JP2007192619A - Lane-guiding system and on-vehicle device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize lane guide that is well harmonized with route guide. <P>SOLUTION: A lane marker 10, buried under the road surface of each lane transmits each information of road information (road name or the like), arrangement information (for example, "13" shows the position of a lane marker 10 on the third column, namely, on the third position from a crossing inlet, on the first row, namely, on the left lane), and traveling direction information (advancing straight/turning right or left). A navigation device, receiving the information determines whether a traveling lane at the present agrees with the traveling direction by the route guide during execution of the route guide; and only when these is disagreement, will it report for urging change to a lane that agree with the traveling direction by the route guide. A vehicle occupant can realize by the report that lane change is necessary, in order to drive a vehicle along the route guide and can perform driving operation for lane change. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for guiding a lane on a road having a plurality of lanes.

When approaching a left or right turn intersection during route guidance, the direction of all lanes is displayed on the screen (white in the direction of guidance is highlighted white, gray in tones other than the direction of guidance is toned down). There is known a navigation device that performs guidance such as “Please turn right.” (For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-272240 A

  However, the lane guidance technique described above has the following problems. In other words, when approaching an intersection that should turn left or right during route guidance, even if the driver has voluntarily changed to an appropriate lane, a guidance voice prompting the lane change will flow. "Do you need to change?"

  For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-307291 discloses a technique for transmitting and receiving dedicated information for each lane and notifying the driver of information related to the currently running lane. We do not assume any cooperation with the guide.

  An object of the present invention is to realize lane guidance that is skillfully integrated with route guidance.

  According to the lane guidance system according to claim 1 made to solve the above-mentioned problem, the roadside transmission means of the roadside device corresponds to each lane in a road having a plurality of lanes, and is on the front side in the traveling direction with reference to the intersection. As the unique information for each lane, at least information for distinguishing the lane and information indicating the traveling direction of the lane such as straight / left / right turn are transmitted. The in-vehicle device that has received the unique information for each lane via the receiving unit performs the following lane guidance for the vehicle occupant by the lane guiding unit.

  That is, while the route guidance is being performed by the route guidance means, it is determined whether or not the currently running lane is suitable for the route guidance, and notification is made to prompt the change to the lane suitable for the route guidance only when the lane is not suitable. For example, according to the information transmitted from the roadside transmission means, when the traveling direction of the currently traveling lane is straight or left turn, the content of the route guidance is to turn right at the next intersection , Notification to urge the change to the right turn lane. Specifically, the notification is guided by causing the display device to display or output sound from the sound output means. By this notification, the vehicle occupant knows that a lane change is necessary to drive the vehicle along the route guidance, and can perform a driving operation for the lane change. In addition, when the currently running lane is suitable for route guidance, naturally, the guidance for prompting the lane change is not given, so the problem that has occurred in the prior art does not occur.

Thus, according to the system of the present invention, it is possible to realize lane guidance that is skillfully integrated with route guidance.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the lane guiding means of the in-vehicle device may notify the currently running lane when the route guidance by the route guiding means is not executed. By this notification, the occupant can determine whether or not the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is the lane intended by him / her. Can be operated.

  As for the roadside transmission means of the roadside device, one or more may be provided for each lane. However, if a plurality of roadside transmission means are provided as shown in claim 3, it is effective in various aspects. For example, even if the vehicle-mounted device cannot receive information from one roadside transmission unit, the lane guidance will not be hindered if the vehicle-mounted device can receive information from another roadside transmission unit. Also, as a result of lane guidance based on information from one roadside transmission means, even if the driver has driven to the wrong lane, the information from another roadside transmission means Further lane guidance is possible based on this. Therefore, it is possible to return to the correct lane.

  In this way, when a plurality of roadside transmission means are provided for each lane, as shown in claim 4, information for distinguishing the positional relationship with the intersection is also transmitted as information specific to the roadside transmission means for each lane. It should be configured to be possible. For example, it may be possible to indicate the order close to the intersection with numbers.

  And it is good for the lane guidance means of a vehicle-mounted apparatus to perform the following processes. That is, when the information for distinguishing the lane in the information received from the roadside transmission means is different from the previous information, the unique information for each lane is stored in the storage means, and the vehicle is currently traveling based on the stored information. Lane determination and lane guidance. In this way, it is not necessary to update and store unique information for each lane while traveling on the same lane. If the information received from the roadside transmission means is the information closest to the intersection, the unique information for each lane stored in the storage means is deleted. To do. Since the roadside transmission means transmits information for lane guidance for an intersection existing ahead, when information from the roadside transmission means closest to the intersection is received, there is a need for lane guidance after that. The information is cleared here because it becomes lower. Of course, when the vehicle further advances and approaches the next intersection, the same lane guidance is performed based on information from the roadside transmission means provided on the front side in the traveling direction as the intersection reference.

  In addition, as the timing for updating and storing the unique information for each lane, as long as the roadside transmission means of the roadside device can also transmit the information for distinguishing the road as the unique information for each lane, as shown in claim 5 Also good. That is, when the information for distinguishing the road is different from the previous information, the lane guide means of the in-vehicle device stores the unique information for each lane in the storage means, and currently running based on the stored information. Lane determination and lane guidance are performed.

Suppose that you turn right or left on a road that is in front of a relatively large intersection. For example, when five roadside transmission means are provided for each lane with a large intersection as a reference, a road situation may be considered in which the vehicle turns right or left on a road existing near the third roadside transmission means from the intersection. If this road that has turned left and right also has multiple lanes and roadside transmission means are provided, before receiving information from the roadside transmission means closest to the intersection on the road that was previously traveling, go to another road It moves and receives information corresponding to the road. Therefore, when the unique information is received for each new lane, the unique information for each lane is stored in the storage means, and the currently running lane is determined and lane guidance is performed based on the stored information.

The roadside transmission means of the roadside device may be embedded in the road surface for each lane, for example, as shown in claim 6. Of course, a road machine may be provided for each lane, and information may be transmitted by radio waves or optical beacons from above the vehicle. However, in the case of embedding on the road surface, there are the following advantages. In other words, in order to receive information from above the vehicle, it is necessary to make wise efforts so as not to impair the design of the vehicle by embedding the in-vehicle receiving means in the dashboard or pasting it on the windshield. On the other hand, if the information from the roadside transmission means embedded in the road is received, the in-vehicle reception means can be installed at the bottom or bumper portion of the vehicle, and there is no need to worry about the vehicle design. Therefore, it is very effective.

  On the other hand, the vehicle-mounted receiving means of the vehicle-mounted device may be provided near the front end and the rear end of the vehicle as shown in claim 7. In this way, even when information is missed by the antenna by the in-vehicle receiving means provided near the front end of the vehicle, the information can be received by the in-vehicle receiving means provided near the rear end.

  In addition, as shown in Claim 8, it is an in-vehicle apparatus used for the lane guidance system in any one of Claims 1-7, Comprising: As an in-vehicle apparatus provided with the structure described regarding the in-vehicle apparatus in the said each claim It can also be realized. If it is such an in-vehicle device, it will play a significant role in exhibiting the above-mentioned effect by being used in the above-mentioned lane guidance system.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[Description of Configuration of Navigation Device 20]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an in-vehicle device effective for use in the lane guidance system of the present invention. This in-vehicle device is composed of a navigation device 20, a front end receiving unit 51 and a rear end receiving unit 52.

  The navigation device 20 is mounted on a vehicle, and includes a position detector 21 that detects the current position of the vehicle, an operation switch group 22 for inputting various instructions from a user, and various instructions in the same manner as the operation switch group 22. A remote control terminal (hereinafter referred to as a remote control) 23a that can be input and is separate from the navigation device 20, a remote control sensor 23b that inputs a signal from the remote control 23a, a packet communication network, etc. An external communication device 24 that communicates with a map, a map data input device 25 that inputs data from a map storage medium in which map data, audio data, and the like are recorded, a display unit 26 that displays a map and various types of information, A voice output unit 27 for outputting various kinds of guide voices, a microphone 28 for outputting an electrical signal based on a voice uttered by a user, An in-vehicle LAN communication unit 30 for exchanging various information with other devices via the internal LAN 40, the above-described position detector 21, operation switch group 22, remote control sensor 23b, external communication device 24, map data input device 25, microphone 28 includes a control unit 29 that executes various processes in response to inputs from the control unit 28 and controls the external communication device 24, the display unit 26, the audio output unit 27, and the in-vehicle LAN communication unit 30.

  The position detector 21 receives a radio wave from a GPS (Global Positioning System) artificial satellite via a GPS antenna (not shown) and outputs a received signal, and a magnitude of rotational motion applied to the vehicle. A gyroscope 21b for detecting the distance and a distance sensor 21c for detecting a distance traveled from the longitudinal acceleration or the like of the vehicle are provided. And the control part 29 calculates the position, direction, speed, etc. of a vehicle based on the output signal from these sensors 21a-21c. Although there are various methods for obtaining the current position based on the output signal from the GPS receiver 21a, either a single positioning method or a relative positioning method may be used.

  The operation switch group 22 includes a touch panel configured integrally with the display surface of the display unit 26, mechanical key switches provided around the display unit 26, and the like. The touch panel and the display unit 26 are laminated and integrated. There are various types of touch panels, such as a pressure-sensitive method, an electromagnetic induction method, a capacitance method, and a combination of these methods. It may be used.

The external communication device 24 acquires accident information, traffic jam information, and the like from the VICS information center via an optical beacon or a radio beacon installed on the roadside.
The map data input device 25 is a device for inputting various data stored in a map data storage medium (not shown) (for example, a hard disk or a DVD-ROM). Map data storage media include map data (node data, link data, cost data, background data, road data, name data, mark data, intersection data, facility data, etc.), guidance voice data, voice recognition data Etc. are stored.

  The display unit 26 is a color display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a CRT, and any of them may be used. The display screen of the display unit 26 includes a mark indicating the current location identified from the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 21 and the map data input from the map data input device 25, a guidance route to the destination, and a name. Additional data such as landmarks and various facility marks can be displayed in an overlapping manner. Also, facility guides can be displayed.

The voice output unit 27 can output facility guides and various guidance voices input from the map data input device 25.
The microphone 28 outputs an electric signal (voice signal) based on the inputted voice to the control unit 29 when the user inputs (speaks) voice. The user can operate the navigation device 20 by inputting various sounds to the microphone 28.

The in-vehicle LAN communication unit 30 communicates with various devices connected to the in-vehicle LAN 40 via the in-vehicle LAN 40, such as an engine ECU (not shown).
The control unit 29 is configured around a well-known microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, SRAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components, and is based on a program stored in the ROM and RAM. Various processes. For example, the current position of the vehicle is calculated as a set of coordinates and traveling directions based on each detection signal from the position detector 21, and a map or the like near the current position read via the map data input device 25 is displayed on the display unit 26. The optimal route from the current position to the destination is calculated based on the processing to be performed, the map data stored in the map data input device 25, and the destination set according to the operation of the operation switch group 22 or the remote controller 23a. A route calculation process, a route guidance process for guiding the route by displaying the calculated route on the display unit 26 or outputting it as a voice to the voice output unit 27, and the like are executed.

  The control unit 29 is also configured to execute voice recognition processing. Of course, the processing unit related to speech recognition and the processing unit related to navigation can be configured separately, but here, a configuration capable of executing speech recognition processing is constructed in the control unit 29.

The navigation device 20 is also connected to the front end receiving unit 51 and the rear end receiving unit 52 via the in-vehicle LAN 40.
The front end receiving unit 51 and the rear end receiving unit 52 are for receiving information transmitted from the lane marker 10 embedded in the road surface. In the present embodiment, the receiving antenna of the front end receiving unit 51 is the vehicle. It is provided in the vicinity of the front end (for example, the front bumper), and the receiving antenna of the rear end receiving unit 52 is provided in the vicinity of the rear end of the vehicle (for example, the rear bumper). As described above, the reception antennas are provided near both the front and rear ends of the vehicle. When receiving information from the lane marker 10 embedded in the road surface while the vehicle is traveling, the information is missed by the reception antenna of the front end reception unit 51. This is because the information can be received by the receiving antenna of the rear-end receiving unit 52 even at times.

[Description of Lane Marker 10]
Here, the lane marker 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the lane marker 10 is embedded in the center of each lane of a road having a plurality of lanes. These lane markers 10 are provided at predetermined positions on the front side in the traveling direction from the intersection entrance. Here, “intersection entrance” refers to a position 5 m before the corner of the intersection. This is in consideration of areas where parking is prohibited, as stipulated in the Road Traffic Law. In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the position of the intersection entrance is the “first row”, and the lane markers 5 are provided at positions from the intersection to the “fifth row” at predetermined intervals. For example, the predetermined interval may be determined in consideration of the vehicle length, legal speed, or the like. For example, taking into account the appropriate inter-vehicle distance in the case of the normal vehicle length + legal speed of 60 km / h, the proper inter-vehicle distance in the case of the length of large vehicles such as trailers + legal speed of 60 km / h, etc. It is conceivable to set the interval to a certain degree. Of course, shortening the interval is advantageous because it increases the chances of receiving information by the front end receiving unit 51 and the rear end receiving unit 52, but the number of lane markers 10 to be installed increases. Therefore, the above-described interval of about 20 m to 50 m is an example of an appropriate interval.

  In the example of two left-hand traffic lanes shown in FIG. 2 (a), the left-hand lane is the first row, the right-hand lane is the second row, and the right-turn lane provided on the right side of the right-hand lane near the intersection is three rows. The position of the lane marker 10 is specified by a matrix. Since the right turn lane has a short distance, the lane marker 10 is provided only up to the third row as shown in FIG.

  Advantages of providing a plurality of lane markers 10 for each lane in this way are as follows. For example, even when information from one lane marker 10 cannot be received by the front end receiving unit 51 and the rear end receiving unit 52, information from another lane marker 10 is received by the front end receiving unit 51 and the rear end receiving unit 52. If possible, there will be no hindrance to lane guidance. Further, as a result of performing lane guidance based on information from one lane marker 10, even if the driver has driven to the wrong lane, based on information from another lane marker 10. Further lane guidance is available. Therefore, it is possible to return to the correct lane. Details of the lane guidance will be described later.

  For such merits, it is preferable to provide a plurality of lane markers 10 for each lane. However, if only one lane marker 10 can be provided for each lane, the following considerations should be taken. Good. In other words, when considering a vehicle that needs to change lanes, there may be road markings that are prohibited from changing lanes from the intersection to the vicinity of the intersection. Therefore, for example, it is necessary to consider that it is installed about 30 m before the lane change prohibition start position.

  The lane marker 10 may be connected to, for example, a control computer installed in the vicinity of a road, and management of information transmitted from each lane marker 10 or power supply may be performed by the control computer. On the other hand, the information transmitted by each lane marker 10 is fixed and, as will be described later, is simple information such as road information, matrix identification number, straight / left / right turn, so that the lane marker 10 operates alone without using a control computer. You may make it do. For example, it is conceivable that information is set before the lane marker 10 is embedded in the road surface, and the driving power source uses, for example, photovoltaic power generation.

  As a method for the lane marker 10 to transmit information, a method using radio waves is conceivable, but the method is not limited to radio waves. For example, it may be due to light. In short, any transmission method capable of transmitting the following information may be used.

Now, information transmitted by the lane marker 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
Information transmitted by the lane marker 10 includes road information / placement information / travel direction information. Hereinafter, it demonstrates in order.

(1) Road information Stores the road name. For example, a unique name such as National Route 1 that does not overlap with others is good.
(2) Arrangement Information The position where the lane marker 10 is embedded is stored as a matrix number. In the example shown in FIG. 2A, the left lane is the first row, the right lane is the second row, the right turn lane is the third row, and the first to fifth columns are arranged in order from the intersection entrance. . Therefore, the arrangement information “13” indicates the position of the lane marker 10 located in the third row, ie, the third row from the intersection entrance, in the first row, that is, the left lane.

(3) Traveling direction information The traveling direction of the lane is stored. A specific route may be stored such as going straight / turning left or right, or the route may be expressed by bit representation.

  In the example shown in FIG. 2 (a), when traveling on the left lane, it is possible to go straight and turn left at the intersection, and when traveling on the right lane, it is only possible to go straight on the intersection if going straight ahead. If you move to, you can only turn right. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2B, the lane marker 10 provided in the left lane is set to transmit information “straight / left turn” as the traveling direction information. On the other hand, the lane marker 10 provided in the right lane is divided into two types depending on the column. Specifically, the two lane markers 10 in the fifth and fourth columns are set to transmit information “straight / right turn” as the traveling direction information, and the three lane markers 10 in the third to first columns. Is set to transmit information "straight ahead" as the traveling direction information. And about the lane marker 10 provided in the right turn lane, it sets so that the information of "left turn" may be transmitted as traveling direction information.

[Operation explanation for lane guidance]
Next, processing related to lane guidance among processing executed by the control unit 29 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the main process of lane guidance. In the first step S10, it is determined whether information transmitted from the lane marker 10 is received by the front end receiving unit 51 or the rear end receiving unit 52. If no information is received (S10: N), the process of S10 is repeatedly executed. If information is received (S10: Y), the process proceeds to S20.

In S20, the received lane marker information is analyzed. Details of this lane marker information analysis will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In the first step S210 in FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not column number = 1. The column number “1” is the lane marker 10 provided at a position closest to the intersection entrance. Accordingly, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection at the time when the lane marker 10 is passed, and the information stored in the navigation device 20 is cleared. This point will be described later.

  If the column number is not 1 in the determination in S210 (S210: N), that is, if the column number is 2 or more, the process proceeds to S220, and it is determined whether the road information is the same as the previous time. The “previous road information” here is road information in the lane marker information stored in the memory in the control unit 29.

  When the road information is the same as the previous time (S220: Y), the process proceeds to S230, and it is determined whether or not the line number is the same as the previous time. The “previous line number” here is a line number in the arrangement information in the lane marker information stored in the memory in the control unit 29.

When the line number is the same as the previous one (S230: Y), the process proceeds to S240, and the rewrite flag is cleared. Then, the process of FIG. 4 is terminated and the process proceeds to S30 of FIG.
If the road information is not the same as the previous time (S220: N) or the line number is not the same as the previous time (S230: N), the process proceeds to S250, and the received lane marker information is stored in the memory in the control unit 29. To remember. Then, a rewrite flag is set (S260), the process of FIG. 4 is terminated, and the process proceeds to S30 of FIG.

  The substantial meaning of the processing in S220 and S230 will be supplemented. When the vehicle travels on the same lane toward the intersection, the road information and the row number in the lane marker information received from the lane marker 10 do not change (S220: N, S230: N), and the column number of the lane marker 10 Will count down smoothly.

  Thus, when the course is changed to another road in a situation where the column number of the lane marker 10 is being smoothly counted down (column number 2 or more), a negative determination is made in S220, and the lane marker information is stored (S250). Then, a rewrite flag is set (S260). Such processing plays a role of receiving the lane marker information of the road after the course change and determining the course change.

  Moreover, although there is no change in the road which is drive | working, since it becomes necessary to perform lane guidance also when changing a lane, it has the role which determines it. Even when the lane is changed to a lane different from the lane that has been traveled so far, the lane marker information is stored as the latest information (S250), and a flag indicating that the information has been rewritten is set (S260).

  On the other hand, when the column number = 1 in the determination in S210 (S210: Y), the process proceeds to S270, and the lane marker information is cleared. Then, the process of FIG. 4 is terminated, and the process proceeds to S30 of FIG.

  In S30 of FIG. 3, it is determined whether the information has been cleared or whether the rewrite flag has fallen. If the information is cleared or the rewrite flag is collapsed (S30: Y), the process returns to S10. In other words, when the information is cleared, there is no lane marker information used for lane guidance, and when the rewrite flag is collapsed, the lane guidance based on the information is present even if the lane marker information is present. Therefore, the process returns to S10 to receive the next lane marker information.

  On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in S30, that is, if lane marker information is present and the rewrite flag is set, lane guidance is necessary, and therefore, the processing after S40 is executed.

  In S40, it is determined whether or not route guidance is being performed. If route guidance is not being performed (S40: N), since the driver proceeds in that direction or cannot be prefetched, the currently output lane information is read from the voice output unit 27 as “ A guidance voice with a content such as “I am driving in the lane” is output. For example, the guidance content is “running straight or left turn lane”. In addition, guidance content such as “Please check the driving lane” may be used.

  On the other hand, when the route guidance is being performed (S40: Y), it is determined whether or not the traveling direction information in the lane marker information matches the direction in the route guidance (S60). For example, according to the route guidance, when the vehicle travels straight at the nearest intersection, the traveling direction matches whether the vehicle is traveling on either the left lane or the right lane. However, in the case of route guidance that makes a right turn at the nearest intersection, it is determined that the traveling direction matches until the lane marker 10 in the fifth row and the fourth row passes even though the vehicle is traveling on the right lane. Since the information from the lane marker 10 in the first column to the first column has only the traveling direction information “straight forward”, the traveling direction does not match. In the case of the lane marker 10 in the third column to the first column, the traveling direction matches only when traveling on the right turn lane.

  If the traveling directions match (S60: Y), the process returns to S10 without any particular guidance. On the other hand, if the traveling direction does not match (S60: N), information on the lane to be moved is displayed from the voice output unit 27 such as “Now driving the XX lane. Please change to the △ lane”. A guidance voice is output. For example, the guidance content is “currently driving in a straight lane. Please change to a right turn lane.”

  The configuration and operation of the lane guidance system according to the embodiment have been described above. The correspondence between the configuration of the lane guidance system according to the present embodiment and the configuration described in the claims is as follows. The lane marker 10 in the present embodiment corresponds to roadside transmission means in the claims. The display unit 26, the audio output unit 27, the control unit 29, and the like correspond to route guidance means and lane guidance means. Further, the front end receiving unit 51 or the rear end receiving unit 52 corresponds to an in-vehicle receiving unit, and the navigation device 20, the front end receiving unit 51, and the rear end receiving unit 52 correspond to an in-vehicle device.

[Effects of the lane guidance system of the embodiment]
The configuration and operation of the lane guidance system according to this embodiment have been described above, but the lane guidance system according to this embodiment has the following effects.

  (1) While the route guidance is being executed by the navigation device 20, it is determined whether or not the currently traveling lane matches the traveling direction by the route guidance (S60 in FIG. 3), and only when they do not match (S60: N). A notification that prompts the user to change to a lane that matches the traveling direction according to the route guidance is performed (S70). By this notification, the vehicle occupant knows that a lane change is necessary to drive the vehicle along the route guidance, and can perform a driving operation for the lane change. Further, when the currently running lane is adapted to the route guidance, naturally, guidance for prompting the lane change is not given, so the problem that has occurred in the prior art does not occur. Thus, according to the system of the present invention, it is possible to realize lane guidance that is skillfully integrated with route guidance.

  (2) If route guidance by the navigation device 20 is not being executed (S40: N), the lane currently running is notified (S50). By this notification, the occupant can determine whether or not the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is the lane intended by him / her. Can be operated.

  (3) The lane marker 10 is embedded in the road surface of each lane. The lane marker 10 is an example of a roadside transmission unit. For example, a road machine may be provided for each lane, and information may be transmitted from above the vehicle using radio waves or optical beacons. However, in the case of embedding on the road surface, there are the following advantages. In other words, in order to receive information from above the vehicle, it is necessary to make wise efforts so as not to impair the design of the vehicle by embedding the receiving antenna in the dashboard or pasting it on the windshield. On the other hand, if the information from the lane marker 10 embedded in the road is received, the front end receiving unit 51 or the rear end receiving unit 52 can be installed at the bottom of the vehicle or the bumper portion, and the vehicle design is taken care of. do not have to. Therefore, it is very effective.

[Other Embodiments]
Hereinafter, other embodiments will be described.
(A) In the above-described embodiment, the lane guidance is performed by outputting the guidance voice from the voice output unit 27. However, the guidance may be displayed by the display unit 26. Of course, the audio output from the audio output unit 27 and the display on the display unit 26 may be used in combination.

  (B) In the embodiment described above, a rewrite flag is set or defeated, and it is determined whether or not to output lane guidance according to the state of the flag (S30 in FIG. 3). However, when the navigation device 20 employs a mechanism for monitoring whether or not the lane marker information is rewritten, it is not necessary to employ a determination mechanism based on the rewrite flag.

It is a schematic block diagram of a lane guidance system. It is explanatory drawing of the arrangement | positioning state of the lane marker 10, and the information to transmit. It is a flowchart which shows a lane guidance process. It is a flowchart which shows the lane marker information analysis process in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Lane marker, 20 ... Navigation apparatus, 21 ... Position detector, 21a ... GPS receiver, 21b ... Gyroscope, 21c ... Distance sensor, 22 ... Operation switch group, 23a ... Remote control, 23b ... Remote control sensor, 24 ... External communication 25 ... Map data input device, 26 ... Display unit, 27 ... Audio output unit, 28 ... Microphone, 29 ... Control unit, 30 ... In-vehicle LAN communication unit, 40 ... In-vehicle LAN, 51 ... Front end receiving unit, 52 ... Rear End receiving unit, 60 ... vehicle height detection device.

Claims (8)

A roadside device having roadside transmission means provided corresponding to each lane in a road having a plurality of lanes, and transmitting unique information for each lane;
Route guidance means for performing route guidance for vehicle occupants, on-vehicle reception means for receiving information transmitted from the roadside transmission means, and a currently running lane based on information received by the on-vehicle reception means An in-vehicle device having a lane guide means for determining and providing a predetermined lane guide to a vehicle occupant;
With
The roadside transmission means of the roadside device is provided at a predetermined position on the front side in the traveling direction with respect to the intersection, and as information unique to each lane, at least information for distinguishing lanes and lanes such as straight / right / left turn Is configured to be able to send information indicating the direction of travel,
The lane guide means of the in-vehicle device is
While the route guidance is being performed by the route guidance means, it is determined whether or not the currently running lane is compatible with the route guidance, and a lane that prompts a change to a lane suitable for the route guidance only when the lane does not match A lane guidance system characterized by executing guidance. The lane guidance system according to claim 1,
The lane guide means of the in-vehicle device is
When the route guidance by the route guidance unit is not executed, lane guidance for performing notification of the currently running lane is executed. In the lane guidance system according to claim 1 or 2,
A lane guidance system, wherein a plurality of roadside transmission means of the roadside device are provided for each lane. In the lane guidance system according to claim 3,
The roadside transmission means of the roadside device is configured to transmit information that distinguishes the positional relationship with the intersection as information unique to each lane,
The lane guide means of the in-vehicle device is
When the information for distinguishing the lane is different from the previous information, information unique to each lane is stored in the storage means, and the currently running lane is determined and lane guidance is performed based on the stored information. ,
When the information for distinguishing the positional relationship with the intersection is the information closest to the intersection, the unique information for each lane stored in the storage means is deleted. In the lane guidance system according to claim 4,
The roadside transmission means of the roadside device is configured to transmit information that distinguishes roads as information unique to each lane,
When the information for distinguishing the road is different from the previous information, the lane guide means of the in-vehicle device stores unique information for each lane in the storage means and is currently traveling based on the stored information. Lane guidance system characterized by performing lane determination and lane guidance. In the lane guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The roadside transmission means of the roadside device is embedded in the road surface of each lane. In the lane guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The vehicle-mounted receiving means of the vehicle-mounted device is provided near the front end and the rear end of the vehicle, respectively.   It is an in-vehicle device used for the lane guidance system in any one of Claims 1-7, Comprising: The in-vehicle device provided with the structure described regarding the in-vehicle device in the said claim.

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