JP2008304412A - Navigation device, and program for navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for calculating the optimal route depending on the existence of traction of a trailer, in a navigation device to be mounted on a tractor. <P>SOLUTION: This navigation device, when the tractor is pulling the trailer, narrows the selection width of a more optimal route than the case where the tractor does not pull the trailer. Then it is set so that the larger the size of the trailer detected by a trailer detecting device is, the narrower the selectable range of a road serving as a candidate for the optimal route becomes. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device mounted on a tractor and a program for the navigation device.

  Conventionally, navigation devices for vehicles have been widely used.

  However, according to the inventor's study, when the navigation device is mounted on a special vehicle such as a tractor (that is, a tow vehicle), the calculation result of the optimum route to the destination may not be appropriate. This is because when the tractor is towing a trailer (that is, a towed vehicle), it cannot turn at a steep angle, cannot turn at a narrow road, cannot run at high speed, etc. This is because the navigation apparatus does not calculate a route corresponding to such a restriction despite the occurrence of the restriction.

  In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for calculating an optimum route corresponding to the presence or absence of trailer towing in a navigation device mounted on a tractor.

  The feature of the present invention for achieving the above object relates to a navigation device mounted on a tractor equipped with a trailer detection device for detecting that a trailer is connected. The navigation device determines whether the trailer is connected based on the detection result of the trailer detection device, and determines whether the trailer is connected to the destination according to the first selection criterion based on the negative determination result. Based on the fact that the optimum route is calculated and the determination result is affirmative, the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route is the second selection criterion that is narrower than the first selection criterion, and the destination is reached. Is to calculate the optimal route. The narrow selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route means, for example, that the minimum width of the selectable road is wider and the maximum value of the selectable right / left turn angle is smaller.

  With such a configuration, the navigation device narrows the selection range of the optimum route when the tractor is towing the trailer than when it is not, so the optimum route corresponding to the presence or absence of towing the trailer. Can be calculated.

  The trailer detection device may further detect the size of the connected trailer. In this case, in the second selection criterion, the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route may be narrower as the size of the trailer detected by the trailer detection device is larger. In this way, it is possible to finely change the route selection criteria according to the size (size, weight, etc.) of the trailer. The features of the present invention can also be realized as a program.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration of a vehicle navigation apparatus 1 according to this embodiment. The vehicle navigation device 1 includes a position detector 11, an image display device 12, an operation switch group 13, a speaker 14, a back monitor 15, a map data acquisition unit 16, and a control circuit 17.

  The position detector 11 includes a well-known sensor (not shown) such as a geomagnetic sensor, a gyroscope, a vehicle speed sensor, and a GPS receiver. The current position and direction of the vehicle based on the characteristics of each of these sensors. , And information for specifying the speed is output to the control circuit 17. The image display device 12 displays a video based on the video signal output from the control circuit 17 to the user. Examples of the display image include a map centering on the current location.

  The operation switch group 13 includes a plurality of mechanical switches provided in the vehicle navigation device 1 and an input device such as a touch panel provided so as to overlap the display surface of the image display device 12. A signal based on the touch is output to the control circuit 17.

  The back monitor 15 is a device that photographs the rear part of the tractor and outputs an image of the photographing result to the control circuit 17. The back monitor 15 is arranged at a position and posture such that when the trailer is connected to the tractor, the outer shape of the trailer when viewed from the front is included in the captured image.

  The map data acquisition unit 16 includes a nonvolatile storage medium such as a DVD, a CD, and an HDD, and a device that reads data (and writes data if possible) to the storage medium. The storage medium stores a program executed by the control circuit 17, map data for route guidance, and the like.

  The map data has road data and facility data. The facility data has a plurality of records for each facility, and each record has data indicating name information, location information, facility type information, and the like of the target facility.

  The road data includes link position information, lane information, width information, type information, node position information, type information, information on the connection relationship between nodes and links, and the like. The width information is information indicating the width of the road corresponding to the link. The lane information includes information on the number of lanes that the road corresponding to the link has and the type of each lane (for example, whether it is an overtaking lane). It should be noted that the angle at which a node turns when the two links are traveled can be determined from the position information of the two links that are connected across one node.

  A control circuit (corresponding to a computer) 17 is a microcomputer having a CPU, RAM, ROM, I / O and the like. The CPU executes a program for the operation of the vehicle navigation device 1 read from the ROM or the map data acquisition unit 16, reads information from the RAM, the ROM, and the map data acquisition unit 16 when executing the program. Information is written to the storage medium of the map data acquisition unit 16 (if possible), and signals are exchanged with the position detector 11, the image display device 12, the operation switch group 13, the speaker 14, and the back monitor 15. I do.

  Specific processing performed by the control circuit 17 executing the program includes current position specifying processing, guidance route calculation processing, route guidance processing, and the like. The current position specifying process is a process for specifying the current position and direction of the vehicle based on a signal from the position detector 11 using a known technique such as map matching.

  The guidance route calculation process is a process of receiving an input of a destination by the user from the operation switch group 13 and calculating an optimum guidance route from the current position to the destination. In the route guidance process, map data is read from the map data acquisition unit 16, and an image in which the calculated guide route, destination, waypoint, current position, etc. are overlaid on the map indicated by the map data is displayed on the image display device 12. This is a process of outputting a guidance voice signal for instructing a right turn, a left turn or the like to the speaker 14 when necessary, such as when the host vehicle arrives before the guidance intersection.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the program 100 executed by the control circuit 17 after the destination is determined in the guidance route calculation process.

  In the execution of the program 100, the control circuit 17 first determines whether or not the tractor is towing the trailer (step 110). Here, whether or not the tractor is towing the trailer is determined based on the latest photographed image photographed by the back monitor 15. That is, when a known image recognition process is performed on the captured image and, as a result, it is determined that the trailer is in the corresponding part immediately behind the tractor in the captured image, the tractor is towing the trailer. judge.

  If it is determined that the trailer is not towed, an optimum route calculation (corresponding to an example of route calculation according to the first selection criterion) is subsequently executed by a normal method (step 120). If it is determined that the trailer is being pulled, then the size of the trailer being pulled is determined (step 130).

  Here, the size of the trailer being towed is determined based on the latest photographed image photographed by the back monitor 15. That is, by performing a well-known image recognition process on the captured image, as shown in FIG. 3, the outer shape 22 of the trailer 21 in the captured image 20 is specified, and a large size, Determine whether the trailer falls into the medium or small category.

  If it is determined that the large trailer is being towed, then the route calculation for the large trailer is performed (step 140). If it is determined that the medium-sized trailer is being towed, the route calculation for the medium-sized trailer is subsequently performed (step 150). If it is determined that the small trailer is being towed, then the path calculation for the small trailer is performed (step 160).

  Here, the difference between the normal route calculation, the route calculation for the small trailer, the route calculation for the medium trailer, and the route calculation for the large trailer will be described. The difference between the route calculation for a small trailer, the route calculation for a medium-sized trailer, and the route calculation for a large trailer (hereinafter, these three are collectively referred to as the route calculation for a trailer) is different from the normal route calculation. In the route calculation, the range of selectable types of roads that are candidates for the optimum route is narrower than that in the normal route calculation. This reflects the fact that there is a limit on the road where the trailer can be driven than when the trailer is not.

  Specifically, the minimum width of a road that can be selected as an optimal guide route candidate is wider in the trailer route calculation. In addition, the maximum value of the right / left turn angle that can be selected as an optimum guide route candidate is smaller in the trailer route calculation. Note that the right / left turn angle is substantially 0 ° when traveling straight and is approximately 180 ° when making a U-turn, regardless of the difference between right and left turns. Therefore, the right / left turn angle ranges from 0 ° to 180 °.

  More specifically, in a normal route calculation, roads that are less than a predetermined width and a route that turns an intersection at a predetermined angle or less are excluded from trails that are candidates for an optimum guide route. In the route calculation, the road is a candidate for the optimum guidance route.

  Next, the differences between the route calculations for the three trailers will be described. Regarding the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route, among these three route calculations, the route calculation for the large trailer is the narrowest, followed by the route calculation for the medium-sized trailer, and for the small trailer. The route calculation is the widest. This is to determine that the larger the trailer, the more difficult roads to pass.

  For example, the above-mentioned predetermined width and predetermined angle set is 15 m and 60 ° for a large trailer, 10 m and 90 ° for a medium trailer, and 5 m and 120 ° for a small trailer.

  By the operation of the control circuit 17 as described above, the navigation device narrows the range of the selection type of the optimum route when the tractor is towing the trailer than when the tractor is towing the trailer. The optimal route corresponding to the presence or absence can be calculated.

  In addition, the larger the size of the trailer detected by the trailer detection device, the narrower the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimal route, so the size of the trailer (size, weight, etc.) The route selection criteria can be changed finely according to the conditions.

  In the above embodiment, the control circuit 17 functions as an example of the trailer presence determination unit by executing Step 110 of the program 100, and functions as an example of the first calculation unit by executing Step 120. Executing 130, 140, 150, and 160 functions as an example of the second calculation unit. The selection criterion for the optimum route used for normal route calculation corresponds to an example of the first selection criterion. Further, the selection criterion of the optimum route used for the route calculation for the small trailer, the route calculation for the medium trailer, and the route calculation for the large trailer corresponds to an example of the second selection criterion.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, The various form which can implement | achieve the function of each invention specific matter of this invention is included. It is.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the presence and size of the trailer are determined based on the captured image of the back monitor 15. However, in the above embodiment, the presence and size of the trailer may be determined using another detection device. For example, a load sensor may be provided at the connection portion between the tractor and the trailer, and the control circuit 17 may specify whether or not the trailer is towed and the size of the tractor according to the load detected by the load sensor.

  In the above embodiment, the overtaking lane may be excluded from the optimum route candidates in at least one of the route calculations for the large trailer, the medium trailer, and the small trailer.

  In the above embodiment, each function realized by the control circuit 17 executing the program is realized by using hardware having those functions (for example, an FPGA capable of programming the circuit configuration). You may come to do.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle navigation device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a flowchart of a program 100 executed by a control circuit 17. It is a figure which shows an example of the picked-up image 20 by the back monitor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle navigation apparatus, 11 ... Position detector, 12 ... Image display apparatus,
13 ... Operation switch group, 14 ... Speaker, 15 ... Back monitor,
16 ... Map data acquisition unit, 17 ... Control circuit, 20 ... Captured image, 21 ... Trailer,
22 ... trailer outline, 100 ... program.

Claims (3)

A navigation device mounted on a tractor equipped with a trailer detection device (15) for detecting that a trailer is connected,
Trailer presence determination means (110) for determining whether a trailer is connected based on the detection result of the trailer detection device;
First calculation means (120) for calculating an optimum route to the destination according to a first selection criterion based on a negative determination result of the trailer presence determination means;
Based on the determination result of the trailer presence determination means being affirmative, the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route is the second selection criterion that is narrower than the first selection criterion, and the destination is reached. A second calculating means (130, 140, 150, 160) for calculating the optimal route of the navigation device. The trailer detector further detects the size of the connected trailer;
The second calculation means narrows the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route in the second selection criterion as the size of the trailer detected by the trailer detection device is larger. The navigation device according to claim 1. A program used for a navigation device mounted on a tractor equipped with a trailer detection device that detects that a trailer is connected,
Trailer presence determination means for determining whether a trailer is connected based on the detection result of the trailer detection device;
Based on the negative determination result of the trailer presence determination means, the first calculation means for calculating the optimum route to the destination according to the first selection criterion, and the determination result of the trailer presence determination means are Based on being affirmative, a second route for calculating the optimum route to the destination with a second selection criterion in which the selectable range of roads that are candidates for the optimum route is narrower than the first selection criterion. A program that causes a computer to function as calculation means.

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