JP2007232514A - Traveling road determination apparatus and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traveling road determination apparatus and a storage medium allowing accurate road determination by determining a road on which one's own vehicle is traveling by considering the traveling speed of one's own vehicle and congestion information in addition to the position of one's own vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: In detecting the present position and traveling speed of one's own vehicle and performing matching processing on the basis of map data stored in map information DB 22, when it is decided that there are roads which are adjacent to each other with a predetermined distance, congestion information is acquired from a VICS center 102 through a communications device 18 (S15) and is compared to congestion information created on the basis of the acquired congestion information and the detected traveling speed of one's own vehicle (S20), thereby selecting a road having the closest road conditions (S28), and determining it to be the road on which one's own vehicle is traveling (S30). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling road identification device and a storage medium for identifying a road on which the vehicle travels based on a detected vehicle position and map data, and in particular, in addition to the vehicle position, traveling speed and traffic information of the vehicle. The present invention relates to a traveling road identification device and a storage medium that can accurately identify a road by identifying the road on which the vehicle travels.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a navigation device is often mounted on a vehicle that provides vehicle travel guidance so that a driver can easily arrive at a desired destination. Here, the navigation device detects the current position of the vehicle by a GPS receiver or the like, acquires map data corresponding to the current position through a recording medium such as a DVD-ROM or HDD or a network, and displays it on a liquid crystal monitor. It is a device that can do. Furthermore, such a navigation device has a route search function for searching for the optimum route from the vehicle position to the destination when a desired destination is input, and displays the guidance route on the display screen and approaches the intersection. In such a case, the driver is surely guided to a desired destination by providing voice guidance.

Here, in order to display the position of the host vehicle or search for a route in the navigation device, it is necessary to specify the road on which the host vehicle travels on a map. Conventionally, the road is identified only from the current position of the vehicle detected by GPS and the map data. However, when the roads are arranged side by side at very short intervals, the roads move up and down on the overpass and under the overpass. In the case where they are arranged side by side in the direction, it has not been possible to accurately identify the element alone.
In view of this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-137096 describes a navigation device that detects the traveling speed of the vehicle and recognizes the traveling road as an expressway when the traveling speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. According to the above navigation device, it is possible to specify the road on which the vehicle travels when the highway and the general road are arranged side by side.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-137096 (page 2-3, FIG. 3)

  However, in the navigation device described in Patent Document 1 described above, since it is determined whether it is an expressway or a general road from only the traveling speed of the own vehicle, for example, when the expressway is congested and traveling at a low speed In some cases, it was mistaken for driving on a general road. Further, in the navigation device described in Patent Document 1, when roads having different road attributes such as a highway and a general road are arranged side by side, the road can be specified. For example, when a general road and a general road) are arranged side by side, the road cannot be specified.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, even when roads having different attributes such as a highway and a general road are arranged side by side, and the highway is congested. To provide a traveling road identification device and a storage medium that can accurately identify a road on which the vehicle travels and that can identify a road even when roads having the same attribute are arranged side by side. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, a traveling road specifying device (1) according to claim 1 of the present application includes a map data storage means (22) for storing map data including a road network, and a host vehicle for detecting a current position of the host vehicle. Travel having position detecting means (11) and road specifying means (13) for specifying the road on which the host vehicle travels from the map data based on the current position of the host vehicle detected by the host vehicle position detecting means. The road identification device includes traffic information acquisition means (18) for acquiring road traffic congestion information, and speed detection means (21, 31, 35) for detecting the traveling speed of the host vehicle. The road on which the vehicle travels is specified based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle detected by the speed detecting unit and the traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the traffic jam information acquiring unit.
Here, the “congestion information” includes one or a plurality of pieces of information such as the degree of the traffic jam, the length of the traffic jam, and the position of the traffic jam.
In addition, the “congestion information acquisition unit” may acquire the congestion information by communicating with an external facility or the like, or may be acquired by reading out the congestion information stored inside the traveling road specifying device. Also good.

Further, the traveling road identification device (1) according to claim 2 is the traveling road identification device according to claim 1, wherein there is a road that is juxtaposed at a predetermined distance with respect to the road on which the vehicle travels. A parallel road determination means (13) for determining whether or not the road identification means (13) detects the speed when it is determined by the parallel road determination means that there is a road juxtaposed. The road on which the vehicle travels is specified based on the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the means (21, 31, 35) and the traffic congestion information on the road acquired by the traffic information acquisition means (18). To do.
Here, “the roads arranged in parallel at a predetermined distance” is not limited to only roads arranged in parallel at a constant interval, but includes roads arranged in parallel at different intervals.

  Moreover, the traveling road identification device (1) according to claim 3 is the traveling road identification device according to claim 2, and it is determined that there is a road juxtaposed by the juxtaposed road determination means (13). Travel distance determination means (13) for determining whether or not the vehicle has traveled more than a predetermined distance from the point in time, and the road identification means (13) determines that the vehicle has traveled more than a predetermined distance by the travel distance determination means The road on which the vehicle travels based on the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the speed detection means (21, 31, 35) and the traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the traffic congestion information acquisition means (18) It is characterized by specifying.

  Further, the traveling road identification device (1) according to claim 4 is the traveling road identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the road identification means (13) is the speed detection means. Road comparison means (13) for comparing the traveling speed of the own vehicle detected by (21, 31, 35) and the traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the congestion information acquisition means (18), Based on the comparison result, a road whose traffic condition is closer than a predetermined standard is specified as a road on which the vehicle travels.

  Further, the traveling road identification device (1) according to claim 5 is the traveling road identification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the traffic jam information acquisition means (18) is at a predetermined distance interval. Congestion information of a plurality of roads arranged side by side is acquired, and the road specifying means (13) is the travel speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detection means (21, 31, 35) and the congestion information acquisition means. Road comparison means (13) for comparing the traffic congestion information of the plurality of roads acquired by the above-mentioned method, and based on the comparison result of the road comparison means, the road with the closest traffic condition is selected from the plurality of roads. It is characterized in that it is specified as a road on which the vehicle runs.

  Further, the traveling road identification device (1) according to claim 6 is the traveling road identification device according to claim 5, wherein the road comparison means (13) has a road attribute for a plurality of roads arranged in parallel. Congestion information creation means (13) for creating traffic jam information based on the traveling speed of the own vehicle is provided, and the road identification means (13) is configured to acquire the traffic jam information for the traffic jam information created by the traffic jam information creation means. The road with the closest traffic information acquired in (18) is the road with the closest traffic condition.

  The travel road specifying device (1) according to claim 7 is the travel road specifying device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the traffic jam information acquiring means (18) is arranged in parallel at predetermined distance intervals. The links constituting the plurality of roads and the congestion information between the links are acquired, and the road-to-road comparison means (13) detects the travel speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detection means (21, 31, 35). It is characterized by comparing the links constituting the plurality of roads acquired by the traffic jam information acquisition means and the traffic jam information between the links.

  Furthermore, the storage medium according to claim 8 includes a vehicle position detection detecting step (S2) for detecting the current position of the vehicle, a traffic information acquiring step (S15) for acquiring traffic information on the road, and the traveling of the vehicle. Acquired by the speed detection step (S2) for detecting the speed, the current position of the host vehicle detected by the host vehicle position detection step, the travel speed of the host vehicle detected by the speed detection step, and the traffic jam information acquisition step. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing a road specifying step (S11 to S30) for specifying a road on which the vehicle travels from map data stored based on road traffic jam information. It is characterized by that.

  In the traveling road identification device according to claim 1 having the above-described configuration, the road on which the vehicle travels is identified from the map data based on the traffic congestion information of the road and the traveling speed of the host vehicle. Even when roads with different attributes are arranged side by side and the expressway is congested, it is possible to accurately specify the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Further, even when roads having the same attribute are arranged in parallel, the road can be specified. And by using the information on the identified roads in the navigation device, even when the roads are juxtaposed at very short intervals, or when the roads are juxtaposed in the vertical direction on and under the overpass, etc. Thus, it becomes possible to search and guide a more accurate route.

  In the travel road specifying device according to claim 2, when there are roads arranged in parallel at predetermined distance intervals, the road on which the vehicle travels from the map data based on the traffic congestion information of the road and the travel speed of the vehicle Therefore, even when roads are arranged side by side at very short intervals, or when roads are arranged side by side in the up and down direction, it is possible to specify the road more accurately. . In addition, when there is no road to be arranged side by side and the road on which the vehicle is traveling can be identified based only on the current position of the vehicle, the road is not identified based on the traffic jam information. Can be reduced.

  Further, in the traveling road specifying device according to claim 3, when the vehicle has traveled more than a predetermined distance from the time when it is determined that there are roads arranged side by side, based on the traffic congestion information on the road and the traveling speed of the own vehicle. Since the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified from the map data, information for specifying the road is sufficiently prepared, and the road can be specified accurately in a situation where the road can be specified. In addition, when it is not possible to specify a sufficiently traveling road, the road is not specified based on the traffic jam information, so that the processing load on the control device can be reduced.

  Further, in the traveling road specifying device according to claim 4, the traveling speed of the own vehicle is compared with the traffic congestion information of the vehicle, and the road whose traffic condition is closer than a predetermined standard is identified as the road on which the own vehicle is traveling. It is possible to prevent an unsuitable road whose situation is greatly different from being specified as a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

  Further, in the traveling road specifying device according to claim 5, traffic congestion information of a plurality of roads arranged in parallel at predetermined distance intervals is acquired, and the traveling speed of the own vehicle and the traffic congestion information of the plurality of roads are compared. To identify the road with the closest traffic conditions as the road on which the vehicle is traveling.There are multiple roads with different attributes, such as highways and general roads, and the highway is congested. Even if it exists, it is possible to accurately identify the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Further, even when a plurality of roads having the same attribute are arranged in parallel, the road can be specified.

  Further, in the traveling road specifying device according to claim 6, traffic jam information is created based on road attributes and the traveling speed of the own vehicle for a plurality of roads arranged side by side, and the created traffic jam information and the traffic jam information acquisition means The road with the closest traffic information to the acquired traffic information is the one with the closest traffic condition, and there are multiple roads with different attributes such as expressways and general roads, and the expressway is congested Even so, it is possible to accurately identify the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Further, even when a plurality of roads having the same attribute are arranged in parallel, the road can be specified.

  Further, in the traveling road specifying device according to claim 7, traffic information between links is obtained by acquiring traffic information between links and comparing the traveling speed of the vehicle and the acquired traffic information between links. Since a nearby road is identified as a road on which the vehicle is traveling, it is possible to more accurately identify the road on which the vehicle is traveling in consideration of the arrangement and connection of links constituting the road.

  Furthermore, the storage medium according to claim 8 stores a program for executing identification of a road on which the vehicle is traveling from map data based on the acquired traffic congestion information, the detected traveling speed of the own vehicle, and the current position. Therefore, it is possible to accurately specify the road on which the vehicle travels even when roads with different attributes such as an expressway and a general road are arranged side by side and the expressway is congested. . Further, even when roads having the same attribute are arranged in parallel, the road can be specified. And by using the information on the identified roads in the navigation device, even when the roads are juxtaposed at very short intervals, or when the roads are juxtaposed in the vertical direction on and under the overpass, etc. Thus, it becomes possible to search and guide a more accurate route.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a traveling road specifying device according to the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment embodied in a navigation device with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation device 1 according to this embodiment.

First, a schematic configuration of the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation device 1 according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a current position detection processing unit (own vehicle position detection means) 11 that detects the current position of the own vehicle, and a data recording unit 12 in which various data are recorded. , A navigation control unit (road identifying means, juxtaposed road judging means, mileage judging means, road comparing means, traffic jam information creating means) 13 for performing various arithmetic processes based on the inputted information, and from the operator An operation unit 14 that receives an operation, a display 15 that displays information such as a map to an operator, a speaker 16 that outputs voice guidance related to route guidance, and a DVD drive 17 that reads a DVD that is a storage medium storing a program. , And a communication device (congestion information acquisition means) 18 for performing communication with an information center such as a traffic information center. The navigation control unit 13 is connected to a vehicle speed sensor (speed detection means) 21 that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle.

  The components constituting the navigation device 1 will be described below. The current location detection processing unit 11 includes a GPS (speed detection means) 31, a geomagnetic sensor 32, a distance sensor 33, a steering sensor 34, and a gyro sensor as a direction detection unit. (Speed detection means) 35, an altimeter (not shown), etc., can detect the current position and direction of the vehicle, the distance to a target (for example, an intersection), and the like. Further, the vehicle speed of the vehicle can be detected by the GPS 31 and the gyro sensor 35, and the GPS 31 and the gyro sensor 35 also correspond to a vehicle speed detection unit.

  The vehicle speed sensor 21 is a sensor for detecting the moving distance and the vehicle speed of the vehicle, generates a pulse according to the rotation of the wheel of the vehicle, and outputs a pulse signal to the navigation control unit 13. And the navigation control part 13 calculates the rotational speed and moving distance of a wheel by counting the generated pulse.

  Further, the data recording unit 12 is based on an external storage device and a hard disk (not shown) as a recording medium, a map information DB (map data storage means) 22 recorded on the hard disk, speed information of the own vehicle, and road attributes. A congestion degree setting table 27 for setting the degree of congestion on the road as congestion information, and a recording head (not shown) which is a driver for reading a predetermined program and writing predetermined data to the hard disk. In the present embodiment, a hard disk is used as the external storage device and storage medium of the data recording unit 12. However, in addition to the hard disk, a magnetic disk such as a flexible disk can be used as the external storage device. Also, a memory card, magnetic tape, magnetic drum, CD, MD, DVD, optical disk, MO, IC card, optical card, etc. can be used as an external storage device. Details of the map information DB 22 and the congestion level setting table 27 will be described later.

  Furthermore, the navigation control unit 13 is used as a working memory for the CPU 41 as an arithmetic device and a control device for controlling the entire navigation device 1, and when the CPU 41 performs various arithmetic processes, and when a route is searched for. In addition to the RAM 42 storing the route data and the control program, a road identification processing program (see FIGS. 5 and 6) for identifying the road on which the vehicle travels from a plurality of roads arranged in parallel is recorded. ROM 43, and an internal storage device such as a flash memory 44 for recording a program read from ROM 43.

  In the present embodiment, various programs are recorded in the ROM 43 and various data are recorded in the data recording unit 12. However, the programs, data, and the like are stored in the same external storage device, memory card, and the like. It is also possible to read out a program, data, etc. from the flash memory 44 and so on. Furthermore, the program, data, etc. can be updated based on the information stored in the storage medium read by the DVD drive 17.

  Further, the navigation control unit 13 is electrically connected with peripheral devices such as an operation unit 14, a display 15, a speaker 16, a DVD drive 17, and a communication device 18.

  And the communication apparatus 18 is traffic information, regulation information, parking lot information, traffic accident information etc. which were transmitted from the traffic information center, for example, VICS (registered trademark: Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 102 (refer to FIG. 2), etc. It is a beacon receiver which receives the traffic information which consists of each of these information as an electric wave beacon, an optical beacon, etc. via the electric wave beacon apparatus, optical beacon apparatus, etc. which were arrange | positioned along the road. The communication device 18 is a network that enables communication in a communication system such as a communication network such as a LAN, WAN, intranet, cellular phone network, telephone network, public communication network, dedicated communication network, and Internet. It may be a device. In addition to the information from the information center, the communication device 18 includes an FM receiver that receives FM multiplex information including information such as news and weather forecast as FM multiplex broadcast via an FM broadcast station. The beacon receiver and the FM receiver are unitized and arranged as a VICS receiver, but can be arranged separately.

  Here, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a communication system 101 including the navigation apparatus 1 and the VICS center 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the VICS center 102 and the navigation apparatus 1 are configured to be able to transmit and receive various types of information via the network 104.

  The VICS center 102 includes a server 111, a traffic information DB 115 as an information recording unit connected to the server 111, and a center side communication device 116. Further, the server 111 is based on an arithmetic device that performs overall control of the server 111 and a CPU 112 as a control device, a RAM 113 that is used as a working memory when the CPU 112 performs various arithmetic processes, and communication from the navigation device 1. An internal storage device such as a ROM 114 in which various control programs for extracting necessary information from the traffic information stored in the traffic information DB 115 and transmitting it to the navigation device 1 is provided.

  The traffic information DB 115 stores a congestion level setting table 117. Here, the congestion level setting table 117 is a table for setting the congestion level of the road as the congestion information based on the speed information of the vehicle traveling on the road and the road attribute, and details thereof will be described later.

  The VICS center 102 transmits traffic information around the vehicle to the navigation device 1, while the navigation device 1 temporarily stores the traffic information transmitted from the VICS center 102 in the RAM 42, based on this traffic information. Route guidance and search. In particular, the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified based on the traffic jam information.

  Next, the map information DB 22 stored in the data recording unit 12 will be described. Here, map data necessary for route guidance and map display is recorded in the map information DB 22, and the map data is, for example, image drawing data for drawing an image such as a map, road, and traffic information on the display 15. 24, link data 25 relating to roads (links), node data 26 relating to node points, intersection data relating to each intersection, search data for searching for routes, facility data relating to facilities, search data for searching for points, and the like. ing.

  The contents of these map information DBs 22 are updated by transferring information from a recording medium such as a DVD or an externally connected memory card, or by downloading information from a specific information center or the like via the communication device 18. .

  Next, the congestion level setting tables 27 and 117 stored in the data recording unit 12 of the navigation device 1 and the traffic information DB 115 of the VICS center 102 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the congestion level setting tables 27 and 117 according to the present embodiment. Here, the congestion level setting table 27 is a table for setting the congestion level indicating the degree of traffic congestion based on the traveling speed of the vehicle. The navigation device 1 detects the traffic detected by the vehicle speed sensor 21, the GPS 31, the gyro sensor 35, or the like. Based on the traveling speed of the vehicle and the congestion level setting table 27, the congestion level of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling is set. On the other hand, the VICS center 102 detects the average traveling speed of each vehicle on the roads in the country for each time zone, sets the congestion degree of each road based on the detected traveling speed and the congestion degree setting table 117, and sets the set traffic congestion. The traffic information including the degree is stored in the traffic information DB 115 as traffic information.

As shown in FIG. 3, the congestion level setting tables 27 and 117 according to the present embodiment include three types of congestion levels “congested”, “congested”, and “smooth”, and the vehicle travel speed corresponding to each congestion level. It consists of a range. Further, the vehicle traveling speed range is set to a different range depending on road attributes (three types of “intercity highway”, “city highway”, and “general road”).
For example, when a vehicle travels on an intercity highway at 30 km / h, the congestion level is set to “congestion”, and when the vehicle travels on an urban highway at 30 km / h, the congestion level is “congested”. When the vehicle travels on a general road at 30 km / h, the degree of traffic congestion is set to “smooth”.

Then, the VICS center 102 creates traffic information using the traffic level set in the traffic level setting table 117 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of traffic jam information created in the VICS center 102.
Here, the traffic jam information is composed of the traffic congestion level set in the traffic congestion level setting table 117, the traffic congestion length, and the distance from the link end of the traffic congestion start point. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the VICS center 102 detects that the vehicle is traveling at 15 km / h in the section indicated by the points A to B of the link 50 constituting the city highway, “congestion” The traffic jam information including the traffic congestion degree set in the above, the distance between the points A and B, and the distance from the end of the link 50 to the point A is created and stored in the traffic information DB 115.
Then, the navigation apparatus 1 that has received the traffic information from the VICS center 102 associates the traffic information with the link data 25 stored in the map information DB 22 to determine how much traffic has occurred in which area on the road. Can be grasped.

  Further, in the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that there is a road arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance with respect to the road on which the vehicle travels, the congestion degree setting table is determined from the travel speed and the road attribute of the vehicle. 27 is used to create traffic jam information of the road on which the vehicle is actually traveling. Then, by comparing the created traffic information with the traffic information acquired from the VICS center 102, the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified (S11 to S31 in FIG. 6).

  Next, a road identification processing program executed by the CPU 41 in the navigation device 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the road identification processing program according to the present embodiment. Here, the road identification processing program is a road identification processing program that is executed at predetermined time intervals after the ignition of the vehicle is turned on and identifies the road on which the vehicle travels from a plurality of roads arranged in parallel. The programs shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 and 6 below are stored in the RAM 42, the ROM 43, the data recording unit 12 and the like provided in the navigation device 1 and executed by the CPU 41.

  First, in step (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 1 in the road identification processing program, the CPU 41 performs an initialization process and substitutes initial values for various flags and variables. Next, in S2, the CPU 41 detects the current position of the host vehicle based on the detection result of the current position detection processing unit 11, and detects the current traveling speed of the vehicle by the vehicle speed sensor 21, the GPS 31, the gyro sensor 35, or the like. Thereafter, the detected current position and traveling speed of the own vehicle are accumulated in the RAM 42, respectively.

  Next, in S3, the CPU 41 performs a matching process, and specifies the current position of the vehicle on the map based on the map data stored in the map information DB 22. In S4, based on the result of the matching process in S3, it is determined whether or not there is a road arranged in parallel at a predetermined distance interval (for example, within 30 m) with respect to the road on which the vehicle travels. Here, when the matching process of S3 is performed, roads are arranged in parallel at very short intervals due to problems of GPS accuracy and data errors only from the current position of the vehicle detected by the GPS 31 and the map data. It is difficult to specify the road on which the vehicle travels when the vehicle is on the overpass and under the overpass and the roads are arranged in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, when it is determined that there is a road that is arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance interval with respect to the road on which the host vehicle travels (S4: YES), the process proceeds to S5, and the traveling speed of the host vehicle is set as described later. Based on the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center 102, the road on which the vehicle travels is specified. In addition, the process of S4 corresponds to the process of the juxtaposed road determination unit.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that there is no road parallel to the road on which the vehicle is traveling at a predetermined distance (S4: NO), the road of the vehicle on which the vehicle is traveling is accurately detected only by the normal matching process. Since identification becomes possible, after performing the initialization process (S9), the process returns to S2.

  In S5, the CPU 41 determines that the moving distance L of the own vehicle in a state where there are roads arranged side by side (that is, the movement distance L from the time when it is first determined that there is a road arranged in S4) is a predetermined distance. Whether or not (for example, 1 km) or more is determined based on the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 21, the GPS 31, the gyro sensor 35, or the like. The process of S5 corresponds to the process of the travel distance determination unit.

  If it is determined that the travel distance L of the host vehicle is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance (S5: YES), the process proceeds to S6, and based on the travel speed of the host vehicle and the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center 102. A road determination process (see FIG. 6), which will be described later, for specifying the road on which the vehicle is traveling is performed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the moving distance of the own vehicle is not greater than or equal to the predetermined distance (S5: NO), the process returns to S2, and the current position and traveling speed of the own vehicle are detected again.

  Next, in S7, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the road on which the vehicle is traveling has been specified by the road determination processing in S6. As will be described later, in the road determination process, the road on which the vehicle is traveling is determined by comparing the traffic jam information created by the navigation device 1 with the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center 102. When the correct answer rate S indicating the degree is less than a predetermined value on all the roads arranged in parallel (S29: NO in FIG. 6), the road on which the vehicle is traveling is not specified because there is no corresponding road. .

  If the CPU 41 determines that the road on which the vehicle is traveling has been identified by the determination process of S7 (S7: YES), the vehicle is traveling on the road identified by the road determination process of S6. The current position of the vehicle is matched (S8). As a result, when the navigation device 1 searches for a route to the set destination or guides traveling along the set route, the route search or guide is based on the exact vehicle position on the map. Can be performed.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the road on which the vehicle is traveling has not been identified (S7: NO), the movement distance L of the vehicle in a state where there is a road to be arranged is initialized (S10), and the process proceeds to S2. And return. Thereafter, the current position of the host vehicle and the traveling speed are detected again.

  Next, the road determination process executed by the CPU 41 of the navigation device 1 in S6 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the road determination processing program according to the present embodiment.

First, in the road determination processing program, in S11, the current position and traveling speed of the host vehicle accumulated and stored in the RAM 42 in S2 are read out. Thereafter, in S12, based on the information acquired in S11, the relationship between the moving distance L of the host vehicle and the speed is calculated.
Here, FIG. 7 shows, for example, the travel distance L of the host vehicle calculated in S12 when the host vehicle travels at a predetermined speed in predetermined sections X to Y in a state where there are other roads arranged side by side. It is the figure which showed an example of the relationship between speed.

  Next, in S13, the number N of roads arranged side by side including the road on which the vehicle is traveling is acquired from the map data stored in the map information DB 22. After S14, the loop A process is performed up to S27 by the number N of roads acquired in S13.

First, in the loop A process, the traffic jam information 60 of the section included in the travel distance L on the i-th road i among the roads acquired in S13 is acquired from the VICS center 102 via the communication device 18 (S15). The traffic jam information may be periodically acquired from the VICS center 102 via the communication device 18 at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 10 minutes) and temporarily stored in the RAM 42.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102 in S15. In the traffic jam information 60 shown in FIG. 8, a total of four pieces of traffic jam information about the links C to F constituting one road arranged in parallel between the sections X to Y are shown. Specifically, according to each traffic jam information, the entire link C is “smooth”, the entire link D is “congested”, the entire link E is “congested”, and the entire link F is “smooth”. It is shown that.

Next, in S16, the total G (i) of the score A and the score B indicating the comparison result between the traveling speed of the own vehicle on the i-th road i and the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102, and the coincidence of the traffic situation Each correct rate S (i) indicating the degree is initialized.
Further, in S17, it is determined whether or not the number of traffic jam information 60 acquired in S15 is equal to or less than a predetermined number (for example, 3).

  If it is determined that the number of traffic information 60 is equal to or less than the predetermined number (S17: YES), there is not enough information on the road i to compare the traveling speed of the vehicle with the traffic information. The process ends without performing the comparison process. Thereafter, when comparison of other roads among the roads arranged side by side remains, the processes after S14 are repeated.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the number of traffic jam information is greater than the predetermined number (S17: NO), the process proceeds to S18, and loop B processing is performed up to S25 by the number of links T constituting the road i. .

First, in the loop B process, the road attribute of the j-th link j among the links constituting the road i is acquired from the link data 25 stored in the map information DB 22 (S19).
Then, in S20, the CPU 41 assumes that the vehicle is traveling on the road i among the roads in which the vehicle is arranged side by side, and the link j is determined from the relationship between the travel distance L and the travel speed calculated in S12 and the road attribute. Congestion information 61 is created.

Here, for example, FIG. 9 shows a navigation device including links C to F constituting one road arranged in parallel between the sections X to Y when the host vehicle travels the moving distance L according to the speed relationship shown in FIG. 1 shows the traffic jam information 61 created. It is assumed that all road attributes of links C to F shown in FIG. 9 are city highways.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the section of link C, the vehicle travels at a speed of 40 km / h or more from point a to point b, and a speed of 20 km / h or more from point b to point c. I am running in. Therefore, based on the congestion level setting table 27 (see FIG. 3), a “successful” congestion level is set between the points a and b, and the “congested” congestion between the points b and c. The degree is set.
In the section of link D, the vehicle travels at a speed of 20 km / h or more from point c to point d, and travels at a speed of 40 km / h or more from point d to point e. . Therefore, based on the congestion level setting table 27, the “congested” congestion level is set between the points c and d, and the “smooth” congestion level is set between the points d and e. .
In the section of link E, the vehicle travels at a speed of 40 km / h or more from point e to point f, travels at a speed of 20 km / h or more from point f to point g, and The vehicle travels at a speed of less than 20 km / h between g and point h. Therefore, based on the congestion level setting table 27, a “smooth” congestion level is set between the points e and f, a “congested” congestion level is set between the points f and g, and A congestion degree of “congestion” is set between the points g and h.
In the section of link F, the vehicle travels at a speed of less than 20 km / h from point h to point i, travels at a speed of 20 km / h or more from point i to point j, and The vehicle travels at a speed of less than 20 km / h between j and point k. Therefore, based on the congestion level setting table 27, the congestion level of “congestion” is set between point h and point i, the congestion level of “congestion” is set between point i and point j, and A “smooth” congestion degree is set between the points j and k. The process of S20 corresponds to the process of the traffic jam information creating unit.

Next, in S21, the CPU 41 compares the traffic condition (congestion) between the traffic jam information 61 created in S20 in the link j and the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102 in S15, in particular, the degree of traffic jam. A score A indicating the degree of coincidence of (information) is calculated. Then, the calculated score A is added to the total (i) (S22).
Further, in S23, by comparing the relationship between the movement distance L and the speed calculated in S12 in the link j and the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102 in S15, particularly by comparing the slope of the speed between the links. A score B indicating the degree of coincidence of traffic conditions (congestion information) is calculated. Then, the calculated score B is added to the total (i) (S24).

  Here, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a calculation method of the score A and the score B. For example, the congestion degree of the congestion information 61 created in S20 at the link j and the congestion acquired from the VICS center 102 in S15. When the degree of congestion of the information 60 is the same, 10 points are added as the score A. Further, when the degree of traffic congestion is one difference (for example, “traffic jam” and “crowded”, “crowded” and “smooth”), 5 points are added as the score A. Further, in other cases (for example, “traffic jam” and “smooth”), the score A is not added. If a plurality of congestion levels are set in one link, the congestion level with the longest congestion length is regarded as the congestion level of the link.

On the other hand, the slope of the speed between links in the relationship between the moving distance L and the speed created in S12 (see FIG. 7) is compared with the slope of the speed between links in the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102 in S15. By doing so, the score B is added.
Here, the gradient of the speed between links in the relationship between the moving distance L and the speed (see FIG. 7) is “+1” when the speed increases with respect to the moving distance L between the links. When the speed decreases, “−1” is set. When the speed does not change, “0” is set. The slope of the speed between links in the traffic information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102 is “+1” when the degree of traffic between the links changes from “congested” to “congested” or from “congested” to “smooth”. “+2” when the degree of congestion changes from “congested” to “smooth”, and “−1” when the degree of congestion changes from “smooth” to “congested” or from “congested” to “congested”. "-2" when the degree of congestion changes from "smooth" to "congested", and "0" when the degree of congestion does not change. When the slopes are the same (for example, “−1” and “−1”, “+1” and “+1”), 10 points are added as the score B. Further, when the inclination is different by one (for example, “−1” and “−2”, “0” and “+1”), 5 points are added as the score B. Further, in other cases (for example, “−1” and “+1”), the score B is not added.

11 shows a list of points that are added to the total G (i) when the traffic information 60 shown in FIG. 8 is acquired from the VICS center 102 and the traffic information 61 shown in FIG. 9 is created. It is a thing. As shown in FIG. 11, in the traffic jam information 61 created by the navigation device 1, the link C has the longest “smooth” traffic jam and the link D has the “crowded” traffic jam the longest. In link E, the “smooth” congestion degree is set to be the longest, and in link F, the “congested” congestion degree is set to be the longest. Further, in the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102, the “normal” traffic jam degree is set to the longest for the link C, the “congested” traffic jam degree is set to the longest for the link D, and the link E The congestion degree of “traffic” is set to be the longest, and the link F is set to have the “normal” congestion degree of the longest.
Therefore, the score A is 10 points for the link C, 10 points for the link D, 0 points for the link E, and 5 points for the link F.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the inclination of the speed between the links in the relationship between the moving distance L and the speed based on the detected vehicle speed is “−1” between the link C and the link D, and the link D and the link “+1” is between E and “−1” is between links E and F. The slope of the speed between links in the traffic jam information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102 is “−1” between the link C and the link D, and “−1” between the link D and the link E. The distance between the link E and the link F is “+2”. Therefore, as the score B, 10 points are added between the links C and D, 0 points are added between the links D and E, and 0 points are added between the links E and F.

  Subsequently, in S25, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the loop B process has been completed for the number of links T constituting the road i. If it is determined that the process has ended, the process proceeds to S26. On the other hand, if it is not finished, the process of loop A is continued.

  In S26, the correct answer rate S (i) is calculated based on the sum G (i) of the score A and the score B on the i-th road i added in S22 and S24. Specifically, the ratio to the total score (70 points in the case of FIG. 11) when the score A and the score B are full is calculated as the correct answer rate (50% in the case of FIG. 11). Note that the processing of S14 to S27 corresponds to the processing of the road comparison means.

  Next, in S27, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the loop A process has been completed for the number N of roads arranged side by side. If it is determined that the processing has ended, the process proceeds to S28. On the other hand, if it is not finished, the processing of loop B is continued.

  In S28, the CPU 41 selects the road with the highest accuracy rate among the plurality of roads arranged in parallel acquired in S13 as the road with the closest traffic condition. In S29, it is determined whether or not the accuracy rate of the road selected in S28 is a predetermined value (for example, 70%) or more.

As a result, when it is determined that the accuracy rate of the road is a predetermined value (for example, 70%) or more (S29: YES), the road selected in S28 is specified as the road on which the vehicle is traveling ( The process proceeds to S30) and S7 (see FIG. 5).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the correct answer rate of the road is less than the predetermined value (S29: NO), the traffic situation greatly differs in order to identify the road selected in S28 as the road on which the vehicle is traveling, Since it is an inappropriate road, it is not specified as a road on which the vehicle travels (S31), and the process proceeds to S7 (see FIG. 5). In addition, the process of said S11-S30 is equivalent to the process of a road specific means.

  In addition, in order to more accurately identify the road on which the vehicle has traveled, the determination is not based solely on the travel speed or traffic information of the vehicle, but based on comprehensive consideration of a plurality of other detection results. You may do it. As other detection results, for example, radio waves from GPS satellites or beacon reception can be considered. It is also possible to consider roads on which the vehicle has traveled in the past. And it becomes possible to improve a precision by assigning a score also to a plurality of other above-mentioned detection results, and judging a road based on the total.

As described above in detail, the navigation device 1 according to the present embodiment detects the current position and traveling speed of the vehicle (S2), and performs the matching process based on the map data stored in the map information DB 22. When it is determined that there are roads arranged side by side at a predetermined distance (S4: YES), traffic congestion information is acquired from the VICS center 102 via the communication device 18 (S15), and the acquired traffic congestion information is detected. By comparing the traffic information created based on the traveling speed of the own vehicle (S20), the road with the closest traffic situation is selected (S28) and identified as the road on which the own vehicle is traveling (S30). Even when roads having different attributes such as an expressway and a general road are arranged side by side and the expressway is congested, it is possible to accurately specify the road on which the vehicle is traveling. Further, even when roads having the same attribute are arranged in parallel, the road can be specified. And by using the information on the identified road in the navigation device 1, when the roads are juxtaposed at very short intervals, or when the roads are juxtaposed in the vertical direction above and below the overpass, etc. However, it is possible to search and guide more accurate routes.
In addition, when there is no road to be arranged side by side (S4: NO) and the road on which the vehicle is traveling can be identified based only on the current position of the vehicle, the road is not identified based on the traffic jam information. The processing load of the control device can be reduced while performing accurate route search and guidance.
In addition, when the vehicle has traveled more than a predetermined distance from the time when it is determined that there is a side-by-side road (S5: YES), the road on which the vehicle travels is specified, so that information for specifying the road is sufficient. Therefore, it is possible to specify the road accurately in a situation where the road can be specified. In addition, when it is not possible to specify a sufficiently traveling road, the road is not specified based on the traffic jam information, so that the processing load on the control device can be reduced.
In addition, a score is calculated by comparing the traveling speed of the own vehicle and the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center 102 via the communication device 18 between the links and between the links, and the vehicle traveling on the road with the closest traffic condition is calculated. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately identify the road on which the vehicle travels in consideration of the arrangement and connection of the links constituting the road.
Further, since the correct answer rate S (i) indicating similarity of the traffic situation when comparing the traffic jam information is specified as the road on which the vehicle is traveling, the traffic situation is greatly different. It is possible to prevent an inappropriate road from being identified as a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
For example, in this embodiment, the traffic information 61 is created based on the relationship between the travel distance L and the speed calculated in S12 (S20), and the road is identified by comparing with the traffic information 60 acquired from the VICS center 102. However, the relationship between the travel distance L and the speed is created for each road arranged in parallel based on the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center 102, and is compared with the relationship between the travel distance L and the speed calculated in S12. Thus, a road with a close traffic condition may be determined to identify the road.

  In this embodiment, the score A that compares the degree of congestion set based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle and the score B that compares the inclination of the speed between the link of the traveling speed of the host vehicle and the degree of congestion are totaled. Although the road with a close traffic condition is determined by calculating the correct answer rate, the road with a close traffic condition may be determined by calculating the correct answer rate only with the score A or the score B.

  Further, in the present embodiment, only when there are roads arranged side by side, the road on which the vehicle is traveling is specified based on the traveling speed of the vehicle and the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center 102. Even if there are no side-by-side roads, the vehicle travels based on the travel speed of the vehicle and the traffic information acquired from the VICS center 102 in order to more accurately identify the road on which the vehicle travels. You may make it identify the road to perform.

It is the block diagram which showed the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the schematic block diagram which showed the communication system containing the navigation apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the congestion degree setting table which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the traffic congestion information produced in a VICS center. It is a flowchart of the road specific process program which concerns on this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the road determination processing program which concerns on this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the relationship between the moving distance L of the own vehicle calculated at step 12, and speed when the own vehicle drive | worked to predetermined area X-Y. It is the figure which showed an example of the traffic jam information acquired from the VICS center in step 15. 7 shows the traffic information created by the navigation device with the links C to F constituting one road arranged in parallel between the sections X to Y when the vehicle travels the travel distance L according to the speed relationship shown in FIG. FIG. It is the figure which showed the calculation method of the score A and the score B. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a list of points that are added to the total G when the traffic jam information shown in FIG. 8 is acquired and the traffic jam information shown in FIG. 9 is created.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation apparatus 11 Present location detection process part 12 Data recording part 13 Navigation control part 17 DVD drive 18 Communication apparatus 21 Vehicle speed sensor 22 Map information DB
27 Congestion degree setting table 41 CPU
42 RAM
43 ROM

Claims (8)

Map data storage means for storing map data including a road network;
Own vehicle position detecting means for detecting the current position of the own vehicle;
In a road identification device having road identification means for identifying a road on which the vehicle travels from the map data based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection means,
Traffic information acquisition means for acquiring road traffic information,
Speed detecting means for detecting the traveling speed of the own vehicle,
The road specifying means specifies the road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the traveling speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detecting means and the traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the traffic jam information acquiring means. Driving road identification device. A juxtaposed road judging means for judging whether or not there is a road juxtaposed at a predetermined distance interval with respect to the road on which the vehicle runs;
The road identification means is the travel speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detection means and the road information acquired by the traffic jam information acquisition means when it is determined that there is a road juxtaposed by the parallel road determination means. 2. The traveling road identification device according to claim 1, wherein a road on which the vehicle travels is identified based on traffic jam information. It has travel distance determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle has traveled more than a predetermined distance from the time when it is determined that there is a road juxtaposed by the parallel road determination means,
The road specifying means includes a travel speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detection means when the travel distance determination means determines that the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance or more, and traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the traffic information acquisition means. The traveling road specifying device according to claim 2, wherein the road on which the vehicle travels is specified based on the vehicle. The road identification means is
Road comparison means for comparing the traveling speed of the host vehicle detected by the speed detection means and the traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the traffic congestion information acquisition means;
4. The road identification method according to claim 1, wherein a road whose traffic condition is closer than a predetermined standard is identified as a road on which the vehicle travels based on a comparison result of the road comparison means. apparatus. The traffic information acquisition means acquires traffic information of a plurality of roads arranged in parallel at predetermined distance intervals,
The road identification means is
Road comparing means for comparing the traveling speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detecting means and the traffic information of a plurality of roads acquired by the traffic information acquiring means,
5. The road according to claim 1, wherein the road having the closest traffic condition among the plurality of roads is identified as a road on which the vehicle travels based on a comparison result of the road comparison means. The described road identification device. The road comparing means includes traffic information creating means for creating traffic information on a plurality of roads arranged side by side based on road attributes and the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The road specifying means sets the road having the closest traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquiring means as the road with the closest traffic condition to the traffic information generated by the traffic information generating means. 5. The traveling road identification device according to 5. The traffic information acquisition means acquires traffic information between links and links constituting a plurality of roads arranged in parallel at predetermined distance intervals,
The inter-road comparison means compares the traveling speed of the own vehicle detected by the speed detection means with the links constituting the plurality of roads acquired by the congestion information acquisition means and the congestion information between the links. The travel road specifying device according to claim 5 or 6. A vehicle position detection detection step for detecting the current position of the vehicle;
A traffic information acquisition step for acquiring road traffic information;
A speed detection step for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle;
A map stored based on the current position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection step, the traveling speed of the vehicle detected by the speed detection step, and the traffic congestion information of the road acquired by the traffic congestion information acquisition step. A road identification step for identifying the road on which the vehicle travels from the data;
The computer-readable storage medium which memorize | stored the program for performing this.

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