JP2009193314A - Inter-vehicle communication system and inter-vehicle communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inter-vehicle communication system capable of reducing an amount of data received from the other vehicles in the inter-vehicle communication system for detecting existence of the out-of-sight other vehicles with inter-vehicle communication. <P>SOLUTION: The inter-vehicle communication system 100 comprises a first position detection means 21 for detecting first position information of its own-vehicle A, an intersection determination means 26 for determining whether or not entering into the intersection, a first transmission means 29 for transmitting the first position information to a vehicle at a designated range when entering into the intersection, a second position detection means 31 for detecting second position information of the vehicle received the first position information, a leading vehicle determining section 37 for determining whether or not it is the leading vehicle of a line of vehicles entering into the intersection from an entering passage different from the vehicle transmitting the first position information when receiving the first position information, and a second transmitting means 39 for transmitting the second position information to the vehicle transmitting the first position information only when the leading vehicle determining section 37 determines that it is the leading vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that transmits and receives information between vehicles, and more particularly to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that provide information received by vehicle-to-vehicle communication to passengers.

In order to prevent abnormal approach with other vehicles at intersections in the traveling direction, etc., a vehicle driving support system that detects other vehicles outside the field of view traveling on intersecting roads by inter-vehicle communication and supports driving is known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Patent Literature 1 describes a vehicle driving support system that distributes own vehicle information when an intersection to be entered is specified and receives other vehicle information from another vehicle that responds to the information. The host vehicle identifies other vehicles that may collide with the host vehicle based on the other vehicle information, and alerts the driver of the host vehicle.
JP 2007-323184 A

  However, in the vehicle driving support system described in Patent Document 1, since the own vehicle receives other vehicle information from all other vehicles in the communication range of inter-vehicle communication, the amount of processing data increases as the number of other vehicles increases. End up. For this reason, the communication time and the processing time for specifying another vehicle that may possibly collide also increase, and driving support at an appropriate timing may be difficult.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that detects the presence of another vehicle through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and provides a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that reduce the amount of data received from the other vehicle. For the purpose.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication between vehicles, first position detection means that detects first position information of the host vehicle, and whether or not to enter an intersection. An intersection determination means for determining, a first transmission means for transmitting the first position information to vehicles in a predetermined range when entering the intersection, and a second position information of the vehicle that has received the first position information is detected. Whether or not the vehicle is the first vehicle in the vehicle train that enters the intersection from a different approach path from the vehicle that transmitted the first position information when the first position information is received and the first position information is received. A second vehicle that transmits the second position information to the vehicle that transmitted the first position information only when it is determined that the first vehicle determination unit is the first vehicle; It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, since the vehicle that has transmitted the first position information receives the second position information from only the leading vehicle, the amount of data to be communicated and the processing load can be reduced.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, an approach vehicle determination unit that determines whether or not the vehicle that has transmitted the first position information enters from an approach path outside the field of view when the first position information is received. It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, since the other vehicle is transmitted only when entering from an approach path outside the field of view, the amount of data to be communicated and the processing load can be reduced.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, when the vehicle train is traveling in a convoy in which the vehicle train is electronically connected, the leading vehicle determining means receives the first position information and communicates between the vehicles within the convoy to conduct the convoy. The first vehicle is determined from the traveling vehicle.

  According to the present invention, since the leading vehicle is determined among a plurality of vehicles that form a platoon, the other vehicle information can be aggregated into one, and the processing load of the vehicle that transmitted the first position information and the received vehicle is reduced. it can.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, when the right turn information is received from the vehicle that transmits the first position information, the approaching vehicle determination means enters the vehicle that has transmitted the first position information from the approach path of the opposite lane. In the case of entering from the approach path of the opposite lane, and when the leading vehicle determining means determines that it is not the leading vehicle in the vehicle train, the second transmitting means The second position information is transmitted to the vehicle that transmitted the first position information.

  According to the present invention, the other vehicle information can be received from the vehicle following the leading vehicle in the oncoming lane, so that when the vehicle that transmits the first position information turns right, it is possible to provide useful other vehicle information to the driver. .

  A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that detects the presence of other vehicles outside the field of view through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and can provide a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that reduce the amount of data received from other vehicles.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1A, the vehicle A transmits its own vehicle information toward the communicable range 11 in front of the approaching intersection. All the other vehicles B1 to B6 traveling in the communicable range 11 receive the own vehicle information of the vehicle A.

  The other vehicles B <b> 1 to B <b> 6 that have received the host vehicle information each determine whether or not they enter the same intersection as the vehicle A. And the other vehicles B4 and B5 determined to enter the same intersection each detect the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle. The preceding vehicle of the other vehicle B4 is the other vehicle B3, and the preceding vehicle of the other vehicle B5 is the other vehicle B4. The other vehicle B1 on the opposite lane can be visually recognized, and the other vehicle B2 traveling on the left road is visible as the vehicle approaches the intersection. Therefore, the vehicle B1 is not determined to enter the same intersection as the vehicle A.

  Of the other vehicles B4 and B5 entering the intersection, it is only necessary to be able to identify only the leading vehicle because the leading vehicle is likely to abnormally approach the vehicle A. Since the leading vehicle may be a vehicle having a large inter-vehicle distance, B4 is the leading vehicle in FIG.

  And as shown in FIG.1 (c), only the other vehicle B4 which detected that it is a head vehicle transmits other vehicle information to the vehicle A. FIG. The vehicle A that has received the other vehicle information alerts the driver based on the other vehicle information of the other vehicle B4.

  According to the inter-vehicle communication system of the present embodiment, since the vehicle A receives the other vehicle information only from the leading vehicle, the amount of data received from the other vehicle and the processing load can be reduced.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the inter-vehicle communication system 100. FIG. 2 shows the transmission-side in-vehicle device 50 included in the vehicle A and the reception-side in-vehicle device 60 included in the other vehicle B4. The vehicle A, the other vehicles B1 to B6, and the other vehicles C1, C2 are all transmission-side in-vehicle devices. The apparatus 50 and the receiving side vehicle-mounted apparatus 60 are provided.

[Transmission-side in-vehicle device 50]
The transmission-side in-vehicle device 50 is controlled by the control unit 20, and the control unit 20 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System, Galileo positioning system) receiver 21, a vehicle speed sensor 22, a map DB (Data Base) 23, a display 24, and a communication unit 29. It is connected via a CAN (controller area network) or a dedicated line.

  The GPS receiver 21 supplements GPS satellites orbiting the earth and detects the position (latitude / longitude / altitude) of the host vehicle based on the arrival time of radio waves from each GPS satellite. The error may be eliminated by receiving GPS radio waves from a ground base station whose exact position is known. The vehicle speed sensor 22 detects the rotational speed of each wheel of the vehicle based on a change in magnetic flux, and detects the vehicle speed by multiplying this by the tire outer diameter and correction value. The map DB 23 stores road map information in association with position information such as latitude and longitude in a storage medium constituted by a hard disk drive and a flash memory. The road map information is a table-like database in which link information of links constituting a road is associated with node information of nodes (intersections) connecting the links. Since the link information includes the link length, the number of lanes, the width, the connection node, the connection direction, and the like, the road shape (network) can be detected from the road map information. Further, the map DB 23 stores road types such as automobile-only roads, general roads, and toll roads, and location information of facilities such as parking lots and gasoline linning stations for each link.

  The display 24 is a head-up display that projects information on a windshield, or a display unit that displays information using luminance values and color filters for each pixel such as liquid crystal or organic EL. As will be described later, a warning screen is displayed on the display 24 to alert the user that there is a risk of abnormal approach with the other vehicle B4. Images such as road maps around the current position and television broadcasts may be displayed.

  The communication unit 29 is a communication device that communicates between the vehicle A and other vehicles B1 to B6 in the communicable range 11 and, for example, a narrow area communication (DSRC) that can communicate only within a range of several tens of centimeters to several hundred meters. A one-to-one or one-to-N ad hoc network by the Dedicated Short Range Communication) method to transmit and receive own vehicle information and other vehicle information. In the present embodiment, when viewed from the vehicle A, the communication mode is one-to-N, and when viewed from the other vehicle B4, the communication mode is one-to-one.

  The communication unit 29 adds a destination to the host vehicle information, performs protocol processing, error code processing, and the like, modulates with a predetermined modulation method (for example, QPSK), amplifies the generated modulated wave, and transmits it from the antenna. The connection procedure is, for example, CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access), and when there is a transmission request from another vehicle first, transmission is performed after a predetermined time. In addition, you may communicate between vehicles using predetermined | prescribed communication standards, such as Bluetooth (trademark), wireless USB, and Zigbee (trademark).

  The control unit 20 is a computer in which a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, a nonvolatile memory, and an input / output interface are connected via an internal bus. The position detection unit is realized by the CPU executing a program or an arithmetic circuit such as an ASIC. 25, an intersection determination unit 26, a host vehicle information generation unit 27, and a display control unit 28. The control unit 20 can also be used as, for example, a navigation ECU (electronic control unit) that controls the navigation system.

  The position detection unit 25 accumulates the travel distance detected by the vehicle speed sensor 22 in the travel direction of the vehicle A using the vehicle position information detected by the GPS receiver 21 as a starting point, and estimates the position of the vehicle with high accuracy. . If the map DB 23 is referred to based on the position of the vehicle A detected by the position detection unit 25, the link number of the link being traveled is identified, and the travel direction on the link is identified by monitoring the position information in time series. The

The intersection determination unit 26 determines whether or not the vehicle A enters the intersection. For example, the vehicle A enters the intersection when the following condition is satisfied.
a. The vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 22 is below a predetermined value (for example, 20 km / h) b. The intersection determination unit 26 detects an intersection ahead (for example, 50 to 100 m) using the map DB 23. The intersection determination unit 26 generates host vehicle information when the condition a or the condition b is satisfied, or when both the condition a and the condition b are satisfied. .

  In addition, when there is a traffic signal at the approaching intersection, the other vehicles B1 to B6 and the other vehicles C1 and C2 travel according to the state of the traffic signal. Therefore, the vehicle A detects the intersection only when there is no traffic signal at the intersection. Also good. Thereby, the communication opportunity of the vehicle A can be reduced and the processing load of the other vehicles B1-B6 and the other vehicles C1, C2 can be reduced.

  Further, when the road on which the vehicle A is traveling is a clear priority road as compared to the road on which the vehicles B1 to B6 are traveling, the possibility that the vehicles B1 to B6 will jump out to the priority road side is low. The vehicle information may be generated only when the road on which the vehicle A is traveling is a non-priority road. A non-priority road means that, for example, the number of lanes on the road on which the vehicle A is traveling is equal to or less than the number of lanes on the road on which the other vehicles B1 to B6 are traveling, It is determined from the road type or the like that the width is equal to or less than the width of the road on which the other vehicles B1 to B6 are traveling.

  The own vehicle information generation unit 27 generates the own vehicle information and transmits the own vehicle information in a broadcast manner by the communication unit 29. Since it is broadcast, no destination is specified in the own vehicle information (synonymous with setting all other vehicles as destinations).

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the own vehicle information generated by the own vehicle information generation unit 27. The own vehicle information includes vehicle identification information, position information, vehicle speed information, and a traveling direction. The vehicle identification information is, for example, the chassis number of the vehicle A or the serial number of the communication unit 29, the position information is detected by the position detection unit 25, the vehicle speed information is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 22, and the traveling direction is that of the vehicle A so far. This is the direction obtained from the traveling direction (for example, an angle that increases the north direction of east, west, south, and north to the right at 0 degrees). It is possible to determine whether or not the other vehicles B1 to B6 enter the same intersection as the vehicle A based on the own vehicle information. In addition, since the traveling direction of the vehicle A becomes clear from a plurality of position information before the intersection, a plurality of position information may be included in the own vehicle information instead of the traveling direction. Further, since the link number indicating the road varies depending on the traveling direction, the link number may be included instead of the traveling direction.

  The display control unit 28 generates and switches information to be displayed on the display 24. For example, a road map and an operation menu are generated, and when an occupant's operation is detected from the operation menu, information displayed on the display 24 is switched according to the operation. In addition, the display control unit 28 executes an interrupt according to the priority of the information to be displayed, and displays a warning screen for alerting the driver when other vehicle information is received from the other vehicle B4, for example, VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) When traffic information is received from the center, the traffic information is displayed.

  In the present embodiment, the other vehicle B4 that transmits the other vehicle information to the vehicle A is always the leading vehicle, and therefore it is not necessary to determine whether or not the other vehicles B1 to B6 enter the same intersection as in the prior art. For this reason, the processing load of the vehicle A can be reduced.

[Receiving-side in-vehicle device 60]
Next, the receiving side in-vehicle device 60 will be described. Since the GPS receiver 31, the vehicle speed sensor 32, the map DB 33, the control unit 30, the position detection unit 35, and the communication unit 39 of the reception-side in-vehicle device 60 are the same as those of the transmission-side in-vehicle device 50, description thereof is omitted. In fact, since one vehicle has the transmission-side in-vehicle device 50 and the reception-side in-vehicle device 60, the GPS receiver 31 and the like are the same body as that of the transmission-side in-vehicle device 50.

  The reception-side in-vehicle device 60 includes an approaching vehicle determination unit 36, a leading vehicle determination unit 37, and a transmission data generation unit 38 that are executed by a CPU or an arithmetic circuit such as an ASIC.

  The approaching vehicle determination unit 36 determines whether or not to enter the intersection where the vehicle A enters based on the own vehicle information received by the communication unit 39, the position information of the other vehicle B4, and the traveling direction. Whether or not the vehicle A enters the intersection where the vehicle A enters is determined in consideration of whether or not the vehicle A tends to be out of the field of view.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating the approach directions of the other vehicles B1 to B6 and the vehicle A. FIG.
The approaching vehicle determination unit 36 of the other vehicle B1 enters the same intersection as the vehicle A from the position information and the traveling direction of the vehicle A, but the vehicle A travels on the opposite lane from the position information and the traveling direction of the vehicle A. Therefore, it is not determined that the vehicle will enter the same intersection as vehicle A.
The approaching vehicle determination unit 36 of the other vehicle B2 enters the same intersection as the vehicle A based on the position information and the traveling direction of the vehicle A, but enters the field of view when the vehicle A approaches the intersection. It is not determined to enter the intersection.
The approaching vehicle determination unit 36 of the other vehicle B3 does not determine that the vehicle A has entered the same intersection as the vehicle A because the vehicle A has already passed through the intersection where the vehicle A enters from the position information and the traveling direction of the vehicle A.
-The approach vehicle determination part 36 of the other vehicle B4 determines with approaching the same intersection as the vehicle A from the positional information and traveling direction of the vehicle A.
-The approach vehicle determination part 36 of the other vehicle B5 determines with approaching the same intersection as the vehicle A from the positional information and traveling direction of the vehicle A.
The approaching vehicle determination unit 36 of the other vehicle B6 does not determine that the vehicle A enters the same intersection as the vehicle A because the vehicle A has already passed through the intersection where the vehicle A enters from the position information and the traveling direction of the vehicle A.

  By determining that the other vehicle B1 on the opposite lane and the other vehicle B2 traveling to the left of the intersecting roads do not enter the same intersection, the other vehicle information received by the vehicle A can be reduced. However, even if other vehicles B1 and / or B2 that are not necessarily out of view from the vehicle A transmit other vehicle information, the amount of data received by the vehicle A is limited, so the other vehicles B1 and / or B2 receive the other vehicle information. It may be transmitted. By receiving the other vehicle information from the other vehicle B1 and / or B2, the vehicle A can alert the other vehicle B1 and / or B2 also on the warning screen, and whether or not the alert is desired is determined by the passenger. If this is set, more flexible alerting is possible without causing the passenger to feel bothersome.

  The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicles B4 and B5 determined to enter the same intersection as the vehicle A determines whether or not each vehicle is the leading vehicle. FIG. 4B is a diagram for explaining determination of whether or not the vehicle is the leading vehicle. The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 requests the transmission of the leading vehicle determination information to all other vehicles in the communicable range 11 of the inter-vehicle communication via the communication unit 39. This leading vehicle determination information is, for example, position information and a traveling direction.

  The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 extracts leading vehicle determination information having the same traveling direction as that of the other vehicle B4 from each received leading vehicle determination information. Thereby, the leading vehicle determination information of only other vehicles B3 and B5 can be extracted. Then, the position information is extracted from the leading vehicle determination information and compared with the position information of the other vehicle B4, thereby calculating the distance L1 to the other vehicle B3 and the distance L2 to the other vehicle B5.

  The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 may request transmission of the leading vehicle determination information only to other vehicles B3 and B5 having the same traveling direction. In this case, for example, the request for the leading vehicle determination information includes the traveling direction of the other vehicle B4, and only the other vehicle in the same traveling direction (in this case, other vehicles B3 and B5 correspond) has the leading vehicle determination information as the other vehicle B4. To send to. Thereby, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 can reduce the received leading vehicle determination information.

  By the same process, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B5 calculates the distance L2 between the other vehicle B4 and the other vehicle B3. By the way, since this distance is information for determining whether or not the vehicle is the leading vehicle, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B5 determines only the distance L2 with the other vehicle B4 that is closer among the other vehicles B3 and B4 ahead. Use.

  Then, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 compares the distance L1 with the threshold value Lth, and determines that the other vehicle B4 is the leading vehicle if the distance L1 is equal to or greater than the threshold value Lth. The threshold Lth may be a distance that can be regarded as the leading vehicle, and is, for example, 70 m to 100 m. Note that the distance L1 cannot be calculated when the other vehicle B3 does not exist, but the other vehicle B4 is the leading vehicle even when the other vehicle B3 does not exist. For this reason, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 determines that the other vehicle B4 is the leading vehicle even when the leading vehicle determination information is not received from the other vehicle in front that has the same traveling direction as the other vehicle B4.

  The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B5 compares the distance L2 with the threshold value Lth, and determines that the other vehicle B5 is the leading vehicle if the distance L2 is equal to or greater than the threshold value Lth. As illustrated, since the distance L2 is less than the threshold value Lth, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B5 does not determine that the other vehicle B5 is the leading vehicle.

  In the present embodiment, the distance is calculated from the position information of the other vehicle B4 or the like, but it may be determined whether the vehicle is the leading vehicle by a millimeter wave radar device or a front camera. The millimeter wave radar device can detect the distance from the reflected wave received by being reflected by the preceding vehicle. In the case of the front camera, the distance can be detected from the parallax information of the preceding vehicle captured by the stereo camera. When the millimeter wave radar device or the front camera is used, the communication unit 39 does not need to receive the leading vehicle information through the inter-vehicle communication, so that the processing load can be reduced and whether or not the leading vehicle can be determined earlier.

  The transmission data generation unit 38 of the other vehicle B4 that the leading vehicle determination unit 37 determines to be the leading vehicle generates other vehicle information and transmits the vehicle A to the destination via the communication unit 39. FIG. 3B shows an example of other vehicle information. The other vehicle information includes the same information as the own vehicle information. The subsequent vehicle information of the other vehicle information is, for example, a rear distance L2 with the other vehicle B5 behind. By transmitting the rear distance L2 to the vehicle A, it is possible to detect whether or not the other vehicle B5 is following the other vehicle B4 in the vehicle A and how far behind it is.

  The display control unit 28 of the vehicle A that has received the other vehicle information displays a warning screen based on the position information and the traveling direction of the other vehicle B4. Further, the following vehicle information following the other vehicle B4 can be provided to the driver by the following vehicle information.

[Operation procedure of the inter-vehicle communication system 100]
The operation procedure of the inter-vehicle communication system 100 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. The transmitting in-vehicle device 50 repeatedly executes the operation procedure of FIG. 5 while traveling.

  First, the intersection determination unit 26 determines whether or not the vehicle A enters the intersection (S110). For example, the intersection determination unit 26 determines that the vehicle enters the intersection when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 22 is equal to or lower than a predetermined value.

  When it is determined that the intersection determination unit 26 enters the intersection (Yes in S110), the host vehicle information generation unit 27 generates host vehicle information (S120). The own vehicle information generation unit 27 adds the vehicle identification information to the position information detected by the position detection unit 25, the vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 22, and the traveling direction, and generates the own vehicle information.

  Next, the communication unit 29 transmits the own vehicle information (S130). That is, the own vehicle information is transmitted to all other vehicles B1 to B6 in the communicable range 11 of the inter-vehicle communication.

  Thereby, it transfers to the process of other vehicles B1-B6, and the communication part 39 of other vehicles B1-B6 receives the own vehicle information (S210). And the approach vehicle determination part 36 of the other vehicles B1-B6 compares the positional information and traveling direction of the own vehicle information with the positional information and traveling direction of each of the other vehicles B1-B6, and at the same intersection as the vehicle A. It is determined whether or not to enter (S220). The other vehicles B1, B2, B3, and B6 are excluded by the determination in step S220 (No in step S220), and the receiving-side in-vehicle device 60 of B1, B2, B3, and B6 ends the process.

  When it is determined that the vehicle A enters the same intersection (Yes in S220), that is, the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 performs inter-vehicle communication to determine the distance L1 to the other vehicle B3 and the distance L2 to the other vehicle B5. The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B5 calculates the distance L2 from the other vehicle B4 through inter-vehicle communication (S230).

  The leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B4 compares the distance L1 with the threshold value Lth to determine whether or not it is the leading vehicle, and the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B5 compares the distance L2 with the threshold value Lth. Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is the leading vehicle (S240). Since the other vehicle B5 is not the lead vehicle, the reception-side in-vehicle device 60 of the other vehicle B5 ends the process according to the determination in step S240.

  In the case of the other vehicle B4 determined to be the head vehicle (Yes in S240), the transmission data generation unit 38 of the other vehicle B4 generates other vehicle information and transmits it to the vehicle A via the communication unit 39 (S250). The transmission data generation unit 38 generates other vehicle information by adding vehicle identification information to the position information detected by the position detection unit 35, the vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 32, the traveling direction, and the following vehicle information. The other vehicle information is transmitted to the destination.

  The process proceeds to vehicle A. After the communication unit 29 of the vehicle A transmits the own vehicle information, the vehicle A enters a waiting state for receiving other vehicle information. The display control unit 28 determines whether or not other vehicle information is received every predetermined cycle time (S140), and repeats this determination until the predetermined time elapses (S160). The predetermined time is a sufficient time for transmitting the other vehicle information if the leading vehicle is present. If the other vehicle information is not received even after the predetermined time has elapsed (Yes in S160), there is no other vehicle entering the same intersection as the vehicle A, so the display control unit 28 displays nothing on the display 24 in particular. do not do. In addition, you may notify a driver | operator vehicle that it was confirmed that it can approach as a result of communicating between other vehicles and vehicles.

  By the way, if all of the other vehicles B4 and B5 are not determined to be preceding vehicles in step S240, the vehicle A will not receive the other vehicle information within a predetermined time. In this case, however, the other vehicles B4 and B5 The vehicle travels out of sight but is not far from the preceding vehicle. Therefore, it is considered that the driver of the vehicle A looks at other vehicles passing through the intersections one after another, and temporarily stops in front of the intersection. More preferably, the information indicating that the other vehicles B4 and B5 cannot determine the leading vehicle is sent to the vehicle A. Send. With this information, the driver of the vehicle A can surely grasp that the other vehicles B4, B5 and the number of vehicles are entering the intersection from outside the field of view. In this case, although communication occurs between the vehicle A and the other vehicles B4 and B5, the information indicating that the leading vehicle cannot be determined simply indicates that the other vehicles B4 and B5 are present. Can be suppressed. Further, since the information indicating that the leading vehicle cannot be determined is transmitted only to the other vehicles B4 and B5 entering the same intersection as the vehicle A, the amount of data received by the vehicle A can be minimized.

  If other vehicle information is received before the predetermined time has elapsed (Yes in S140), the display control unit 28 displays a warning screen on the display 24 to alert the driver (S150).

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a warning screen displayed on the display 24. Since the position information and traveling direction of the other vehicle B4 are known from the other vehicle information, the display control unit 28 displays the approach direction of the other vehicle B4 superimposed on the road map. In FIG. 6, the approach direction is indicated by an arrow icon, and the visibility can be improved by gradually moving the arrow icon in the approach direction, for example.

  The warning screen displays “STOP STOP” as a message indicating that it is difficult to enter the intersection. Thus, the driver can be surely alerted to the presence of the other vehicle B4. In addition, based on the subsequent vehicle information included in the other vehicle information, the display control unit 28 displays a message that “the following vehicle is continuing behind ○ m”. With this message, it is possible to notify the driver that there are other vehicles that follow after the other vehicle B4 passes the intersection, and to avoid an abnormal approach with the following other vehicles. Note that a warning sound may be sounded or the message of FIG. 6 may be output by voice without displaying the warning screen together with the warning screen.

  The distance L1 between the other vehicle B4 and the other vehicle B3 may be provided to the driver. In this case, the distance L1 may be included in the other vehicle information, so that the driver of the vehicle A can grasp the approximate time until the other vehicle B4 passes the intersection.

  As described above, according to the inter-vehicle communication system 100 of the present embodiment, since the vehicle A receives the other vehicle information only from the other vehicle B4 of the leading vehicle, the amount of data received from the other vehicle and the processing load are reduced. The driver can be alerted earlier.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, it is assumed that the other vehicles B1 to B6 are traveling freely. However, when the other vehicles are traveling in a row, the other vehicle information is more efficiently transmitted to the vehicle A. can do.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an application example of the inter-vehicle communication system 100 when another vehicle travels in a row. In FIG. 7, the convoys T1 to T5 are traveling. Each of the platoons T1 to T5 can communicate within the platoon, and even if the platoons are different, an inter-vehicle communication device is possible between vehicles.

  The platooning maximizes the driving capacity of the vehicle on the road, and reduces the burden on the driver and improves safety. Within the formation, a unique ID is assigned to each vehicle within the formation, and a plurality of vehicles travel as a group while being electronically connected while sharing the number, total length, and the like of the formation. In platooning, the first vehicle in the platoon generally transmits the target inter-vehicle distance and the like to the following vehicle through inter-vehicle communication, so the succeeding vehicle controls the accelerator or brake according to the deviation between the target inter-vehicle distance and the actually measured inter-vehicle distance. . With this control, the leading vehicle and the following vehicle travel in a row while maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance.

  When the vehicle A transmits the own vehicle information to the communicable range 11 in a broadcast manner, the other vehicles T11, T21, T33, T41, T42, and T54 traveling in the communicable range 11 are the own vehicle of the vehicle A. Receive information.

  Since only the leading vehicle transmits other vehicle information as in the first embodiment, the processing load on the vehicle A can be reduced. Therefore, it is determined whether the other vehicles T11, T21, T33, T41, T42, and T54 are the leading vehicles. judge. In platooning, it is often known whether or not the own vehicle is the leading vehicle, but the other vehicle T11 that has received the own vehicle information communicates with the other vehicle T12 in the platoon to determine whether or not the other vehicle T11 is the leading vehicle. Determine whether. The information for inter-vehicle communication is, for example, information for inquiring the head vehicle ID of the head vehicle of the platoon. For example, communication priority is determined by the ID, and communication collisions between the platoons are less likely to occur.

  The other vehicles T11, T21, and T41 are detected to be the leading vehicles by inter-vehicle communication between the convoys. Therefore, among the other vehicles T11, T21, T33, T41, T42, and T54 traveling in the platoon, the other vehicles T33, T42, and T54 do not determine whether or not they enter the same intersection as the vehicle A. Transmission processing can be canceled.

  Next, the other vehicles T11, T21, and T41 determine whether or not they enter the same intersection as the vehicle A as in the first embodiment. As a result, it is determined that only the other vehicle T41 enters the same intersection as the vehicle A.

  The subsequent procedure is the same as in the first embodiment. When the other vehicle T41 transmits other vehicle information to the vehicle A, the vehicle A can alert the driver based on the other vehicle information.

  According to the inter-vehicle communication system 100 of the present embodiment, whether or not some other vehicles that are not the leading vehicle in the formation enter the same intersection as the vehicle A using the fact that other vehicles are running in the formation. Therefore, the processing load on the other vehicles T33, T42 and T54 can be reduced. In addition, since the other vehicle running in the row can efficiently detect the leading vehicle in the row running, the vehicle A can receive the other vehicle information earlier.

[Third Embodiment]
In 1st and 2nd embodiment, although the traveling direction after the intersection of the vehicle A was not demonstrated, when the vehicle A turns right at the intersection, it will approach the same intersection as the other vehicle B1 of an oncoming lane.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the inter-vehicle communication system 100 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the other vehicle B1 falls within the field of view of the driver of the vehicle A, but when the other vehicle (especially a two-wheeled vehicle) B7 is traveling on the other vehicle B1, the other vehicle B7 is visually recognized. It becomes difficult. Therefore, in the present embodiment, an inter-vehicle communication system 100 in which the other vehicle B7 in the opposite lane transmits other vehicle information to the vehicle A when the vehicle A makes a right turn will be described. In the present embodiment, the other vehicle B7 is included in the communicable range 11.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the inter-vehicle communication system 100. In FIG. 9, the same steps as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is partially omitted.

  When the intersection determination unit 26 determines that the vehicle A enters the intersection (Yes in S110), the host vehicle information generation unit 27 generates host vehicle information (S120). In the present embodiment, when the vehicle A makes a right turn, the right turn information is included in the own vehicle information. Whether or not to turn right is determined from, for example, a winker switch, a route to a destination, a vehicle speed, and the like. The own vehicle information is broadcast from the communication unit 29 to the communicable range 11.

  The processes of the other vehicles B1 to B7 that have received the host vehicle information are the same as in FIG. 5, and only the other vehicle B4 transmits the other vehicle information to the vehicle A by the processes of steps S210 to S250.

  Next, the approaching vehicle determination unit 36 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling in an oncoming lane (S260). Since the same determination has been processed in step S220, step S260 may be omitted. Only the other vehicles B1 and B7 execute the following processing based on the determination in step S260.

  When the vehicle is traveling in the oncoming lane (Yes in S260), the approaching vehicle determination unit 36 of the other vehicles B1 and B7 determines whether or not the right turn information is included in the own vehicle information (S270). If the vehicle A does not turn right, it will not enter the same intersection as the vehicle A, so the processing is terminated.

  When the own vehicle information includes right turn information (S270 Yes), the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B1 determines whether the other vehicle B1 is the leading vehicle, and the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B7 is other. It is determined whether or not the vehicle B7 is the leading vehicle (S280). Since the leading vehicle is visible from the vehicle A, the other vehicle B1 that is the leading vehicle ends the process.

  Since the leading vehicle determination unit 37 of the other vehicle B7 determines that the other vehicle B7 is not the leading vehicle (Yes in S280), it subsequently determines whether the other vehicle B7 is a two-wheeled vehicle (S290). Vehicle classifications such as motorcycles and automobiles are stored in the control unit 30 in advance.

  And when the other vehicle B7 is a two-wheeled vehicle (Yes of S290), the transmission data production | generation part 38 produces | generates other vehicle information, and transmits to the vehicle A (S300). The other vehicle information is the same as that shown in FIG.

  Therefore, according to the inter-vehicle communication system 100 of the present embodiment, when the vehicle A makes a right turn, the other vehicle information can be received from the other vehicle B7 outside the field of view of the oncoming lane. Since other vehicle information is received only from the two-wheeled vehicle that is not the leading vehicle in the oncoming lane, the processing load on the vehicle A can be suppressed.

  As described above, the inter-vehicle communication system 100 of this embodiment suppresses the amount of data received from other vehicles to the minimum, and the presence of other vehicles at intersections with poor visibility, other vehicles behind the opposite lane, and the like. The driver can be notified.

It is a figure explaining the outline of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. It is a functional block diagram of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. It is a figure which shows an example of the own vehicle information and other vehicle information. It is a figure which shows the approach direction of other vehicles B1-B6 and the vehicle A. FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement procedure of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. It is a figure which shows an example of the warning screen displayed on a display. It is a figure explaining the example of application of the communication system between vehicles when other vehicles run in a convoy. It is a figure explaining the outline of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement procedure of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system.

Explanation of symbols

20, 30 Control unit 21, 31 GPS receiver 22, 32 Vehicle speed sensor 23, 33 Map DB
24 display 29, 39 communication unit 36 approaching vehicle determination unit 37 leading vehicle determination unit 50 transmitting-side in-vehicle device 60 receiving-side in-vehicle device 100 inter-vehicle communication system

Claims (6)

A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system for vehicle-to-vehicle communication between vehicles,
First position detecting means for detecting first position information of the host vehicle;
An intersection judging means for judging whether or not to enter an intersection;
First transmission means for transmitting first position information to a vehicle in a predetermined range when entering the intersection;
Second position detecting means for detecting second position information of the vehicle that has received the first position information;
Leading vehicle determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a leading vehicle in a vehicle line entering from an approach path different from that of the vehicle that transmitted the first positional information to the intersection when the first positional information is received; ,
Second transmission means for transmitting the second position information to the vehicle that transmitted the first position information only when it is determined that the leading vehicle determination means is the leading vehicle;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system comprising: Incoming vehicle determination means for determining whether or not to enter from an approach path outside the field of view from the vehicle that transmitted the first position information when receiving the first position information;
The inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, further comprising: If the vehicle train is traveling in an electronically connected convoy,
When the first vehicle determination means receives the first position information, the first vehicle is determined from a vehicle traveling in a convoy by communicating between vehicles within the convoy,
The inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 1 or 2. When receiving the right turn information from the vehicle that transmits the first position information,
The approaching vehicle determination means determines whether or not to enter the vehicle that has transmitted the first position information from the approaching path of the oncoming lane,
When entering from the approach lane of the oncoming lane and when the leading vehicle determination means determines that it is not the leading vehicle in the vehicle train,
The second transmission means transmits the second position information to the vehicle that transmitted the first position information;
The inter-vehicle communication system according to claim 2. First position detecting means for detecting first position information of the host vehicle;
An intersection judging means for judging whether or not to enter an intersection;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device having first transmission means for transmitting first position information to vehicles in a predetermined range when entering the intersection,
Second position detecting means for detecting second position information of the vehicle that has received the first position information;
The first vehicle that receives the first position information from the inter-vehicle communication device and determines whether the vehicle is the first vehicle in the vehicle train that enters the intersection from a different approach path from the vehicle that transmitted the first position information. A determination means;
Only when the leading vehicle determination means determines that the leading vehicle is the leading vehicle, the second transmission means that transmits the second position information to the vehicle that transmitted the first position information;
Receiving second position information;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device characterized by that. Position detecting means for detecting first position information of the host vehicle;
An intersection judging means for judging whether or not to enter an intersection;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that receives first position information from a communication device having first transmission means for transmitting first position information to vehicles in a predetermined range when entering the intersection,
Second position detecting means for detecting second position information of the host vehicle;
Leading vehicle determination means for determining whether or not the vehicle is a leading vehicle in a vehicle train entering from an approach path different from the vehicle that transmitted the first position information to the intersection;
Second transmission means for transmitting the second position information to the vehicle that transmitted the first position information only when it is determined that the leading vehicle determination means is the leading vehicle;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device comprising:

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