JP2009151673A - On-vehicle apparatus and information distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a user from being provided with unnecessary information by preventing a discrimination error of a traveling direction, when a vehicle equipped with an on-vehicle apparatus travels from a loop road to a radial road. <P>SOLUTION: The on-vehicle apparatus includes a DSRC part for receiving distribution information transmitted by radio from a plurality of road-side radio devices installed on a road, the distribution information including content information and a direction code on the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling the road on which road side radio devices are installed; a storage part for storing the distribution information; a reproducing part for carrying out operation according to the content information; and a control part for discriminating a state of traveling the loop road, based on the direction code included in the distribution information, and validating in the reproducing part the execution of the content information included in the distribution information with the direction code indicating downward motion, when it discriminates that the vehicle is not traveling the loop road, based on the direction code included in the distribution information received, after this discrimination. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device and an information distribution system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Recently, an in-vehicle device capable of performing narrow-area wireless communication with a roadside wireless device installed on the road using DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) and receiving information from a center device via the roadside wireless device. is there.

  As a system using such an on-board device, wireless communication for toll collection is performed between a transmitting / receiving antenna provided at a toll booth and a vehicle equipped with an on-board device having an automatic toll collection function, and the vehicle is temporarily stopped. There is known an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) that automatically collects a fee without making it happen. The ETC technique has a problem of leakage of radio waves in the communication area of the transmission / reception antenna.

Therefore, as a technique for preventing radio wave leakage in ETC, for example, a radio wave absorber including a radio wave absorption main body member and a radio wave absorption assisting member is disclosed in order to suppress radio wave leakage in a communication area of a transmission / reception antenna. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-237719 A

  However, the leakage prevention technology in the ETC as described above is effective for roads in which the traveling direction of the vehicle is determined in advance and can be used to identify the road on which communication is to be performed. It is difficult to prevent leakage of radio waves when there is a road where there is no space where a radio wave absorber can be installed.

  Moreover, the vehicle equipment which does not have GPS (Global Positioning System) and map information cannot recognize the position and the advancing direction of the vehicle which mount the said vehicle equipment. Therefore, when there is leakage of radio waves from the roadside wireless device installed in the oncoming lane, the vehicle-mounted device receives and outputs the leaked radio waves, and there is a problem that unnecessary information is provided to the user. . In particular, when traveling from an inward or outward lane of a ring road to a radiation road, the direction of travel is down, but if there is leakage of radio waves from a roadside radio device installed in the up lane, the information on the up lane is displayed to the user There is a problem of being offered to.

  An object of the present invention is to prevent an error in determining a traveling direction when a vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device travels from a ring road to a radiation road in an on-vehicle device that provides information received by radio communication from a roadside apparatus by voice. In other words, unnecessary information is prevented from being provided to the user.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the direction information and the content information regarding the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling on the road on which the roadside wireless device is installed, which is transmitted wirelessly from a plurality of roadside wireless devices installed on the road, Communication means for receiving distribution information including; storage means for storing the distribution information received by the communication means; execution means for executing an operation according to the content information; and the distribution received by the communication means Based on the direction information included in the information, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on the ring road. After the determination, the vehicle travels on the ring road based on the direction information included in the distribution information received by the communication means. A vehicle having control means for enabling execution of the content information included in the distribution information indicating that the direction information is descending in the execution means when it is determined that the direction information is not in the vehicle. It is vessel is characterized.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the vehicle-mounted device according to claim 1, the control means determines that the vehicle is traveling on a ring road when the direction information is inward or outward. Yes.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the vehicle-mounted device according to claim 1 or 2, the control means determines that the vehicle is not traveling on a ring road when the direction information is not inward or outward. Yes.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of roadside wireless devices that are installed on a road and wirelessly transmit received distribution information within a preset range, and a vehicle that travels on a road on which the roadside wireless device is installed. It is an information distribution system provided with the center apparatus which transmits the said distribution information containing the direction information regarding the advancing direction and content information, and the vehicle equipment as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3. Yes.

  According to the present invention, in a vehicle-mounted device that provides information received by radio communication from a roadside device by voice, when a vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device travels from a ring road to a radiation road, it is possible to prevent a traveling direction determination error. In addition, unnecessary information can be prevented from being provided to the user.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, although the utterance type vehicle-mounted device is described in the embodiment, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated example, and in an ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) vehicle-mounted device that communicates with the vehicle-mounted device from the center device via the roadside wireless device. It is also applied to a vehicle-mounted device that is connected to a device having a navigation function and includes image information, text information, etc. in addition to voice information.
First, the configuration will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of an information distribution system 100 including an in-vehicle device in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the information distribution system 100 includes an in-vehicle device 10 mounted on a vehicle C, a plurality of roadside wireless devices 20, and a center device 30, and the center device 30 passes through the roadside wireless device 20. Data including distribution information including direction information (direction code), road information to be provided, and content information is distributed to the vehicle-mounted device 10.

  The direction code is information indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling on the road where each roadside device is installed. For example, any one of up, down, east, west, north, south, inward, and outward This information indicates one of them. The road information is information indicating the type of road to be provided, and includes, for example, highways, general national roads, main local roads, and the like.

  The content information is information including read-out information (TTS information) and audio information provided to the user.

Hereinafter, each component apparatus will be described in detail.
The center apparatus 30 stores data including distribution information and distributes the data to the vehicle-mounted device 10 via the roadside apparatus 20. As the center device 30, a control unit that performs distribution control, a communication unit that communicates with the roadside wireless device 20, a computer terminal that includes a storage unit that stores data including distribution information, and the like are applicable.

  Although only one center apparatus 30 is shown in FIG. 1, there are a plurality of distribution companies that distribute data including distribution information, and the center apparatus 30 may be provided for each distribution company.

Here, content information included in distribution information distributed by the center device 30 will be described.
FIG. 2 shows an example of data including content information.
As shown in FIG. 2, the data includes speech information D1 as content information including voice reading information, road type (for example, highway, general road, main local road,...), Direction code ( Current position information such as up, down, inward, outward, no information, etc.) is included.

  The content information is given identification information depending on its content. This identification information is information indicating the classification when the information is classified according to the contents. Examples of classification include emergency message information, safe driving support information, long text reading information, and the like. When the content information is classified according to its contents, identification information set in advance according to the classification is given.

  Further, the content information may include display text information in addition to long text reading information composed of TTS (Text to Speech). TTS is information for speech synthesis, and when reproducing read-out information, processing for generating speech information based on TTS is required.

  The content information includes information indicating an event related to vehicle traffic. An event is an event or event. Examples of information indicating an event include traffic regulation information, disaster regulation information, traffic jam information, weather information, parking information, SA (service area) / PA (parking area) information, facility information, There are route guidance information, construction information, road surface information, earthquake information, and the like.

  The content information is classified into top priority information, priority information, and selectable information according to the priority of execution, and the priority of the content information is determined by analyzing this information. The priority is higher in the order of highest priority information, priority information, and selectable information. The highest priority information is content information to be reproduced immediately after reception. As the highest priority information, for example, emergency message information such as an earthquake notification can be cited. The priority information is always reproduced after reception, but the reproduction timing is not specified. For example, warning / warning information such as an accident can be mentioned. The user can select whether or not the selectable information is to be played back, and the playback timing is not particularly specified. For example, general advertisement information and information such as highway radio are applicable.

  A plurality of roadside wireless devices 20 are installed on roads such as highways and ordinary roads and on entrance / exit roads of parking lots, and each roadside wireless device 20 is connected to a center device 30 via a network N. Further, the roadside apparatus 20 and the vehicle-mounted device 10 of the vehicle C traveling on the road can perform wireless communication.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the roadside apparatus 20 includes a main unit 20a and an antenna 20b. The roadside apparatus 20 emits a DSRC radio wave with a limited reach distance from an antenna 20b installed on the side of the road or above the road, and sets a roadside area Z that is a preset range in the vicinity of the roadside apparatus 20. Form. Bidirectional narrowband wireless communication is possible only with the vehicle-mounted device 10 of the vehicle C in the roadside area Z. Hereinafter, the narrow area wireless communication between the roadside apparatus 20 and the vehicle-mounted device 10 may be referred to as road-vehicle communication.

  DSRC is a communication method using radio waves in the 5.8 GHz band, and its communication range is, for example, several meters to several tens of meters. Since all of the DSRC transmission outputs from the roadside apparatus 20 are set to the same level, the roadside area Z formed by each of the plurality of roadside apparatuses 20 is substantially constant regardless of the installation location.

  The main body device 20a performs processing for mediating exchange of information between the vehicle-mounted device 10 and the center device 30. That is, the main body device 20a stores various types of information including the utterance type provision information transmitted from the center device 30 in advance, and when the vehicle C enters the communication area Z, the in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle C is mounted. The device 10 communicates with the antenna 20b to distribute various information transmitted from the center device 30 to the vehicle-mounted device 10. A computer terminal including a control unit that performs information processing and communication control, a storage unit, and the like can be applied to the main body device 20a.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the vehicle-mounted device 10.
As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle-mounted device 10 includes a control unit 1, a storage unit 2, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 3, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 4, an operation display unit 5, a DSRC unit 6, a playback unit 7, I / O unit 8 and the like.

  The control unit 1 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, expands a control program and necessary data stored in the ROM 3 to the RAM 4, performs various calculations, and performs centralized control of each unit. For example, when performing road-vehicle communication with the roadside apparatus 20, the communication operation of the DSRC unit 6 is controlled. Note that the DSRC unit 6 is controlled in cooperation with the DSRC control unit of the DSRC unit 6. In addition, storage, execution control, and the like of data received from the roadside apparatus 20 via the DSRC unit 6 are performed.

  In addition, the control unit 1 according to the present embodiment expands the program and necessary data stored in the storage unit 2 in the RAM 4 and based on the direction code included in the distribution information of the data received by the DSRC unit 6. It is determined that the vehicle is traveling on the ring road, and after the determination, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling on the ring road based on the direction code included in the distribution information received by the DSRC unit 6. After discriminating that the vehicle is not traveling on the road, the control unit controls the ring road exit processing in which the reproduction unit 7 makes the execution of the content information included in the distribution information indicating that the direction code indicates descending.

  The control unit 1 determines whether or not the direction code included in the distribution information received by the DSRC unit is inward or outward as a determination as to whether or not the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted device 10 is mounted is traveling on a ring road. In some cases, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on the ring road, and when the direction code is not inward or outward, it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling on the ring road.

  The ring road is a road that intersects with the road (radiation road) extending radially toward the suburbs or other cities while maintaining a substantially constant distance from the city center.

  The storage unit 2 includes a non-volatile memory, a program for executing the ring road exit processing, parameters and data necessary for executing the program, and distribution information received from the center device 30 via the roadside device 20. The data including is stored.

  The ROM 3 stores a control program executed by the control unit 1, data necessary for executing the control program, and the like. The ROM 3 may be a read-only storage device, and may be constituted by a magnetic or optical storage medium or a semiconductor memory.

  The RAM 4 is a temporary storage area for various programs, input or output data and parameters read from the storage unit 2 and the ROM 3 in various processes controlled and executed by the control unit 1.

  The operation display unit 5 includes a display such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) and a group of operation keys. The operation display unit 5 displays various information on the display according to the display signal input from the control unit 1 and outputs the operation signal input from the operation key group to the control unit 1.

The DSRC unit 6 performs communication processing for receiving data from the center apparatus 30 and functions as a communication unit.
As shown in FIG. 4, the DSRC unit 6 includes a DSRC control unit 6 a, a communication unit 6 b, a storage unit 6 c, and the like.

  The DSRC control unit 6a includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like, expands a control program and necessary data stored in the storage unit 6c to the RAM, and controls operations of the respective units of the DSRC unit 6. For example, when data is received via the roadside apparatus 20 by the communication unit 6b, the data is output to the control unit 1.

The communication unit 6b includes an antenna fixed in the vicinity of the windshield on the dashboard of the vehicle C, and transmits / receives DSRC radio waves to / from the roadside apparatus 20 and the like via the antenna.
The storage unit 6c stores necessary data and the like for the control program executed by the DSRC control unit 6a.

The reproduction unit 7 includes a speaker 7a and the like, and functions as a content execution unit that executes an operation (for example, reproduction by sound) according to the content information included in the distribution information.
When the read-out information is reproduced, since the read-out information is described in an intermediate language, the reproduction unit 7 performs a read-out reproduction process (TTS (Text to Speech) process) in which the read-out information is converted into audio information and reproduced. In the read-out reproduction process, the read-out information is analyzed to generate parameters (speech segment, phoneme duration, pitch, amplitude time change pattern, etc.) necessary for speech synthesis. Then, a speech waveform is synthesized using the generated parameters. The reproduction unit 7 outputs a synthesized voice signal from the speaker 7a and reproduces the voice.

  The I / O unit 8 is an interface that communicates with an external device. Communication control with an external device is performed according to an instruction from the control unit 1. For example, data such as content information and various programs can be input / output to / from an external device connected via the I / O unit 8.

Next, the operation will be described.
In FIG. 5, the flowchart explaining the ring road exit process performed by the control part 1 of the onboard equipment 10 is shown. The ring road exit process is executed while power is supplied to the vehicle-mounted device 10.

  First, the control unit 1 sets a circular flag (Kanjo) indicating whether or not the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 10 is traveling on a circular road to 0 (step S1), and whether or not a direction code has been received. That is, it is determined whether or not data including distribution information has been received (step S2). When the direction code has not been received (step S2; No), the process returns to step S2.

  When the direction code is received (step S2; Yes), the control unit 1 determines whether the direction code is inward or outward (step S3), and when the direction code is inward or outward (step S3; Yes). Then, it is determined that the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 10 is traveling on the ring road, the ring flag is set to 1 (step S4), and the process returns to step S2.

  When returning from step S4 to step S2, if the direction code and the direction code received before the reception time of the direction code match, the content information included in the distribution information is executed together with the direction code. The playback unit 7 may determine that the content is valid and execute the content information.

  When it is not inward or outward (step S3; No), the control unit 1 determines that the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 10 is not traveling on the ring road, and determines whether the ring flag is 1 (step S5).

  When the annular flag is not 1 (step S5; No), the control unit 1 returns to step S2, and when the annular flag is 1 (step S5; Yes), the annular flag is set to 0 (step S6). It is determined whether or not the direction code received in S2 is downlink (step S7).

  When returning from step S5; No to step S2, if the direction code and the direction code received before the reception time of the direction code match, the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is included. The execution may be determined to be valid in the playback unit 7 and the content information may be executed.

  When the direction code received in step S2 is down, that is, the controller 1 travels from the ring road to the radiation road when the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted device 10 is mounted, and the traveling direction is down, and the same direction as the traveling direction. When the distribution information of a certain direction code (downlink) is received (step S7; Yes), it is determined that the execution of the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is valid in the playback unit 7 (step S8). Is executed by the reproducing unit 7, and the process returns to step S2.

  When the direction code received in step S2 is not down, that is, the control unit 1 travels from the ring road to the radiation road when the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted device 10 is mounted. When the distribution information of the direction code that is in a different direction is received (step S7; No), the reproduction unit 7 determines that the execution of the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is invalid (step S9). Is not executed by the reproducing unit 7, and the process returns to step S2.

  In FIG. 6, the example of the installation position of the roadside radio | wireless apparatus 20 is shown, and the operation example of the ring road exit process of the onboard equipment 10 in the said example is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the roadside radio devices 20a and 20b are installed on the first radiation road B1, the roadside radio devices 20c and 20d are installed on the ring road A, and the roadside radio devices 20e and 20f are arranged on the second radiation road B2. Install.

  The roadside apparatuses 20a and 20f are installed in the upstream lane, and wirelessly transmit distribution information whose direction code is upstream. The roadside apparatuses 20b and 20e are installed in the down lane, and wirelessly transmit distribution information whose direction code is down. The roadside apparatus 20c is installed in an outward lane, and wirelessly transmits distribution information whose direction code is outward. The roadside apparatus 20d is installed in an inward lane, and wirelessly transmits distribution information with an inward direction code.

  An annular road exit process of the vehicle-mounted device 10 mounted on a vehicle traveling on the descending lane of the second radiation road B2 from the ascending lane of the first radiation road B1 through the outer periphery of the annular road A will be described.

First, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 10 mounted on the vehicle traveling on the up lane of the first radiation road B1 has the annular flag set to 0.
When the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device 10 passes through the roadside area of the roadside apparatus 20a, the vehicle-mounted device 10 receives data including distribution information from the roadside device 20a. The direction code included in the distribution information is upstream, not inward or outward, and since the circular flag is not 1, it was received before the reception time of the direction code (upstream) and the direction code. When the direction code matches, the execution of the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is determined to be valid in the reproduction unit 7, and the content information is executed.

  Thereafter, when the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted device 10 is mounted travels from the ascending lane of the first radiation road B1 to the outside of the ring road A and passes through the roadside area of the roadside wireless device 20c, the vehicle-mounted device 10 is connected to the roadside wireless device 20c. Receive data containing distribution information. Since the direction code included in the distribution information is outward, the circular flag is set from 0 to 1, and the direction code (outward) and the direction code received before the reception of the direction code are displayed. If they match, the execution of the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is determined to be valid in the playback unit 7, and the content information is executed.

  Furthermore, when the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted device 10 is mounted travels from the outer periphery of the ring road A to the descending lane of the second radiation road B2, and passes through the roadside area of the roadside wireless device 20e, the vehicle-mounted device 10 is connected to the roadside wireless device 20e. Receive data containing distribution information. The direction code included in the distribution information is down and not inward or outward, and since the circular flag is 1, the circular flag is set from 1 to 0, and the direction code is down. For this reason, the execution of the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is determined to be valid in the playback unit 7, and the content information is executed.

  Here, when data including distribution information is leaked from the roadside radio device 20f installed in the upstream lane of the second radiation road B2 to the downstream lane of the second radiation road B2, the data is leaked When the vehicle passes, the vehicle-mounted device 10 mounted on the vehicle receives data including distribution information from the roadside apparatus 20f. The direction code included in the distribution information is upstream and not inward or outward, and since the circular flag is 1, the circular flag is set from 1 to 0, and the direction code is upstream. For this reason, the execution of the content information included in the distribution information together with the direction code is determined to be invalid in the reproduction unit 7, and the content information is not executed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a vehicle-mounted device that does not include a device for determining the current position and traveling direction, when a vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device travels from a ring road to a radiation road, the traveling direction is determined. An error can be prevented and unnecessary information can be prevented from being provided to the user.

  In addition, regarding the information distribution system in the above embodiment, the above embodiment is preferably applied to an utterance type vehicle-mounted device that does not have means for determining latitude and longitude and direction, but the onboard device is not limited to the utterance type. .

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure of the information delivery system containing the vehicle equipment in this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of content information. It is a figure explaining the roadside area of the roadside apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of onboard equipment. It is a flowchart explaining an annular road exit process. It is a figure which shows the example of the installation position of a roadside apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Control unit 2 Storage unit 3 ROM
4 RAM
5 Operation display unit 6 DSRC unit 6a DSRC control unit 6b Communication unit 6c Storage unit 7 Playback unit 7a Speaker 8 I / O unit 10 Onboard device 20 Roadside device 20a Main unit 20b Antenna 30 Center device 100 Information distribution system A Ring road B1 1st radiation road B2 2nd radiation road C Vehicle N Network Z Roadside area

Claims (4)

A communication means for receiving distribution information including direction information and content information related to a traveling direction of a vehicle traveling on a road on which the roadside wireless device installed is wirelessly transmitted from a plurality of roadside wireless devices installed on the road; ,
Storage means for storing the distribution information received by the communication means;
Execution means for executing an operation according to the content information;
Based on the direction information included in the distribution information received by the communication means, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling on a ring road and, after the determination, is included in the distribution information received by the communication means. Control means for enabling execution of the content information included in the distribution information indicating that the direction information is descending in the execution means when it is determined that it is not traveling on the ring road based on the direction information;
On-vehicle device equipped with. The control means includes
If the direction information is inward or outward, determine that the ring road is running,
The vehicle-mounted device according to claim 1. The control means includes
If the direction information is not inward or outward, determine that the ring road is not running,
The in-vehicle device according to claim 1 or 2. A plurality of roadside wireless devices installed on the road and wirelessly transmitting received distribution information within a preset range;
A center device that transmits the distribution information including direction information and content information related to a traveling direction of a vehicle traveling on a road on which the roadside wireless device is installed;
The vehicle-mounted device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Information distribution system with

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