JP2008151532A - Travel-supporting device and cruise assistance method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the guidance based on the travelling schedule of the other vehicle cannot be performed with a system which is inexpensive and high in feasibility. <P>SOLUTION: The problem is solved in the following processes that: the positional information indicating the position of the own vehicle is acquired; the image of the other vehicle running around of the own vehicle is acquired; from the image of the other vehicle the information displayed on the other vehicle is extracted; the information of the running schedule of the other vehicle corresponding to the extracted information is acquired; and the guidance for supporting the running of the own vehicle based on the positional information of the own vehicle and the scheduled running information of the other vehicle is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support apparatus and method for performing guidance based on a driving schedule of another vehicle.

Conventionally, a technique for receiving a signal indicating the position and traveling lane of another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication, detecting the position and traveling lane of the own vehicle, and generating an alarm when the other vehicle approaches the own vehicle Is known (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-2531

In the prior art, guidance based on the traveling schedule of other vehicles could not be performed by an inexpensive and highly feasible system.
That is, in the configuration for acquiring the position and travel lane of another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication, it is necessary to provide a communication system not only for the host vehicle but also for the other vehicle. It is necessary to set it as the system which transmits from other vehicles to the own vehicle. However, in this system, this system needs to be installed in all other vehicles to be guided, and introducing this system in all other vehicles is extremely expensive and is not feasible. . Moreover, even if some bus companies introduce this system when other vehicles are buses, if there is a bus company that does not introduce the system, the usefulness of this system will be extremely low. Furthermore, it is difficult to adopt a system that transmits not only the position of the other vehicle and the travel lane but also the planned travel by communication from the viewpoint of cost and information security.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide guidance based on a traveling schedule of another vehicle by an inexpensive and highly feasible system.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an image of another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle is acquired, information displayed on the other vehicle is extracted from this image, and this information is supported. Other vehicle travel schedule information is acquired. And the guidance for assisting driving | running | working of the own vehicle is performed based on the said other vehicle driving plan information. That is, in the present invention, the travel schedule information of the other vehicle is acquired based on the image acquired by the image acquisition means provided in the host vehicle, so that no cost is incurred for the other vehicle when this system is introduced. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to execute guidance based on the traveling schedule of another vehicle at a low cost. Further, since the system can be constructed only with the device mounted on the host vehicle, the driving support based on this device can be easily realized.

  Here, the own vehicle position information acquisition unit only needs to be able to acquire own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle. For example, a configuration for specifying the position of the vehicle by a sensor or a camera, a signal from GPS or a map The structure etc. which acquire a position by the locus | trajectory of the own vehicle in the above, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, etc. are employable.

  The image acquisition unit only needs to be able to acquire images of other vehicles to be guided that travel around the host vehicle, and adopts various configurations such as a configuration for capturing the surroundings of the host vehicle with a camera mounted on the host vehicle. Is possible. The positional relationship between the image to be acquired and the host vehicle is not particularly limited. If guidance related to another vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is to be executed, an image of the other vehicle is acquired from the front of the host vehicle. What is necessary is just to perform the guidance regarding the other vehicle which drive | works the back and side of the own vehicle, and what is necessary is just to acquire the image of the other vehicle in view of the back and the side of the own vehicle.

  The other vehicle travel schedule acquisition means only needs to be able to extract information displayed on the other vehicle from the image of the other vehicle and acquire other vehicle travel schedule information corresponding to this information. Here, the information displayed on the other vehicle may be information corresponding to the travel schedule of the other vehicle, and various information such as figures and characters displayed on the other vehicle can be employed. Further, the information corresponding to the travel schedule may be any information that can grasp the travel route that the other vehicle is scheduled to pass at least when the information is recognized. This information is displayed continuously.

  Moreover, as a configuration example for acquiring the other vehicle travel schedule information, a configuration that refers to information stored in advance in a storage medium may be employed. For example, if the information displayed on the other vehicle and the other vehicle travel schedule information are associated with each other and stored in advance in a storage medium, the information displayed on the other vehicle is extracted from the image, The other vehicle travel schedule information associated with the extracted information can be acquired by referring to the billion media. That is, the travel schedule of the other vehicle can be specified based on the information displayed on the other vehicle. Since this storage medium is provided in the own vehicle, the present invention can be realized only by the equipment of the own vehicle regardless of the equipment in other vehicles, and the present invention can be realized very easily.

  The guidance means only needs to be able to provide guidance for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle based on the host vehicle position information and the other vehicle traveling schedule information. That is, if the travel schedule of the other vehicle is acquired and the position of the own vehicle is acquired, at least the relationship between the travel schedule of the other vehicle and the position of the own vehicle can be acquired. What is necessary is just to give guidance which supports driving | running | working.

  For example, it is possible to perform travel support such as displaying the travel schedule of another vehicle superimposed on a display unit that displays the position of the host vehicle, or guiding a route for traveling while avoiding the other vehicle. Of course, information indicating the position of the other vehicle is identified by the image of the other vehicle, road-to-vehicle communication, etc., and guidance for supporting the traveling of the own vehicle based on the position of the own vehicle, the position of the other vehicle, and the traveling schedule of the other vehicle. May be performed.

  In addition, the other vehicle in the present invention may be a vehicle that can specify the traveling schedule based on the image of the other vehicle, such as a bus displaying a company name, a destination, a route number, a logo mark, and the like. Can be another vehicle in the present invention. In addition, a delivery vehicle on which a company name, a destination, a logo mark, and the like are displayed can be another vehicle in the present invention. In other words, when an image is acquired for a delivery car of a specific company that is running near the position of the own vehicle and a travel schedule can be predicted based on this image, such a delivery car is also used in the present invention. It becomes another vehicle.

  Further, as an example for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle, the position where the other vehicle stops and the time during which the other vehicle stops may be guided. That is, in other vehicles such as buses where a predetermined traveling schedule is determined, scheduled stop positions such as bus stops are determined, and the time at which each scheduled stop position is stopped can be predicted in advance. Therefore, if the information is guided, the driver of the own vehicle can predict the behavior of the other vehicle based on the information, and can perform appropriate driving in advance in relation to the other vehicle. .

  For example, if it is expected that the stop time of the other vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is long and it is necessary to stop long behind the other vehicle when maintaining the travel lane, driving such as changing the lane in advance Is possible. Of course, it is only necessary to provide guidance based on the position where the other vehicle stops and the time when the other vehicle is stopped. Therefore, guidance may be given to notify the stop position and the stop time itself, and the stop position and A preferred travel route of the host vehicle may be guided from time, and various guidance can be adopted.

  The stop time may be an expected stop time of another vehicle, and may be varied based on various factors such as the stop position, time zone, day of the week, season, and the like. Of course, there are various methods for determining the stop time, and an average value, a median value, a mode value, or the like of the stop time can be adopted.

  Furthermore, as an example for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle, a configuration for obtaining the host vehicle traveling schedule information and performing guidance for avoiding other vehicles may be employed. That is, if the travel schedule of the other vehicle and the travel schedule of the own vehicle are acquired, the travel of the own vehicle necessary to avoid the other vehicle can be specified. Useful information for supporting the running of the vehicle can be provided.

  There are various types of guidance for avoiding other vehicles in the host vehicle, for example, guidance for changing lanes in order to travel avoiding other vehicles, or that other vehicles are scheduled to change lanes in a short time. Various types of guidance can be employed, such as guiding the host vehicle to avoid unnecessary lane changes, and avoiding other vehicles by urging the host vehicle to change the planned travel route itself. Various information indicating the traveling schedule of the host vehicle corresponds to the traveling schedule information of the host vehicle. For example, the scheduled traveling path set in the navigation device may be used, and the position, speed, and direction indicator of the host vehicle may be used. The route predicted from the above may be used.

  Furthermore, the method of obtaining guidance by obtaining a travel schedule of another vehicle based on the image of the other vehicle as in the present invention can be applied as a program or method. In addition, the above-described driving support device, program, and method may be realized as a single driving support device, or may be realized by using parts shared with each part provided in the vehicle. The embodiment is included. For example, it is possible to provide a navigation device, method, and program that include the above-described travel support device. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the driving support device. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of navigation device:
(2) Driving support processing:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of navigation device:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a navigation device 10 including a driving support device according to the present invention. The navigation device 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like and a storage medium 30, and the control unit 20 can execute a program stored in the storage medium 30 or the ROM. In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 can be implemented as one of the programs, and the navigation program 21 has a function of implementing traveling support of the own vehicle based on the traveling schedule of another vehicle as one of the functions. ing.

  In order to implement the navigation program 21, the host vehicle (the vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted) includes a GPS receiver 40, a front camera 41, a speaker 42, and a display unit 43. The exchange of signals with the unit 20 is realized by an interface (not shown).

  The GPS receiver 40 receives radio waves from GPS satellites and outputs information for calculating the current position of the host vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the host vehicle. The front camera 41 is attached to the host vehicle so that the front of the host vehicle is included in the field of view, and outputs image data indicating a captured image. The control unit 20 acquires this image data via an interface (not shown), and specifies the traveling schedule of other vehicles included in the field of view of the front camera 41.

  The control unit 20 executes the navigation program 21 to provide guidance for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle based on the other vehicle traveling schedule information acquired as described above. That is, the control unit 20 acquires a travel schedule of another vehicle based on the image of the front camera 41, and specifies guidance for supporting the host vehicle based on the travel schedule of the other vehicle. Then, a control signal for performing this guidance is output to the speaker 42 by voice, and a control signal for performing this guidance is output to the display unit 43 by an image, thereby assisting the host vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, the navigation program 21 performs guidance based on the travel schedule of the other vehicle, thereby causing the navigation device 10 to function as the navigation device according to the present invention. The navigation program 21 includes a navigation processing unit 21a, an image acquisition unit 21b, an other vehicle travel schedule acquisition unit 21c, and a guidance processing unit 21d. Further, the storage medium 30 stores map information 30a for performing guidance by the navigation program 21. The map information 30a includes node data indicating nodes set on a road, link data indicating connection between nodes, data indicating a target, and the like, specifying the position of the own vehicle and specifying the traveling schedule of the own vehicle. Used for guidance to destinations.

  Further, the storage medium 30 stores travel schedule data 30b in which information displayed on the other vehicle is associated with the travel schedule of the other vehicle. In other words, the travel schedule data 30b is data in which combinations of figures and characters displayed on other vehicles and travel schedules of other vehicles displaying the combinations are associated with each other. The order data for specifying the route of the other vehicle according to the travel order, the position data indicating the stop position, and the time data indicating the stop time at the stop position are combined into the travel schedule data 30b.

  Note that the position data indicating the stop position and the time data indicating the stop time are defined in advance for each other vehicle. For example, when the other vehicle is a bus, the position of the stop included in the travel route is the stop position. Therefore, data indicating the position of the stop may be used as the position data. The time data may be data indicating the average value of the stop time for each stop position or time zone by taking statistics for each stop position or time zone for the time when the bus stops at each stop.

  The navigation processing unit 21a specifies the position of the host vehicle based on the signal output from the GPS receiving unit 40, and specifies and guides the position of the host vehicle on the map with reference to the map information 30a. In addition, the driving schedule of the host vehicle set by the driver is guided. The navigation processing unit 21a outputs information indicating these guidances to the speaker 42 and the display unit 43, and executes various guidances. That is, in the present embodiment, the navigation processing unit 21a specifies the own vehicle position information based on the signal from the GPS receiving unit 40, and acquires the own vehicle travel schedule information based on the driver's setting.

  The image acquisition unit 21b acquires a signal output from the front camera 41 and acquires an image in front of the host vehicle. The other vehicle travel schedule acquisition unit 21c is a module that acquires the travel schedule of the other vehicle based on this image, and extracts information displayed on the other vehicle from the image. That is, pattern matching or inter-frame comparison is performed on the image to extract the image of the other vehicle, and the information included in the image of the other vehicle, the information corresponding to the travel schedule of the other vehicle is patterned. Acquired by matching.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating information corresponding to the travel schedule of the other vehicle when the bus 50 is the other vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, a destination display unit 51, a route number display unit 52, and a company name display unit 53 are provided at the rear of the bus 50, and the driving schedule of the bus 50 is specified by a combination of characters in each unit. can do. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a combination of information (for example, bus company name and destination display content) that can specify the traveling schedule of other vehicles among the characters and graphics displayed in each part is included in the traveling schedule data 30b. This combination is associated with the traveling schedule of another vehicle. The other vehicle travel schedule acquisition unit 21c acquires a combination of information that can specify the travel schedule of the other vehicle from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 21b, and refers to the travel schedule data 30b to determine the travel schedule of the bus 50. Identify.

  The guidance processing unit 21d is a guide for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle based on the traveling schedule of the other vehicle specified by the other vehicle traveling plan acquisition unit 21c and the traveling schedule of the host vehicle acquired by the navigation processing unit 21a. It is a module that performs. In the present embodiment, the overlap between the traveling schedule of the other vehicle and the traveling schedule of the host vehicle is guided, the stop position and the stop time of the other vehicle are specified, and a signal for outputting these guidance is output to the speaker 42. And output to the display unit 43.

(2) Driving support processing:
Next, guidance processing performed by the navigation device 10 in the above configuration will be described. When the navigation program 21 is executed by the navigation device 10, the processing by the navigation processing unit 21a is executed, and the image acquisition unit 21b, the other vehicle travel plan acquisition unit 21c, and the guidance processing unit 21d are illustrated as necessary. The process shown in 3 is executed.

  The navigation processing unit 21 a specifies the position of the host vehicle based on the signal from the GPS receiving unit 40 and displays it on the display unit 43. If the travel schedule of the host vehicle is set in advance, information indicating the travel schedule of the host vehicle is displayed on the display unit 43 together with information indicating the position of the host vehicle. FIG. 4A shows a display example of the display unit 43, in which a map of the surrounding area is displayed together with the position P of the own vehicle, and a traveling schedule of the own vehicle (thick line in the example of FIG. 4A) is displayed. Show.

  As described above, when the navigation processing unit 21a provides the travel schedule guidance for the host vehicle, the image acquisition unit 21b acquires an image captured based on the data from the front camera 41 (step S100). When the image acquisition unit 21b acquires the captured image of the front camera 41, the other vehicle travel schedule acquisition unit 21c analyzes the image and determines whether or not the other vehicle exists ahead (step S105).

  That is, it is determined whether or not a bus image has been extracted by the above-described pattern matching or inter-frame comparison. If it is not determined in step S105 that the other vehicle is present ahead, the subsequent processing is skipped, and if it is determined that the other vehicle is present ahead, the processing for performing guidance based on the travel schedule of the other vehicle is continued. .

  In this process, the other vehicle travel schedule acquisition unit 21c acquires information (for example, bus company name and destination display content) corresponding to the bus travel schedule from the bus image extracted in step S105 (step S105). S110). And the information corresponding to the said driving schedule of the said bus | bath is extracted with reference to driving schedule data 30b, and the other vehicle driving schedule information matched with this information is acquired (step S115).

  In this embodiment, when the travel schedule of the host vehicle is set, the travel of the host vehicle is supported by indicating the travel schedule of the other vehicle and the travel schedule of the host vehicle acquired as described above. The guidance processing unit 21d first determines whether or not the traveling schedule of the host vehicle has been set (step S120).

  When it is determined in step S120 that the traveling schedule of the host vehicle has been set, the other vehicle traveling schedule acquisition unit 21c displays the traveling schedule of the other vehicle and the traveling schedule of the host vehicle on the display unit 43. The information corresponding to the travel schedule (for example, the distance of the section scheduled to travel in common between the host vehicle and the other vehicle, the position where the other vehicle is scheduled to turn right or left, etc.) is output from the speaker 42 (step S125). . As a result, the driver can easily determine whether to avoid other vehicles based on these guidance. If it is not determined in step S120 that the traveling schedule of the host vehicle has been set, step S125 is skipped.

  FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the traveling schedule of another vehicle is displayed over the display example illustrated in FIG. 4A and an output example by a speaker. In FIG. 4B, the other vehicle is a bus, and an image Ib of the bus is displayed in front of the host vehicle in order to show that the vehicle is traveling in front of the host vehicle. Further, the bus traveling schedule is indicated by a broken line, and a sound such as “the front bus makes a left turn at an intersection 300 m ahead” is output by the speaker 42. As described above, the travel schedule of the bus and the travel schedule of the host vehicle are clearly indicated, so that the travel of the host vehicle can be supported.

  For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, the bus is traveling in front of the host vehicle. However, according to the display on the display unit 43 and the voice guidance on the speaker 42, the bus will soon turn to the left and be different from the schedule of the host vehicle. You can see that you are driving along the route. Therefore, it becomes possible for the driver of the host vehicle to determine the traveling of the host vehicle according to his / her driving skill, for example, determining that it is not necessary to pass the bus. In the above example, the position of another vehicle may be guided. In this case, the position of the other vehicle may be acquired based on the image of the front camera 41 or may be acquired by road-to-vehicle communication or the like, and various configurations may be employed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the stop position and stop time of other vehicles are guided to assist the lane change with a margin when overtaking. For this reason, is the other vehicle travel schedule acquisition unit 21c within a predetermined distance (for example, 100 m) from the current position of the own vehicle to the stop position of the other vehicle (for example, a bus stop) based on the travel schedule? It is determined whether or not (step S130). That is, by acquiring information indicating the stop position included in the travel schedule data 30b and comparing it with the position of the host vehicle, the distance from the current host vehicle to the stop position of the other vehicle is acquired and determined.

  When it is determined in step S130 that the distance from the position of the host vehicle to the stop position of the other vehicle is within a predetermined distance, the guidance processing unit 21d displays an image indicating the stop position on the display unit 43, and stops. The position and stop time are output from the speaker 42 (step S135). That is, a predetermined image is displayed at the stop position of the other vehicle acquired as described above, the stop time associated with the stop position is acquired with reference to the travel schedule data 30b, and the time is indicated. Output audio. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, an image Is indicating a stop is displayed on the display unit 43, and the speaker 42 provides voice guidance about the presence of the stop and the time when the bus is stopped.

  As a result, the driver can predict the behavior of the other vehicle and can perform appropriate driving in advance in relation to the other vehicle. For example, in order to drive along a traffic flow, it is possible to easily determine whether or not to change lanes overtaking other vehicles. In addition, if the stop time of the other vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle is long and it is expected that the vehicle must stop long behind the other vehicle when maintaining the traveling lane, driving such as changing the lane in advance Is possible.

  If it is not determined in step S130 that the distance from the position of the host vehicle to the stop position of the other vehicle is within a predetermined distance, step S135 is skipped. As described above, in the present embodiment and others, guidance is provided to support the traveling of the host vehicle based on the position of the host vehicle (or the traveling schedule of the host vehicle) and the traveling schedule of the other vehicle. Accordingly, whether or not the driver of the own vehicle should easily perform a driving operation such as a lane change corresponding to the other vehicle even if another vehicle that obstructs the field of view of the own vehicle is traveling in front of the own vehicle. Can be determined.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above-described embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted as long as the traveling of the host vehicle can be supported based on the traveling schedule of the other vehicle. For example, in addition to the above-described guidance, driving operation assistance (for example, shift change, hold assistance, or brake operation assistance) that matches the guidance content may be performed.

  Furthermore, the means for acquiring the image of the other vehicle is not limited to the above-described front camera 41, and may be a rear camera or a camera that captures the side of the host vehicle, and the number of units is not limited. For example, take a bus traveling behind the rear camera with the rear camera as the field of view behind the host vehicle to obtain the bus schedule, and change the lane when the host vehicle is traveling in front of the bus on the bus priority route. Prompt guidance may be implemented. Of course, the travel schedule of the other vehicle may be acquired based on the image of the other vehicle acquired by a camera having a field of view of the side of the host vehicle.

  Furthermore, the method for acquiring the position of the host vehicle and the traveling schedule is not limited to the GPS receiver 40 described above, but various sensors and cameras such as a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor, and the vehicle on the map. Trajectory, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, and the like can be used. The traveling schedule of the host vehicle may be a scheduled traveling path set by a navigation device, or a route predicted from the position and speed of the host vehicle, a direction indicator, or the like.

  Further, the output mode of the guidance by the guidance processing unit 21d is not limited to the above example, and assists the traveling of the own vehicle based on at least the position of the own vehicle (or the traveling schedule of the own vehicle) and the traveling schedule of another vehicle. Any mode of outputting information to be used can be adopted. For example, when the driving schedule of the other vehicle and the driving schedule of the own vehicle overlap, the candidate of the planned driving route of the own vehicle is presented so that the driving schedule of the other vehicle is avoided and the vehicle is guided to the destination. You may do it.

  FIG. 5B is a diagram showing this example, and the bus is traveling in front of the host vehicle as in FIG. 4B described above, and the traveling schedule of the own vehicle indicated by the solid line and the traveling schedule of the other vehicle indicated by the broken line are shown. It overlaps more than a predetermined distance (for example, 2 km). At this time, the guidance processing unit 21d identifies another destination of the host vehicle based on the traveling schedule of the host vehicle, and is another route that can reach the destination of the host vehicle with reference to the map information 30a. Specify a route to travel avoiding other vehicles.

  5B, the route is displayed on the display unit 43 as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line, and the speaker 42 outputs a sound indicating that the avoidance route can be selected. As a result, the driver of the own vehicle can easily avoid other vehicles. Of course, in addition to the above examples, it is possible to adopt a configuration that guides that the other vehicle is scheduled to change lanes in a short time so that the own vehicle does not make unnecessary lane changes.

  Furthermore, you may employ | adopt the structure which transmits the driving schedule of the other vehicle acquired with the own vehicle as mentioned above to another vehicle (it calls a 3rd vehicle). For example, if information indicating the traveling schedule of another vehicle acquired by the own vehicle is further transmitted to the third vehicle by inter-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication, the traveling schedule of the other vehicle is transmitted by the third vehicle. It is possible to carry out the guidance used. Therefore, even if the other vehicle cannot be photographed by a camera or the like mounted on the third vehicle, or even if the other vehicle can be photographed, the traveling schedule of the other vehicle cannot be reliably acquired by image analysis. If there is a vehicle traveling near the vehicle, the traveling schedule of the other vehicle can be acquired.

  Furthermore, you may comprise so that it can select not performing the guidance based on the driving schedule of the other vehicles as mentioned above. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the driver can clearly indicate with a button or the like so that the guidance is not performed, and the processing shown in FIG. 3 is not performed when there is an instruction by the button or the like. Moreover, you may comprise so that the guidance based on the driving schedule of another vehicle may not be implemented beforehand, when the driver who drives the own vehicle is familiar with the driving schedule of the other vehicle. For example, when the driver considers that the driver knows the driving schedule such as a bus in a predetermined area around the home, for example, a predetermined range around the home, and the position of the own vehicle is within the predetermined range around the home. A configuration in which the above-described processing shown in FIG. 3 is not performed can be employed.

  Furthermore, the information displayed on the other vehicle is not limited to the above-mentioned bus company name and destination display contents, the route number shown in FIG. 2 may be used, or the bus company logo mark may be used. Also good. Of course, all other vehicles on which information corresponding to the travel schedule is displayed, for example, delivery vehicles on which a company name, a destination, a logo mark, and the like are displayed, can be targeted for guidance according to the present invention. In other words, when an image is acquired for a delivery car of a specific company that is running near the position of the own vehicle and a travel schedule can be predicted based on this image, such a delivery car is also used in the present invention. It becomes another vehicle.

  Further, in the configuration for specifying the stop position and stop time of the other vehicle, the other vehicle is avoided in consideration of the stop position and stop time in addition to the configuration for guiding the stop position and stop time of the other vehicle as described above. For example, a preferable travel route of the host vehicle may be guided, and various types of guidance can be adopted. Moreover, when specifying stop time beforehand, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the structure which takes statistics for every time zone about each stop position was employ | adopted, of course, every day of the week, every season Statistics may be taken and can be varied based on various factors. Further, there are various methods for determining the stop time, and various statistical indexes such as a median value and a mode value can be adopted in addition to the average value of the stop time as described above.

It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus containing a driving assistance device. It is a figure which shows the information corresponding to the driving schedule of another vehicle. It is a flowchart of a driving assistance process. (4A) and (4B) are diagrams showing display examples of the display unit. (5A), (5B) is a figure which shows the example of a display of a display part.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Navigation program, 21a ... Navigation processing part, 21b ... Image acquisition part, 21c ... Other vehicle travel plan acquisition part, 21d ... Guidance processing part, 30 ... Storage medium, 30a ... Map information, 30b ... Travel schedule data, 40 ... GPS receiver, 41 ... Front camera, 42 ... Speaker, 43 ... Display, 51 ... Destination display, 52 ... Route number display, 53 ... Company name display

Claims (5)

Own vehicle position information acquisition means for acquiring own vehicle position information indicating the position of the own vehicle;
Image acquisition means for acquiring an image of another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle;
Other vehicle travel schedule acquisition means for extracting information displayed on the other vehicle from the image and acquiring other vehicle travel schedule information indicating a travel schedule of the other vehicle corresponding to the information;
Guidance means for performing guidance for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle based on the host vehicle position information and the other vehicle traveling schedule information;
A driving support device comprising: The other vehicle travel schedule information includes information indicating a position where the other vehicle stops and a time when the other vehicle stops,
The guidance means performs the guidance based on the position where the other vehicle stops and the time during which the other vehicle is stopped.
The travel support apparatus according to claim 1. The time when the other vehicle is stopped is determined based on statistics of the time when the other vehicle is stopped at the stop position.
The travel support apparatus according to claim 2. A host vehicle traveling schedule acquisition means for acquiring host vehicle traveling schedule information indicating a traveling schedule of the host vehicle;
The guidance means performs guidance for avoiding the other vehicle based on the other vehicle travel schedule information and the host vehicle travel schedule information.
The driving assistance apparatus in any one of Claims 1-3. A host vehicle position information acquisition step for acquiring host vehicle position information indicating the position of the host vehicle;
An image acquisition step of acquiring an image of another vehicle traveling around the host vehicle;
Other vehicle travel schedule acquisition step of extracting information displayed on the other vehicle from the image and acquiring other vehicle travel schedule information indicating a travel schedule of the other vehicle corresponding to the information;
A guidance process for providing guidance for supporting the traveling of the host vehicle based on the host vehicle position information and the other vehicle traveling schedule information;
A driving support method including:

Images