JP2009014576A - Vehicle speed estimation apparatus, vehicle speed estimation method, and vehicle speed estimation program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem wherein the estimation of vehicle speed reflecting the intent of a user (driver) cannot be performed. <P>SOLUTION: The destination of a vehicle is acquired, a reference required time when the vehicle travels to the destination is acquired, a desired time of the user when the vehicle travels to the destination is acquired, and the vehicle speed when the vehicle travels to the destination is estimated, based on the difference between the reference required time and the desired time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle speed estimation device, method, and program for estimating a vehicle speed.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for estimating a traveling speed pattern of a vehicle has been known in order to suppress fuel consumption by controlling power according to the vehicle speed in a hybrid vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This type of technology employs a configuration such as estimating a traveling speed pattern based on past traveling data and road attributes. In Patent Document 1, a traveling speed pattern is selected according to the traveling environment. Technology is disclosed.
JP 2004-282848 A

In the conventional technology, it is impossible to estimate the vehicle speed reflecting the intention of the user (driver).
In other words, in the estimation of the vehicle speed based on the past travel history as in the prior art, a relatively high accuracy is estimated statistically, but the state of travel at a specific time point and the travel history are When compared with the estimated vehicle speed, the difference is often very large. For example, in traveling to a destination visited on a daily basis, when traveling according to the travel history, a relatively accurate vehicle speed can be obtained by estimating the vehicle speed based on the travel history. When driving quickly or slowly, the difference between the vehicle speed in such driving and the vehicle speed estimated based on the travel history becomes large.

If the estimated vehicle speed is inaccurate, various problems may occur during various controls based on the estimated vehicle speed value, for example, it becomes impossible to reduce fuel consumption even if power is controlled based on the inaccurate vehicle speed. Occurs. Therefore, in order to control the vehicle based on the estimation of the vehicle speed, it is necessary to accurately estimate the vehicle speed even when the vehicle is driven at a vehicle speed different from the daily tendency according to the user's intention.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of estimating a vehicle speed reflecting a user's intention.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a reference required time for traveling to a destination by a vehicle and a user's desired required time are acquired, and the reference required time and the required required time are calculated. Based on the difference, the vehicle speed when traveling to the destination by the vehicle is estimated. That is, since the user's desired required time is acquired in addition to the reference required time calculated based on a predetermined reference parameter, the intention when the user drives the vehicle by acquiring the difference between the two Can be obtained, and the vehicle speed reflecting the user's intention can be estimated.

  For example, if the desired required time is shorter than the reference required time, it is found that the user driving the vehicle is in a hurry, so it is estimated that the vehicle is driven at a vehicle speed faster than the vehicle speed corresponding to the reference required time. be able to. In addition, if the desired time is longer than the standard time, it turns out that the user driving the vehicle is trying to drive slowly, so drive at a vehicle speed slower than the vehicle speed corresponding to the standard time. Can be estimated.

  Here, in the destination acquisition means, it is only necessary to be able to acquire the place where the user is about to travel and reach the destination as the destination. You may acquire based on. In addition, when acquiring the destination based on the travel history, for example, the history recording time and day of the week associated with the history such as the route at the time of travel and the vehicle speed, and the current state (current position, current time, It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a place visited frequently in a past state close to the current state is used as a destination. According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a vehicle speed estimation device that can determine the destination and estimate the vehicle speed without inputting information, and does not require complicated input work.

  Furthermore, the reference required time acquisition means only needs to be able to acquire the reference required time for traveling to the destination by the vehicle. Therefore, the required time for traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination is acquired based on a predetermined reference parameter or a reference parameter obtained from the travel history, and the obtained required time is referred to as a reference required time. do it. The desired required time acquisition means may acquire the desired required time desired by the user when traveling to the destination by the vehicle. Therefore, what is necessary is just to acquire the said desired required time by the estimation based on designation | designated by a user, a driving | running | working history, etc.

  In obtaining the reference required time and the desired required time, the required time may be acquired directly or indirectly. That is, information that directly specifies the required time, such as x hours and y minutes, may be acquired, or the relative relationship of the required time, such as a tendency to hurry or a slow tendency with respect to the reference required time. The desired required time may be obtained indirectly, and various configurations can be adopted.

  The vehicle speed estimation means only needs to be able to estimate the vehicle speed when traveling to the destination by the vehicle based on the difference between the reference required time and the desired required time, and at least based on the difference, the vehicle speed is What is necessary is just to be able to estimate the tendency to become faster or slower. That is, it is only necessary to be able to estimate how the tendency of the vehicle speed changes when traveling reflecting the user's intention is performed as compared to traveling that satisfies the reference required time.

  The estimation result of the vehicle speed can be used for various controls. For example, if the vehicle speed is estimated in a vehicle that can be driven by the driving force of the motor and the engine, the timing of using the motor as the driving force of the vehicle, the timing of charging using the regenerative energy of the vehicle, the amount of rotation of the motor Etc. can be determined with high accuracy, and energy can be used efficiently.

  In other words, in a configuration in which a motor or engine usage plan is formulated at a stage where the travel route is specified or during travel, a more accurate usage plan can be formulated by estimating the vehicle speed, and energy can be efficiently consumed. Can be used.

  Furthermore, by guiding the estimated vehicle speed to the user, it is possible to make the user recognize the tendency of the vehicle speed or to recognize the energy consumption. Of course, the energy consumption amount may be estimated based on the estimated vehicle speed value, and the energy consumption amount itself may be guided. Furthermore, you may employ | adopt the structure which utilizes an estimated vehicle speed value for driving assistance. In other words, guidance such as performing acceleration / deceleration according to the estimated vehicle speed or alerting may be performed.

  Of course, driving assistance such as shifting the automatic transmission according to the estimated vehicle speed value, controlling using brakes and accelerators, controlling the suspension, and changing the control timing of the skid prevention device, etc. May be performed. It is also possible to perform control such as increasing or decreasing the timing at which control for pre-crash safety is started or shortening or increasing the distance between vehicles performing auto-cruise control.

  Furthermore, as a configuration example for acquiring the reference required time, a configuration may be adopted in which the reference required time is acquired based on the distance of the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination and a predetermined vehicle speed. Good. That is, if the route from the current position to the destination is estimated or specified by receiving an input, it is necessary to travel the route by assuming that the route has been traveled at a predefined reference vehicle speed. Can get time. This required time is a required time that can be determined regardless of the user's wishes, and can be a reference required time.

  Furthermore, as a configuration example for acquiring the reference required time, a configuration may be adopted in which the required time from the current position of the vehicle to the destination is acquired as the reference required time based on the travel history of the vehicle. In other words, if you have traveled to a specific destination in the past, you can refer to the travel history and obtain the required time history or vehicle speed history to get the required time to travel to that destination. Therefore, the required time may be set as the reference required time. For example, referring to the history of the required time when traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, the normal required time can be obtained from the history of the required time and used as the reference required time, or from the current position of the vehicle to the destination It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a normal required time is estimated from the history of the distance and the vehicle speed and the normal required time is used as a reference required time with reference to the distance and vehicle speed history when the vehicle travels. The vehicle speed history may be used as a reference for estimating the vehicle speed.

  In addition, in order to acquire the current position in the above-described configuration and the configuration described later, a known method can be adopted. A configuration in which the vehicle position information is acquired by vehicle trajectory, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or the like can be employed.

  Furthermore, as a configuration example for acquiring the desired required time, a configuration for acquiring the required time for traveling to the destination based on the information received by the input receiving unit may be adopted. That is, according to the configuration in which the required time is directly or indirectly input by the user, the desired required time reflecting the user's intention can be acquired very easily.

  Furthermore, as a configuration example for acquiring the desired required time, a configuration may be adopted in which the desired required time is acquired based on the difference between the desired arrival time at the destination and the current time. That is, when traveling is started at the current time, if the desired arrival time at the destination is acquired, the difference between the arrival time and the current time can be regarded as the required time to the destination.

  According to this configuration, when the required time based on the difference is shorter than the reference required time, it can be estimated that there is no time margin and the vehicle speed tends to increase. Here, various configurations can be adopted for obtaining the desired arrival time at the destination. For example, the desired arrival time can be obtained by receiving an input by the input accepting unit, or the travel history can be obtained. It is possible to adopt a configuration for acquiring the desired arrival time based on the above.

  In the configuration in which the desired arrival time is acquired based on the travel history, when the vehicle travels toward a certain destination, the user travels according to the time when the user has arrived at the destination in the past, and Presume that you want to arrive at your destination. That is, if it is considered that the user desires to travel according to the past arrival time, the required time obtained from the difference between the desired arrival time acquired based on the travel history and the current time is set as the desired required time. can do.

  Furthermore, the method of estimating the vehicle speed when traveling to the destination based on the difference between the reference required time and the desired required time as in the present invention can also be applied as a program or method. In addition, the vehicle speed estimation device, program, and method as described above may be realized as a single vehicle speed estimation device, or may be realized by using components shared with each part provided in the vehicle. The embodiment is included. For example, it is possible to provide a navigation device, a method, and a program including the vehicle speed estimation device as described above. 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 vehicle speed estimation 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) Vehicle speed estimation processing:
(2-1) Estimated vehicle speed value acquisition 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 vehicle speed estimation 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 this embodiment, the navigation program 21 can be implemented as one of the programs. The navigation program 21 has a function of estimating the vehicle speed and a function of performing energy management based on the estimated vehicle speed as one of the functions. I have.

  That is, the vehicle (the vehicle on which the navigation device 10 is mounted) in the present embodiment is a hybrid vehicle that travels using the motor 50 and an engine (not shown), and is configured to save energy when the vehicle travels. ing. Specifically, the energy management in the present embodiment saves energy by controlling the timing when the motor is used as the driving force of the vehicle, the timing when charging is performed using the regenerative energy of the vehicle, the amount of rotation of the motor, and the like. This function controls the above-mentioned timing by reflecting the estimation result of the vehicle speed.

  In addition, the vehicle according to the present embodiment includes a GPS receiver 40, a vehicle speed sensor 41, a communication unit 42, an input unit 43, and the above-described motor 50 in order to realize the function of the navigation program 21, and each of these units. The exchange of signals with the control 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 vehicle via an interface (not shown). The control unit 20 acquires this signal and acquires the current position of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 41 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the wheels provided in the vehicle. The control unit 20 acquires this signal via an interface (not shown) and acquires the speed of the vehicle.

  The vehicle speed sensor 41 is used for correcting the current position of the vehicle specified from the output signal of the GPS receiver 40. Of course, the configuration for detecting the current position of the vehicle is not limited to the above-described configuration, and a configuration for detecting the operation of the vehicle using a gyro sensor or the like may be adopted, or the output of the vehicle speed sensor or the gyro sensor or the like may be adopted. You may employ | adopt the structure which correct | amends a present position based on a signal and the locus | trajectory of a vehicle. Various other configurations can be adopted for acquiring the current position of the vehicle, such as a configuration in which the position of the vehicle is specified by a sensor or camera, a signal from GPS, or a vehicle on the map. A configuration in which the vehicle position information is acquired by a locus, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, or the like can be employed.

  The communication unit 42 includes a circuit for performing wireless communication with a communication device outside the vehicle, and the control unit 20 can transmit and receive various types of information via the communication unit 42. In the present embodiment, an information storage center (not shown) that stores traffic information such as traffic jam information is a communication target, and the communication unit 42 acquires traffic information transmitted by the information storage center. The control unit 20 acquires the traffic information via an interface (not shown).

  The input unit 43 receives a user input operation using a button, a touch panel, or the like and outputs a signal corresponding to the input operation. The control unit 20 acquires this signal through an interface (not shown), and acquires the user's input operation. The vehicle includes a speaker and a display unit (not shown). The control unit 20 can output a signal for outputting an arbitrary sound and a signal for displaying an arbitrary image via an interface (not shown), and outputs an arbitrary sound corresponding to the above-described signal in a speaker. Thus, any display according to the above-described signal can be performed on the display unit.

  By executing the navigation program 21, the control unit 20 performs a vehicle route search or the like based on the output information of the GPS receiving unit 40, traffic information transmitted by the information storage center, and the like, via a display unit and a speaker (not shown). Route guidance. For this purpose, the navigation program 21 includes a route guide unit 21a. In order to realize a function of estimating the vehicle speed in cooperation with the route guide unit 21a, a desired required time acquisition unit 21b, a vehicle speed estimation unit 21c, It has. The navigation program 21 further includes an energy management unit 21d in order to realize a function of performing energy management based on the estimated vehicle speed.

  The storage medium 30 also stores map information 30a and travel history information 30b for carrying out guidance by the navigation program 21. The map information 30a includes a road on which the vehicle travels, node data indicating nodes set on the road, link data indicating connection between nodes, data indicating features on the road and its surroundings, and the like. This is used to specify the location of the destination and to guide to the destination. The travel history information 30b is information indicating a travel history of the vehicle, and includes various information such as a route traveled in the past in the vehicle, a passing time of a node, and a vehicle speed when traveling on each link.

  The route guidance unit 21a is a module for specifying a travel route and route guidance in the vehicle, and performs route guidance processing for guiding the vehicle to the destination with reference to the map information 30a and the travel history information 30b. In the present embodiment, the route guide unit 21a determines a route for reaching the destination, and performs guidance so as to drive along the route. In determining the route, the above traffic information is referred to. That is, traffic information is acquired via the communication unit 42, and a route for traveling while avoiding a road where a traffic jam has occurred is set.

  In the present embodiment, the route guidance unit 21a includes a destination acquisition unit 21a1 that is a module for acquiring a destination, and a reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 for acquiring a reference required time. That is, the destination acquisition unit 21a1 specifies the destination of the vehicle based on the information input by the user at the input unit 43 or the travel history information 30b when determining the above-described route, and acquires information indicating the destination. . In addition, in the designation | designated of the destination by the input part 43, a well-known various method is employable, and the structure etc. which identify a destination based on the name of a destination, the position on a map, etc. are employable.

  Further, in specifying the destination based on the travel history, for example, the history recording time and day of the week associated with the history of the travel route, vehicle speed, etc., and the current state (current position, current time, day of the week, etc.) It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a place visited frequently in a past state close to the current state is used as a destination. According to this configuration, the destination can be determined and the vehicle speed can be estimated without the user inputting information, and the destination can be specified without performing complicated input operations. When the destination is acquired by the destination acquisition unit 21a1, the route guide unit 21a determines a route for reaching the destination from the current position of the vehicle based on a known method such as the Dijkstra method.

  In addition, the route guidance unit 21a has a function of guiding an estimated required time when the route travels when performing route guidance, and acquisition of the estimated required time (also referred to as a reference required time) is a reference required time. It is executed by the acquisition unit 21a2. In the present embodiment, the reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 is a module that acquires a reference required time when the vehicle travels to the destination, and is acquired based on a predetermined prescribed acquisition method and the travel history information 30b. The reference required time can be acquired by two types of methods.

  In the prescribed method determined in advance, the reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 refers to the map information 30a, specifies the distance of each link constituting the route determined as described above, and determines each link determined in advance. The time required to travel on each link is estimated by dividing the distance of each link by the reference vehicle speed at. Then, by obtaining the total of the required time, the required time for the entire route is estimated and set as the reference required time.

  The reference vehicle speed only needs to be associated with each link in advance. For example, a fixed vehicle speed for each road type (for example, 30 km / h for general roads, 80 km / h for highways, etc.) is supported. It is possible to adopt a configuration to attach. In addition, since the reference vehicle speed is used in obtaining the required time as described above and does not reflect the user's wishes, this required time is referred to as a reference required time in the present embodiment.

  In the acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b, the reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 refers to the travel history information 30b and travels when traveling from the current position of the vehicle toward the destination acquired as described above. It is determined whether or not exists. When the travel history exists, the history of the required time at that time is acquired as the reference required time. In this embodiment, the vehicle speed history at this time is also acquired and set as the reference vehicle speed. Of course, here too, not only the current position but also the time and day of the week when the travel history was recorded are acquired, and when the history is recorded and the current state is close, the configuration is used to refer to the travel history. May be.

  In the acquisition method as described above, since the driving history information 30b is referred to, the driving tendency of the user is reflected. However, in this sense, it does not reflect the user's desire at the current time. The required time acquired by the above acquisition method is also referred to as a reference required time. In addition, since the reference required time acquired by the acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b reflects the driving tendency of the user in the past, the reference required time acquired by the predetermined method described above is used. There is a tendency to obtain the required time accurately. Therefore, when the required time can be acquired by the acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b, it is preferable to adopt the required time as the reference required time.

  The desired required time acquisition unit 21b is a module that acquires a user's desired required time when traveling to the destination by a vehicle, and has two types of acquisition methods: an acquisition method based on user input and an acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b. The desired required time can be acquired by the method. In the present embodiment, a configuration is adopted in which the difference between the desired arrival time and the current time is acquired as the desired required time, and the desired required time acquisition unit 21b receives the input at the input unit 43 in the acquisition method based on the user input. Get the required time based on.

  That is, in this embodiment, an interface for accepting user input is displayed on a display unit (not shown), and a desired arrival time for reaching the above destination (the destination input by the user) is input via the input unit 43. . When the user inputs the desired arrival time, the input unit 43 outputs a signal indicating the desired arrival time, and the desired required time acquisition unit 21b acquires the difference between the desired arrival time and the current time as the desired required time.

  In the acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b refers to the travel history information 30b, and there is a travel history when traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination acquired as described above. It is determined whether or not to do so. And when the said travel history exists, the history of the arrival time to the destination at that time is acquired, and it is set as desired arrival time. That is, when the normal arrival time at the destination that the user visits on a daily basis is found from the travel history, the time is regarded as the user's normal desired arrival time. When the desired arrival time is acquired as described above, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b acquires the difference between the desired arrival time and the current time as the desired required time.

  The vehicle speed estimation unit 21c is a module that estimates the vehicle speed when the vehicle travels to the destination based on the difference between the reference required time and the desired required time. That is, since the difference is an index indicating the intention when the user drives the vehicle, the vehicle speed reflecting the user's intention can be estimated based on the index.

  For example, if the desired required time is shorter than the reference required time, it is found that the user driving the vehicle is in a hurry, so it is estimated that the vehicle is driven at a vehicle speed faster than the vehicle speed corresponding to the reference required time. be able to. In addition, if the desired time is longer than the standard time, it turns out that the user driving the vehicle is trying to drive slowly, so drive at a vehicle speed slower than the vehicle speed corresponding to the standard time. Can be estimated.

  In the estimation of the vehicle speed, it is only necessary to be able to estimate how the tendency of the vehicle speed changes when traveling that reflects the user's intention is compared with traveling that becomes the reference required time. In this embodiment, it is estimated how the tendency of the vehicle speed changes with respect to the vehicle speed when traveling for the reference required time.

  That is, when acquiring the reference required time as described above, the predetermined required acquisition method acquires the reference required time based on the reference vehicle speed and the acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b. Acquires the vehicle speed history as the standard vehicle speed. Therefore, when it is estimated that the user drives at a vehicle speed faster than the reference vehicle speed based on the above-described difference, it can be considered that the user desires to drive at a speed higher than the reference vehicle speed. Therefore, the vehicle speed estimation unit 21c corrects the reference vehicle speed and sets a higher vehicle speed as an estimated value of the vehicle speed.

  On the other hand, if the user is estimated to drive at a vehicle speed slower than the reference vehicle speed based on the above-described difference, it can be considered that the user desires to travel at a speed slower than the reference vehicle speed. Therefore, the vehicle speed estimation unit 21c corrects the reference vehicle speed and sets a slower vehicle speed as an estimated value of the vehicle speed. In the correction of the vehicle speed, the correction amount may be determined based on the above difference. That is, the correction amount may be defined in advance so that the vehicle speed correction value increases as the difference increases.

  The energy management unit 21d is a module that outputs a control signal to the motor 50 via an interface (not shown) and controls the operation of the motor 50, and controls the operation of the motor 50 based on a management plan that has been formulated in advance. That is, the energy management unit 21d controls the timing of using the motor 50 as the driving force of the vehicle, the timing of charging using the regenerative energy of the vehicle, the amount of rotation of the motor 50, and the like according to the traveling of the vehicle. A management plan for this purpose is formulated according to the estimated vehicle speed value, and the motor 50 is controlled so as to suppress energy consumption based on the management plan.

  Note that the estimated vehicle speed value is a vehicle speed value acquired based on the difference between the reference required time and the desired arrival time, and therefore is more accurate than when the motor 50 is controlled using the reference vehicle speed. Therefore, the motor 50 can be controlled based on the vehicle speed and energy can be used efficiently.

(2) Vehicle speed estimation processing:
Next, a vehicle speed estimation process performed by the navigation device 10 in the above configuration will be described. When the navigation program 21 is being executed by the navigation device 10, the route guidance unit 21a, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b, the vehicle speed estimation unit 21c, and the energy management unit 21d are configured as shown in FIG. 2 at regular intervals (for example, 100 ms). The process shown in FIG. 3 is performed.

  In this process, first, the route guidance part 21a acquires traffic information via the communication part 42 (step S100). Next, the destination acquisition unit 21a1 acquires information indicating the presence / absence of a guidance route set by the user to perform guidance by the route guidance unit 21a (step S105), and determines whether the guidance route exists. (Step S110). That is, when the route is determined, if the user inputs a destination or the like at the input unit 43 and the guide route is set, the route is recorded in a RAM or the like (not shown). Therefore, in this case, it is determined that there is a guide route. When it is determined in step S110 that there is a guide route, the destination acquisition unit 21a1 acquires the guide route (step S115), and acquires the destination in the guide route.

  When it is not determined that there is a guidance route in step S110, the destination acquisition unit 21a1 estimates whether or not the travel history information 30b starting from the current position exists with reference to the storage medium 30 in order to estimate the destination. (Step S120). When it is determined in step S120 that the travel history information 30b starting from the current position exists, the destination acquisition unit 21a1 refers to the travel history information 30b, and the route (history to go to another place with the current position as the starting point) (Referred to as a route) is acquired (step S125), and the destination in the history route is acquired.

  If it is not determined in step S120 that the travel history information 30b starting from the current position exists, the process is terminated after step S125 is skipped. That is, in this embodiment, when the route set by the user or the route obtained from the travel history is not specified, the destination is not specified and the vehicle speed is not estimated.

  After obtaining the guide route or history route in step S115 or step S125, an estimated vehicle speed value acquisition process is performed in order to obtain an estimated vehicle speed value based on the guide route or history route (step S130). After acquiring the estimated vehicle speed value in step S130, the energy management unit 21d formulates a management plan based on the estimated vehicle speed value (step S135), and controls the motor 50 based on the management plan as the vehicle travels. To do.

(2-1) Estimated vehicle speed value acquisition processing:
Next, the estimated vehicle speed value acquisition process in step S130 described above will be described. In the estimated vehicle speed value acquisition process, in order to acquire the desired required time when traveling to the above-mentioned destination, first, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b acquires the desired arrival time when traveling to the above-mentioned destination. Process. For this reason, first, a process of acquiring the desired arrival time input by the user (step S200) is performed, and it is determined whether or not the desired arrival time input by the user has been acquired by the process (step S205).

  That is, when the user inputs a desired arrival time to reach the above destination via the input unit 43, information indicating the desired arrival time is recorded in a RAM (not shown), and the desired arrival time is stored in the RAM. When it is determined that the time is recorded, the information is acquired as the desired arrival time input by the user. In this case, it is determined that the desired arrival time input by the user has been acquired.

  On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S205 that the desired arrival time input by the user has been acquired, it is determined whether the desired arrival time has been acquired from the travel history by an acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b (step S210). . That is, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b refers to the travel history information 30b and determines whether or not there is a travel history when traveling from the current position of the vehicle toward the above-described destination. And when the said travel history exists, the history of the arrival time to the destination at that time is acquired as the desired arrival time, and it is determined that the desired arrival time can be acquired from the travel history.

  If it is not determined in step S210 that the desired arrival time has been acquired from the travel history, step S215 and the subsequent steps are skipped and the process is terminated. That is, in this embodiment, when the desired arrival time is not specified, it is assumed that the desired required time is not specified and the vehicle speed is not estimated.

  When it is determined in step S205 or step S210 that the desired arrival time has been acquired, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b acquires the desired required time based on the desired arrival time (step S215). That is, the desired required time acquisition unit 21b acquires the current time based on a clock circuit (not shown), and acquires the difference between the desired arrival time and the current time as the desired required time.

  Next, in order to acquire the reference required time, the reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 first tries to acquire the reference required time by an acquisition method based on the travel history information 30b, and whether or not the reference required time has been acquired. Is determined (step S220). That is, the reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 refers to the travel history information 30b to determine whether or not there is a travel history when traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination, and the travel history exists. Sometimes, the history of the required time at that time is acquired and set as the reference required time. In addition, the vehicle speed history at this time is also acquired and set as a reference vehicle speed. When this process can be executed, it is determined in step S220 that the reference required time and the reference vehicle speed have been acquired.

  If it is determined in step S220 that the reference required time and the reference vehicle speed have been acquired, step S225 is skipped. On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S220 that the reference required time and the reference vehicle speed have been acquired, the reference required time and the reference vehicle speed are acquired using a predetermined acquisition method (step S225). That is, the reference required time acquisition unit 21a2 acquires a reference vehicle speed for each link determined in advance with reference to the map information 30a, specifies the distance of each link constituting the above-described route, and sets the reference vehicle speed. The time required for traveling on each link is estimated by dividing the distance of each link. Then, by obtaining the total of the required time, the required time for the entire route is estimated and set as the reference required time.

  When the desired required time, the reference required time, and the reference vehicle speed are acquired as described above, the vehicle speed estimation unit 21c corrects the vehicle speed value and acquires the estimated vehicle speed value (step S230). That is, the vehicle speed estimation unit 21c acquires the difference between the reference required time and the desired required time, and estimates the vehicle speed reflecting the user's intention based on the difference. If it is shorter, the reference vehicle speed is corrected and a faster vehicle speed is acquired as the estimated vehicle speed value. If the desired required time is longer than the reference required time, the reference vehicle speed is corrected and a slower vehicle speed is acquired as the estimated vehicle speed value.

  When the estimated vehicle speed value is acquired as described above, in step S135, the energy management unit 21d formulates a management plan based on the estimated vehicle speed value. Therefore, when the energy management unit 21d executes the control of the motor 50 based on the management plan, the control based on the accurate vehicle speed can be performed as compared with the case where the reference vehicle speed is used, and more efficient. Energy can be used.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and various other implementations are possible as long as the vehicle speed when traveling to the destination is estimated based on the difference between the reference required time and the desired required time. A form can be adopted. For example, when acquiring the required required time or the required required time, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration for directly acquiring the required time (configuration such as x time y minutes) is assumed. The desired required time may be indirectly acquired according to the relative relationship of the required time, such as a tendency to rush or slow relative to the reference required time, and various configurations can be employed.

  Further, in estimating the vehicle speed value, it is only necessary to estimate the tendency of the vehicle speed to increase or decrease based on at least the difference between the reference required time and the desired required time. That is, it is only necessary to be able to estimate how the tendency of the vehicle speed changes when traveling reflecting the user's intention is performed as compared to traveling that satisfies the reference required time. Therefore, as described above, various configurations such as a configuration for obtaining a reference vehicle speed correction value as a result of estimation can be employed.

  Furthermore, the estimation result of the vehicle speed can be used for various controls other than the energy management described above. For example, by estimating the vehicle speed in a vehicle that can be driven by the driving force of a motor and an engine, and guiding the estimated vehicle speed to the user, the user can recognize the tendency of the vehicle speed or the energy consumption amount. A configuration may be adopted. Of course, the energy consumption amount may be estimated based on the estimated vehicle speed value, and the energy consumption amount itself may be guided.

  Furthermore, you may employ | adopt the structure which utilizes an estimated vehicle speed value for driving assistance. In other words, guidance such as performing acceleration / deceleration according to the estimated vehicle speed or alerting may be performed. For example, in a configuration that obtains information indicating that a temporary stop, railroad crossing, curve, intersection, junction point, accident occurrence point, etc. are approaching based on map information and alerts them before that, the estimated vehicle speed value is the reference vehicle speed. If it is faster, it is possible to adopt a configuration that alerts at an earlier timing. Of course, the same applies to driving assistance other than alerting, for example, brake assist, and it is possible to employ a configuration in which the brake assist is started at an earlier timing or the brake assist amount is increased from the reference.

  Furthermore, even if driving assistance such as shifting the automatic transmission according to the estimated vehicle speed value, performing control using brakes or accelerators, controlling the suspension, changing the control timing of the skid prevention device, etc. Good. For example, when the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the shift of the automatic transmission is controlled so that the deceleration control amount becomes larger than the reference when decelerating before a curve or the like.

  In addition, when the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the shift hold period of the automatic transmission is longer than the reference period so that the acceleration amount becomes large at the acceleration stage before the junction point. Furthermore, in order to prepare for deceleration when exiting from a highway or the like to another road, if the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed, the period during which the automatic transmission is geared down and held is made longer than the reference period. A configuration can be adopted.

  Furthermore, in the suspension control, when the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed, in order to increase the roll control amount in the curve, the suspension hardness setting in the curve is set to a setting that is harder than the reference setting. In order to increase the amount of shock suppression before this, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the suspension hardness setting at the step is softer than the reference setting. If the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed, the suspension stiffness setting during acceleration / deceleration is set to a setting that is harder than the reference setting in order to increase the vehicle bouncing suppression amount during acceleration / deceleration. A configuration can be adopted.

  In addition, when the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed, the timing for starting the control for pre-crash safety is advanced, the setting of the distance between vehicles when performing auto-cruise control is increased, and the control of the skid prevention device is started. It is also possible to perform control such as increasing the timing. Of course, in the above configuration example, when the estimated vehicle speed value is slower than the reference vehicle speed, the control opposite to that when the estimated vehicle speed value is faster than the reference vehicle speed may be performed.

  Further, in the configuration for obtaining the reference required time based on the travel history, as described above, the normal time is referred to the travel time history when traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination. Various configurations can be adopted in addition to a configuration in which the required time is acquired and the required required time is obtained. For example, it is possible to adopt a configuration that refers to the vehicle speed history when traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination and estimates the normal required time from the vehicle speed history and the distance of the route and sets it as the standard required time It is.

It is a block diagram of the navigation apparatus containing a vehicle speed estimation apparatus. It is a flowchart of a vehicle speed estimation process. It is a flowchart of an estimated vehicle speed value acquisition process.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Navigation apparatus, 20 ... Control part, 21 ... Navigation program, 21a ... Route guidance part, 21a1 ... Destination acquisition part, 21a2 ... Reference required time acquisition part, 21b ... Desired required time acquisition part, 21c ... Vehicle speed estimation part, 21d ... Energy management section, 30 ... Storage medium, 30a ... Map information, 30b ... Travel history information, 40 ... Reception section, 41 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 42 ... Communication section, 43 ... Input section, 50 ... Motor

Claims (9)

Destination acquisition means for acquiring the destination of the vehicle;
Reference required time acquisition means for acquiring a reference required time for traveling to the destination in the vehicle;
Desired required time acquisition means for acquiring a user's desired required time when traveling to the destination in the vehicle;
Vehicle speed estimation means for estimating a vehicle speed when the vehicle travels to a destination based on a difference between the reference required time and the desired required time;
A vehicle speed estimation device comprising: A travel history acquisition means for acquiring a travel history of the vehicle;
The destination acquisition means acquires a destination based on the travel history;
The vehicle speed estimation device according to claim 1. The reference required time acquisition means acquires the reference required time based on a distance of a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination and a predetermined vehicle speed;
The vehicle speed estimation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. A travel history acquisition means for acquiring a travel history of the vehicle;
The reference required time acquisition means acquires either a history of required time or a history of vehicle speed when traveling from the current position of the vehicle to the destination based on the travel history, and a history of the required time Obtaining the time required for the reference based on any of the vehicle speed history,
The vehicle speed estimation device according to claim 1. The desired required time acquisition means acquires the required time when traveling to the destination based on the information received by the input receiving unit,
The vehicle speed estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The desired required time acquisition means acquires a desired arrival time at the destination, and acquires the desired required time based on a difference between the desired arrival time and a current time.
The vehicle speed estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The desired arrival time at the destination is acquired based on the travel history of the vehicle.
The vehicle speed estimation device according to claim 6. A destination acquisition process for acquiring a destination of the vehicle;
A reference required time acquisition step of acquiring a reference required time for traveling to the destination in the vehicle;
A desired required time acquisition step of acquiring a user's desired required time when traveling to the destination in the vehicle;
A vehicle speed estimation step of estimating a vehicle speed when traveling to a destination by the vehicle based on a difference between the reference required time and the desired required time;
Vehicle speed estimation method including A destination acquisition function for acquiring the destination of the vehicle;
A reference required time acquisition function for acquiring a reference required time when traveling to the destination in the vehicle;
A desired required time acquisition function for acquiring a user's desired required time when traveling to the destination in the vehicle;
A vehicle speed estimation function for estimating a vehicle speed when the vehicle travels to a destination based on a difference between the reference required time and the desired required time;
A vehicle speed estimation program that makes a computer realize.

Images