JP2007213488A - Travel support system for vehicle, in-vehicle equipment and roadside machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a travel support system for a vehicle, in-vehicle equipment and a roadside machine, allowing and the smooth confluence of vehicles in a junction with high accuracy. <P>SOLUTION: This travel support system for the vehicle has: the in-vehicle equipment transmitting the destination information and travel information of one's own vehicle to the roadside machine, receiving the destination information and travel information of the other vehicle from the roadside machine, and displaying the destination information and the travel information of the other vehicle; and the roadside machine receiving the destination information and the travel information of the vehicle from the in-vehicle equipment, and transmitting the destination information and the travel information of the vehicle to the in-vehicle equipment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention performs driving support control of the host vehicle based on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, and in particular, for a vehicle that supports merging at a merging point ahead after passing through a driving lane of a toll gate on a toll road. The present invention relates to a driving support system, an in-vehicle device, and a roadside machine.

  As the vehicle travels, the current position is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and the current position is displayed on a display device together with a road map, and an appropriate route from the starting point to the destination The vehicle-mounted navigation device that guides the user with a display device or a voice output device contributes to efficient and safe driving for the user.

  In recent years, an automatic toll collection (Electronic Toll Collection: ETC) system has been put into practical use for the purpose of nonstop at toll roads on toll roads, alleviation of traffic congestion, cashlessness, and reduction of human expenses.

  In this ETC system, an IC card in which contract information is recorded is inserted into an in-vehicle device installed in a vehicle, and traffic is achieved by wireless communication between the roadside device installed in the toll gate of the toll road toll gate and the on-vehicle device. It is a system that records information such as tolls on both the toll road computer system connected to the roadside machine and the IC card, and can pass through the toll gate without stopping for payment.

  By the way, since there are many other vehicles at the junction point after passing through the entrance / exit lane of the toll road, it is necessary to pay more attention to the situation around the own vehicle than the general road. Therefore, a vehicle travel support device has been devised that supports the merging after passing through the entrance / exit lane of the toll road and can smoothly merge (see Patent Document 1).

  Further, an in-vehicle device for an automatic toll collection device has been devised that notifies a lane to be passed before an exit toll gate according to an automatic toll collection lane at an entrance toll gate or a passing lane of a general lane (see Patent Document 2).

  In addition, the lane where no automatic toll collection system has been introduced is mixed or multiple lanes are mixed, or the visibility is hindered by the traffic ahead due to the traffic volume and the traffic volume is high. Automatic toll collection with a warning radio device installed near the junction of the lane in front of the toll booth when it is difficult to quickly select a new ETC lane. A system has been devised (see Patent Document 3).

JP 2003-151091 A JP 2002-269608 A JP 2000-076501

  The example of patent document 1 makes it possible to acquire the speed and traveling direction of the vehicle when passing through the gate from the roadside machine, and to transmit the acquisition result to other vehicles so that the vehicles can smoothly join at the junction. Yes. However, in this example, there is a problem that the merge information cannot be clearly provided, for example, when the lane branches in two directions after passing through the gate of the toll gate or when the movement of the vehicle changes suddenly.

  In addition, the examples of Patent Documents 2 and 3 provide entry guidance to an ETC toll gate (exit), and do not provide guidance after passing through the toll gate.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular travel support system, an in-vehicle device, and a roadside machine that can smoothly and smoothly join vehicles at a junction.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  A vehicle travel support system for solving the above problems includes travel information detection means for detecting travel information of the host vehicle, destination information creating means for setting destination information of the host vehicle, travel information of the host vehicle, and On-vehicle equipment side transmission means for transmitting destination information to the roadside machine, on-vehicle equipment side reception means for receiving travel information and destination information of other vehicles from the roadside machine, and travel information and destination information of other vehicles. An in-vehicle device comprising: a display means for displaying; a roadside device-side receiving means for receiving vehicle travel information and destination information from the in-vehicle device; and a roadside device side for transmitting vehicle travel information and destination information to the in-vehicle device And a roadside device comprising a transmission means.

  According to the present invention, by adding destination information as well as travel information as in the prior art, the movement of surrounding vehicles can be grasped more accurately. If the movements of the surrounding vehicles can be grasped, the own vehicle can be driven without disturbing the traffic flow corresponding to the movements of other vehicles from the positional relationship between the own vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. With the above configuration, it is possible to smoothly and smoothly join vehicles at a place other than the joining point after passing through the entrance / exit lane of the toll road in the prior art. In addition, for example, if a roadside machine is installed for each lane, and the configuration is such that the traveling information and destination information of other vehicles received by the roadside machine are transmitted to another roadside machine, the other roadside machine has received. The travel information and destination information of the vehicle can be transmitted to the vehicle traveling on the lane where the roadside device is installed. Therefore, the vehicle traveling at the point can acquire travel information and destination information of the vehicle traveling in another lane. And the driver | operator of the vehicle which acquired driving | running | working information and destination information can utilize these information for a driving | operation.

  The travel information detection means in the vehicle travel support system of the present invention may include vehicle speed detection means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle, and the travel information may include the speed of the host vehicle.

  With the above configuration, by using the travel information including the vehicle speed and the destination information, it is possible to grasp the movement of the surrounding vehicle, such as which direction to travel more accurately. For example, if the direction of the destination is the same, the speed of the host vehicle and the other vehicle can be used to determine whether to advance or follow the vehicle with a margin. Smooth operation can be performed without disturbance.

  The travel information detection means in the vehicle travel support system of the present invention can include a travel direction detection means for detecting the travel direction of the host vehicle, and the travel information can be configured to include the travel direction of the host vehicle.

  With the above configuration, by using the travel information including the traveling direction of the vehicle and the destination information, it is possible to grasp the movement of the surrounding vehicle such as which direction it travels more accurately. In addition, smooth driving can be performed without disturbing the flow of traffic corresponding to the movement of surrounding vehicles.

  Further, the destination information creating means in the vehicle driving support system of the present invention may include destination setting means for setting a destination, and the destination information may be configured to include the destination.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately grasp the movement of the other vehicle by knowing the destination of the other vehicle. And it can drive smoothly according to the movement of the surrounding vehicles.

  The destination information creating means in the vehicle driving support system of the present invention includes destination setting means for setting a destination and route search means for searching for a guide route to the destination. The destination information is a guide route. It can also comprise so that it may contain.

  According to the above configuration, not only the destination of another vehicle but also the guide route to the destination can be known, so that the movement of the other vehicle and the lane in which the other vehicle travels can be more accurately grasped. And it can drive smoothly according to the movement of the surrounding vehicles.

  In addition, the vehicle travel support system of the present invention includes route estimation means for estimating the course of another vehicle from the travel information and destination information of the other vehicle, and the display means displays the course of the other vehicle. It can also be configured.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to estimate with high accuracy how the other vehicle moves (that is, the course of the vehicle). Then, smooth driving can be performed without disturbing the traffic flow according to the estimated route.

  Further, the roadside machine in the vehicle driving support system of the present invention is included in an automatic toll collection device that is installed at an interchange gate and automatically collects tolls, and the route estimation means determines the vehicle path in the lane after passing through the gate. It can also be configured to estimate.

  There are often multiple interchange gates, and lanes often branch after passing through the gate. For this reason, the traveling direction of the vehicle after passing through the gate is also one of the places where nerves are more difficult to drive because it is difficult to predict in various ways such as straight ahead and skew for joining the branch point. With the above configuration, even after passing through the interchange gate, smooth driving can be performed in response to the movement of surrounding vehicles.

  In addition, an in-vehicle device for solving the above problems includes a travel information detecting unit that detects travel information of the host vehicle, a destination information creating unit that sets destination information of the host vehicle, a travel information and a target of the host vehicle. On-vehicle equipment side transmission means for transmitting location information, on-vehicle equipment side reception means for receiving travel information and destination information of other vehicles, and display means for displaying travel information and destination information of other vehicles. It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, by adding destination information as well as travel information as in the prior art, the movement of surrounding vehicles can be grasped more accurately. If the movements of the surrounding vehicles can be grasped, the own vehicle can be driven without disturbing the traffic flow corresponding to the movements of other vehicles from the positional relationship between the own vehicle and the surrounding vehicles. With the above configuration, it is possible to smoothly and smoothly join vehicles at a place other than the joining point after passing through the entrance / exit lane of the toll road in the prior art.

  Further, the travel information detection means in the in-vehicle device of the present invention may include vehicle speed detection means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle, and the travel information may be configured to include the speed of the host vehicle.

  With the above configuration, by using the travel information including the vehicle speed and the destination information, it is possible to grasp the movement of the surrounding vehicle, such as which direction to travel more accurately. For example, if the direction of the destination is the same, the speed of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles can be used to determine whether to advance or follow the vehicle with a margin, and the traffic flow can be reduced. Smooth operation can be performed without disturbance.

  Further, the travel information detection means in the in-vehicle device of the present invention may include a travel direction detection means for detecting the travel direction of the host vehicle, and the travel information may be configured to include the travel direction of the host vehicle.

  With the above configuration, by using the travel information including the traveling direction of the vehicle and the destination information, it is possible to grasp the movement of the surrounding vehicle with higher accuracy. And it can drive smoothly according to the movement of the surrounding vehicles.

  The destination information creating means in the in-vehicle device of the present invention may include destination setting means for setting a destination, and the destination information may be configured to include the destination.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to more accurately grasp the movement of the other vehicle by knowing the destination of the other vehicle. And it can drive smoothly according to the movement of the surrounding vehicles.

  The destination information creating means in the in-vehicle device of the present invention includes destination setting means for setting a destination and route search means for searching for a guide route to the destination, and the destination information includes the guide route. It can also be configured.

  With the above-described configuration, not only the destination of another vehicle but also the guide route to the destination can be understood, so that the movement of the other vehicle and further the lane in which the other vehicle travels can be grasped more accurately. And it can drive smoothly according to the movement of the surrounding vehicles.

  Further, the in-vehicle device of the present invention includes a route estimation unit that estimates the route of another vehicle from the travel information and destination information of the other vehicle, and the display unit is configured to display the route of the other vehicle. You can also.

  With the above configuration, it is possible to estimate with high accuracy how the other vehicle moves (that is, the course of the vehicle). Then, smooth driving can be performed without disturbing the traffic flow according to the estimated route.

  The course estimating means in the in-vehicle device of the present invention can be configured to estimate the course of the vehicle in the lane after passing through the interchange gate.

  There are often multiple interchange gates, and lanes often branch after passing through the gate. For this reason, the traveling direction of the vehicle after passing through the gate is also one of the places where nerves are more difficult to drive because it is difficult to predict in various ways such as straight ahead and skew for joining the branch point. With the above configuration, even after passing through the interchange gate, smooth driving can be performed in response to the movement of surrounding vehicles.

  Further, a roadside machine for solving the above problems includes roadside machine side receiving means for receiving vehicle travel information and destination information, and roadside machine side transmission means for transmitting vehicle travel information and destination information. It is characterized by providing.

  With the above configuration, the traveling information and destination information of the other vehicle received by the roadside device are transmitted to the vehicle traveling near the point where the roadside device is installed, so that the traveling information and destination information are obtained. The received vehicle can perform smooth driving corresponding to the movement of surrounding vehicles. In addition, for example, if a roadside machine is installed for each lane and the vehicle travel information and destination information received by the roadside machine are transmitted to another roadside machine, the other roadside machine receives the travel of the received vehicle. The information and the destination information can be transmitted to a vehicle traveling on the lane in which the roadside machine is installed. Therefore, the vehicle traveling at the point can acquire travel information and destination information of the vehicle traveling in another lane. And the driver | operator of the vehicle which acquired driving | running | working information and destination information can utilize these information for a driving | operation.

  The roadside machine of the present invention can also be configured to be included in an automatic toll collection device that is installed at an interchange gate and automatically collects tolls.

  There are often multiple interchange gates, and lanes often branch after passing through the gate. For this reason, the traveling direction of the vehicle after passing through the gate is also one of the places where nerves are more difficult to drive because it is difficult to predict in various ways such as straight ahead and skew for joining the branch point. With the above configuration, a vehicle traveling near the interchange gate can also acquire travel information and destination information of a vehicle traveling near another gate. And the driver | operator of the acquired vehicle can utilize in order to perform these driving | operations smoothly.

  The purpose of providing a vehicle driving support system, in-vehicle device, and roadside device that enables smooth vehicle merging at a merging point with higher accuracy is transmitted to the roadside device. Receiving vehicle travel information and destination information from the roadside machine, displaying vehicle travel information and destination information, and receiving vehicle travel information and destination information from the in-vehicle device. And a roadside device that transmits the destination information to the in-vehicle device.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle travel support system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a configuration using a navigation device 100 and an ETC system as an example.

  The configuration of the present invention may be a configuration that does not use the navigation device 100 and the ETC system. That is, it is configured by a dedicated in-vehicle device and roadside device for realizing the function of the present invention. With this configuration, the vehicle travel support system of the present invention can be installed at a toll booth without an ETC gate or at a point before a branch point other than the toll booth, and smooth driving can be performed.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device (hereinafter abbreviated as navigation device) 100. The navigation device 100 includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as remote control) sensor 11, a voice synthesis circuit 24 for performing voice guidance, a speaker 15, a nonvolatile memory 9, a display A device 10, a transceiver 13, a hard disk device (HDD) 21, a LAN (Local Area Network) I / F (interface) 26, a control circuit 8 connected thereto, a remote control terminal 12, and the like.

  The position detector 1 is a well-known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3 that detects the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle, a distance sensor 4 that detects the travel distance of the vehicle, and a GPS receiver that detects the position of the vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. Machine 5 is provided. Since these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, some of the above-described sensors may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor or a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, such as a vehicle speed sensor 23, may be used. The position detector 1 corresponds to the travel information detecting means and the traveling direction detecting means of the present invention.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a touch panel 22 integrated with the display device 10 or a mechanical switch is used. The touch panel 22 is pressed when an electric circuit is wired on the screen of the display 10 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction through a gap called a spacer on a glass substrate and a transparent film, and the user touches the film. Since the voltage value changes due to short-circuiting of a part of the wiring, a so-called resistance film method for detecting this as a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y) is widely used. In addition, a so-called capacitance method may be used. In addition to the mechanical switch, a pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used.

  It is also possible to input various instructions using the microphone 31 and the voice recognition unit 30. In this method, a voice signal input from the microphone 31 is processed by a voice recognition technique such as a well-known hidden Markov model in the voice recognition unit 30, and converted into an operation command corresponding to the result. Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 7, the remote control terminal 12, the touch panel 22, and the microphone 31. The operation switch group 7, the remote control terminal 12, the touch panel 22, and the microphone 31 correspond to the destination setting means of the present invention.

  The transmitter / receiver 13 is connected to a road traffic from a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 14 by an optical beacon or a radio beacon output from a transmitter (not shown) provided along the road, for example. It is a device for receiving information or receiving FM multiplex broadcasting.

  Further, by communicating with the ETC on-vehicle device 40, the fee information received by the ETC on-vehicle device 40 from the roadside device 56 (see FIG. 2) can be taken into the navigation device 100. Further, the ETC on-board device 40 may be connected to an external network and communicate with the VICS center 14 or the like.

  The control circuit 8 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84 as an input / output circuit, A / D conversion unit 86, drawing unit 87, and a bus line 85 for connecting these configurations. Is provided. The CPU 81 controls the navigation program 21p and data stored in the HDD 21. The CPU 81 controls the reading / writing of data to / from the HDD 21. In addition, a program for performing a minimum necessary operation as the navigation device 100 may be stored in the ROM 82 in a case where the data read / write control from the CPU 81 to the HDD 21 becomes impossible. The control circuit 8 corresponds to the destination information creation means and route search means of the present invention.

  The A / D conversion unit 86 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 1 or the like to the control circuit 8 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 81, for example. It is.

  The drawing unit 87 generates display screen data to be displayed on the display unit 10 from map data 21m (described later) stored in the HDD 21 or the like, display data, and display color data.

  In addition to the navigation program 21p, the HDD 21 stores so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and map data 21m including road data representing road connections. The map data 21m stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like. The node information is information that defines an intersection (branch road) and the like, and includes position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connection destination road link, and the like. In addition, data indicating whether or not traffic is possible is set in the inter-link connection information.

  In addition, in the HDD 21, auxiliary information for route guidance, entertainment information, and other data can be written independently by the user and stored as user data 21u. The user data 21 u can be rewritten by operating the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22 and the remote control terminal 12, or by inputting voice from the microphone 31. Further, data and various information necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored as the database 21d.

  The navigation program 21p, map data 21m, user data 21u, and database 21d can be added / updated from the storage medium 20 via the map data input device 6. The storage medium 20 is generally a CD-ROM or DVD based on the amount of data, but may be another medium such as a memory card. Moreover, you may use the structure which downloads data via an external network.

  The non-volatile memory 9 is constituted by a rewritable semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory, and information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100. Is remembered. The nonvolatile memory 9 holds the stored contents even when the accessory switch of the vehicle is turned off, that is, the navigation device 100 is turned off. Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored in the HDD 21 instead of the nonvolatile memory 9. Furthermore, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored separately in the nonvolatile memory 9 and the HDD 21.

  The display 10 is composed of a known color liquid crystal display, and includes a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit (not shown) for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit uses, for example, an active matrix driving method in which a transistor is attached to each pixel so that the target pixel can be reliably turned on and off, and is based on a display command and display screen data sent from the control circuit 8. To display. Further, an organic EL (ElectroLuminescence) display or a plasma display may be used as the display 10. The display device 10 corresponds to the display means of the present invention.

  The speaker 15 is connected to a known voice synthesis circuit 24, and the digital voice data stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 or the HDD 21 in accordance with a command from the navigation program 21p is converted into analog voice by the voice synthesis circuit 24 and sent out. Note that speech synthesis methods include a recording / editing method in which speech waveforms are stored as they are or after being encoded and connected as necessary, and a text synthesis method in which corresponding speech is synthesized from character input information.

  The vehicle speed sensor 23 includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder. For example, the vehicle speed sensor 23 is installed in the vicinity of the wheel mounting unit to detect the rotation of the wheel and send it to the control circuit 8 as a pulse signal. The control circuit 8 converts the rotation speed of the wheel into the speed of the vehicle, calculates the expected arrival time from the current position of the vehicle to a predetermined location, and calculates the average vehicle speed for each travel section of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 23 corresponds to the travel information detection means and vehicle speed detection means of the present invention.

  The communication unit 25 is configured as a known wireless communication device, and communicates with an external network such as the Internet. In addition, when not using the ETC onboard equipment 40, it is good also as a structure which communicates with the roadside machine 56 (refer FIG. 2) using this communication unit. In this case, the communication method and configuration of the communication unit 25 can communicate with the roadside device 56.

  The LAN I / F 26 is an interface circuit for exchanging data with other in-vehicle devices and sensors via the in-vehicle LAN 27. Further, data may be taken from the vehicle speed sensor 23 or connected to the ETC on-vehicle device 40 via the LAN I / F 26.

  With this configuration, when the navigation program 21p is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the navigation device 100 allows the user to operate the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22, the remote control terminal 12, or the voice from the microphone 31. When a route guidance process for displaying a destination route on the display 10 is selected from a menu (not shown) displayed on the display 10 by input, the following process is performed.

  That is, when the user selects a point from a given point or facility search or address search on the map, a registered place set by the user, and sets it as a destination, the position detector 1 determines the current position of the vehicle, A process for obtaining an optimum guide route from the current position to the destination is performed. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display 10 so as to guide the user to the appropriate route. As a method for automatically setting an optimum guide route, a method such as the Dijkstra method is known. In addition, at least one of the display 10 and the speaker 15 performs notification of a message according to an operation guidance or an operation state.

  FIG. 2 shows an outline of the ETC system. The ETC system is installed at each toll gate at the exit and entrance of the toll road, installed in a roadside device 56 that performs wireless communication with the ETC on-board unit 40, and a management center connected to the roadside device 56, and uses the toll road And a computer 57 for managing the entire payment processing for the usage fee for the vehicle.

  In the computer 57, for example, settlement information for performing ETC processing with a credit card type IC card 53 is stored in a database. For example, a contractor information database. In the contractor information database, information on contractors who can use the IC card 53 is stored, and in response to an inquiry from the roadside device 56, a result of collation with the list is returned.

  The ETC vehicle-mounted device 40 includes an antenna 42 that performs wireless communication with the roadside device 56 at the exit and entrance of the toll road, a wireless unit 41 that performs wireless communication control, and at least one of an LED or an LCD display. A display unit 49 for displaying operation guidance and charges for a person who is present, a speaker 52 for sending out a voice message, etc., an input operation unit 50 composed of a plurality of buttons, and information on the IC card 53 via the IC card connector 46 An IC card control unit 45 that performs reading and writing, an overall control unit 44 that controls the entire ETC in-vehicle device 40, a storage unit 48 that stores expiration date information of the IC card 53, and a known clock IC A time management unit 47 configured to generate date and time data and an external device connection unit 51 are included. The power supply unit 43 supplies power to the entire ETC vehicle-mounted device 40.

  As the wireless unit 41 and the antenna 42, for example, those corresponding to the well-known DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) technology are used. Of course, as long as communication with the roadside machine 56 is possible, one corresponding to another communication method may be used. The wireless unit 41 corresponds to the in-vehicle device side transmitting means and the in-vehicle device side receiving means of the present invention.

  The overall control unit 44 includes a well-known CPU 44a, ROM 44b, RAM 44c, I / O as an input / output circuit (not shown), a bus line connecting these components, a signal processing circuit for processing a signal from an input operation, and a display unit 49. A signal output circuit or the like for control is provided. The CPU 44a performs control according to control programs and data stored in the ROM 44b and the RAM 44c. The ROM 44b has a program storage area and a data storage area. A control program is stored in the program storage area, and data necessary for the operation of the control program is stored in the data storage area. The control program operates on the RAM 44c with the work memory as a work area.

  The storage unit 48 is composed of a well-known flash memory that can be stored and read, and stores information necessary for the operation of the ETC on-vehicle device 40 such as the location information of the ETC toll booth. Depending on the scale of information to be stored, a configuration in which a device for reading / writing a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD or a hard disk device is connected to the external device connection unit 51 may be used.

  The external device connection unit 51 is configured as an in-vehicle LAN interface circuit, for example, and can exchange necessary data by connecting to another control device (for example, the navigation device 100) mounted on the vehicle.

  The IC card 53 exchanges data with the IC card control unit 45 via a memory 55 constituted by a known flash memory or the like capable of storing / reading information, and the IC card connector 46 of the ETC on-vehicle device 40. And a control unit 54 for controlling the memory 55.

  For example, if the IC card 53 is a credit type, the memory 55 stores payment information for deducting toll road usage fees, such as the contractor's financial institution information and the expiration date of the contract. When the IC card 53 is attached to the ETC on-vehicle device 40, information in the IC card 53 is read into the ETC on-vehicle device 40. When the vehicle passes through the entrance gate of the toll gate, these pieces of information are transmitted to the roadside device 56 as a part of the vehicle-mounted device information together with the vehicle information registered in advance in the storage unit 48, and returned as a response. The usage history information such as the gate passage time, the gate number for identifying the toll gate, the vehicle type of the vehicle, etc. is stored in the memory 55.

  The roadside machine 56 controls a vehicle detection device, a roadside wireless device, a guidance display device, a vehicle start control device (none of which are shown) installed in the entrance lane and exit lane of the toll road toll gate, and these devices. The roadside machine control device 60 (see FIG. 3) and the like are configured. When the vehicle enters the entrance lane or the exit lane, the roadside machine 56 wirelessly communicates with the ETC onboard device 40 mounted on the vehicle, thereby acquiring the onboard device information from the ETC onboard device 40 and ETC processing related to use is performed, and the processing result is returned to the ETC in-vehicle device 40.

  FIG. 3 shows an outline of the configuration of the roadside machine control device 60. The roadside device control device 60 includes a communication interface (communication I / F) that performs communication with the control unit 61, the transmission unit 62 that performs wireless communication with the ETC on-vehicle device 40, the antenna 63, and the antenna 64. ) 65 and a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and a storage unit 66 for storing data necessary for the operation of the roadside unit 56.

  The control unit 61 includes a well-known CPU 61a, ROM 61b, RAM 61c, I / O which is an input / output circuit (not shown), a bus line connecting these components, a signal processing circuit for processing a signal from an input operation, and the like. . The CPU 61a performs control according to control programs and data stored in the ROM 61b and the RAM 61c. The ROM 61b has a program storage area and a data storage area. A control program is stored in the program storage area, and data necessary for the operation of the control program is stored in the data storage area. The control program operates on the RAM 61c with the work memory as a work area. The control unit 61 corresponds to the course estimation unit of the present invention.

  As the transmission unit 62, the reception unit 63, and the antenna 64, for example, those corresponding to the well-known DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) technology are used. Of course, as long as communication with the ETC on-vehicle device 40 is possible, one corresponding to another communication method may be used. The transmission unit 62 corresponds to the roadside machine side transmission means of the present invention, and the reception unit 63 corresponds to the roadside machine side reception means of the present invention.

  The communication I / F 65 is for transmitting and receiving data to and from other roadside devices, and includes, for example, a network card for performing LAN communication.

  FIG. 4 shows the flow of travel information and destination information. When the vehicle C1 passes through the ETC gate G1, in addition to data for ETC processing, traveling information and destination information are transmitted to the roadside machine of the ETC gate G1. In addition to performing normal ETC processing with the vehicle C1, the ETC gate G1 transmits travel information and destination information received from the vehicle C1 to the adjacent ETC gate G2. The ETC gate G2 that has received the travel information and the destination information of the vehicle C1 transmits the travel information and the destination information of the vehicle C1 from the roadside machine of the ETC gate G2 to the vehicle C2 that is traveling through the ETC gate G2. Contrary to this route, traveling information and destination information of the vehicle C2 are sent to the vehicle C1 via the ETC gate G2 and the ETC gate G1.

  The basic control process of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, it is determined whether the vehicle has passed through the ETC gate. If the vehicle has passed through the ETC gate (S1: Yes), the ETC gate (that is, the roadside machine 56) receives the travel information and destination information of the vehicle that passes, ETC gate passage processing is performed to transmit the travel information and destination information to the vehicle passing through the gate (S2: details will be described later). Next, a merging information display process for displaying the direction from the gate approach speed and destination information of the car that has passed through another gate is performed (S3: details will be described later).

  The ETC gate passing process corresponding to step S1 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is included in the navigation program 21p and executed together with other processes of the navigation program 21p. When the vehicle passing through the ETC gate receives a signal from the roadside machine 56, the vehicle transmits destination information in addition to normal ETC data (S11). The destination information includes at least one of information on the destination of the vehicle and the guide route to the destination. Such destination information is generated by the above-described destination setting and guide route search.

  Subsequently, the vehicle speed is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 23 (S12), and the detected vehicle speed is transmitted to the roadside machine 56 as travel information (S13). At this time, the traveling direction of the vehicle may be detected and included in the travel information. The traveling direction can be obtained from the history of the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 1. Moreover, since the gyroscope 3 detects the rotational angular velocity of the vehicle, the traveling direction of the vehicle can be obtained by obtaining the rotational angle from the rotational angular velocity. These pieces of information are sent from the navigation device 100 to the ETC vehicle-mounted device 40 and transmitted to the receiving unit 63 of the roadside device 56 that passes through the radio unit 41.

  The merge information display process corresponding to step S2 in FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG. This process is included in the control program of the roadside machine control device 60 of the roadside machine 56, and is executed together with other processes of the control program. First, destination information from the vehicle is received (S21). Next, destination information determination processing is performed for determining the traveling direction of each vehicle from destination information received from the vehicle and other roadside devices (S22: details will be described later).

  Next, the vehicle speed of the vehicle that has passed through the gate is extracted from the travel information received from the vehicle and other roadside devices, and it is determined how fast each vehicle exits the gate (S23). Then, traveling information including the traveling direction of the vehicle passing through these gates and the vehicle speed is transmitted to the vehicle as part of the merge information (S24).

  Further, the vehicle speed may be measured by a speed measuring device using a well-known Doppler effect in the roadside machine 56.

  The destination determination process corresponding to step S22 in FIG. 7 will be described with reference to FIG. The destination name is extracted from the received destination information, it is determined to which lane the vehicle is going, and the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is determined (S31). That is, the destination name is collated with data registered in advance in the map data, and if it matches, the lane position to travel is determined. The map data is stored in a storage unit 66 (see FIG. 3) including an HDD or a flash memory, and constitutes a name database corresponding to an exit lane for each interchange (IC). Each name and lane position are registered in this name database. In addition, if there are installation points of the roadside machine 56 other than the IC in the name database, the names and lane positions are also registered for them. Note that map data 21m included in the navigation device 100 may be used as the map data.

  When the lane position where the vehicle travels is not fixed (S32: No), the guide route information is extracted from the received destination information, and the lane position where the vehicle travels is determined (S33). Then, data necessary for display in the navigation device 100 (the position of the vehicle, the traveling direction, etc.) is generated (S34). Then, this data is sent to the navigation device 100.

(Confluence information display example 1)
An example of the merge information display will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The merge information is displayed on the display 10 of the navigation device 100. In the example of FIG. 9, the vehicles A and B are in a state after passing through the ETC dedicated gates L1 and L4 where the roadside machines 111 and 112 are respectively installed. The traveling directions of the vehicle A and the vehicle B are A ′ and B ′, respectively, and these vehicles travel so as to join the right lane of the branch ahead of the toll gate.

  When the vehicle A passes through the ETC gate L1, travel information and destination information are transmitted from the vehicle A to the roadside device 111. The travel information and the destination information are transmitted to the roadside machine 112, and the merge information of the vehicle A is determined in the roadside machine 112. When the vehicle B passing the ETC gate L4 transmits the travel information and the destination information to the roadside machine 112, the merge information of the vehicle B is determined in the roadside machine 112, and the vehicles A and B are transferred from the roadside machine 112 to the vehicle B. The merge information is transmitted.

  In the vehicle B, the merge information received by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 40 is sent to the navigation device 100. And in the navigation apparatus 100, the advancing direction and vehicle speed of the vehicle around the vehicle B are displayed on the display screen of the indicator 10, as shown in FIG. The driver of the vehicle B first displays the fact that the vehicle A that has passed through the gate travels in the same direction as the host vehicle, and the vehicle speed of both is 50 km / h, so the vehicle A is ahead of the host vehicle. By following the vehicle A, the vehicle can smoothly join the right lane of the front branch. Moreover, you may display the destination of another vehicle (vehicle A).

(Confluence information display example 2)
Another example of the merge information display will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In the example of FIG. 11, the vehicles C and D are in a state of passing through the general / ETC shared gates L2 and L3 where the roadside machines 113 and 114 are installed, respectively. The traveling directions of the vehicles C and D are C ′ and D ′, respectively, and these vehicles travel so as to join the right lane of the branch ahead of the toll gate. The vehicle C is not equipped with the ETC on-vehicle device 40 and passes through the gate L2 by means other than ETC such as cash, but is equipped with the on-vehicle device of the present invention. On the other hand, the vehicle D is equipped with the ETC in-vehicle device 40.

  In this case, the vehicle C stops at the gate L <b> 2 to pay the fee, and the speed of the vehicle C after restarting may be slower than the vehicle D. While the vehicle C is stopped at the gate L2, traveling information and destination information of the vehicle C are sent from the roadside device 113 to the roadside device 114. When the vehicle D is close to a position where the vehicle D can communicate with the roadside device 114, traveling information and destination information are transmitted from the vehicle D to the roadside device 114. In the roadside unit 114, merge information about each vehicle is created from the traveling information and destination information of the vehicles C and D and sent to the vehicle D. Further, travel information and destination information from the vehicle D are sent from the roadside machine 114 to the roadside machine 113. In the roadside machine 113, the merge information of the vehicle C and the vehicle D is similarly created and sent to the vehicle C.

  A display example of the merge information in the vehicle C is shown in FIG. When the vehicle C has paid the fee and restarted, the vehicle speed is 15 km / h, and the vehicle D is about to pass the adjacent gate at 30 km / h. It can also be seen that both are going to the right lane of the front branch. At this time, the driver of the vehicle C can grasp from the screen display that the vehicle D having a higher speed than the own vehicle is going to advance in the same direction from the rear. And since it can be judged that the vehicle D precedes from the speed difference between the host vehicle and the vehicle D and the distance to the junction, the vehicle D can be smoothly joined to the right lane of the front branch by following the vehicle D. . On the other hand, the driver of the vehicle D can grasp that the vehicle C, which is going to travel in the same direction as the own vehicle, is traveling at a low speed in the left front, and the speed difference between the own vehicle and the vehicle C and the junction point. It is possible to determine whether to overtake the vehicle C from the distance or to follow the vehicle C with a margin and smoothly join.

  Further, the display of the merge information in the navigation device 100 is displayed after the merge information is received from the roadside machine 56, but the display form may be either full screen display of the display 10 or sub-window display. Further, when the in-vehicle device is provided with position detecting means such as the navigation device 100 and map data, the display screen is returned from the merge information display to the normal display when it is detected that the vehicle has passed the merge point. It may be.

  Further, the user may be able to set whether to display the merge information and the display time of the merge information. The setting method is a setting screen (see FIG. 5) related to the display of merging information from a menu (not shown) displayed on the display 10 when the user operates the operation switch group 7, the touch panel 22, the remote control terminal 12 or inputs a voice from the microphone 31. (Not shown) is displayed, and whether display is possible, display method (full screen / subwindow, etc.), display time, etc. are set. The setting contents are stored in the database 21d of the HDD 21 or the nonvolatile memory 9.

  Further, the merge information may be transmitted by a voice message. For example, in the example of FIG. 12, a message such as “the vehicles on the left front will join. Be careful.” Is sent from the speaker 15. Since it is possible to grasp the positional relationship between the approximate position of the other vehicle (vehicle D) and the own vehicle from the received merge information, necessary information is extracted from the merge information, and text data is created. Based on the text data The voice synthesis circuit 24 synthesizes a voice message.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the spirit of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

  For example, instead of providing the roadside machine of the present invention for each lane, it is possible to install one unit that can transmit and receive travel information and destination information for all lanes. In this case, if the configuration includes the position information of the vehicle in the travel information from the vehicle, it is possible to determine which lane the vehicle is traveling, so the vehicle that has received the travel information and the destination information joins. Information can be displayed. According to this configuration, it is possible to install a roadside device in a place other than the ETC toll gate.

The block diagram which shows the structure of a vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus. The figure which shows the outline of an ETC system. The figure which shows the outline of a structure of a roadside machine control apparatus. The figure which shows the flow of driving | running | working information and destination information. The flowchart explaining a basic control process. The flowchart explaining an ETC gate passage process. The flow figure explaining merge information display processing. The flowchart explaining the destination determination process. The figure explaining the merge information display example 1. FIG. The example of a display screen in the merge information display example 1. FIG. The figure explaining the example 2 of merge information display. The example of a display screen in the merge information display example 2.

Explanation of symbols

1 Position detector (travel information detection means, travel direction detection means)
3 Gyroscope 7 Operation switch group (Destination setting means)
8 Control circuit (Destination information creation means, route search means)
10 Display (display means)
12 Remote control terminal (Destination setting means)
15 Speaker 21 Hard disk drive (HDD)
21d database 22 touch panel (destination setting means)
23 Vehicle speed sensor (travel information detection means, vehicle speed detection means)
24 voice synthesis circuit 25 communication unit 31 microphone (destination setting means)
40 ETC in-vehicle device 41 Radio unit (on-vehicle equipment side transmission means, on-vehicle equipment side reception means)
44 Overall Control Unit 56 Roadside Machine 60 Roadside Machine Control Device 61 Control Unit (Route Estimation Unit)
62 Transmitter (Roadside transmission means)
63 Receiving part (roadside machine side receiving means)
65 Communication I / F
66 Storage unit 100 Vehicle-mounted navigation device

Claims (16)

Traveling information detecting means for detecting traveling information of the own vehicle;
Destination information creating means for setting the destination information of the host vehicle;
On-vehicle equipment side transmission means for transmitting the traveling information and destination information of the host vehicle to the roadside machine,
On-vehicle equipment side receiving means for receiving travel information and destination information of other vehicles from the roadside machine,
Display means for displaying travel information and destination information of the other vehicle;
An in-vehicle device comprising:
Roadside machine side receiving means for receiving vehicle travel information and destination information from the in-vehicle device,
Roadside machine-side transmission means for transmitting the vehicle travel information and destination information to the in-vehicle device;
A roadside machine comprising:
A vehicle driving support system characterized by comprising: The travel information detection means includes vehicle speed detection means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle,
The vehicle travel support system according to claim 1, wherein the travel information includes a speed of the host vehicle. The travel information detecting means includes a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the host vehicle,
The vehicle travel support system according to claim 1, wherein the travel information includes a traveling direction of the host vehicle. The destination information creating means includes destination setting means for setting a destination,
The vehicle travel support system according to claim 1, wherein the destination information includes the destination. The destination information creating means includes destination setting means for setting a destination, and route search means for searching for a guide route to the destination,
The vehicle travel support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the destination information includes the guide route. A route estimating means for estimating the route of the other vehicle from the travel information and destination information of the other vehicle;
The vehicle travel support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display means displays a route of the other vehicle. The roadside machine is included in an automatic toll collection device that is installed at an interchange gate and automatically collects tolls.
The vehicle travel support system according to claim 6, wherein the route estimation unit estimates a route of the vehicle in a lane after passing through the gate. Traveling information detecting means for detecting traveling information of the own vehicle;
Destination information creating means for setting the destination information of the host vehicle;
On-vehicle equipment side transmission means for transmitting the travel information and destination information of the host vehicle,
On-vehicle equipment side receiving means for receiving travel information and destination information of other vehicles,
Display means for displaying travel information and destination information of the other vehicle;
An in-vehicle device comprising: The travel information detection means includes vehicle speed detection means for detecting the speed of the host vehicle,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 8, wherein the travel information includes a speed of the host vehicle. The travel information detecting means includes a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the host vehicle,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the travel information includes a traveling direction of the host vehicle. The destination information creating means includes destination setting means for setting a destination,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 8, wherein the destination information includes the destination. The destination information creating means includes destination setting means for setting a destination, and route search means for searching for a guide route to the destination,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 8, wherein the destination information includes the guide route. A route estimating means for estimating the route of the other vehicle from the travel information and destination information of the other vehicle;
The in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the display means displays a course of the other vehicle.   The in-vehicle device according to claim 13, wherein the route estimation unit estimates a route of the vehicle in a lane after passing through an interchange gate. Roadside machine-side receiving means for receiving vehicle travel information and destination information;
Roadside machine-side transmitting means for transmitting the vehicle travel information and destination information;
A roadside machine comprising:   The roadside machine according to claim 15, which is included in an automatic toll collection device that is installed at an interchange gate and automatically collects tolls.

Images