JP2007233462A - Circuit traveling vehicle location information providing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a circuit traveling vehicle location information providing system for displaying the location of all participating vehicles on a circuit, and for providing beneficial information such as the circumstances and crowded section of a race. <P>SOLUTION: In acquiring authorized lap time data associated with each vehicle each time each vehicle passes a reference spot, the vehicle location of the vehicle is initialized to the reference spot, and the elapsed time is initialized to an initial value, so that the passage of the reference spot of each vehicle is captured. Furthermore, the vehicle location of the vehicle in the elapsed time is calculated from the deviation of the vehicle lap time of the vehicle and the reference lap time by using the authorized lap time from the elapsed time since the vehicle has passed the reference spot, and the vehicle location of the vehicle is displayed together with a circuit at a display device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system that provides position information of a vehicle that travels around a circuit or displays the vehicle position information.

  As a positioning system for determining the position of a vehicle traveling on this type of circuit, one described in Patent Document 1 is known. According to this, each racing car gets positioning data about its position and sends it to the central device, which calculates the racing car position on the circuit and participates in the positioning system. Display the position of the racing car on the circuit on a large-screen video display, or send the position signal calculated by the calculation device to a broadcast, television or other communication agency, for example, an Internet provider Be able to.

Special table 2003-514293 (paragraph numbers 0028-0034)

However, the positioning system described in the above publication has the following problems.
Only position information from racing cars participating in the positioning system can be acquired, and position information about racing cars that refuse to participate in the positioning system cannot be obtained at all. Therefore, it is not possible to display all the racing cars on the actual circuit, and the system is incomplete.
In the above publication, GPS is used to obtain positioning data for each racing car. However, in GPS, if there is a three-dimensional intersection on the circuit, the signal is disconnected and it takes time to reconnect (about 30). Therefore, the positioning data of the racing car is interrupted during that time.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to display the positions of all participating vehicles on the circuit, the situation of the race, and at which point it is crowded. It is to provide a circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system capable of providing useful information.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system realized by a computer that outputs position information on a circuit of a vehicle that circulates a circuit having a reference point. And
A lap time acquisition unit that acquires a certified lap time data in association with the vehicle by wire or wireless every time each vehicle passes a reference point; and a position calculation unit that calculates a vehicle position of each vehicle based on the acquired lap time; ,
First storage means for pre-recording the relationship between elapsed time per unit time when traveling around the circuit with a certain reference lap time and reference data such as speed, travel distance, or vehicle position, and the current vehicle in association with each vehicle Second storage means for recording the position and the elapsed time;
With
The lap time acquisition means includes a lap time update means for acquiring authorized lap time data in association with each vehicle each time the vehicle passes the reference point, and a vehicle position of the vehicle recorded in the second storage means. Initialization means for initializing the point and initializing the elapsed time to an initial value, and offset calculation means for obtaining an offset representing a deviation between the lap time of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as vehicle lap time) based on the authorized lap time data and the reference lap time And comprising
The position calculating means measures the elapsed time since each vehicle has passed the reference point, updates the elapsed time, acquires the reference data of the first storage means, and obtains the offset obtained by the offset calculating means The vehicle position calculating means for obtaining the predicted vehicle position of each vehicle from the elapsed time from the time measuring means and recording it in the second storage means as the current vehicle position.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the display device according to the first aspect, further comprising a display device that displays the current vehicle position obtained by the vehicle position calculation means for each vehicle together with the display of the circuit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle according to the first aspect, the vehicle position calculation means displays the current vehicle position data obtained by the vehicle position calculation means for each vehicle together with vehicle identification data for vehicle position display. It is characterized by output to the outside.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method according to any one of the first to third aspects, the offset calculating means calculates the latest lap time of the approved lap time data or a plurality of average lap times from the latest including the latest lap time. The vehicle tap time is used.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, when the vehicle position calculation means assumes that each vehicle has traveled at a reference lap time using the offset. An elapsed time to reach the same vehicle position (hereinafter referred to as corrected elapsed time) is obtained, and the vehicle position corresponding to the corrected elapsed time is set as the current vehicle position with reference to the first storage means.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the vehicle position calculating means refers to the first storage means and corresponds to the elapsed time from the time measuring means. The travel distance or the vehicle position is acquired, the acquired value is corrected by an offset, and the vehicle position is set as the current vehicle position.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the lap time updating means combines the authorized pit-in data indicating that the vehicle is pit-in together with the authorized lap time data. And the vehicle position calculation means records the reference point as the current vehicle position in the second storage means when the pit-in data is acquired corresponding to a certain vehicle. It is characterized by doing.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the one according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the offset calculating means is configured to detect a difference between the offset immediately after the pit-in or the calculated offset and the previous offset. An offset is obtained from an average of past lap times excluding the latest lap time for a vehicle that is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

The invention according to claim 9 is a circuit traveling vehicle position information providing program for causing a computer to output position information on a circuit of a vehicle that circulates on a circuit having a reference point.
A lap time acquisition unit that acquires a certified lap time data in association with the vehicle by wire or wireless every time each vehicle passes a reference point; and a position calculation unit that calculates a vehicle position of each vehicle based on the acquired lap time; A first storage means for pre-recording the relationship between the elapsed time per unit time when traveling around the circuit with a certain reference lap time and the reference data such as speed, distance traveled, or vehicle position; Second storage means for recording the vehicle position and elapsed time;
To function, and
The lap time acquisition means includes a lap time update means for acquiring authorized lap time data in association with each vehicle each time the vehicle passes the reference point, and a vehicle of the vehicle recorded in the second storage means. An initialization means that initializes the position to the reference point and initializes the elapsed time to an initial value, and obtains an offset that represents a deviation between the lap time of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle lap time) based on the authorized lap time data and the reference lap time. Function as an offset calculator,
The position calculation means acquires a reference data of a first storage means, a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time after each vehicle passes the reference point and updating the elapsed time, and an offset calculation means The vehicle position calculating means for obtaining the predicted vehicle position of each vehicle from the elapsed time from the time measuring means using the obtained offset and recording it in the second storage means as the current vehicle position, To do.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect, the vehicle position calculation means outputs the current vehicle position data for each vehicle together with the vehicle identification data to the outside for vehicle position display. And

  In the present invention, the authorized lap time data of each vehicle provided every time the vehicle passes the reference point is used. This official lap time data is usually provided by a race organizer or the like and can be easily obtained in real time. Incidentally, among the authorized data available in this way, as shown in FIG. 5, there are data such as best lap time data and the current rank of each vehicle in addition to the lap time data. However, from such lap time data and ranking data, it may be possible to understand the condition of the vehicle and the situation of the game, but the situation on the circuit is not known at all. In the present invention, each time each vehicle passes the reference point, the lap time updating unit acquires the authorized lap time data associated with each vehicle, and the initialization unit initializes the vehicle position of the vehicle to the reference point, By initializing the elapsed time to an initial value, it is possible to capture the passage of each vehicle through the reference point almost accurately. Then, the offset calculation means obtains the vehicle lap time from the officially recognized lap time, and obtains an offset that is a deviation from the reference lap time recorded in advance in the storage means.

  Further, the time measuring means can measure the elapsed time from passing through the reference point, and the vehicle position calculating means can obtain the vehicle position of the vehicle at the elapsed time from the offset. The obtained vehicle position is not the exact vehicle position but the predicted vehicle position, but the lap time of each vehicle does not fluctuate greatly from lap to lap. Can do.

  According to this, in order to use the official lap time data, it is possible to obtain the data of all the vehicles participating in the race, obtain the position on the circuit of any vehicle, and display it become able to. Even with the predicted vehicle position, it is very effective to know where the vehicle is congested on the circuit and where the focused vehicle is located. If it is a race related person, the timing of the pit stop of the vehicle can be aimed at, or a driver can be alerted. In addition, if it is a spectator, the situation of the whole race can be understood together with watching a television or a stand watching which normally only knows a part of the situation, and it can arouse further interest and interest.

  According to invention of Claim 2, usefulness will increase by displaying the calculated | required present vehicle position with the display of a circuit.

  According to the third and tenth aspects of the present invention, by distributing the obtained current vehicle position data to the outside, the use range of the data is expanded, and the usefulness is further enhanced. Externally, it can be distributed to various media such as an Internet provider, a television station, and a game-related company via a dedicated line, an intranet or the Internet, and / or via a WWW server.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the most recent lap time or a plurality of average lap times from the latest can be used as the vehicle lap time, and the deviation from the reference lap time can be obtained to perform the calculation most reflecting the current situation. The position can be obtained accurately.

  According to the invention described in claim 5 or 6, the vehicle position that matches the vehicle lap time of the vehicle can be obtained by correcting the reference data recorded in the first storage means using the offset. become.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, by using official pit-in data, an accurate vehicle can be displayed by displaying, at the reference point, a vehicle that is clear from the pit-in data and is clearly not currently traveling. The position can be obtained.

  According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle immediately after the pit stop may generally have a delayed lap time, or the lap time may be significantly different from the standard lap time of the vehicle for some other reason. Therefore, the offset accuracy can be improved by obtaining the offset without using a lap time deviating from the standard.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration block diagram of a circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system according to the present invention. Here, any applicable traveling vehicle can be used, and any vehicle can be applied as long as the circuit travels around a circuit such as a four-wheeled vehicle, a two-wheeled vehicle, and a cart.

  In the figure, a computer 10 that realizes the circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system has a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and performs data transfer, calculation, temporary data storage, or main program storage according to a program. Data and programs are stored in an I / O control circuit 14 that controls input / output of data wirelessly or in a wired manner between the control circuit 12 and a server device 20 that provides authorized vehicle status data such as lap time data. And a storage device 16. At the same time, the CPU has a CPU internal counter that counts an elapsed time since the computer was started up in ms units and outputs a CPU internal count. A display device 18 is connected to the computer 10.

  The server device 20 is a device that is officially approved by the race organizer, etc. The official vehicle status data such as the latest lap time data officially announced by the race organizer is stored in the official vehicle status file 22, and these official approvals. It becomes a provider of vehicle status data. Such a server device 20 is known.

  As the authorized vehicle status data stored in the server device 20 and which can be provided by the server device 20, as shown in FIG. 5, in addition to the “current time”, each vehicle is assigned in advance. A bib number to be identified (hereinafter referred to as “Car No” in FIG. 5 and referred to as vehicle identification data), “position” (“Pos” in FIG. 5), and “latest lap time” (in FIG. 5) associated with this “vehicle identification data”. “NowTime”), “Best lap time” (“BestTime” in FIG. 5), “Lap number” (“Lap” in FIG. 5), “Pit flag” (“Pit” in FIG. 5), “Vehicle name” (FIG. 5 "Machine") and "Class" ("Class" in FIG. 5). “Position” is a ranking. "Latest lap time data" is an official record measured by any means. In the latest lap, it is the time required to make a lap from the start line as the reference point, that is, the lap time. This is the lap time when the lap time is the fastest in the past lap times. The “lap number” is the number of times the circuit is circulated. The “pit flag” is a flag (represented by “P”) that stands when the vehicle is in the pit. The above data is updated every time each vehicle passes the start line in principle.

  The computer 10 in which the circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system is realized has a function that is realized by the program. The computer 10 largely includes a lap time acquisition unit 100 that acquires a lap time from the server device 20, and a position calculation that calculates the vehicle position of each vehicle. Means 120, and each means performs processing independently.

  The lap time acquisition unit 100 further includes a lap time update unit 102 that acquires the updated lap time of each vehicle from the server device 20, and initialization of the elapsed time and vehicle position associated with the vehicle when the updated lap time is acquired. And an offset calculating means 106 for calculating a deviation from the preset reference lap time, specifically, an offset representing a ratio, from the lap time acquired by the lap time updating means.

  In addition, the position calculation means 120 further outputs, for each vehicle, a timing means 122 that outputs the current elapsed time at the drawing timing after the lap time has been updated, and an elapsed time from the time measurement means and an offset from the offset calculation means. A distance calculation means 124 for obtaining the predicted distance, a circuit coordinate calculation means 126 for obtaining the coordinates on the circuit map from the predicted distance by the distance calculation means 124, a drawing means 128 for drawing from the coordinates from the circuit coordinate calculation means 126, Is provided. Each means of the position calculation means 120 performs independent processing for each vehicle at the drawing timing. The distance calculation means 124 and the circuit coordinate calculation means 126 together constitute a vehicle position calculation means.

  Further, as described above, the computer 10 that realizes the circuit travel vehicle position information providing system records data of the reference lap time Ls of the target circuit in advance, and travels the circuit at the reference lap time. The storage device is provided with a reference file 200 in which the elapsed time for each unit time Δt and the reference vehicle speed as reference data are associated in a sequence. This reference file 200 is obtained in advance by actual measurement, and the vehicle speed when a normal driver travels on the circuit in a vehicle of almost the same class as that participating in the race is obtained every unit time. Is stored as a reference vehicle speed (FIG. 2A).

  Furthermore, the storage device is provided with a coordinate file 202 in which travel distance from the reference point and coordinates on the circuit map are associated in an array (FIG. 2B). The travel distance from the reference point and the coordinates of the circuit map can be uniquely associated in advance. Usually, since the circuit has a gradient, the mileage is uniquely associated with the three-dimensional coordinates. However, if the display method is a two-dimensional image, the altitude of the three-dimensional coordinates is set. The coordinates to be expressed can be omitted, and the two-dimensional coordinates projected on the horizontal plane can be used.

  Furthermore, the computer 10 records a vehicle status file 204 (third storage means) that records vehicle status data such as the latest lap time and pit flag of each vehicle extracted from the authorized vehicle status file 22 acquired from the server device 20. And an entry file 206 and a vehicle prediction memory 208 (second storage means) obtained by calculation.

  The vehicle status file 204 has a three-dimensional file structure. For each number of laps and for each vehicle identification data, “position (Position)”, “pit flag (PitFlag)”, “best lap time (BestTime)”, “latest” Each vehicle status data of “lap time (NowTime)” and “integrated lap time (Σ)” is included (FIG. 3). If there is a vehicle withdrawn in the middle, data after the number of laps withdrawn is not stored.

  The entry file 206 stores “vehicle name”, “class”, and the like of the vehicle associated with the vehicle identification data of the vehicle participating in the race. These data are used for display but do not change during the race. When the official vehicle status file 22 of the server device 20 is first read, necessary data is read in advance. be able to. Alternatively, it may be input in advance from input means attached to the computer 10 separately.

  The vehicle prediction memory 208 (second storage means) is associated with each vehicle identification data, and “total elapsed time”, “corrected total elapsed time”, “travel distance”, “vehicle position”, “offset” of the vehicle. , “CPU internal count”. These data change from time to time as the race progresses, and the details will be described below.

  The processing of the circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system configured as described above will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lap time update unit 102 reads the authorized vehicle status file 22 of the server device 20 at a constant cycle at all times and compares it with the corresponding data of the vehicle status file 204 already stored in the computer 10. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle status data of any of the vehicles participating in the race has been updated (step S12). The fact that the data has been updated means that the vehicle has passed around the reference point and, as a judgment, to see whether the “lap number” of any vehicle has changed. However, other items can be combined or compared alone. If items such as the number of laps associated with certain vehicle identification data are changed, the “position”, “latest lap time”, “best lap time”, “lap number” and “pit flag” corresponding to the vehicle identification data are changed. Is read out and stored in the area of the corresponding vehicle status file 204.

  Next, the initialization unit 104 obtains the CPU internal count (step S14), stores the value as the updated “CPU internal count” of the vehicle in the vehicle prediction memory 208, and stores the vehicle in the vehicle prediction memory 208. Is initialized (= 0) (step S16), and "vehicle position" and "travel distance" are initialized (step S18). The initial value of the vehicle position is the reference point, and the initial value of the travel distance is zero.

Next, the offset calculation means 106 obtains an offset representing a deviation from the acquired lap time, here, the latest lap time L to the reference lap time Ls (step S20). The offset in this case is the ratio of both Offset = L / Ls
This latest offset is written in the corresponding area of the vehicle prediction memory 208.

  The elapsed time and vehicle position initialized by the initialization means 104 and the offset data from the offset calculation means 106 are input to the position calculation means 120 and used.

  In the position calculation means 120, as shown roughly in FIG. 7, the elapsed time is calculated by the time measuring means 122 (step S32), the travel distance is calculated by the distance calculation means 124 (step S34), and the circuit coordinate calculation means 126 is used. The calculation of the coordinates by (Step S36) and the drawing by the drawing means 128 (Step S38) are performed. However, these processes are not performed sequentially but can be performed in parallel independently.

As shown in FIG. 8, the time counting unit 122 of the position calculation unit 120 acquires the CPU internal count after the elapsed time is initialized by the initialization unit (step S <b> 42) and is stored in the vehicle prediction memory 208. From the difference between the previous CPU internal count and the current CPU internal count, the current elapsed time is
Current elapsed time = current CPU internal count−previous CPU internal count (step S44), from the previous (pre-processing) total elapsed time and current elapsed time stored, total elapsed time T = (pre-processing) total elapsed time + The current total elapsed time is obtained from the current elapsed time (step S46), and steps S42 to S46 are sequentially repeated to update the total elapsed time in the vehicle prediction memory 208, and the latest total elapsed time is sent to the distance calculation means 124. Is output.

As shown in FIG. 9, the distance calculation means 124 first corrects the total elapsed time using the offset with respect to the latest total elapsed time from the time measuring means 122 (step S52). The total corrected elapsed time is
Modified total elapsed time T ′ = total elapsed time T / offset. This is because when the offset is smaller than 1, that is, when the latest lap time L is smaller than the reference lap time Ls, the vehicle is running faster than the reference, so the time axis is extended and the latest lap time L is larger than the reference lap time Ls. In this case, the vehicle is running slower than the standard, which means that the time axis is shortened.

  However, it is determined whether or not the corrected total elapsed time is longer than the reference lap time Ls (step S53). If the corrected total elapsed time is larger than the reference lap time Ls, it means that the vehicle has passed the reference point, so the officially recognized lap time should have been updated, but it is still updated. In this case, the travel distance is the maximum travel distance, that is, the total length of the circuit (step S64). This occurs when the current actual lap time is later than the latest past lap time used as a reference for processing.

Next, the variable t is initialized (= t ₀ ) (step S54), the corrected total elapsed time T ′ is compared with t (step S56), and if t is smaller than the total elapsed time, the reference file 200 To t is obtained (step S58), and the travel distance is obtained from the following equation (step S60).
Travel distance = (Before processing) Travel distance + Reference speed × Δt

  Next, t is added by Δt (step S62), and step S56 to step S62 are repeated until t becomes larger than T ′, and the reference speed × unit time Δt is integrated, thereby driving in the corrected total elapsed time. The distance can be determined. The travel distance thus determined is updated in the vehicle prediction memory 208 and output to the circuit coordinate calculation means 126 (step S66).

  As shown in FIG. 10, the circuit coordinate calculation means 126 first determines whether or not a pit flag is set (step S71). Since the vehicle in which the pit flag is set is in the pit and is not traveling on the circuit, the vehicle position is set as the reference point coordinates regardless of the calculation so far (step S76). Of course, if it is possible to display that the latest lap time is being used to display that the vehicle is traveling on the circuit, the determination in step S71 is not necessary.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the output travel distance is greater than the circuit length, which is the maximum travel distance (step S72), and if it is greater, the vehicle position is set as a reference point coordinate (step S76). The fact that the mileage is larger than the maximum mileage is not possible in practice, but since it is passing through the reference point in the calculation, the end point, that is, the reference point is defined as the coordinate data. To do.

  If it is determined in step S72 that the output travel distance is smaller than the circuit length, which is the maximum travel distance, the coordinates corresponding to the travel distance are acquired with reference to the coordinate file 202 (step S74). Then, the acquired coordinate data is written in the corresponding area of the vehicle prediction memory 208 and drawn on the display device 18 together with the vehicle identification data (step S78).

  By performing the above processing in parallel for each vehicle, the display device 18 displays the predicted vehicle positions on the circuit of all the vehicles participating in the race, as indicated by reference numeral 18a in FIG. be able to. In the display 18a, the number is “Car No.” which is vehicle identification data. This allows you to see at a glance the race conditions on the circuit and the congestion.

  The display device 18 can also display a list 18b of vehicles arranged in order of positions, a lap time transition 18c of the selected vehicle, and the like, and can provide detailed race information. Therefore, each participating team having a computer on which the program is installed can display the circuit status on the display device 18 connected to the computer 10 of each team by obtaining the authorized vehicle status data from the server device 20. Is possible.

In the above processing, the following various modifications are possible.
The elapsed time and the reference speed are recorded in association with each other in the reference file 200. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the reference speed is converted into a reference travel distance by integration in advance, and the elapsed time and the reference travel distance are recorded. Can be recorded in association with each other. In that case, as shown in FIG. 12, when the corrected total elapsed time T ′ is obtained, the travel distance corresponding to the T ′ can be directly obtained (step S80). Furthermore, since the travel distance is uniquely associated with the vehicle position, the coordinate file 202 can be omitted by recording the elapsed time and the reference vehicle position in association with each other in the reference file 200. Thereby, the distance calculation means 124 and the circuit coordinate calculation means 126 can be integrated as one means.

In the distance calculation means 124, instead of obtaining the corrected total elapsed time, it is also possible to correct the speed (or distance) using an offset. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the corresponding reference file 200 is referred to, and reference speed data (or reference mileage) corresponding to t is acquired (step S58). Next, the reference speed data is corrected using the offset (step S86). That is,
It is expressed as corrected reference speed data = reference speed data / offset. This is because when the offset is smaller than 1, that is, when the latest lap time L is smaller than the reference lap time Ls, the vehicle is running faster than the reference, so the speed is increased and the latest lap time L is larger than the reference lap time Ls. In this case, the vehicle is running slower than the standard, which means that the speed is reduced.

Next, the travel distance is obtained from the following equation (step S60).
Travel distance = (Before processing) Travel distance + Modified reference speed × Δt

  Then, t is added by Δt (step S88), and step S82 to step S88 are repeated until t becomes larger than T ′, and the reference speed × unit time Δt is integrated, thereby driving in the corrected total elapsed time. The distance can be determined. However, if t becomes larger than Ls (step S90), the reference file 200 does not have the corresponding elapsed time. In this case, the process of t = t−Ls is performed (step S92), and the corresponding elapsed time. Make sure that time exists.

In the processing of the offset calculation means 106, the offset is obtained based on one latest lap time, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the deviation between this and the reference lap time is based on the average lap time of the latest plural lap times. It is also possible to obtain an offset. Alternatively, instead of using one or more latest lap times, it is also possible to obtain an offset by obtaining a difference between the average lap time of all past lap times and the reference lap time. However, lap times usually tend to depend on weather, vehicle conditions, etc., and often vary greatly depending on the stage of the race. Therefore, calculation is performed using one or more latest lap times. It is preferable.

・ The latest lap time immediately after the pit-in becomes larger because the pit-in time is added. Therefore, in the calculation using the latest lap time, the vehicle is displayed as a slow vehicle. In order to prevent such a problem, the offset calculation means 106 always refers to the data of the pit-in flag of the previous lap in the vehicle status file 204, and when the pit-in flag is set, the latest calculation is performed. Instead of using the lap time, the previous lap time can be used, the average of previous lap times can be used, or the average of all lap times can be used to determine the offset.

Alternatively, if the latest lap time is significantly different from the previous lap time due to some accident including pit stop, the latest lap time can be not used. Specifically, the offset calculation means 106 compares the newly calculated offset with the previous offset stored in the vehicle prediction memory 208, and if the difference is equal to or greater than the threshold, the newly calculated offset is calculated. Instead of adopting it, it is also possible to adopt an existing offset.

In addition to being displayed on the display device 18 connected to the computer 10, the vehicle position data of each vehicle described above can be sent from the computer 10 to a large screen in the race track wirelessly or by wire and displayed there. It is. As a result, all concerned parties and spectators in the stand can grasp the circuit situation.

  Furthermore, the vehicle position data of each vehicle can be output to the outside by either wireless or wired via the I / O control circuit 14 from the computer 10. The data can also be distributed over the Internet via an Internet provider's WWW server, or can be distributed via a communication institution such as a television station. For example, a spectator watching a race on a racetrack or a spectator watching a live situation on television or the Internet at home etc. operates his computer and connects to the Internet through a provider. Data can also be acquired and displayed on the display device of its own computer. Alternatively, the vehicle position data can also be used as game information through distribution via a game-related company.

1 is an overall configuration block diagram of a circuit traveling vehicle position information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a reference file of FIG. 1, and (b) is a configuration example of a coordinate file. It is a structural example of the vehicle condition file of FIG. (A) is the entry file of FIG. 1, (b) is a structural example of a vehicle prediction memory. It is an example of a structure of the official vehicle status file provided from a server apparatus. It is a flowchart showing a lap time update process. It is a flowchart showing a position calculation process. It is a flowchart showing the calculation process of elapsed time. It is a flowchart showing the calculation process of travel distance. It is a flowchart showing the calculation process of a coordinate. It is an example of a display with a display apparatus. It is another flowchart showing the calculation process of travel distance. It is another flowchart showing the calculation process of travel distance.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Computer 100 Lap time acquisition means 102 Lap time update means 104 Initialization means 106 Offset calculation means 120 Position calculation means 122 Timing means 124 Distance calculation means (vehicle position calculation means)
126 Circuit coordinate calculation means (vehicle position calculation means)
200 Reference file 202 Coordinate file 208 Vehicle prediction memory (second storage means)
18 Display device T 'Total correction elapsed time

Claims (10)

A circuit running vehicle position information providing system realized by a computer that outputs position information on a circuit of a vehicle orbiting a circuit having a reference point,
A lap time acquisition unit that acquires a certified lap time data in association with the vehicle by wire or wireless every time each vehicle passes a reference point; and a position calculation unit that calculates a vehicle position of each vehicle based on the acquired lap time; ,
First storage means for pre-recording the relationship between elapsed time per unit time when traveling around the circuit with a certain reference lap time and reference data such as speed, travel distance, or vehicle position, and the current vehicle in association with each vehicle Second storage means for recording the position and the elapsed time;
With
The lap time acquisition means includes a lap time update means for acquiring authorized lap time data in association with each vehicle each time the vehicle passes the reference point, and a vehicle position of the vehicle recorded in the second storage means. Initialization means for initializing the point and initializing the elapsed time to an initial value, and offset calculation means for obtaining an offset representing a deviation between the lap time of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as vehicle lap time) based on the authorized lap time data and the reference lap time And comprising
The position calculating means measures the elapsed time since each vehicle has passed the reference point, updates the elapsed time, acquires the reference data of the first storage means, and obtains the offset obtained by the offset calculating means And a vehicle position calculating means for obtaining an estimated vehicle position of each vehicle from the elapsed time from the time measuring means and recording it in a second storage means as a current vehicle position. Information provision system.   The circuit travel vehicle position information providing system according to claim 1, further comprising a display device that displays the current vehicle position obtained by the vehicle position calculation means for each vehicle together with the display of the circuit.   The circuit travel vehicle position information providing system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle position calculation means outputs current vehicle position data obtained by the vehicle position calculation means for each vehicle together with vehicle identification data to the outside for vehicle position display. .   4. The circuit travel vehicle position information provision according to claim 1, wherein the offset calculation means uses the latest lap time of the official lap time data or a plurality of average lap times including the latest as the vehicle tap time. 5. system.   The vehicle position calculation means obtains an elapsed time (hereinafter referred to as a corrected elapsed time) to reach the same vehicle position when it is assumed that each vehicle has traveled with a reference lap time using the offset, and refers to the first storage means. The circuit travel vehicle position information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the vehicle position corresponding to the corrected elapsed time is the current vehicle position.   The vehicle position calculating means refers to the first storage means, acquires the speed, travel distance or vehicle position corresponding to the elapsed time from the time measuring means, corrects the acquired value by an offset amount, and calculates the vehicle position. The circuit travel vehicle position information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the current vehicle position is the current vehicle position.   The lap time updating means acquires authorized pit-in data indicating that the vehicle is pit-in, together with authorized lap time data, and stores it in a third storage means, and the vehicle position calculating means is provided for a certain vehicle. The circuit travel vehicle position information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when the pit-in data is acquired correspondingly, the reference point is recorded in the second storage means as the current vehicle position.   The offset calculation means obtains an offset from an average of past lap times excluding the latest lap time for a vehicle immediately after a pit stop or for a vehicle whose difference between the calculated offset and the previous offset is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Item 8. The circuit travel vehicle position information providing system according to any one of Items 1 to 7. A circuit traveling vehicle position information providing program for causing a computer to output position information on a circuit of a vehicle that circulates a circuit having a reference point, the computer comprising:
A lap time acquisition unit that acquires a certified lap time data in association with the vehicle by wire or wireless every time each vehicle passes a reference point; and a position calculation unit that calculates a vehicle position of each vehicle based on the acquired lap time; A first storage means for pre-recording the relationship between the elapsed time per unit time when traveling around the circuit with a certain reference lap time and the reference data such as speed, distance traveled, or vehicle position; Second storage means for recording the vehicle position and elapsed time;
To function, and
The lap time acquisition means includes a lap time update means for acquiring authorized lap time data in association with each vehicle each time the vehicle passes the reference point, and a vehicle of the vehicle recorded in the second storage means. An initialization means that initializes the position to the reference point and initializes the elapsed time to an initial value, and obtains an offset that represents a deviation between the lap time of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the vehicle lap time) based on the authorized lap time data and the reference lap time. Function as an offset calculator,
The position calculation means acquires a reference data of a first storage means, a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time after each vehicle passes the reference point and updating the elapsed time, and an offset calculation means Circuit traveling vehicle position that functions as vehicle position calculation means that obtains the predicted vehicle position of each vehicle from the elapsed time from the time measuring means and records the current vehicle position in the second storage means using the obtained offset. Information provision program.   The circuit travel vehicle position information providing program according to claim 9, wherein the vehicle position calculation means outputs current vehicle position data for each vehicle together with vehicle identification data to the outside for vehicle position display.

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