JP2006275647A - On-vehicle communication navigation terminal device, navigation server device, navigation system, control method therefor, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To search the optimum route allowing passage really therethrough, in response to an actual road situation, by accumulating a result data of indicating what sizes of vehicles are passed through actually, in a technique for communication type navigation. <P>SOLUTION: A passage report that the passage is allowed with a vehicular width (for example, 1850 mm) of the vehicle C1 is transmitted to a navigation server S in a terminal T1 mounted on the vehicle C1 traveling on a narrow street Y. The narrow street (for example, narrow street Y) having the result where another vehicle (for example the vehicle C1, or maybe own vehicle) having a wider vehicular width is passed therethrough before this time is never removed from the route, in the route search based on a route search request transmitted to the navigation server S by other vehicle (for example, C2) together with vehicular width information (for example, 1770mm) of the own vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention enables communication type navigation technology to search for an optimal route that is truly passable in accordance with actual road conditions by accumulating performance data on what size car has actually passed. It is.

  In recent years, with the development of information processing technology such as GPS, the optimal route to a destination that is displayed on the map on the surrounding map or specified by facility search, etc., by a vehicle-mounted navigation device that has been rapidly popularized Is provided, and a guidance guidance such as a direction of travel is output along with the search. In this type of technology, so-called map data representing the network structure of the road is used for route search by preparing it on the storage medium of the in-vehicle device or downloading it from the server via a mobile phone line according to the location of the vehicle. is doing.

  As the information structure of map data, road links that represent road sections are connected by nodes that represent curved portions or intersections of roads, and each road link has a width that affects the burden (cost) due to traffic, national highway prefectural roads, etc. Attribute information such as road type is used for route search.

Depending on the road section, the possibility of traffic may differ depending on the type of vehicle, for example, small cars, ordinary cars, large cars, and special cars, so if you enter such a vehicle type, that type of vehicle can pass Thus, a technique for searching for an optimum route in terms of short distance has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP-A-11-2535

  However, the existing roads are enormous, and the map data used for route search is not perfect and there are many ambiguities. In particular, roads with a width of less than 5.5 m are called “narrow streets”, and it is often unclear whether they can be reached by vehicles. In particular, on roads with limited widths, whether or not traffic is possible in individual road sections depends on the actual road structure at the site, and it is difficult to make a unique judgment in advance.

  For the narrow streets as described above, when they are mechanically excluded from the route according to a certain standard according to the type of vehicle, if the exclusion is increased with priority given to the certainty of traffic, the vehicle can actually pass without problems. In addition, roads that are desired to be used, such as short-circuits that can be avoided if they pass there, are also excluded from the route, hindering the purpose of an optimum route. On the other hand, if priority is given to the optimal route and the number of exclusions is reduced, the certainty of traffic will be sacrificed, and if it is intended to pass, it will not actually pass.

  The present invention solves the problems of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is to truly pass traffic according to actual road conditions by accumulating actual data on what size car can actually pass. It is possible to search for a possible and optimal route.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present invention (claims 1, 7, and 13), in an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device (its control method and control program) mounted on a vehicle, the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device Is a vehicle information storage means for storing vehicle information of the vehicle, a vehicle position detection means, a communication means for communicating with a predetermined navigation server device, and a control section for performing information processing including control of each section. And a passage report means (process) for transmitting a passage report including the road information and the vehicle information to the navigation server device by the communication means when the vehicle passes a predetermined road section. It is characterized by realizing.

  In another aspect of the present invention (Claims 2, 8, and 14), in each of the above aspects, the passage report means (process) outputs the passage report only when the road section that has passed is a predetermined type of road. It transmits to a server system, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In this way, the load can be reduced for any of the terminal, the server, and the communication path by reporting the passage only when the road section that has passed is of a predetermined type.

  In another aspect of the present invention (claims 3, 9, 15), in each of the above aspects, the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information.

  In another aspect of the present invention (claims 4, 10, 16), a communication unit for communicating with a communication network, an information storage unit, and a control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit are provided. In the navigation server device (its control method and control program), the control unit sends the route from the designated departure point to the destination by a route search request sent from the predetermined in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network. A route search means (process) for searching for a route to the vehicle using the map data stored in advance in the storage unit and returning the route information to the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device, vehicle information and road information Passing reports are received from each in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network and stored as passing record data in the storage unit It is determined whether or not the road corresponding to the road information is used for the route based on the received storage means (process) to be memorized, the vehicle information included in the route search request, and the accumulated passing record data. Judgment means (processing) is realized.

  In another aspect of the present invention (claims 5, 11, and 17), in each of the above aspects, the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information.

  Thus, by including at least the vehicle width that is most likely to be a problem as vehicle information used for passing reports and passability determinations, even when other items such as vehicle height and overall length are omitted, the route can be reliably passed and is optimal. It is possible to perform a high-precision search with a minimum amount of information.

  In a navigation system (its control method and control program) in another aspect of the present invention (Claims 6, 12, and 18), the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device (its control method and control program) of each of the above aspects, and each of the above aspects Navigation server device (a control method and a control program thereof).

  In the present invention, it is possible to search for an optimal route that is truly passable in accordance with actual road conditions by accumulating performance data indicating what size car has actually passed. That is, as described above, from the terminal of the vehicle that has actually passed through the predetermined road section corresponding to the narrow street, the road information specifying the road section such as the identification ID unique to the road, and the vehicle such as the vehicle size registered in the terminal By transmitting information to the server and accumulating it as a passing track record, and by comparing the vehicle information of the requesting vehicle with the accumulated passing track record in response to a subsequent route search request to the server, It is possible to search for an optimal route that is truly passable.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in communication-type navigation technology, by accumulating performance data on what size car has actually passed, it is possible to truly pass the road according to actual road conditions and is optimal. The route can be searched.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the assumptions common to the explanation in the background art and the problems are not repeated.
[1. Constitution〕
In the present embodiment, as shown in the configuration diagram of FIG. 1, an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device T (hereinafter referred to as “terminal”) mounted on a vehicle and a navigation server device S (for providing route data, providing map data, etc.) (Hereinafter referred to as “navigation server”) is a communication navigation system that is connected via a communication network N such as a mobile phone network or the Internet. The present invention corresponds to a terminal alone, a navigation server alone, these alone, or the system. It can be grasped as a method and a program.

[1-2. Navigation server)
Among the components of the navigation server S shown in FIG. 1, 1 is a communication module for data communication, and 2 is a control unit that performs information processing including control of each part of the navigation server S. Specifically, the main CPU and its It is a peripheral circuit. Reference numeral 3 denotes a memory such as a main memory and a system ROM necessary for the operation of the navigation server S.

  4 configures the storage unit 40 by controlling reading and writing of an external storage device such as an HDD that stores various databases such as map data. In this storage unit 40, map data 42 and passage result data 44 to be described later are possible, and “a road having a width of less than 5.5 m” in the map data is referred to as a “narrow street”. Also, all narrow streets in the map data have unique narrow street IDs as road information for specifying the data.

[1-3. Terminal)
On the other hand, 5 of the components of the terminal T is an absolute position / orientation detection unit (own vehicle position detection means) using GPS or the like. A control unit 6 performs information processing including control of each unit of the terminal. Specifically, the control unit 6 is a main CPU and its peripheral circuits. Reference numeral 7 denotes a main memory or a memory such as a system ROM necessary for the operation of the terminal T, that is, a storage unit, and also has a role of vehicle information storage means for storing vehicle information of the vehicle on which the terminal T is mounted. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the vehicle information in this embodiment preferably includes at least vehicle width information, and also includes vehicle height, total length, and the like.

  8 is a user interface unit including a display unit such as a liquid crystal display panel for displaying a map or a menu and an input unit such as a switch or a remote control unit. is there. 9 is a data communication module that serves as a communication means for communicating with the navigation server S, which is a predetermined navigation server device, and is, for example, a mobile phone terminal connection adapter unit.

  Further, in the terminal T, the control unit 6 realizes the passage report unit 61 by a predetermined control program, and in the navigation server S, the control unit 2 determines the route search unit 22, the reception accumulation unit 24, and the determination by the predetermined control program. The unit 26 is realized.

  It should be noted that the navigation calculation such as the position and direction of the vehicle at each terminal T, the vehicle speed, and other sensors such as a gyro, the destination designation reception, the map display, the guidance guidance, etc. may be the same as in the prior art. Omitted. The specific actions of this case are as follows.

[2. Action)
[2-1. (Narrow street passage report)
First, at a terminal T1 mounted on a vehicle C1 that has traveled on a narrow street Y, a passage report indicating that the vehicle C1 has been passed with the vehicle width (for example, 1850 mm) is sent to the navigation server S. That is, in the terminal T, when the passage report unit 61 (passage reporting means) passes through a narrow street Y which is a predetermined road section, the communication module 9 sends a passage report including the road information and vehicle information to the navigation server. To S (passage report processing).

  At this time, the passage report unit 61 transmits the passage report to the navigation server S only when the road section that has passed is a predetermined type of road (for example, a narrow street). Whether a certain road section is a narrow street may be included in the route information sent from the navigation server S or the data for each road section included in the map data as an attribute indicating whether it is a narrow street, Such determination may be made on the terminal side based on information such as road type and width conventionally included in the data for each road section.

  The passage report including the vehicle information and the road information as described above from the terminal T is received by the reception accumulation unit 24 of the navigation server 6 via the communication network N, and is accumulated and stored in the storage unit 40 as the passage result data 44 ( Receive accumulation processing).

  The flowchart of FIG. 3 is a specific example of a processing procedure for reporting from the terminal T to the navigation server S that each vehicle has passed through the narrow streets of the map data as described above, and is repeatedly executed as long as the vehicle is traveling. (Step 17). That is, in the vehicle terminal T, the absolute position / orientation detection unit 5 detects the absolute position of the host vehicle as the host vehicle position P (step 11), and the control unit 4 navigates the map data M around the host vehicle position. Obtained from the server S via the communication module 9 (step 12) and stored in the memory 7.

  Further, the vehicle travels, and the vehicle position P obtained sequentially from the absolute position / orientation detection unit 5 is compared with the map data M in the memory 7. As a result, the vehicle position P is on the narrow street, that is, traveling on the narrow street. If it is (step 13), the narrow street ID, which is the road information currently being traveled, is extracted from the map data (step 14), and is notified from the communication module 9 to the navigation server S along with the vehicle information of the vehicle. (Step 15).

  On the other hand, as processing by the navigation server S, as shown by a rectangular broken line in FIG. 3 (step 16), the vehicle information and the narrow street ID which are data notified from each vehicle as described above are stored in the storage unit. In 40, the file is stored and managed in the format illustrated in FIG.

[2-2. (Judgment in route search)
On the other hand, in the route search based on the route search request sent to the navigation server S by the other vehicle (for example, C2) together with the vehicle width information (for example, 1770 mm) of the own vehicle, A narrow street (for example, narrow street Y) with a track record of passing by a car) is not excluded from the route.

  That is, in the route search unit 22 (route search means) of the navigation server S, a route search request sent from the predetermined terminal T via the communication network N is used to determine the route from the designated departure point to the destination. A route search is performed using the map data 42 stored in advance in the storage unit 40, and information on the route is returned to the terminal T (route search process). At this time, the determination unit 26 (determination means), based on the vehicle information included in the route search request and the accumulated passage record data 44, each road information (narrow street ID) included in the passage record data 44. It is determined whether or not each narrow street that is a road corresponding to is used as a route (determination process).

  As a specific example of such a processing procedure, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, for example, when an input of a destination is received from the user interface unit 8 in the terminal T2 of the vehicle C2 (step 21), the communication module 9 The route search request is transmitted to the navigation server S (step 22). This request is accompanied by vehicle information (for example, vehicle width 1770 mm for the vehicle C2) in addition to the vehicle position and destination.

  On the other hand, as a process by the navigation server S, as shown by a rectangular broken line in FIG. 4, a route search is performed based on the data (own vehicle position, destination, vehicle information) received from the terminal 2 as described above. Start (step 23).

  In this route search, a case where a narrow street is included in the candidate route is assumed. For example, in the example shown in the lower part of FIG. 1, if the route of the vehicle C2 passes through the narrow street Y from the branch of the point X, the route is shorter than the road R other than the narrow street. In such a case (step 24), it passes through the narrow street Y of an arbitrary ID (for example, ID: 0xAAAA shown in FIG. 1) that is closer to the straight line to the destination, or is turned around and roads other than the narrow street R To determine whether or not to pass.

  At this time, the passage information data 44 is searched for the narrow street with the ID, and if the vehicle information passing through the narrow street Y is in the passage result data 44 stored in the storage unit 40 realized by the HDD control unit 4. (Step 25) The vehicle information (1850 mm) of the vehicle C1 recorded in the passing result data 44 is compared with the vehicle information (1770 mm) of the vehicle C2 that is the route search request source, and compared with the vehicle C1 that was able to pass. When the vehicle C2 is equal or smaller in size (step 26), a route (route) including the narrow street Y is selected (step 28). Otherwise, the narrow street Y is a route (route). Is not selected (step 27). Finally, the navigation server S transmits the search result from the communication module 1 to the communication module 9 of the terminal T, and ends the route search.

[3. effect〕
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the communication navigation technology, by accumulating the actual data indicating what size car has actually passed, it is possible to truly pass the road according to the actual road condition and the optimum route. Can be searched.

  That is, as described above, from the terminal of the vehicle that has actually passed through the predetermined road section corresponding to the narrow street, the road information specifying the road section such as the identification ID unique to the road, and the vehicle such as the vehicle size registered in the terminal By transmitting information to the server and accumulating it as a passing track record, and by comparing the vehicle information of the requesting vehicle with the accumulated passing track record in response to a subsequent route search request to the server, It is possible to search for an optimal route that is truly passable.

  This will also improve navigation usability and driving comfort, and can also be expected to have environmental benefits such as improved driving safety, reduced arrival time and associated greenhouse gas reduction.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the feature that the passing section is reported only when the road section is a predetermined type is not essential, but this reduces the load on any of the terminal, the server, and the communication path. it can.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, it is not essential to include at least the vehicle width that is most likely to be a problem as vehicle information used for passing reports and passability determinations. Even when other items are omitted, it is possible to perform a search for an optimal route that can be surely passed through with high accuracy with a minimum amount of information.

[4. Other embodiments]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, The thing illustrated below and other embodiment other than that are included. For example, the communication network N between the navigation server S and the terminal T may be realized by direct communication between the communication modules 1 and 9 by radio waves or the like, and the communication module 1 of the navigation server S has a wireless function. Instead, it may be a wired network device such as a router or a gateway for communication with the mobile phone IP network.

The functional block diagram which shows the structure of embodiment of this invention. The conceptual diagram which illustrates the storage format of the passage performance data in embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence regarding the passage report in embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process sequence regarding the route search in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 9 ... Communication module 2, 6 ... Control part 22 ... Path | route search part 24 ... Reception storage part 26 ... Judgment part 3, 7 ... Memory 4 ... HDD control part 40 ... Memory | storage part 42 ... Map data 44 ... Passing record data 5 ... absolute position / orientation detection unit 8 ... user interface unit S ... navigation server C (C1, C2) ... vehicle T (T1, T2) ... terminal N ... communication network X ... point Y ... narrow street R ... road other than narrow street

Claims (18)

In an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device mounted on a vehicle,
Vehicle information storage means for storing vehicle information of the vehicle;
Own vehicle position detection means;
A communication means for communicating with a predetermined navigation server device;
A control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit;
With
A vehicle-mounted vehicle characterized in that, when the vehicle passes a predetermined road section, a passage report means for transmitting a passage report including the road information and the vehicle information to the navigation server device by the communication means is realized by the control unit. Communication navigation terminal device. The in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the passage report means transmits the passage report to the server system only when a road section that has passed is a predetermined type of road.   The in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information. In the navigation server device including a communication unit for communicating with a communication network, a storage unit for information, and a control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit, the control unit includes:
A route from a designated departure point to a destination is routed using map data stored in advance in the storage unit in response to a route search request sent from a predetermined in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network. Route search means for searching and returning information on the route to the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device;
A receiving and storing means for receiving a passing report including vehicle information and road information from each in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network, and storing and storing as passing result data in the storage unit;
A determination means for determining whether or not to use a road corresponding to the road information for a route based on the vehicle information included in the route search request and the accumulated passing record data;
A navigation server device characterized by realizing the above.   The navigation server device according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information. The in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The navigation server device according to claim 4 or 5,
A navigation system comprising: In a control method of an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device mounted on a vehicle,
The terminal device
Vehicle information storage means for storing vehicle information of the vehicle;
Own vehicle position detection means;
A communication means for communicating with a predetermined navigation server device;
A control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit;
With
A vehicle-mounted vehicle characterized in that when the vehicle passes a predetermined road section, the control unit executes a passage report process in which a passage report including the road information and the vehicle information is transmitted to the navigation server device by the communication unit. A method for controlling a communication navigation terminal device. The control method for an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the passage report process transmits the passage report to the server system only when a road section that has passed is a predetermined type of road.   9. The method of controlling an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information. In the control method of the navigation server device comprising: a communication unit for communicating with a communication network; a storage unit for information; and a control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit.
A route from a designated departure point to a destination is routed using map data stored in advance in the storage unit in response to a route search request sent from a predetermined in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network. A route search process for searching and returning information on the route to the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device;
Receiving and accumulating processing for receiving passing reports including vehicle information and road information from each in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network and accumulating and storing as passing result data in the storage unit;
A determination process for determining whether or not to use a road corresponding to the road information for a route based on the vehicle information included in the route search request and the accumulated passing record data;
A method for controlling a navigation server device, comprising:   The method according to claim 10, wherein the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information. A method for controlling the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to any one of claims 7 to 9,
A control method for a navigation server device according to claim 10 or 11,
A control method of a navigation system, characterized by combining the above. In a control program for an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device mounted on a vehicle,
The terminal device
Vehicle information storage means for storing vehicle information of the vehicle;
Own vehicle position detection means;
A communication means for communicating with a predetermined navigation server device;
A control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit;
With
The control program is
A vehicle-mounted vehicle characterized in that when the vehicle passes a predetermined road section, the control unit executes a passage report process in which a passage report including the road information and the vehicle information is transmitted to the navigation server device by the communication unit. Control program for communication navigation terminal device. The control program for an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to claim 13, wherein the passage report process transmits the passage report to the server system only when a road section that has passed is a predetermined type of road.   15. The control program for an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information. In a control program for a navigation server device, comprising: a communication unit for communicating with a communication network; a storage unit for information; and a control unit that performs information processing including control of each unit.
A route from a designated departure point to a destination is routed using map data stored in advance in the storage unit in response to a route search request sent from a predetermined in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network. A route search process for searching and returning information on the route to the in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device;
Receiving and accumulating processing for receiving passing reports including vehicle information and road information from each in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device via the communication network and accumulating and storing as passing result data in the storage unit;
A determination process for determining whether or not to use a road corresponding to the road information for a route based on the vehicle information included in the route search request and the accumulated passing record data;
A control program for a navigation server device, characterized in that   The navigation server device control program according to claim 16, wherein the vehicle information includes at least vehicle width information. A control program for an in-vehicle communication navigation terminal device according to any one of claims 13 to 15,
A control program for a navigation server device according to claim 16 or 17,
A navigation system control program characterized by combining the above.

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