table.
The car navigation device 2 side of the vehicle that has received the request receives the request information and stores it in the HDD 11 (step T1). In step T2, the position of the own vehicle is detected. The vehicle position is calculated and calculated in the control circuit 5 based on the reception signal of the GPS receiver 6. In subsequent step T3, it is determined whether or not the vehicle position is within the collection area designated in the request information received in step T1. If it is not located within the collection area, the process returns to step T2 without collecting information.

  If it is located in the collection area, the process moves to step T4, and information collection is performed according to the collection item in the request information and the collection condition. As described above, this information collection includes, for example, when the acceleration in the vertical direction of the vehicle is included as a collection item, the peak value that the detected value of the acceleration sensor 7b is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is displayed by the anti-skid control device 7e. If the collection item includes the presence / absence of operation, it indicates the presence / absence of the operation, and if the collection item includes measurement of each wheel speed and steering angle when the anti-skid control device 7e is activated, This is performed by recording the detection values of the sensor 7c and the steering angle sensor 7d. When these detected values are recorded, the vehicle position and time at that time are also recorded.

The collection information collected in this way is transmitted to the server 3 with the vehicle ID of the host vehicle attached in step T5. On the server 3 side, the transmitted collection information is received and stored in the road surface database (step S4). The collected information is subjected to analysis in accordance with the purpose of information collection, and the road surface conditions such as the degree of unevenness of the road surface and the degree of road surface freezing are grasped.
Note that the collection information is transmitted to the server 3 in step T5, instead of sending it every time information (detection value) is collected, the information is temporarily stored and the amount of information exceeds a predetermined amount. Or when the vehicle position is out of the information collection area.

  As described above, according to the road surface information collection system 1 of the present embodiment, the degree of unevenness of the road surface, the degree of road surface freezing, etc. using a private car, a business vehicle, etc. of a general specification without using a special maintenance vehicle. It is possible to collect information for judging the road surface condition. In addition, since it can be carried out with the cooperation of many general vehicles, there is an effect of increasing the frequency of information collection. Furthermore, since information is collected by limiting the information collection area, unnecessary information collection is eliminated and efficient information collection can be performed. As a result, the communication frequency with the information center server is reduced, and the communication cost is reduced.

In the present embodiment, the car navigation device is used as the vehicle-mounted device, but any vehicle-mounted device having a vehicle position detection function and a communication function may be used. For example, a highly functional telematics device may be used.
Further, the detection device group for collecting road surface information is not limited to the detection device (sensor) shown in FIG. 1, and other sensors may be used.

Further, the vehicle to be used may include a maintenance vehicle provided with a special detection device such as an exhaust gas analyzer in addition to a general vehicle.
The vehicle position detection means described in the claims is realized by the GPS receiver 6, the control circuit 5, and a program for calculating the vehicle position based on the detection signal of the GPS receiver 6 in the above embodiment. ing. The communication means is realized by the communication device 8 and the antenna 12. The control means is realized by the control circuit 5 and a program for executing the flow on the car navigation device side in FIG.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a road surface information collection system 1. FIG. It is a processing flow of the car navigation apparatus 2 and the server 3. It is a structural example of the cooperation vehicle table in a cooperation vehicle database. It is an example of the vehicle specification file for every cooperation vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

In the drawings, 1 is a road surface information collecting system, 2 is a car navigation device (on-vehicle device), 3 is a server, 4 is a communication network, 5 is a control circuit, 6 is a GPS receiver, 7 is a detection device group, and 8 is a communication device. , 21 indicates a control device.

Claims (12)

The vehicle position detection means, communication means for connecting to a communication network, detection device group for collecting road surface information and control means, and one or a plurality of in-vehicle devices, and a server connected to the communication network. A road surface information collection system,
The control means receives and stores information indicating the road surface information collection items and conditions and the collection area from the server, and if the vehicle enters the collection area, it matches the collection items and conditions. Collecting information using the detection device group and transmitting the collected information to the server;
The server instructs the information collection by transmitting the road surface information collection items, conditions, and collection area to the one or more in-vehicle devices, and receives the collected information sent in response to the instructions. A road surface information collection system characterized by accumulation.   The collected items include the presence / absence of operation of the anti-skid control device, the wheel speeds and the steering angles sampled at regular time intervals within a certain time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated, the angular velocity at the time of turning of the vehicle, the vertical direction The road surface information collection system according to claim 1, comprising one or more items of acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, and a peak value greater than or equal to a predetermined value of each sensor.   The server includes a cooperative vehicle database that stores a list of communication devices and a list of the detection device group included in the in-vehicle device of each vehicle that cooperates in the collection of the road surface information. The road surface information collection according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a vehicle capable of collecting information that matches the conditions is selected, and the information collection is instructed to the in-vehicle device of the selected vehicle. system.   The road surface information collection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the collection information includes information on a vehicle position and time at the time of collection.   The control means transmits the collection information every time of collection or periodically, or when the collection amount exceeds a predetermined amount, or when the collection area is out of the collection area. Item 5. The road surface information collection system according to any one of Items 1 to 4. An in-vehicle device comprising own vehicle position detection means, communication means for connecting to a communication network, a detection device group for collecting road surface information, and control means,
The control means receives and stores road surface information collection items and conditions and information indicating the collection area from a server that collects road surface information, and if the vehicle enters the collection area, the collection item The vehicle-mounted device characterized in that information collection that matches the conditions is performed using the detection device group and the collected information is transmitted to the server.   The collected items include the presence / absence of operation of the anti-skid control device, the wheel speeds and the steering angles sampled at regular time intervals within a certain time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated, the angular velocity at the time of turning of the vehicle, the vertical direction The in-vehicle device according to claim 6, comprising one or more items of acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, and a peak value greater than or equal to a predetermined value of each sensor.   The in-vehicle device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the collected information includes information on a vehicle position and time at the time of collection.   The control means transmits the collection information every time of collection or periodically, or when the collection amount exceeds a predetermined amount, or when the collection area is out of the collection area. Item 9. The on-vehicle device according to any one of Items 6 to 8.   A server used for collecting road surface information, instructing collection by transmitting the road surface information collection items and conditions and collection area to one or a plurality of in-vehicle devices, and collecting information sent in response to the instruction A server characterized by receiving and accumulating   The collected items include the presence / absence of operation of the anti-skid control device, the wheel speeds and the steering angles sampled at regular time intervals within a certain time before and after the anti-skid control device is activated, the angular velocity at the time of turning of the vehicle, the vertical direction 11. The server according to claim 10, comprising at least one of an acceleration, a longitudinal acceleration, and a peak value greater than or equal to a predetermined value of each sensor. The server includes a cooperative vehicle database that stores a list of communication devices and a list of the detection device groups included in each vehicle that cooperates in the collection of the road surface information, and matches the collection items and conditions of the road surface information from the database. The server according to claim 10 or 11, wherein a vehicle capable of collecting information is selected, and the information collection is instructed to the in-vehicle device of the selected vehicle.

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