JP2009075639A - Vehicular communication control system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular communication control system for acquiring lane information even when an obstacle exists in a desired lane, in road-vehicle communication providing the information on each lane. <P>SOLUTION: This vehicular communication control system 1 comprises: a roadside device 10 having transmitters 12a, 12b, 12c for each lane; and a reception device 30 receiving the information on each lane from the roadside device 10. The vehicular communication control system also has obstacle decision means 11a, 11b, 11c each deciding whether the obstacle exists in a prescribed position DLa, DLb, DLc of the lane. When it is decided that the obstacle SV exists in the prescribed position DLa of the lane La by the obstacle decision means, the roadside device 10 also transmits the information on the lane La wherein the obstacle SV exists by the transmitter 12b of the lane Lb except the lane La. When the reception device 30 receives a plurality of the lane information, the reception device 30 selects the information on the lane La necessary for traveling by a selection means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle communication control system for performing road-to-vehicle communication.

  With the spread of car navigation devices, VICS [Vehicle Information Communication System] is also used, and road traffic information such as traffic jam information is provided to the vehicle side as VICS information. In order to provide the VICS information to the vehicle side, road-to-vehicle communication and FM multiplex communication are performed. In the case of road-to-vehicle communication, an optical beacon or the like is provided on the road side, and a receiving device corresponding to the optical beacon is mounted on the vehicle. In the case of an optical beacon, a head for transmitting and receiving data is provided for each lane, and VICS information common to all lanes is downlinked from each head to each lane.

In addition, the use of optical beacons is being studied in order to provide driving support through infrastructure cooperation services. As an infrastructure cooperation service using this optical beacon, for example, in a vehicle, position determination is performed based on data reception from the optical beacon, and the distance from the vehicle to the stop line is calculated by this position determination. And in a vehicle, signal information is acquired and various driving assistance is performed based on the distance information and signal information to a stop line. The signal information is cycle information of each color signal and right turn instruction signal, and the information differs for each lane such as a straight lane or a right turn lane. Therefore, when performing an infrastructure cooperation service, it is necessary to set information for each lane, and in an optical beacon, downlink different information from each head to each lane, and provide different services for each lane. For example, in the communication device described in Patent Document 1, after transmitting common data common to all lanes to all lanes, while transmitting data for each lane to an arbitrary lane, the adjacent lanes of that lane Data transmission is stopped (that is, time division transmission between lanes), and different information is transmitted for each lane.
JP 2000-182190 A

  When there is an obstacle such as a parked vehicle on the road, the vehicle traveling behind the obstacle changes its lane to the adjacent lane to avoid the obstacle, and returns to the original lane after avoiding the obstacle. . In particular, when an obstacle is located in the downlink area of the optical beacon, a vehicle whose lane has been changed to avoid the obstacle also avoids the downlink area. Therefore, the vehicle cannot receive the data for the lane where the obstacle exists, and cannot acquire the lane information necessary for driving support.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle communication control system capable of acquiring lane information of a lane even when there is an obstacle in the lane where the information is required in road-to-vehicle communication that provides lane information for each lane. Let it be an issue.

  A vehicle communication control system according to the present invention includes a roadside device provided with a transmitter for each lane and transmitting a lane information for each lane to a predetermined position of each lane, and lane information from a transmitter of the roadside device mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle communication control system comprises a receiving device that receives the obstacle, and includes obstacle determining means for determining whether an obstacle exists at a predetermined position in the lane, and the receiving device includes a plurality of lane information. The roadside device includes a selection unit that selects lane information of a predetermined lane from the roadside device, and when the obstacle determination unit determines that there is an obstacle at a predetermined position of the lane, the roadside device is for a lane other than the lane in which the obstacle exists. The transmitter also transmits lane information of the lane where the obstacle exists, and the receiving device selects the lane information of the lane necessary for traveling by the selection means when receiving the plurality of lane information.

  This vehicle communication control system is a system for performing road-to-vehicle communication comprising a roadside device installed on the roadside and a receiving device mounted on the vehicle, and transmits information from at least the roadside to the vehicle side. The roadside device includes a transmitter for each lane, and each transmitter transmits lane information relating to each lane to a predetermined position in the lane. The receiving device receives lane information from a transmitter of the lane when the vehicle is traveling or stopping at a predetermined position in the lane. In particular, in the vehicle communication control system, it is determined whether or not there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in each lane by the obstacle determination means. When an obstacle is present at a predetermined position in a certain lane, the vehicle traveling in that lane must avoid the obstacle and cannot pass through the predetermined position in the lane where the obstacle exists. At this time, if the vehicle requires lane information regarding the lane where the obstacle is present, the vehicle cannot pass through a predetermined position of the lane where the obstacle is present, and thus the conventional system cannot receive the necessary lane information. Therefore, in the roadside device, when it is determined by the obstacle determination means that there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane, the lane transmitter other than the lane where the obstacle exists is added to the lane information in addition to the normal lane information. Lane information for the lane where the obstacle exists is also transmitted to the predetermined position. At this time, when a vehicle traveling while avoiding an obstacle passes through a predetermined position in the lane, the receiving device of the vehicle receives a plurality (two) of lane information. Therefore, in the receiving device, the lane information for the lane necessary for traveling is selected from the plurality of lane information by the selection means. Thus, in this vehicle communication control system, when there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in a certain lane and the lane information cannot be received in that lane, the lane of the lane in which the obstacle exists by a transmitter in a different lane By transmitting information, the vehicle receiving device can also receive lane information of the lane where the obstacle exists, and even if there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane, the lane information necessary for traveling is acquired. be able to.

  A vehicle communication control system according to the present invention includes a roadside device provided with a transmitter for each lane and transmitting a lane information for each lane to a predetermined position of each lane, and lane information from a transmitter of the roadside device mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle communication control system comprises a receiving device that receives the obstacle, and includes obstacle determining means for determining whether an obstacle exists at a predetermined position in the lane, and the receiving device includes a plurality of lane information. The roadside device includes a selection unit that selects lane information of a predetermined lane from the roadside device, and when the obstacle determination unit determines that there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane, the roadside device uses a transmitter for the lane in which the obstacle exists. The lane information of the lane where the obstacle exists is transmitted to a predetermined position of the lane where the obstacle does not exist or a position where the obstacle does not exist in the lane where the obstacle exists, and the receiving device receives the plurality of lane information. did If, and selects the lane information of the lane required for the driving by the selecting means.

  In this vehicle communication control system, the configuration until the obstacle is determined by the obstacle determination means is the same as that of the vehicle communication control system described above. When it is determined by the obstacle determination means that an obstacle is present at a predetermined position in the lane, the roadside device is placed at a predetermined position in the lane other than the lane where no obstacle exists by the transmitter for the lane in which the obstacle exists. The lane information for the lane where the obstacle exists is transmitted. At this time, if a vehicle traveling avoiding an obstacle passes through a predetermined position in a lane where no obstacle exists, the receiving device of the vehicle receives lane information and an obstacle from the transmitter for the lane where the obstacle exists. A plurality of (two) lane information with the lane information from the transmitter for the lane in which no object is present is received. Alternatively, when it is determined by the obstacle determination means that there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane, the roadside device uses a transmitter for the lane in which the obstacle exists to perform a predetermined position on the lane where the obstacle exists. The lane information for the lane where the obstacle exists is transmitted to the front position or the rear position (position where no obstacle exists). At this time, if a vehicle traveling avoiding an obstacle passes through a rear position or a front position with respect to the predetermined position before or after avoiding the obstacle, there is an obstacle in the receiving device of the vehicle. While receiving the lane information from the lane transmitter, while avoiding the obstacle, the lane information from the destination lane transmitter that has been avoided is received. Therefore, in the receiving apparatus, the lane information related to the lane necessary for traveling is selected from the plurality of lane information by the selection means. As described above, in this vehicle communication control system, when an obstacle exists at a predetermined position in a certain lane and the lane information cannot be received at the predetermined position in the lane, the position shifted from the predetermined position by the transmitter of the lane. By transmitting the lane information to the vehicle, the vehicle receiving device can also receive the lane information of the lane where the obstacle exists, and even if there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane, the lane information necessary for traveling is obtained. Can be acquired.

  In the road-to-vehicle communication that provides lane information to each lane, the present invention can acquire lane information of the lane even when there is an obstacle in the lane that requires the lane information.

  Embodiments of a vehicle communication control system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  In the present embodiment, the vehicle communication control system according to the present invention is applied to a road-vehicle communication system that performs road-vehicle communication using optical beacons. The road-to-vehicle communication system according to the present embodiment includes an optical beacon device (corresponding to the roadside device described in the claims) installed on the roadside and an in-vehicle communication device (described in the claims) mounted on each vehicle. Equivalent to the receiving device). In this embodiment, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area, there are two forms in which the processing on the optical beacon device side is different. In the first embodiment, an obstacle is detected from the optical beacon head in the adjacent lane. This is a form in which lane information of an existing lane is transmitted, and the second embodiment is a form in which lane information is transmitted from an optical beacon head of a lane in which an obstacle is present toward a downlink area of an adjacent lane. In the present embodiment, a case of three lanes on one side will be described as an example.

  The road-to-vehicle communication system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a road-vehicle communication system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the in-vehicle communication device in the road-vehicle communication system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a downlink situation by the optical beacon device when there is a stopped vehicle (obstacle) in the downlink area of the leftmost lane according to the first embodiment.

  The road-vehicle communication system 1 includes an optical beacon device 10 installed on the road side and an in-vehicle communication device 30 mounted on each vehicle. The optical beacon device 10 is installed at a position a predetermined distance from an intersection on a general road. In the road-to-vehicle communication system 1, data can be transmitted and received between the optical beacon device 10 and the in-vehicle communication device 30 by near infrared rays, and VICS information and infrastructure cooperation information are downlinked from the optical beacon device 10 to the in-vehicle communication device 30. ID information and the like are uplinked from the in-vehicle communication device 30 to the optical beacon device 10.

  VICS information is road traffic information common to all lanes. Road traffic information includes traffic jam information, traffic regulation information, and parking lot information. The infrastructure cooperation information is lane information configured for each lane, and includes signal cycle information for each lane, road shape information, stop line information, speed limit information, lane identification information, and the like. The signal cycle information includes a lighting time of each of a blue signal, a yellow signal, and a red signal, a lighting time of a right turn instruction signal, a currently lit signal, and an elapsed time after the signal is lit. From this signal cycle information, for example, it can be determined how many seconds later the red signal is generated, and in the case of a right turn lane, how many seconds it takes to give a right turn instruction, and how many seconds later. The road shape information is information indicating the shape of the surrounding road and includes information on each lane. The stop line information is stop line position information and the like.

  With reference to FIG.1 and FIG.3, the optical beacon apparatus 10 is demonstrated. The optical beacon device 10 downlinks downlink data (VICS data common to all lanes and infrastructure cooperation data for each lane) to the downlink areas DLa, DLb, and DLc, and also travels in the uplink area. Uplink data (such as vehicle ID data) is uplinked from the vehicle. In particular, in the optical beacon device 10, when an obstacle exists in the downlink area of a certain lane (such as the leftmost lane) and data cannot be transmitted / received to / from the vehicle, the optical beacon of the lane adjacent to the lane where the obstacle exists. Downlink data of the lane where the obstacle exists from the head is also downlinked. Therefore, the optical beacon device 10 includes obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c, optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c, and an optical beacon control device 13. In the first embodiment, the optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c correspond to the transmitter described in the claims, and the obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c correspond to the obstacles described in the claims. This corresponds to the object determination means.

  The obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c are sensors that are provided for each lane and detect obstacles (stopped vehicles, construction works, fallen objects, etc.) that exist in the downlink areas DLa, DLb, and DLc of each lane. Obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c are arranged above each lane, and are installed toward the downlink areas DLa, DLb, and DLc of each lane. The obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c detect whether there are obstacles in the downlink areas DLa, DLb, and DLc, and if there are obstacles, detect the size, shape, position, and the like of the obstacles. The detected various information is transmitted to the optical beacon control device 13 as obstacle information. As a method for detecting an obstacle, any method may be used, for example, a method for detecting from an image captured by a camera and a method for detecting from radar information by a radar.

  The optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c are provided for each lane and are capable of transmitting and receiving near infrared rays. The optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c are arranged above the center line of each lane, and are installed toward the lower oblique rear (the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle). In the optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c, in response to a command from the optical beacon control device 13, the downlink data for each lane transmitted from the optical beacon control device 13 is modulated, and the modulated transmission signal is transmitted to the downlink area. Transmit to DLa, DLb, and DLc, respectively. The optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c receive signals from within the uplink area, and transmit the uplink data extracted by demodulating the signals to the optical beacon control device 13. The downlink area (corresponding to the predetermined position of the lane described in the claims) is set slightly behind the position of the optical beacon head for each lane, and has a width of about the lane width and a length of about several meters. Have. The uplink area is set to a part on the rear side in the downlink area.

  The optical beacon control device 13 is an electronic control unit including a CPU [Central Processing Unit], a ROM [Read Only Memory], a RAM [Random Access Memory], and the like, and comprehensively controls the optical beacon device 10. The optical beacon control device 13 obtains VICS information edited and processed at the VICS center, and obtains signal cycle information from a traffic light controller (not shown) existing ahead. In addition, the optical beacon control device 13 holds road shape information, stop line information, speed limit information, and the like around the optical beacon device 10 in advance. The optical beacon control device 13 receives obstacle information from the obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c, respectively. The optical beacon control device 13 receives uplink data from the optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c, respectively.

  The optical beacon control device 13 generates VICS data from the VICS information, and generates infrastructure cooperation data for each lane from signal cycle information, road alignment information, stop line information, speed limit information, lane identification information, and the like. Then, the optical beacon control device 13 generates downlink data composed of VICS data and infrastructure cooperation data for each lane.

  The optical beacon control device 13 determines whether there is an obstacle in the downlink area of each lane based on the obstacle presence / absence information in the obstacle information for each lane. When there is an obstacle in a certain downlink area, the optical beacon control device 13 detects the obstacle based on the information on the size, shape, and position of the obstacle in the obstacle information of the lane where the obstacle exists. It is determined whether or not data can be uplinked or downlinked with a vehicle in an existing lane (whether the vehicle needs to change lanes in order to avoid an obstacle). That is, when the vehicle changes lanes from the lane where the obstacle exists to the adjacent lane in order to avoid the obstacle, the vehicle cannot transmit and receive data in the lane where the obstacle exists. However, if the obstacle can be avoided without changing the lane to the adjacent lane because the obstacle is small or the obstacle is located at the side edge of the lane, the obstacle Data can be sent and received in existing lanes.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 3, since the vehicle SV is stopped in the downlink area DLa of the leftmost lane La, the vehicle MV traveling from behind is adjacent to the lane (center lane) to avoid the vehicle SV. The lane is changed to Lb, and after passing through the vehicle SV, the lane is changed to the leftmost lane La. Therefore, even if the downlink data for the left lane La is transmitted from the optical beacon head 12a to the downlink area DLa, the vehicle MV cannot receive the downlink data. As described above, there is a situation in which a downlink or an uplink cannot be performed because an obstacle exists in the downlink area.

  When uplink or downlink of data with a vehicle is impossible in a lane where an obstacle exists, the optical beacon control device 13 uses the downlink data for each lane for each lane where there is no obstacle. And the downlink data for the lane where the obstacle exists are transmitted to the optical beacon head for the adjacent lane where the obstacle exists. At this time, downlink data is not transmitted to the optical beacon head for the lane where the obstacle exists. Then, the optical beacon control device 13 controls the optical beacon head for the lane where the obstacle exists so as not to be downlinked, and the optical beacon head transmitted only the downlink data for the own lane is transmitted. One of the downlink data is commanded to be downlinked, and two beacons are transmitted to the optical beacon head to which the downlink data for the own lane and the downlink data for the lane where the obstacle exists are transmitted. Command control to downlink downlink data alternately.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 3, since the vehicle SV is stopped in the downlink area DLa of the left lane La, the downlink data for the left lane La is also transmitted from the optical beacon head 12b of the adjacent lane (center lane) Lb. Downlink. Therefore, data is not downlinked in the downlink area DLa of the leftmost lane La. In the downlink area DLb of the central lane Lb, the downlink data for the central lane Lb and the downlink data for the leftmost lane La are downlinked. Downlink data for the rightmost lane Lc is downlinked to the downlink area DLc of the rightmost lane Lc.

  When an uplink or downlink of data with a vehicle is possible in a lane where an obstacle exists, or when there are no obstacles in all vehicles, the optical beacon control device 13 uses a downlink for each lane for each lane. Data is transmitted to each beacon head for each lane. And in the optical beacon control apparatus 13, it carries out instruction | command control to downlink each one downlink data with respect to each optical beacon head for every lane.

  The in-vehicle communication device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. The in-vehicle communication device 30 downlinks downlink data when the vehicle enters the downlink area, and uplinks uplink data when the vehicle enters the uplink area. The in-vehicle communication device 30 provides VICS information in the downlink data to the navigation system 33 and provides infrastructure cooperation information for each lane in the downlink data to the driving support device 40. In particular, in the in-vehicle communication device 30, when downlink data of a plurality of (two) lanes are downlinked, a lane that needs information in driving support is determined, and necessary from a plurality of downlink data. Select only lane data. For this purpose, the in-vehicle communication device 30 includes an optical beacon antenna 31a, an optical beacon transceiver 31b, a GPS antenna 32a, a GPS receiver 32b, a navigation system 33, a yaw rate sensor 34, a steering angle sensor 35, a G sensor 36, and a wheel speed sensor 37. And an ECU [Electronic Control Unit] 38. In the present embodiment, the processing in the ECU 38 corresponds to selection means described in the claims.

  The optical beacon antenna 31a and the optical beacon transmitter / receiver 31b are equipment for transmitting and receiving data to and from the optical beacon device 10 using near infrared rays. The optical beacon antenna 31a is disposed at a predetermined position of the vehicle and is installed obliquely forward on the upper side. The optical beacon antenna 31a receives a signal from the optical beacon head in the downlink area and transmits a signal in the uplink area. In the case of downlink, the optical beacon transceiver 31b demodulates the signal received by the optical beacon antenna 31a, extracts downlink data, and transmits the downlink data to the ECU 38. Further, in the case of uplink, the optical beacon transceiver 31b modulates uplink data received from the ECU 38 in accordance with a command from the ECU 38, and transmits the modulated signal to the optical beacon antenna 31a.

  The GPS antenna 32a and the GPS receiver 32b are equipment for estimating the current position of the host vehicle using GPS. The GPS antenna 32a receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite. The GPS receiver 32b demodulates the GPS signal received by the GPS antenna 32a, and calculates the current position (latitude, longitude) of the host vehicle based on the demodulated position data of each GPS satellite. Then, the GPS receiver 32b transmits the current position information of the host vehicle to the ECU 38. Incidentally, in order to calculate the current position, position data of three or more GPS satellites are required, and the GPS receiver 32b calculates using GPS signals from three or more different GPS satellites.

  The navigation system 33 is a system that estimates the current position and traveling direction of the host vehicle and provides route guidance to the destination. In particular, the navigation system 33 reads the shape information of the currently traveling road from the map database, and transmits the road shape information to the ECU 38. Further, the navigation system 33 transmits route guidance information indicating the planned traveling route of the host vehicle to the ECU 38.

  The yaw rate sensor 34 is a sensor that detects the yaw rate generated in the host vehicle. The yaw rate sensor 34 detects the yaw rate and transmits the yaw rate to the ECU 38.

  The steering angle sensor 35 is a sensor that detects the steering angle input from the steering wheel by the driver. The steering angle sensor 35 detects the steering angle and transmits the steering angle to the ECU 38.

  The G sensor 36 is a sensor that detects a lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle. The G sensor 36 detects the lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle and transmits the lateral acceleration to the ECU 38.

  The wheel speed sensor 37 is a sensor that is provided on each of the four wheels of the vehicle and detects the rotational speed of the wheel (the number of pulses corresponding to the rotation of the wheel). The wheel speed sensor 37 detects the number of rotation pulses of the wheel every predetermined time, and transmits the detected number of wheel rotation pulses to the ECU 38. The ECU 38 calculates the wheel speed from the rotational speed of each wheel, and calculates the vehicle body speed (vehicle speed) from the wheel speed of each wheel.

  The ECU 38 is an electronic control unit that includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and performs overall control of the in-vehicle communication device 30. When the vehicle enters the downlink area, the ECU 38 receives downlink data from the optical beacon transceiver 31b, current position information from the GPS receiver 32b, road information and route guidance information from the navigation system 33, and each sensor. 34-37 detection information is received. In addition, when the vehicle enters the uplink area, the ECU 38 generates uplink data including a vehicle ID and the like, and commands and controls the optical beacon transceiver 31b to uplink the uplink data.

  The ECU 38 determines whether or not the downlink data includes information on a plurality of lanes. Here, it is determined by referring to the lane identification information in the infrastructure cooperation data whether there is infrastructure cooperation data of different lane identification information. When only one lane information is included, the ECU 38 transmits the VICS data of the downlink data to the navigation system 33, and the infrastructure support data for the one lane of the downlink data as the driving support device 40. Send to.

  When multiple (two) lane information is included, the ECU 38 is based on the current position using GPS and road shape information from the navigation system 33 (or road shape information in the downlink data). The lane in which the host vehicle is traveling is determined. Here, the current position estimated by the navigation system 33 may be used. Further, the ECU 38 acquires route guidance information from the navigation system 33. With this route guidance information, it is possible to know the planned travel route of the host vehicle (particularly, the traveling direction at the next intersection or branch) and to predict which lane the vehicle will travel.

  The ECU 38 determines the currently traveling lane based on the determined traveling lane and the yaw rate, steering angle, lateral acceleration, vehicle speed, and the like. In particular, in order to avoid an obstacle, it is determined whether or not a lane change has been made from the lane in which the vehicle was traveling to an adjacent lane, and further whether or not a lane change has been made from the adjacent lane to the original lane. Then, the ECU 38 determines a lane that needs information based on the determined lane and the route guidance information. In other words, in order to avoid obstacles ahead, the lane may be changed from a running lane to an adjacent lane, and the lane may be changed to return to the original lane after passing through the obstacle. In this case, since there is a traveling schedule such as making a left turn at a front intersection, it is necessary to return to the original lane even after avoiding the obstacle, and it is the lane where the obstacle exists that requires information.

  In the case of the example in FIG. 3, the host vehicle MV is traveling in the left lane La, and the vehicle SV is stopped in front, so the lane is changed to the adjacent lane (central lane) Lb in order to avoid the vehicle SV. In order to return to the leftmost lane La after avoiding the vehicle SV, the lane is changed. In this case, the host vehicle MV needs to travel in the left lane La to make a left turn at the front intersection, and it can be estimated that the vehicle MV has returned to the left lane La immediately after avoiding the obstacle. Accordingly, the lane information required by the host vehicle MV is not the information about the central lane Lb but the information about the leftmost lane La.

  When the lane that requires information is determined, the ECU 38 selects the infrastructure coordination data for the lane that requires information from the infrastructure coordination data for the plurality of lanes of the downlink data, based on the lane identification information. The selected infrastructure emphasis data is transmitted to the driving support device 40. Further, the ECU 38 transmits VICS data of downlink data to the navigation system 33.

  With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the operation | movement at the time of downlink in the road-vehicle communication system 1 is demonstrated. In particular, the operation in the optical beacon device 10 will be described along the flowchart in FIG. 4, and the operation in the in-vehicle communication device 30 will be described along the flowchart in FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow when downlink is performed in the optical beacon apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in the in-vehicle communication device according to the present embodiment.

  In the obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c in each lane of the optical beacon device 10, if there are obstacles and obstacles in the downlink areas DLa, DLb, and DLc in each lane at regular intervals, Various information on the obstacle is detected, and the obstacle information is transmitted to the optical beacon control device 13 (S10).

  The optical beacon control device 13 generates common VICS data from the VICS information from the VICS center at regular intervals, and also uses the signal cycle information, road alignment information, stop line information, speed limit information, lane identification information, etc. Generate infrastructure collaboration data for each. Then, the optical beacon control device 13 generates downlink data for each lane composed of VICS data and infrastructure cooperation data for each lane.

  Then, in the optical beacon control device 13, there are obstacles in the downlink areas DLa, DLb, DLc of the respective lanes based on the obstacle information from the obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, 11c at regular intervals. It is determined whether or not (S11). If it is determined in S11 that there are no obstacles in all lanes, the optical beacon control device 13 transmits downlink data for each lane to each optical beacon head 12a, 12b, 12c (S14). Further, the optical beacon control device 13 controls the optical beacon heads 12a, 12b and 12c to downlink the downlink data for each lane (S14). Each optical beacon head 12a, 12b, 12c transmits downlink data for each lane as a transmission signal to each downlink area DLa, DLb, DLc according to the command (S14). Here, only the downlink data for the corresponding lane is downlinked to the downlink areas DLa, DLb, DLc of each lane.

  When it is determined that there is an obstacle in the downlink area of the lane in S11, the optical beacon control device 13 transmits / receives data to / from the vehicle in the downlink area of the lane based on the obstacle information of the lane. It is determined whether or not it is possible (that is, whether or not the vehicle needs to change lanes in order to avoid an obstacle) (S12). If it is determined in S12 that data can be transmitted / received to / from the vehicle in the downlink area of the lane, the process of S14 is performed in the same manner as described above, and the lane corresponding to the downlink area DLa, DLb, DLc of each lane is performed. Only the downlink data of each is downlinked.

  If it is determined in S12 that transmission / reception of data with the vehicle is impossible in the downlink area of the lane, the optical beacon control device 13 uses the downlink data for each lane in the optical beacon head of each lane where no obstacle exists. (The downlink data is not transmitted to the optical beacon head of the lane where the obstacle exists), and the downlink for the lane where the obstacle exists in the optical beacon head of the adjacent lane of the obstacle Data is transmitted (S13). Further, the optical beacon control device 13 controls the optical beacon head for the lane where the obstacle exists so as not to be downlinked, and the optical beacon head of the lane adjacent to the lane where the obstacle exists. Command control is performed so that the two downlink data are alternately downlinked, and the other beacon optical beacon head is commanded to downlink the one downlink data (S13). In an optical beacon head for a lane in which an obstacle exists, data is not transmitted to the downlink area according to the command. In the optical beacon head in the lane adjacent to the lane where the obstacle exists, the downlink area is alternately transmitted using the two downlink data as respective transmission signals according to the command (S13). In other optical beacon heads, one downlink data is transmitted to the downlink area as a transmission signal in accordance with the command (S13). Here, downlink data is not downlinked to the downlink area of the lane where the obstacle exists, and for the lane where the obstacle exists and for the own lane in the downlink area of the adjacent lane where the obstacle exists These two downlink data are downlinked, and only the downlink data for the own lane is downlinked to the downlink areas of the other lanes.

  On the other hand, the in-vehicle communication device 30 receives a GPS signal from each GPS satellite with a GPS antenna 32a at regular intervals, and a GPS receiver 32b calculates the current position of the host vehicle based on three or more GPS signals. The current position is transmitted to the ECU 38. Further, the navigation system 33 transmits route guidance information and surrounding road shape information to the ECU 38. The yaw rate sensor 34 detects the yaw rate generated in the host vehicle and transmits the yaw rate to the ECU 38. The steering angle sensor 35 detects the steering angle by the driver's steering operation, and transmits the steering angle to the ECU 38. The G sensor 36 detects the lateral acceleration acting on the host vehicle and transmits the lateral acceleration to the ECU 38. The wheel speed sensor 37 for each wheel detects the number of rotation pulses of the wheel and transmits the number of rotation pulses to the ECU 38.

  When a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle communication device 30 enters the downlink area, the optical beacon antenna 31a receives a transmission signal, the optical beacon transceiver 31b extracts the downlink data from the transmission signal, and transmits the downlink data to the ECU 38. .

  The ECU 38 determines whether or not the received downlink data includes information for a plurality of lanes (S20). If it is determined in S20 that only the information for one lane is included, the ECU 38 transmits the VICS data from the received downlink data to the navigation system 33, and from the received downlink data, Infrastructure cooperation data for one lane is transmitted to the driving support device 40 (S26).

  If it is determined in S20 that information for a plurality of lanes is included, the ECU 38 determines the travel lane of the host vehicle based on the current position using the GPS and road shape information (S21). Further, the ECU 38 acquires a planned travel route (route guidance information in the navigation system 33) of the host vehicle (S22). The ECU 38 determines the currently traveling lane based on the determined traveling lane and the yaw rate, rudder angle, lateral acceleration, vehicle speed, and the like, and determines the lane that needs information based on the determined lane and the planned traveling route. Determine (S23). Here, a lane that requires information according to the planned travel route of the host vehicle is specified.

  The ECU 38 selects the infrastructure coordination data of the lane that needs information from the received downlink data (S24). The ECU 38 transmits the selected infrastructure enhancement data to the driving support device 40 and receives it. The VICS data in the downlink data is transmitted to the navigation system 33 (S25). Here, only the information of the lane that requires information in the driving support is provided to the driving support device 40.

  According to this road-to-vehicle communication system 1, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area of a certain lane and downlink data cannot be received in the downlink area of that lane, the optical beacon head in the adjacent lane is used. By transmitting the downlink data of the lane where the obstacle exists, the in-vehicle communication device 30 can also receive the downlink data of the lane where the obstacle exists in the downlink area of the adjacent lane. Even if there are obstacles in the area, it is possible to acquire the infrastructure cooperation data of the lane that needs information.

  A road-to-vehicle communication system 2 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a downlink situation by the optical beacon device when there is a stopped vehicle (obstacle) in the downlink area of the leftmost lane according to the second embodiment. In the road-to-vehicle communication system 2, the same components as those in the road-to-vehicle communication system 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The road-to-vehicle communication system 2 includes an optical beacon device 20 installed on the roadside and an in-vehicle communication device 30 mounted on each vehicle, as in the first embodiment, but the first embodiment is an optical beacon. A part of the configuration of the apparatus 20 is different. Therefore, in 2nd Embodiment, the part from which the structure in the optical beacon apparatus 20 differs is demonstrated in detail, and description about the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 30 is abbreviate | omitted.

  The optical beacon device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6. Compared with the optical beacon device 10 according to the first embodiment, the optical beacon device 20 differs in processing when data cannot be transmitted / received to / from the vehicle because an obstacle exists in the downlink area. In the optical beacon device 20, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area of a certain lane and downlink data cannot be received from the downlink area on the vehicle side, the adjacent lane from the optical beacon head of the lane where the obstacle exists. Downlink downlink data for lanes with obstacles in the downlink area. For this purpose, the optical beacon device 20 includes obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c, optical beacon heads 22a, 22b, and 22c, and an optical beacon control device 23. In the second embodiment, the optical beacon heads 22a, 22b, and 22c correspond to transmitters described in the claims, and the obstacle detection sensors 11a, 11b, and 11c correspond to the obstacles described in the claims. This corresponds to the object determination means.

  The optical beacon heads 22a, 22b, and 22c are compared with the optical beacon heads 12a, 12b, and 12c according to the first embodiment in terms of the head angle (that is, the direction in which data is transmitted and received) in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction). The difference is that it is variable. The optical beacon heads 22a, 22b, and 22c adjust the angle of the head in the left-right direction according to a command from the optical beacon control device 13 before transmitting and receiving data.

  Compared with the optical beacon control device 13 according to the first embodiment, the optical beacon control device 23 has an obstacle in the downlink area of a certain lane, and the obstacle causes the uplink or down of data with the vehicle. Only the processing after determining that the link is impossible is different.

  When uplink or downlink of data with a vehicle is impossible in a lane where an obstacle exists, the optical beacon control device 23 transmits the downlink data for each lane to the optical beacon heads 22a, 22b, and 22c of each lane. Send each one. Furthermore, in the optical beacon control device 23, for the optical beacon head in the lane where the obstacle exists, the head angle is directed to the downlink area in the adjacent lane so as to downlink the downlink data, For each optical beacon head in the other lane, the head is directed to the downlink area of the own lane so as to downlink the downlink data.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, since the vehicle SV is stopped in the downlink area DLa of the left lane La, the optical beacon head 22a for the left lane La enters the downlink area DLb of the adjacent lane (center lane) Lb. Downlink the downlink data for the leftmost lane La. Therefore, data is not downlinked in the downlink area DLa of the leftmost lane La. In the downlink area DLb of the central lane Lb, the downlink data for the central lane Lb and the downlink data for the leftmost lane La are downlinked. Downlink data for the rightmost lane Lc is downlinked to the downlink area DLc of the rightmost lane Lc.

  By the way, in the lane where the obstacle exists, when the uplink and downlink of the data with the vehicle is possible or when there is no obstacle in all the vehicles, the optical beacon control device 23 sets the optical beacon head in each lane. Transmit downlink data for each lane. Then, the optical beacon control device 23 controls the optical beacon heads of the respective lanes to direct the downlink data to the downlink area of the own lane.

  The operation in the road-vehicle communication system 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 6. In particular, the operation of the optical beacon device 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when downlink is performed in the optical beacon apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  In the optical beacon device 20, the operations in S30, S31, S32, and S34 are the same as those in S10, S11, S12, and S14 in the optical beacon device 10 described in the first embodiment.

  If it is determined in S32 that transmission / reception of data with the vehicle is impossible in the downlink area of the lane, the optical beacon control device 23 transmits the downlink data for each lane to the optical beacon head of each lane ( S33). And in the optical beacon control device 23, for the optical beacon head of the lane where the obstacle exists, the command angle is controlled so that the downlink data is downlinked toward the downlink area of the adjacent lane, For each optical beacon head in the other lane, the head is directed to the downlink area of the own lane so as to downlink the downlink data (S33). In an optical beacon head for lanes with obstacles, according to the command, the head is moved in the left-right direction toward the downlink area of the adjacent lane, and the downlink data for the lane with obstacles is transmitted as the transmission signal of the adjacent lane. Transmit to the downlink area (S33). The other lane optical beacon heads transmit the downlink data for the own lane as a transmission signal to the downlink area of the own lane without moving the head according to the command (S33). Here, downlink data is not downlinked to the downlink area of the lane where the obstacle exists, and for the lane where the obstacle exists and for the own lane in the downlink area of the adjacent lane where the obstacle exists These two downlink data are downlinked, and only the downlink data for the own lane is downlinked to the downlink areas of the other lanes.

  The in-vehicle communication device 30 performs the same operation as the in-vehicle communication device 30 described in the first embodiment.

  According to this road-to-vehicle communication system 2, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area of a certain lane and downlink data cannot be received in the downlink area of that lane, the optical beacon for the lane in which the obstacle exists By transmitting the downlink data to the downlink area of the adjacent lane by the head, the in-vehicle communication device 30 can also receive the downlink data of the lane where the obstacle exists in the downlink area of the adjacent lane. Even if there are obstacles in the downlink area, it is possible to acquire infrastructure cooperation data for lanes that require information.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, this invention is implemented in various forms, without being limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, in this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a road-to-vehicle communication system using an optical beacon. However, the present invention can also be applied to other road-to-vehicle communication systems such as radio wave beacons.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the vehicle-mounted communication device is configured as a single unit, but the configuration may be incorporated in a car navigation device or may be configured in a driving support device such as a collision prevention device. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a vehicle-mounted communication device that can transmit and receive but also to a vehicle-mounted receiving device that can only receive.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is configured to determine whether or not there is an obstacle in the downlink area based on sensing by an obstacle detection sensor provided on the road side, but the vehicle side has a function of detecting an obstacle. If so, the obstacle information may be uplinked from the vehicle, and it may be determined whether or not an obstacle exists in the downlink area based on the uplinked information.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which there is an obstacle in the left lane on one side of the three lanes has been shown, but the present invention can be applied to other lane numbers, even if there are obstacles other than the left lane. Applicable. Especially in the case of one lane on one side (two lanes on both sides), the angle of the optical beacon head can be changed, and when there are obstacles in the downlink area, the optical beacon head on the opposite lane The direction is changed and the information is downlinked to an area on the opposite lane adjacent to the downlink area where the obstacle exists. In this case, it is possible to determine necessary information on the vehicle side by including traveling direction information in the downlink information.

  In the present embodiment, the lanes that require information are determined based on the planned travel route and the presence or absence of lane changes (currently traveling lanes). However, the lanes that require information may be determined by other methods. It may be. For example, there are a method for inputting a lane required by the driver, a method for determining only by navigation route guidance information, and a method for determining only by a lane that is currently running.

  In the first embodiment, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area of the lane, the information on the lane in which the obstacle exists is downlinked by the optical beacon head of the adjacent lane (center lane). However, if there are obstacles in the downlink area of the lane, obstacles will be caused by the optical beacon heads in all lanes (center lane and right lane) other than the lane where the obstacle exists in the downlink area (left lane) Each of the lane information in which there is may be downlinked. In this case, even when the vehicle changes lanes to lanes other than the adjacent lane, information on the lane where the obstacle exists can be received.

  In the second embodiment, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area, the optical beacon head is moved in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) to downlink data to the downlink area of the adjacent lane. However, when there is an obstacle in the downlink area, the optical beacon head is moved in the front-rear direction (vehicle traveling direction) to downlink the data to the area in front of or behind the downlink area where the obstacle exists. You may do it. In this case, the vehicle traveling in the lane where the obstacle exists will have an obstacle in the area behind the normal downlink area before returning to the normal downlink area or the area ahead of the normal downlink area after returning to the original lane. Information on existing lanes can be received.

It is a block diagram of the road-vehicle communication system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus in the road-vehicle communication system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the downlink condition by the optical beacon apparatus when a stop vehicle (obstacle) exists in the downlink area of the left end lane which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process at the time of downlink in the optical beacon apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process in the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the downlink condition by the optical beacon apparatus when a stop vehicle (obstacle) exists in the downlink area of the left end lane which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process at the time of downlink in the optical beacon apparatus concerning 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 ... Road-to-vehicle communication system 10, 20 ... Optical beacon apparatus, 11a, 11b, 11c ... Obstacle detection sensor, 12a, 12b, 12c, 22a, 22b, 22c ... Optical beacon head, 13, 23 ... Optical beacon Control device, 30 ... vehicle-mounted communication device, 31a ... optical beacon antenna, 31b ... optical beacon transceiver, 32a ... GPS antenna, 32b ... GPS receiver, 33 ... navigation system, 34 ... yaw rate sensor, 35 ... rudder angle sensor, 36 ... G sensor, 37 ... wheel speed sensor, 40 ... driving support device

Claims (2)

For a vehicle comprising a roadside device having a transmitter for each lane that transmits lane information for each lane to a predetermined position in each lane, and a receiving device that is mounted on the vehicle and receives lane information from the transmitter of the roadside device A communication control system,
An obstacle determination means for determining whether there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane;
The receiving device includes a selection unit that selects lane information of a predetermined lane from a plurality of lane information,
When the obstacle determination unit determines that an obstacle is present at a predetermined position in the lane, the roadside device uses the lane transmitter other than the lane in which the obstacle exists to transmit the lane information of the lane in which the obstacle exists. Also send
The receiving device, when receiving a plurality of lane information, selects lane information of a lane necessary for traveling by the selection means. For a vehicle comprising a roadside device having a transmitter for each lane that transmits lane information for each lane to a predetermined position in each lane, and a receiving device that is mounted on the vehicle and receives lane information from the transmitter of the roadside device A communication control system,
An obstacle determination means for determining whether there is an obstacle at a predetermined position in the lane;
The receiving device includes a selection unit that selects lane information of a predetermined lane from a plurality of lane information,
When the obstacle determination means determines that an obstacle is present at a predetermined position in the lane, the roadside device uses a transmitter for the lane where the obstacle is present to determine a predetermined position or obstacle in the lane where there is no obstacle. Send the lane information of the lane where the obstacle exists toward the position where there is no obstacle in the lane where the
The receiving device, when receiving a plurality of lane information, selects lane information of a lane necessary for traveling by the selection means.

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